> Hang on a mo Mike, you mean you'd look at the
> character creation rules and say:
>
> "Hey, there's this list method which means I get 10
> abilities or this narrative method which means I can
> screw between 20 and 40 out easily"
>
> without wondering if perhaps, just perhaps, your
> understanding was a bit skewed?
Personally, no, I would not wonder if my understanding was a bit skewed. I'd assume my writing abilities were being challenged.
Look, the whole char-gen thing is a separate "game" from the role-playing side of HQ. You are given a specific number of "points", to be used in various ways, with which to build a character. Those "points" are limited. Why are they limited? (Good question, which is why in the PBeM campaign I run, the limits have been removed - I don't want to play this game!)
But since the limits are there, this stage of the game is not about roleplaying, it does not come in the category of cooperation, creativity, and so on, it's been set as a challenge: here are limits, see what you can do within those limits. So of course you push them to get as much out as you possibly can. Go over the numbers side of the rules in detail, check out how augments work, see what'll get you the most bang for your buck. Backstory is separate, so free, so don't waste points/words paying for it. Flaws are free, so don't waste points/words on them, either. And choosing which method to use, list or narrative: if your skills lie in writing, you use them. If I can get 20 abilities out of a narrative but only ten out of a list, that doesn't show that my understanding's skewed, it shows that I'm playing a mini-maxing writing game that's been forced upon me, and playing it well.
And that, I suspect, is what the player's doing here. My reaction to that 100-word list of adjectives is that it's wrong: but mainly because it's so boring! As a tactic for winning the char-gen numbers game, it lacks inspiration. This is where you put the interesting skills, and he's filled it up with things that make me yawn.
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