Maybe, we will all sort of wake up naked, wounded, and the tutorial will be us getting brought back to good health by someone, who will give us the starter gear.
Then, as we make our way to the starter city near our starting point, there is your Companion, who has all of your gear that you had on your character, which would then make them act as a container you can only take out of (Can't place things on them), until you have obtained all of your old items (because inventory will most likely be reduced, you won't be able to hold it all at once.)
If you are a post 2.0 player, or never did the companion quest, maybe it could be a random good samaritan?
