Dave - if possible let peasants start from lvl 1 again - let them see those juicy starter kit looms that they can level up to. its a good incentive to grind, gives within the first generation several milestones that give feeling of achievement...
and seriously, its wat deferentiates c-rpg from other mods. building your character.
on top you could give starter kit looms that naturaly make newbies build a balanced character by the requirments they have.
on top of that, pop is so dead that newbies wont suffer next to high level old my old friends, cause those arent there atm.