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What was you character before he was a PC classs?
Before he became a fighter/wizard/monk etc was he a commoner?
What hapened to this level he had when he was 10 years old now that he is a PC class?
Just wondering on other games and how they view this we have sort of covered it in our games but wondering what others do, if anything?
In general, I give my PCs 2 bonus skill points at 1st level to reflect their pre-adventuring days. They must put these skill points towards something background related, typically a Craft or Profession. I also have the PCs pick 2 Traits, which again must reflect their background.
Traits typically help reinforce character backgrounds and explain where all of his/her past experiences went. This doesn't explain where Commoner or Expert class levels go, however. Traditionally, a popular explanation for this phenomenon has been that adventuring is a full-time job, and anytime you stop practicing something (farming, for example), you become out of practice (losing Commoner levels, for instance).
Multiclassing at first seems to contradict this, as you don't lose levels in Wizard just because you level up as a Fighter five times in a row. This can be explained by the idea that the mere act of adventuring influences growth in all these core classes, not just whichever one you happen to be focusing on.
All speculation, of course. There's no rock-solid explanation and the ideas differ between groups.
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I allow NPC classes to be 'bought up' pre-adventure.
The Rogue or Bard may have been an Expert or even an Aristocrat, before 'upgrading' from 1st level NPC to 1st level PC (and losing their Expert / Aristocrat level).
A spellcaster may have spent years as a 1st level Adept, before finally 'getting it' and progressing to 1st level Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer or Wizard (replacing the Adept 1 level with a level in the appropriate class, and functioning no differently than any other member of that class).
If the Magewright, from the Eberron Campaign Setting, is available, I might use that as the 'apprentice' arcane caster, instead of the NPC Adept, or use the Arcane Adept from Temple Quarter (from The Game Mechanics), or something, so that I don't need to worry my little head about why my Wizard used to be able to cast cure light wounds as a 1st level Adept, but can't now, as a 1st level Wizard. :)
Keith Baker's Gleaner makes a decent NPC-level 'pre-Druid,' for that matter, as well.
Most Fighters, Paladins, Barbarians and Rangers would have been Warriors, before upgrading, although it's possible that an Expert (animal handler or groom) could upgrade to a Ranger or something.
Whatever makes sense, and, thanks to the Pathfinder skill system, doesn't mess with beginning skills as much as it would have in the 'old days.' (Someone upgrading from an Aristocrat to a Bard might lose some armor proficiency, or from Adept to Wizard might lose some of their proficiency with the Heal skill, but I'm okay with that. Sometimes, skills fade with disuse.)