Weapon Talents: Why I Like Them

By the book, Talents in GURPS are not supposed to be weapon talents. The argument is that "[broad based weapon talents] would usurp DX" (Power Ups 3 p23). My problem is that I'm not sure why talents usurping DX is a bad thing.

GURPS tends to favor broadly focused generalists with absurd levels of DX and IQ, and it also favors hyper focused specialists with even more absurd levels of a single combat skill. A character with broad skill in multiple weapons is almost always more expensive and less effective than a character with higher skill in a single weapon, and yet the first character can easily step into the niches of other DX focused characters. Weapon talents that usurp DX are a helpful way to build a type of character that won't invade other people's niches as much.

With that said, I offer two new talents:

Bulls-Eye Brotherhood 10 pts/level
Artillery, Beam Weapons, Blowpipe, Bolas, Bow, Crossbow, Gunner, Guns, Innate Attack, Liquid Projector, Sling, Throwing, Thrown Weapon.

Master of Arms 10 pts/level
Boxing, Brawling, Cloak, Garrotte, Judo, Karate, Lance, Melee Weapon, Wrestling.

I've used Master of Arms in my DF games for a while, and it never felt especially broken. It did make Knights that use multiple weapons a little more viable, but using the Knight! wildcard skill was a better better.

I introduced Bulls-Eye Brotherhood for the Mecha Assault the Giants game. So far, it hasn't actually gotten all that much pick-up, because the pilots don't just need Guns and Gunnery skill, they also need melee combat skills, stealth, and driving. Thus, straight DX is more appealing.