I am wondering what people think about the issue of ECL and starting characters. Specifically, how characters of differing races and ECLs make up a party.
How do you like to handle these characters?
I encourage players to take outsiders and other non-standard races, but they mostly stick to humans :roll:
We started at ECL 5 and I allowed that unearthed arcana variant with buying off the racial HD so people would start taking some more planar races, but they still stick to their regular characters
Damnit, if they keep being so normal, I'm really gonna start killing them off or something 
I don't have a problem with a PC a little higher on the ECL scale than others. It is still up to the GM to set the game up so that the rest of the group isn't overshadowed by that PC. It's a Planescape game after all, so how hard could it be?
Recently, in a game I ran, I set up a rule to encourage differant races and whatnot. The rule was that after you made your character, you're level adjustment was reduced by one.
So the Gith got dropped to a managed ECL +1, but races with racial HD still had their limits. Most of the group went with creatures that they had always wanted to try, but wqere turned off from because the ECL made them a little too much of a hassel. First time we ever had a thri-kreen in the party.
I generally start at 4th level, but I'm willing to use Monster Progressions to allow characters to play more powerful races.
I don't really like ECL, but it works, and I've generally given up on trying to 'fix' D&D, so I let it stay as written.
Pants of the North!