No gurps general?

No gurps general?

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forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=107444
gurpswiki.wikidot.com/monsters
forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=63730
tesarta.com/FFP/NatEnc.pdf
tesarta.com/FFP/bestiary.pdf
sjgames.com/gurps/books/dungeonfantasymonsters1/
sjgames.com/gurps/books/dungeonfantasymonsters2/
sjgames.com/gurps/books/dungeonfantasymonsters3/
sjgames.com/gurps/books/creaturesofthenight/
sjgames.com/gurps/books/oldwest/
youtube.com/watch?v=vKuAWchxPo8&t=315s
twitter.com/SFWRedditImages

No links in OP?

The threads have been slowing down a lot. I recommend not having another general unless someone actively has a question/idea.

Everyone should probably take this chance to download the PDF for the next time we do have a thread, though.

Im looking for a system to do Aliens or Deadspace type of Space Horror. Would gurps be a good system for that or is there a system that can pull off Sci-Fi horror that can transition into Action Sci-Fi Horror?

I'm doing a post-apocalypse survival horror campaign (cliche, yeah, but we're having fun), how should I do ammo scavenging?

Should I roll for scrounging?
What if they're scrounging in a place that would not normally have ammunition?
What if they are scrounging in a gun store?
How should I determine how much ammunition they get and for what weapon if the roll is successful?

Or should I just improv where ammo is and how much there is, although that seems like it could be less fun than just letting them do a scrounging roll for it.

Is scrounging even the skill for that?

By default, GURPS is significantly more lethal/down-to-earth than many other systems out there (especially generic systems that are easy to adapt to various settings), so yeah it's already ahead of the game on the horror front. Ultra-Tech, for it's occasional bits of wonkyness, does easily facilitate "everyday people (in space) defending themselves from horrible monsters" by including a lot of non-weapon tools that are still pretty useful for killing spacezombies. GURPS Horror is just straight-up a fun, solid read; even if you don't go with GURPS, I recommend you give it a read-through.

Still, I've got to plug Dread. As a system, it's obviously not got much in the way of mechanics, but it's preddy gubb at setting the tone and representing the escalating stakes inherent in horror; it doesn't use dice whose results are random but instead a jenga tower which becomes more unstable and rickety as the game continues and the tension rises.

I agree with this. Let's lay low for a bit.

GURPS definitely does well at this type of thing, I've run a couple 'Alien-with-the-serials-filed-off' campaigns and they were great fun. Dead Space was definitely one source of inspiration.
You'll probably need Basic Set, Space, Ultra Tech, maybe High Tech if there's still "old tech" in circulation, and maybe Action 2 for some streamlined chases/combat/parkour rules and stuff. Spaceships line if you /really/ want stats for them, as opposed to just a place to have adventures in or get from point A to point B.

There are a few ways to handle this, but for the moment I recommend checking out GURPS: After the End which handles this type of stuff (all kinds of scavenging, finding bullets, looting old dangerous houses, world hazards, etc.) with great advice and specificity.

Oh yes, and Horror for the alien/dead space campaign, definitely. Good read and very helpful.

>Should I roll for scrounging?
Seems like a good start. Depending on the situation, I may call for an Observation roll instead of Scrounging, though. It's a bit nitpicky, but IIRC, Scrounging is about finding useful stuff people have overlooked/discarded/lost while Observation is about finding stuff people actively have tried to hide or camouflage; one is looking in piles of junk and under desks while the other is checking for hidden cubbyholes and shadowy corners.

>What if they're scrounging in a place that would not normally have ammunition?
Penalize the roll (they may get lucky and find a pistol and some ammo in a schoolteacher's desk), or have it automatically fail if there's no way to justify there ever being any ammo at that location.

>What if they are scrounging in a gun store?
Give the roll a bonus, or have it automatically succeed, or have a success give even more rounds than normal because if they find *any* ammo, chances are it's a huge cache of it.

>How should I determine how much ammunition they get and for what weapon if the roll is successful?
Assuming you want bullets to be something to be conserved? Number of rounds equal to margin of success is a good start, with both this ratio and the skill roll modified by environment as stated above. If you want your PCs to be able to bust out the ARs and spray-and-pray occasionally? Number of reloads equal to margin of success.

As for ammo type, are you using After the End's simplified ammo rules? Regardless, it comes down to how realistic/austere you want your setting to be. You *can* run it with random ammo types, and that'd be totally realistic and teach the PCs to not invest in only one gun, but finding a bunch of stuff you can't use isn't usually as fun as finding stuff you can. In either case, ammo types should somewhat dependent on the environment (e.g. whether rolling randomly or giving usable ammo, no shells or rifle rounds in that schoolteacher's desk),

Gigantism gives +1 to move for having long legs. Does this mean that a positive size modifier should increase basic move? Would it be a linear increase, with +1 per SM? And if size modifier shouldn't increase basic move for everything, should it for larger humans?

>Does this mean that a positive size modifier should increase basic move?
No. It depends on the creature.

And the other part of my question about it mattering for humans? It matters for Gigantism (SM+1), but what if you had Gigantism (SM+2), or just had humanoids that were SM+2?

Yeah, for giant humans it makes sense to further increase move. Maybe not even linearly, as linear measurement skyrockets with each increase of SM.

Giantism isn't the effects of +1 SM, it's the effect of being an abnormally large member of your race. A Dwarf with Giantism is SM +0 and gets +1 Move for it's properonally longer legs.

as long as we got a gurps thread again, does anyone have the most recent versions of the vehicles websupplements someone here made? I think I missed an update or two.

How about we don't lay low? the last thread died shortly before the bump limit, it did pretty well. There's usually some decent discussion going on even if it's hours between posts. So, I see no reason to lay low.

Yeah, I've started coming to /gurpsgen/ lately and it's super comfy. Let's keep it around.

Can anyone walk me through the blunt trauma rules for flexible armor vs rigid armor?

Blunt trauma rules are more or less, IIRC..

For every 10 points of damage your armor stops, you take 1 point of damage.

If it's Flexible, for every 5 points of damage your armor stops you take 1 point of damage instead.

Weirdly if any damage gets past you take no blunt trama damage. you take less damage if you get hit for 11 Crushing damage when wearing DR 10 armor then if you are hit for 10 Crushing damage when wearing DR 20 armor.

Don't kill the thread guys, discord is for pussies.

How much would the game balance change if the combat is modified in the following way:

Everyone states his maneuver for the turn, and THEN they are resolved in the prescribed order. This is analogous to a simultaneous resolution mechanic (in computer RPGs, phase-based combat is used in some dungeon crawlers).

To be completely honest, I've been playing this way right from the start (for two years) and I am not sure if I am missing on some important consequences.

This was one of the measures I decided to take against the retarded "attack every second" combat model of GURPS. Together with the Last Gasp it amounts to the absolute best low-fantasy medieval combat I have seen in a tabletop.

This is the most recent version of Vol. 1.

>Everyone states his maneuver for the turn, and THEN they are resolved in the prescribed order.

What order do people declare their actions in? What order do the characters act in? Those seem really important; if you have to declare what you are doing before your opponent does, they have a tactical advantage because they know what action you are taking. If they also get to act before you, it's even better for them.

>What order do people declare their actions in?
At first I used the default GURPS turn order rules, but then I switched to randomizing each turn. Over time, it averages out.

>What order do the characters act in?
default GURPS turn order rules

>if you have to declare what you are doing before your opponent does, they have a tactical advantage because they know what action you are taking
If the opponent is GM(me)-controlled entities, there is no problem: I simply don't fuck with my players and decide for the actions beforehand. In our first sessions I even wrote everything down to show my players I don't use their choices for "my" advantage.

>If they also get to act before you, it's even better for them.
Again, default GURPS turn order rules

>Everyone states his maneuver for the turn, and THEN they are resolved in the prescribed order.

Honestly now you've mentioned this I'm not sure why it isn't a default rule. It seems like it'd work way better, especially for harsher/more realistic combat.

What if you want to make a very high tech (10) campaign but don't like laser weapons?

There is a real problem with declare your actions then go systems in that if you declare after someone you can hose their declaration deliberately.

IE: One guy says he's going to shoot you in the face. You deiced to step fully behind a wall and reload this turn. His action is no longer viable.

Or even simpler, he says he's going to attack you so you move out of his reach and shoot him in the face.

It's default in World of Darkness, and it kind of sucks. Knowing what someone is going to do before they can act lets you hose them.

...

Say personal laser weapons are TL ^ like they always should have been, given the insurmountable thermodynamic challenges a handheld laser weapon would have.

>There is a real problem with declare your actions then go systems

Yes, we realized that immediately. Easily fixed by either
1) trusting and adequate group or
2) everyone writing down his actions

We tried 2) and it can become very tedious, even if it is done online where chats can facilitate the process. We use it only if there is a conflict between PCs, which happens rarely.

I am a young ogre looking to hire on to a caravan to the mysterious unknown! I don't have a lot of weapons training, as my halfling mother brought me up to be nice to people, but I figure I should learn some skills for self defense, just in case something unforeseen happens and I end up running off adventuring with some of these other weirdos, as unlikely as that is.

I realize my 19 ST lets me hurt people pretty bad, even without weapons, but I imagine my great ST lets me use some weapons in ways smaller people can't and I could use some advice in this area.

For example, can I use the ever popular Staff and wield it one-handed while retaining the +2 Parry? Add in a Shield and I would be an unassailable tower of defenses! Is that right?

Also, is it true I am -1 to hit "normies" and they are +1 to hit me due to my Size Modifier of 1?

>can I use the ever popular Staff and wield it one-handed while retaining the +2 Parry?
No. It uses a different skill then, and thus loses the bonus.

>Also, is it true I am -1 to hit "normies" and they are +1 to hit me due to my Size Modifier of 1?
Size Modifier is relative in melee combat, so yes. You're at a penalty to hit equal to the difference in your size modifiers if you're larger, and your target is at a bonus to hit equal to the difference in your size modifiers if they're smaller.

>For example, can I use the ever popular Staff and wield it one-handed while retaining the +2 Parry?

Citing GURPS Martial Arts, p.220: Unorthodox Attacks - One-Handed Two-Handers:
"As explained on p. B270, a strong enough fighter can wield a two-handed melee weapon – one with “†” or “‡” on its ST statistic – in one hand. When doing so, use the weapon’s two-handed statistics but apply a -1 to damage. The skill required to wield it may change:
Staff --> Broadsword"

Citing Kromm:
"FWIW, Martial Arts, p. 220 is relevant here. Basically, staffs used one-handed become light clubs. And yes, polearms used one-handed act like axes. You might get a point more damage and a yard or two of extra reach from the size, but you don't get all the special effects of the former weapon type."
forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=107444

If you declare in reverse sequence order then resolve in sequence order most of the problems with this go away.

If you want skill or experience to matter as much as speed use the best of basic speed, 1/2 Tactics, or 1/2 best combat skill to determine sequence (or just declaration sequence).

This is my favorite house rule and made things like Aim, Evaluate, and Wait as well as taking cover and making popup attacks more common in my groups. It's almost no extra bookkeeping (none for my group, I printed a bunch of maneuver cards for each player to throw down in reverse sequence order).

Ack, sadness! It's probably for the best if I don't have a 14ish Parry I guess.

Laying low is the fastest way to turn into a fringe thread and then just disappear from Veeky Forums. I've been doing GURPS generals regardless of attendance and bumps, just to not end up in the void.

So fuck no, there is no laying low

Your ogre might have SM+1, in that case I recommend an article in Pyramid #3/77 "Combat Writ Large" by Sean Punch.

Otherwise, ST19 is an absolutely outstanding score and provides some neat advantages. I recommend GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Denizens - Barbarians, there are some tips on how to utilize high ST, maybe your GM could incorporate some of the perks listed there.

>If you declare in reverse sequence order then resolve in sequence order most of the problems with this go away.

Huh, this is interesting. The Star Wars X-Wing game uses that mechanic too, right?

Don't know. Never played it.

As an SM+1 ogre, do I have to modify everything by 2.25 weight and cost to fit me? Even weapons? This is getting more complicated than expected.

One of the old DC Heroes games did this, and inanimate objects had to have their actions declared too, when appropriate.

So for example:
>The Bomb declares it explodes
>Batman declares he will grab the bomb and hurls it over the pier railing.

Then the actions are completed:
>Batman throws the bomb over the pier railing
>The bomb explodes

I've seen it used several times over the years in different games, even think the original Vampire the Masquerade did it. Doesn't seem to have ever been too popular.

Have the first book but not the second, will have to check it out. Thanks!

Here's an excerpt from Dungeon Fantasy 1: Adventurers:

"Weapons for Giants
Multiply the weapon’s listed damage bonus by 1.5 and round down, but always add at least +1; e.g., sw-2 becomes sw-1, while sw+4 becomes sw+6
Also multiply ST and final weight and cost, after all modifiers, by 1.5
Armor for Giants
double the final cost and weight, after all modifiers"

Well, it's more bookkeeping

What are the best combat cards for GURPS?

I think I'm going to try this rule out and see how I like it. I want to do some gritty heroic combat and this sounds like just the thing.

Is it? It's no more bookkeeping than regular initiative order is -- you just go from low to high to low again.

Let us know how it goes, user.

It might be more complex because while everyone *declares* actions in a linear fashion, resolving them simultaneously might be a bit more complex.

Any sign of Pyramid: Dungeon Fantasy Collected?

Are they resolved simultaneously? It seems like the cards and the declaration order are just to preserve uncertainty about your opponent's actions.

The person I was replying to was talking about declaring from lowest-to-highest, then resolving highest-to-lowest. Simultaneous resolution would be very difficult.

My bad, I just woke up and jumped in to the thread without checking all preceding posts in the chain. I assumed it was simultaneous resolution because that's what VtM did -- characters declared what they would (try) to do on their turn with slower characters declaring first and faster characters declaring last with full knowledge of what they slower characters were trying for, but the rolls and resolutions were treated as near-simultaneous.

Unless I misunderstood VtM's initiative rules. I think I was still in middle school the last time someone ran that game in a group I was in.

bump

How many levels of Legal Immunity and Legal Enforcement Powers should a medieval landed lord have?

What are the pros/cons of using gurps? My goal is for my players to have fun so that is paramount

None, his rank and status covers that

Pros:
Very simple at it's core, most rolls are "roll 3d6 and compare to target number", so it's very easy to guide new players into.
Extremely versatile, modular design.
Largely based on reality, with very few abstractions. Things behave as you expect them to. A handgun in GURPS is about as lethal as it is in real life, and a regular cop firing it is about as accurate in GURPS as real-world statistics indicate. It also penetrates a car door as well as it would in real life.

Con:
Requires above-average GM workload, GURPS has rules for EVERYTHING, and you don't want the realistic rules for parrying weapons unarmed if you're playing a kung-fu action game where bringing a fist to a knife-fight is the norm and not a death sentence, and the rules for extreme range sniper shooting are an unnecessary waste of time at best. It's up to the GM to design not only a campaign and encounters, but also decide on which rules fit the tone of his game best.
Then again, on the off-chance that low-gravity space combat does come up in play, you can easily look up and implement those rules mid-campaign without needing to change system.

Character building can be quite daunting and time-consuming for new players, the GM will probably want to be present throughout at least parts of the process or use templates, which adds even more work on the GM.
Building a character is piss-easy and fast once you get used to it though, you'll get an eye for how many points you need to allocate in what areas before you start.

Rank? why should he have rank?

But flexible armor also has -2 DR vs crushing damage, yes?

Depends on the armor. Mail has -2 DR vs. Crushing. Kevlar has +8 vs. pi/cut.

Is there no bestiary?

gurpswiki.wikidot.com/monsters
forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=63730
tesarta.com/FFP/NatEnc.pdf
tesarta.com/FFP/bestiary.pdf
sjgames.com/gurps/books/dungeonfantasymonsters1/
sjgames.com/gurps/books/dungeonfantasymonsters2/
sjgames.com/gurps/books/dungeonfantasymonsters3/
sjgames.com/gurps/books/creaturesofthenight/

Google is your friend.

Hew gurpsgen, are medieval walls hollow?

Yes. Hard core walls are modern invention.

Yeah, old walls held up mostly thanks to prayers.
God actually used to answer when there was less of us, we're too many now, too many contradictions, he gave up.

What books would I need to run a game in the Wild West?

Core and high tech

I think there's a high tech supplement called "adventure guns" or such that has western era guns

This and there is also an actual Old West book for 3e you could look into. Still perfectly usable if you're running 4e.

sjgames.com/gurps/books/oldwest/

His Rank and Status is in addition to that. The established chief of a large precinct has Police Rank 6, Status 2, AND Legal Enforcement Powers. If Police Rank isn't enough to grant free Legal Enforcement Powers, why would Feudal Rank?

Depends on the setting and culture, obviously, but more than that it depends on the campaign and how in-depth it wants to go. The 15-point level of Legal Enforcement powers could be appropriate in some cases; within your lands, you can basically do whatever you want. The 15-point level of Legal Immunity literally has this as an example. Other campaigns may handle it with serf being anywhere from Second-Class Citizen to Subjugated, meaning that non-serfs can treat them as they wish without special advantages. Some campaigns may technically have nobility under the same rules as the peasantry (not counting sumptuary laws, of course), but the combination of the knight's social standing and intimidating features might make them *effectively* immune by simply consistently getting good enough reaction/influence results (which I think is what was working off of). Even within the same setting, all three approaches are viable.

Really, it's very difficult to pin down because the feudal hierarchy was based more on a network of obligations, duties, and familial ties; the relative wealth (and therefore military strength) of each knight in the form of land held; and the personal charisma/influence of each knight. It's a very loose structure that can be seen different ways though a variety of lenses. At the end of the day, it comes down to what the GM feels is best for the campaign -- I wouldn't want to waste time with reaction/influence rolls every time a noble character fucked over a peasant if I was running a dungeoncrawl game, so I'd just have the PC buy Legal Immunity III and be done with it, and vice-versa in a more realistic/austere campaign.

Depends.

Brick walls were very common and tended to be two layers of brick and a layer of plaster.

Some places used timbered walls much like modern houses, again often protected with plaster.

Stone was sometimes thatched and sometimes uncovered.

Air space between an inner wall lath and plaster and an outer wall became common for insulation in the early modern period.

Some stone walls for large buildings and freestanding stone walls consisted of an inner wall and outer wall, with rubber or rammed earth fill between. These could resist quite a bit of damage.

Hey gurps GMs, how do you reward your players for completing an encounter? I'm pretty new to GMing, but it seems like players are given way too much money than they know what to do with. Should I give them specialty gear, or just start them off with less money?

Depends on the game and style you want.

In general the players should be rewarded when they complete a challenge with in game rewards like wealth and equipment, but you can also reward them with free Advantages like Reputation, Status, Rank and Allies.

For a session you might give TL 3 characters $200-800 in wealth or items, 1-5 Character Points and advantages.

You can give less on some sessions to save up for a really big thing you know they might like, like being Knighted (15 points of Status) or getting a really good sword ($3600 in wealth).

In general I try to give at least enough easily solid items or cash to let the players pay for ammo they use and their living expenses and at least 2 CP per session of free points to advance with.

If the PC's are getting elss resources then they use up for a few sessions it can make players tense. This can be a good thing in a post-apocalyptic game or other survival game, but otherwise isn't necessary a good thing.

it would depend on the wall but outside of castles walls were usually solid for peasantry and the like, at least that's what I was taught.

Rubber? What?

he meant rubble, user.

>Rubber castle wall
>TL 1^

>DR 200. Attacks that fail to penetrate bounce back at a random target with an SL of 12.

Could someone walk me through, give me guidelines or point me in the direction of such that talks about making a character who is a sword?

Just go through the character creation process like you would for any other character.

What ST does my sword have? What can it lift all on its own?
>Nothing. It's a sword. ST 0.
What DX does my sword have? How nimble is it on its own?
>None. It's a sword. DX 0.
What IQ does my sword have? How smart or perceptive is it?
>Not at all It's a sword. IQ 0.
What HT does my sword have? How tough or resilient is it?
>Pretty good. It's a well-assembled chunk of metal. HT 12.

Now that the attributes are done (and you have spent -380 points). Do the same process for advantages, disadvantages, and skills.

If a trait seems to fit, read the description to make sure (No Depth Perception seems to fit but has "you have two eyes" right up front so it's no good). If a traits seems to fit but a broader one fits, use the broader one (Night Blindness and Blindness, take Blindness).

Ok, easy enough.

What about "when people swing me I do sw+2 cut"?

Or "I give my weilder +1 DX"?

>Or "I give my weilder +1 DX"?
Affliction with Aura and (maybe) Always On.

So, let's say that I want to make an Affliction that, when used on a person, performs a permanent transformation on them, and incapacitates them while that transformation is taking place. How would you do this? The Increased Duration modifier increases the duration of all the parts of the affliction to Permanent, and I don't want to permanently incapacitate them.

Because GURPS: Biotech might as well be named GURPS: Fetish Fuel.

Are you making a PC character who is an intelligent sword, or an NPC ally who could be some manner of construct?

I'll disagree with on the issue of base stats, a magical construct that's a sword might have a number of stats much higher than that, especially if it's capable of flying around under its own power, and even if it's immobile, an intelligent sword is an old fantasy trope.

If it's a PC, I'd go with Size Modifier -1, the Body of Metal Meta-Trait, No Manipulators, No Legs (Flight), Flight (with modifiers that let you hover in place), a melee-range Innate Attack, and so on and so forth. If you're making an NPC Ally, then you could go with the Construct meta-trait so that it has things like Slave Mentality.

If it has no mind whatsoever, I'd be wondering why you're making it into a character when it's just an object; buy its powers as a part of your character with the Device limitation instead.

>Affliction: incapacitation (Physical stun or whatever)
>Linked to
>Affliction: transformation including all it's modifiers to attributes, extended duration: permanent, Delay: triggers once Incapacitation ends +0%

If both afflictions are HT based I'm pretty sure you can combine them into one single HT roll when they're Linked, so you won't get any odd scenarios where one effect is resisted and the other one isn't.

That'll make you pay twice for attack modifiers, though? If you want, say, a Malediction Aura, that's an extra 15 points, and if you want a Persistent Area Affect (2 yards) Contact Agent, you're looking at 24 extra points, just to make the transformation power *less* effective.

Warp [100]
Warp (Only during the day, -20%) [80]
20 points difference.
Affliction (Warp, +1000%) [110]
Affliction (Warp, +1000%; Only during the day, -20%) [108]
2 points difference.
Because basic of affliction is very small.
I don't like it. It makes limitations worthless.
Proposition: apply all modifiers for affliction effects (dis-/advantages, attributes, conditions, etc) first. Calculate cost. This is new basic cost of affliction, apply the rest of the modifiers to it.
This option is middle ground between multiplicative modifiers and default rules.

Or you just apply the modifier to the Advantage so that you're giving them Warp (Only During the Day -20%), for a +800% modifier to the Affliction.

Actually it's:
Affliction ({Warp [100]} +1000%) [110]
Affliction ({Warp [100]; Only during the day -20%} +800%) [90]

Because:
>This is worth +10% per point the advantage is worth
The advantage Warp is only worth 80 points since it has limitations attached to it.

Need help. I want to build an acrobatic fighter but do not know how.

Approximately like in this video.

youtube.com/watch?v=vKuAWchxPo8&t=315s

A lot of Abyss Watcher's moveset is really just fancy, aggressive techniques, so Martial Arts will take you a long way. Committed Attack seems to be what he's using a lot of the time - his weapon is out of the way so he can't parry, his only defense is a penalized dodge.

Start with DX and Speed.
Speed 5 is human average, speed 7 is really good but still realistic human, so you'll probably want 8 or 9 or even more.
Speed 8 + Combat Reflexes + Acrobatics at or around 16, gives you a dodge score of 12, +2 for acrobatics dodge when you need it, +3 for a Retreat. So, really good.
Since you have Speed that high, buy up Basic Move to 11, so you can take two steps per turn, that alone will make your character feel really acrobatic, with the ability to step out of range to a safe distance, forcing your opponents to move & attack or worse just to keep up with you.

Pick a few Techniques (two or three is plenty) that feel thematic and appropriate.
Spinning (Attack) synergises well and is thematic, it's OK that you can't parry since your main defense is dodge.
Flying Lunge is another one, for the same reason.
Roll with Blow let's you double your knockback (which won't be a problem with all that DX and acrobatics to remain standing) but halve crushing damage when you inevitably DO get hit.

High DX and High Speed also means high HT, which is good. Read up on "Extra Effort in combat" and apply it liberally.

For weapons, you'll want something with range, it'll synergize well with move 11 and let you really dance around lesser foes' reach.
A two-handed sword isn't a bad idea here actually, nor is something like a longer sword & board (Even if you rarely intend to block, the shield's Defense Bonus applies to your Dodge as well).
A polearm or Spear is another good option. Maybe not as fancy as a sword, but you get even better range and access to some cool maneuvers.

Depending on weapon, consider Shield Rush or Slams with Long Weapons, move 11 gives you nice damage.

If I was trying to model the Abyss Watcher specifically, I'd also give them a rank or two of the Fire Talent, a melee-ranged Innate Attack with some Gadget limitations and Alternate Skill (Swords), and some Alternate Attacks in the form of an AoE centered on the user and a line effect that projects outward from them, for the special attacks he uses in the second phase.

Incidentally, this is also likely to give you a good amount of damage much more cheaply than buying up Strength.

Should players be allowed to take new self-imposed disadvantages or increase the severity of existing disadvantages after character creation and spend the points on skills and advantages?

Like if you let them buy off vows, honesty, cowardice and such whenever they had the points, would you let them swear new vows and spend the points on skills?

Not in the way your example is presented because there's no logical link between swearing vows and being able to shoot a gun more accurately or solve harder chemistry problems (the exception being HxH-like settings where such self-imposed restrictions do explicitly have that ability due to in-universe metaphysics). In most any campaign, though, I'd allow certain limitations to help mitigate the cost of new social traits -- a title/office that grants 20 points of advantages but saddles the character with a 10-point Duty only costs the net 10 points.

If the upside and downside weren't part and parcel of the same package (e.g. the title described above, or a supernatural ceremony that gives the target some trait bundles a supernatural drawback or compulsion), then no deal. No swearing to not eat meat and then suddenly getting better at swinging a sword.