strikethree

It sounds like they have a significant offer approval chain on their side, and they don't want to have to run multiple offers up that chain, so they're like to get you to agree to basic business terms (comp, title, etc.) before sending it up for approvals. once they get the sign-offs they'll generate a paper offer.

Some terms (like separation consideration) may or may not be included in their verbal offer, so to the extent these are important to you, you might want to expand the term list before you accept verbally.