Default between one- and two-handed use

[Polydamas]

Originally Posted by Kromm

Agreed. Only these people are trained users. Those with points in just one of the two skills, and no perk, are novices in a lot of meaningful ways, however good their aim is. That's a major point of Martial Arts – i.e., that actually learning a comprehensive style that accounts for more than just "hitting stuff" has been the mark of all professional warriors, ever. It is frustrating at times that people think that since skills are available piecemeal, cherry-picking the ones you want is all it takes to be a warrior . . . and then grow frustrated when they realize that Rapier doesn't cover off-hand knives or parries with the mailed hand, or grappling with a sword, or punching with a hilt, etc. Meanwhile, there are perfectly good rapier styles that encompass Main-Gauche, Rapier, Wrestling, etc.

However, comprehensive styles make a point of emphasizing the overlap between different skills. In GURPS terms, defaults. And the shared principles are useful from early on, not just to experts with DX+3 or better. I've noticed that warrior PCs with ten or so hand-to-hand combat skills are rare in GURPS (unless they have such good DX that they can be experts for 1 point per skill).

In game terms, each new weapon skill has decreasing marginal utility, so it makes sense to make them cheaper.

Icelander, I was considering the same default. But my current game doesn't use enough weapon skills to bother fiddling (at TL 1 Broadsword, Two-Handed Sword, and Polearm are all rather specialized).