[Kuroshima]

B104 says "Melee Attack" is one of the modifiers that changes the cost of "Follow-up". So I guess here if I was using a small class of weapons (eg all broadswords), Follow-up would cost -25% + 10% = -15%, for a total cost of 13 points. Not a huge cost difference.

The thing is, the baseline costs are for either natural weaponry (claws, strikers, etc) or for Innate Attacks. There is also "Any natural or weapon attack" for +50% in both GURPS Power-Ups 1: Imbuements and Power-Ups 4: Enhancements. Note that when you take it as a follow-up of a natural weapon attack, it's a +0% modifier, so I would make it a +0% modifier for a single specific weapon.

Originally Posted by theotherscott

Regarding follow-up: the bits about DR are still a little confusing. It sounds like if the first attack fails to penetrate DR, then the total DR applies to the follow-up attack, right?

So to use your example: If I roll 9 damage with a flaming sword against a target with DR 10, and roll 12 burning damage with my follow-up, I only do 12 - 10 = 2 burning damage in total. But if I rolled 11 damage with my sword, then I do the full 12 burning damage for a total of (11 - 10) + 12 = 13 damage (1 cutting and 12 burning). Is this correct?

Exactly. A linked attack will always face DR separately, a follow-up will only face DR separately if the carrier doesn't penetrate.

Originally Posted by theotherscott

I don't know how the imbuements work, but it sounds like "follow-up" for an unarmed strike may be able to simulate what I'm looking for. Thanks again!

Imbuements are special skills (similar to spells) that either add enhancements, or change the base type of a non-innate attack. They allow you to add, for example, armor divisor to attacks made with any sword you find, or change the damage from cutting to burning, or so loads of other nifty things, like adding follow-up damage to the attack, changing reach, converting a melee attack to a ranged one,... Each skill requires a given level of a special advantage, called Imbue, that does nothing by itself other than serve as a prerequisite.

Originally Posted by theotherscott

EDIT: Forgot to ask: it looks like in RAW there's no way to boost damage for striking with a weapon (like, say, a staff) other than Striking ST. Would something along the lines of:

Crushing Attack 3d [15] +65% (+100% ST-Based; Melee Attack, Reach 1,2 -20%; -15% Accessibility: wielding a quarterstaff)

for 25 points be an acceptable way of boosting a mundane crushing weapon?

The canonical way of doing this is to buy limited Striking ST. The limitation is found in Powers, nd is, IIRC, -60%.