Even if we let them keep their "found" equipment that is no issue, as long as "skip" provides the one skipping with the same equipment and xp. But you can not "skip" free loot.
I'm having a seriously difficult time agreeing with that. If a player can't take a few minutes to clear the tutorial, I don't think you should expect to receive the rewards within just for clicking a "skip" option.
Where does it end? After playing through the alpha enough times, I find the entire process of examining every barrel and crate within the town to be a chore. Can we have a button that assumes I would have searched through everything and packs all the appropriate loot in my inventory?
It doesn't take a long time to do the tutorial, and it can be skipped. I realize the XP and treasure gained in the tutorial makes it seem like skipping it would be a non-option (I'll go as far as saying it would be silly to skip the tutorial dungeon), but this dilemma is really not very different from every other portion of the game-world. I can, for example, gain experience and loot by killing folks in the town. I can rob the entire town blind. I have to make choices to either do that and obtain the shiny rewards, or forsake that course and lose out. Participating in the tutorial is no different.
Now, I have played games that allow players to skip the tutorial and receive rewards - but those are usually very specific rewards that the developers intended every character to start the actual game with. For example, you start a tutorial weaponless and armor-less, and by the time you escape a prison you have a predetermined piece of armor and weapon. If you instead opt to skip the tutorial, you receive those same items anyway because you obviously need the gear to play their game.
However, many of the rewards in Divinity's tutorial dungeon are randomized, with the potential value influenced by the character's stats. And we already start with equipment, so this isn't a case of needing a handout in order to continue playing the game. This particular request boils down to
"I don't want to spend the time doing this, but I still want the stuff", and there are quite a few areas in this game people will want that logic applied to if we start down that road.
