Narrativist CharGen with Gamist Mechanics Behind it?

[Incendiary]

I'm trying to put mechanics behind the narration, and I don't like the idea of limiting the players in this portion of character creation, but I also want to avoid abuse. Do limits inhibit narrative play?

I like your idea of the players answering specific questions but giving them some flexibility. Limits *inspire* creativity - many projects (books, movies, games) fail because the lack of limits causes the author to stuff things in at random rather than edit carefully or listen to the advice of others. (That's why Star Wars original films are better than the prequels, IMO - everyone was too scared to tell Lucas when to rein it in). Limits can spark off ideas and give players something to work from. In fact, 'limits' is probably not the word - just call them 'seeds' or 'conditions' or something :)