Good point yes, I do see.
My concept for this game was basically to make it a free-form RPG with choice of how things are done to be the most important thing. Anything put into the game would be the people playing the game's choice on whether to use it that way or not. For example, our game does not have "classes", however, we plan on making "class builds". Why? So that it would be easier for new players to see how to work our system to fit the stereotypical basis for a fighter, or cleric, or mage, or whatever. It is my hope to see it to be essentially an ultimately customizable and malleable game that could very well be adapted and fit into any sort of game you wanted to make it.
Along these lines, the reincarnation piece wouldn't necessarily have to be put into the game if it wasn't wanted there. However, since you two are the only two to comment on this, and both of you are older than I happen to be, I'm assuming you have knowledge of one of the older spells I recall vaguely from 2nd edition AD&D ( I think), the actual Reincarnation spell? I don't have any of my old version books any longer, but I believe it worked as a lower level spell than Resurrection, and it was a random die roll to see what race you ended up as. Something like 1-30% was Human, and 31-38% was Elf, etc. This is another way which it could be taken. Something akin to divine intervention, where the DM either chooses a new race, rolls for it, or works out between the player and the DM which race to change to.
Now with this way, instead of having it
end a characters game, or making the party be forced to either leave the character dead, or pay to have him/her resurrected, the story would be altered to incorporate the death and rebirth of the character. It would promote a bit of change without losing the experience of your character. You're elven mage who dies at 17th level doesn't necessarily have to either come back as is or die, another option would be placed before the players to choose from is all. That character may be born again as say, a troll, or a halfling. Along the same lines as the level adjustment system of the new version of D&D depending on what race you end up as, if it is along the same lines of "power", you would keep your memories. If it is too foreign (more or less powerful), adjustments would be made. That new troll character may only remember half of the experiences that was of her old life, and so would be a troll and 9th level mage. Something of that sort.
Again, it would just be a fleshed out option, nothing which would make or break the game. A different method of doing things available in the event a player was sick of having the options of A: Scrap the character, or B: Have your friends pay to bring you back.