The way I see it, levels don't start at the age of maturity. I'm sure we all knew plenty of students in high school who probably counted as level 2 or 3, despite not being 18 yet. I'm sure we all knew that one know-it-all who was already a level 10 intellectual... or we were that kid.
Conversely, even twenty years later, I'm not sure I've gotten to level 2.
Now, let's look at your average run-of-the-mill character, to see where 'level 1' is. An average member of society has 2d10+40 points in each stat (average: 51), 38 skill ranks from their cultural background (not including human bonus ranks), and 20 more ranks from their profession. Rogue seems like a good class to use to describe Joe Average, since it's uncomplicated and only gives a single benefit, which amounts to the equivalent of a single skill rank at level 1.
So, here's what an Innocent Bystander looks like: 408 character points in stats (average of 51, times 8 stats). 118 points in skills (58 ranks at 2 per rank, plus 2 for the rogue skill bonus). 40-70 points of talents, depending on race.
Total character points for Innocent Bystander: 566-596 points.
Fine, so that's what happens the first time around. What happens if you go through life all over again, with all your memories intact, and get to pick up skills and boost your stats twice?
Your mind is the same, but your body has to mature normally, and if you're not even in your own body, you could end up with a body that's below average or one that's destined for greatness. You may or may not know where you are, what world you're on, or what the situation is.
Ultimately, you're gonna focus on things like learning to use your (new?) body all over again, learning languages (if necessary), and finding out what's going on. You'll think you've gone crazy for a while, perhaps sink into depression, and assuming you don't actually have a mental breakdown, you'll resolve yourself to starting over from square one.
What does that mean when creating a new character with a background that includes reincarnation, or going back in time?
It means a heck of a lot more work than the normal system, that's for sure!
On a slightly different note: basically, if reincarnation is in your backstory, it's likely to be the cornerstone of it. Let's look at how this breaks down.
Reincarnated characters tend to be high-powered. In movies, comics, manga, and anime, it is a common theme that characters who are reborn have the opportunity to hone their skills a second time, reaching higher heights than their ordinary counterparts. Often, this reaches excessive levels, allowing them to stand shoulder-to-shoulder or toe-to-toe with people who have (what is believed to be) far greater life experience.
(And that's not counting those that receive some sort of cheat code during reincarnation!)
Then again, even if you front-load the character with high mental stats and skills, there's only so far that will take you. It's a perfect way to throw a new mentally-focused character into a party of seasoned professionals (level 4 or 5, for example), or for a dead character to find his way back to the party when the cleric can't quite manage to cast lifegiving fast enough. Fact is, since you have more skills and more overall development points (about 1-2 levels more than normal), you might end up outshining everyone else, so it should not be used in a group of starting characters... unless they're all reincarnated.
Game Master, use with caution!
First: Create a level 1 character (I think of this as the 'tutorial' character), but unlike a normal starting character, you gain only 25 discretionary development points (mostly so you can add one decent out-of-setting talent, or a couple of cheap ones). If your GM allows your character to be someone from the real world, you're almost certainly a human (or possibly a queequayth from Folkways, if you believe in Bigfoot). If you have access to HARP sci-fi, any class except adept or fusion is freely available to someone from modern society. Otherwise, the fighter, rogue, and thief from the fantasy core rules are acceptable, as are any of the new professions detailed in Folkways. Of course, if you're being reborn in-setting, anything normally available is an acceptable choice.
Second: Pick the race of the new body you're reincarnated into. Then, throw out your strength, constitution, agility, and quickness stats. Then, roll replacement stats randomly, as per stat generation method #1 in the core rules, and assign the remaining numbers to the now-vacated stats. Replace the racial stat mods to these stats from your old race with those of your new race, as well as the racial bonuses to the following skills: endurance, power point development, resistance (stamina), and resistance (magic). All skills that have strength, constitution, agility, or quickness as one (or both) of their key stats drop to a maximum of one skill rank. You lose any talents that represent physiological traits that don't exist in your new body, and you gain all the racial talents of your new body.
Third: Pick a new culture for you to be raised in. If the number of free skill ranks granted by your new culture (including languages) is higher than your existing number of ranks in these skills, increase them to the minimum level provided by your new culture. The
Fourth: Will be with you, always... (OMG! We get it, Obi-Wan! Leave us alone!)
Fifth: Pick a new profession and apply the level 1 starting bonuses for it, including but not limited to: skill ranks, bonus talents, professional skill bonuses, spell access, etc. You are limited to possessing no more than 6 ranks in a given skill, as per the rules for skill caps.
[NOTE: Yes, you still retain the starting bonuses of your previous profession, so long as they haven't already been removed in step 2. They represent extensive training, things learned through years of study and dedication, just like the stuff you've learned in this new lifetime. You spent years (if not decades) earning first level a second time, so both times you finally reached that first DING! yields better results than normal. However, if you want to advance in the class from your previous life (assuming it's different from your new one), you must pay for the additional profession talent, as normal. In this case, you do not lose these extra bonuses which have already been acquired.]
Sixth: At this point, you may spend your normal allotment of discretionary development points, and recalculate your skills and spells to accommodate the altered stats and talents.
Seventh: Buy your equipment, put on the finishing touches.
Eighth: Roll for initiative!
