[DF] 125 pt start?

[Bruno]

Unarmed fighters do best in games with lots of combat in situations where characters are required to be unarmed.[1]

This is most drastically the case in GURPS, where it's as easy or easier to learn how to fight with a weapon as to fight unarmed, weapons don't cost points and do give a major damage multiplier (which unarmed fighters have to spend points to match), and weapons provide a significant defensive advantage (that unarmed fighters can't get without spending more points).

GURPS intentionally handicaps characters that rely on unarmed combat vs armed opponents. It's a clear design decision built into the game at many points in the combat system. Fundementally, an unarmed-only combatant is starting the game with a hidden disadvantage worth a really significant amount of points even if he hasn't taken a Vow to only fight unarmed... and if he has taken said Vow, said Vow probably isn't worth nearly enough points to make up for the handicaps he's suffering under. It's [-15] points in DF 1, and I'm not sure that's enough. . .

It costs 11 points to upgrade both your arms to Striker Limbs and add Blunt Claws, and I'm not sure the left-over -4 points covers "Never have any ranged attacks, never have damage types other than crushing, never have reach better than 1 without risky combat techniques (and reach 1 involves kicking, which is risky in and of itself), never risk damaging your own striking surfaces, and so forth"

[1] This is also the situation where characters with small, low damage weapons can shine, because they can sneak them in where the other guys can't sneak in a maul or zweihander. THIS is where your Thief or Rogue should should be the combat star with a knife - bringing a knife to a fistfight beats bringing a knife to a swordfight or worse, archery fight.