> So, I'll give them a long list of numbers, the beginning numbers of
> their abilities. And they will take what they want and cross them
> during the game.
>
> What do you think? Do you see any trap or difficulty in this?
I think it's OK, if everybody agrees in the narrative relevance of the abilities (I suppose that). I've found that, if you intend that the players fill all the list before the game, they turn to a sort of gamist approach: "I've defined my PC, and I've found six relevant abilities; now I have four free abilities... mmm... I'll look for something USEFUL", and usually it is not a significative definition of the character. It's better to find in the game what 'new' (old) ability is interesting for the story (IMG at 17, but it wasn't high-level).
In fact, last three times (two one-shot games and my current campaign) I've tested another system: we talk about the characters, and define them (the player give us an idea and people brainstorm). When the concept is clear, the player propose what are their keywords and abilities (without quantitative limits) and then, the TN that he/she likes. The group and the narrator control the process, looking for the best future story (and trying to avoid inequalities of protagonism if it is not intended). The method proved very succesful: people didn't try to do powergaming (there are no rules to distort) and people can play the character that they want.
Regards,
Antonio
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