These are the hardcore rules I made to enhance the gaming experience and make it more realistic(I'm playing on ps3 so I have no mods)
1. Play on Expert/Master for obvious reasons
2. No fast travel, very common rule for hardcore players
3. No enchanting, makes finding new equipment a lot more rewarding and limited/legit smithing, no grinding and only use it when making and tempering equipment.
4. Only save on rest, got to settings-gameplay and only mark the save on rest, not travel and all the others, makes it more tense and forces you to sleep
5. Get the necromancer amulet ASAP it has -75% regen to stamina and health which forces you to recover after battle, Spoiler you get it as a reward from Blood on the Ice quest and here is a walkthrough because it might get complicated to get it: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Blood_on_the_Ice It also takes away the necklace slot but that only makes you less OP
6. Turn music off, you can then hear the nature and you have to be more careful when traveling in the wild because the battle music doesn't kick in when ever there is an enemy
7. Roleplay! This makes it fun, cook your food(this is actually going to help a lot because of the necromancer amulet, eat well before going out adventuring!). Go with realistic outfit like fur armor in snowy areas normal clothing when you are in town, two weapons each signed to the quick select in the favorites menu 1 and 2. for example for me I have sword(and shield) on 1 and my bow(and arrows) on 2.
8. Set the brightness a bit lower from what you usually have it, but not to much because light sources will also grow darker and become unrealistic. This is so you will have to use torches in dungeons (if you are not kahjiit)
I just started it yesterday and it is giving me a challenge and it's lot of fun, I'm also using "no magic rule" but that's just me.
For those who want to know here is my characte:
Male Redguard specialized in one-handed, block, archery, light armor and minor skills are sneak and speech. Currently using warrior stone and faendal is my companion.
I might change something and you can come with ideas but that's it for now and thank you for checking in.