Is there a way to save a character in the character roster that keeps it's equitment and current level? Or is it always going to have 1st level characters in the roster? The reson I ask is that I would like to swap out charcters without them loosing anything.
You should be able to use the"Guest Book" at the inn in Hommlett to swap out characters like you describe. Clikc on the book on the front desk.
If you want to swap out characters without losing levels or equipment, you will need to use the guest books in the inns, but the new characters will always be 1st level with starting equipment. You would need to trade their goods to a character you aren't going to delete, then give it to the new guy, who you could level up with the console. A rather clunky solution, but the game wasn't designed to do what you want it to do.