Is it possible to remove the starting potions from the player?

I've not yet found a way to add or remove items from the player inventory, is it possible to manipulate this?

Alright, that's what I thought. I'll keep looking.  Thanks. 

Hmm. I haven't thought about that. You mean flagging the potions DONOTCREATE, or is there a list where you can exclude things from the game?

Disabling potions is one thing, but is it possible to add other items to the player inventory? I haven't found a place, so I'm guess the same answer applies. I've been thinking this cold be achieved using a quest, since you can make players start with active quest, then have the item(s) you want to add to the inventory as quest reward(s). I haven't tried this yet though.

He might be talking about using the remove file tool in guts.  It might be your best option.

Yes.  You can add files from the vanilla game to this list to prevent them from appearing in-game.

And I think you're on the right track using either a quest or a chest to provide starting gear.

You could probably contact the author of this mod and ask to use it as a base, that way you only need to change the items that are in it.  Bandit is a cool dude and won't have a problem with it as long as you give credit.