Regardless of what happens going forward with the AE system, I’m pleased I got a couple of characters (Al McGordo and Tyger-Tyger) over the hump into their 20s, making for a bit more fun play.
I’ve been trying to think of a good way that the Devs could create some sort of shortcut to let folks start at higher levels. Actually, it’s the 10-13, or even 10-19 range that’s the most problematic, I think. A way to demonstrate that you know what you’re doing, and therefore should be allowed to start play at a higher level would be a good way to start — but then that runs into meta-game issues of reducing the veteran pool among low-level players, which hurts the game long-run.