If you're sick and tired of recruited characters coming with awful ability or attribute spreads, this is the mod for you. In fact, there was already a mod for you called Just Let Me Build You by Kalavinka.

However, their mod had a few problems I wanted to address, so I bring you Just Let Me Build You!++.

How it works

• On completing character creation, your player will receive the 4 starter skills associated with the abilities you chose. For example, if you placed a point in Geomancer you will receive Poison Dart, Contamination, Fortify, and Fossil Strike. If you also placed a point in Pyrokinetic, you'll receive Haste, Peace of Mind, Ignition, and Searing Daggers. You will then receive a set of basic starting weapons that synergise with those abilities.
• When you recruit a character, all of their attributes, abilities, civil abilities, skills, and talents are refunded for you to re-allocate. When you place a point in an ability, they will receive the associated 4 basic skills allowed from character creation. This can happen up to two times for abilities that have associated skills. Additionally, you will then receive a set of basic starting weapons that synergise with those abilities.
  

Differences to the original

• You can enable this mod right from the start of the game, no need to play about with turning the mod on after the character creation.
• Your player character will receive all of the skills associated with your abilities, just like the recruited members would have. This means if you spec into Geomancer + Polymorph, expect to start with all 8 skills you see in character creation.
• Talents are refunded in this mod.
• You will receive relevant basic starting weapons for both your avatar and recruited characters.
  

Why use this when there's a respec mirror?

• It's more convenient, and can always be used with the respec mirror anyway.
• The respec mirror has some bugs that are still yet to be fixed, and so does selecting some companions with Polymorph in their preset class to do with attribute points. This fixes the second issue, and helps you circumvent the first.
• This gives characters skills and basic starting weapons to truly let you rebuild them.
  

Permissions
Kalavinka gave me the thumbs up to publish this improved mod, and while the coding and features are new and done by myself, the concept is certainly theirs. Big thanks to the folks over at the Larian discord for helping me get into scripting too!

Recommended Mods
Consider using one of my other mods, Refund Race-Based Civil Abilities to get full control over your own and your parties civil abilities.

If you want some more memory to take advantage of the skills then I've got a balanced Mini Memory Buff available.

An extension for Odinblade's mods in the optional files section if you'd like to obtain their starter skills and items in the same manner.

I also have a toned down version of this mod on Nexus here where you don't get any skills, weapons, or talents - it just resets the other points.

Mod Authors
If you would like your skills to work with this mod, simply add the following database definition for each skill you want to add in a Story Script INIT section.
DB_JLMBYpp_StarterSkills((STRING)_Class, (STRING)_MyAwesomeNewSkill);

An example using Odinblade's Thunderbrand skill, which falls under Aerothurge:
DB_JLMBYpp_StarterSkills("AirSpecialist", "Shout_OdinAERO_Thunderbrand");

If your class adds custom items, you can also have them added onto the player by adding another database definition and creating a treasure table in the stats editor.
DB_JLMBY_HasReceivedToItem((STRING)_Class, (STRING)_TreasureTableName);

An example adding Odinblade's new Geomancer weapons:
DB_JLMBY_HasReceivedToItem("EarthSpecialist", "JLMBYpp_OdinbladeGeo");

Where I've defined a treasure table JLMBYpp_OdinbladeGeo to give 2 single-handed earth maces and 1 two-handed earth mace.