ho there.. i wish to put out a challange/ get some suggestions on constructiong a design for a fanasy war hammer for some character i have in the pathfinder roleplaying system

Quote:

Cost 12 gp Weight 5 lbs. Damage 1d6 (small), 1d8 (medium) Critical x3 Type bludgeoning Category one-handed Proficiency martial Weapon Group hammers This weapon consists of a wooden haft and a heavy, metal head. The head may be single (like a carpenter’s hammer) or double (like a sledgehammer). The haft is long enough that you may wield it one- or two-handed. Though heavy and relatively slow to wield, warhammers are capable of delivering immense blows, crushing armor and flesh alike.

(of course this war hammer is steel as a default)

now heres what i take from this (btw, the players handbook art shows this gigantic mjolnir looking thing... )
1: 5 lb weight, i.e the approximate weight of a small sledgehammer head if i added a lb for haft itd be a 4lb head)

2, bludgeoning only. so i cant just give my character a classic medieval warhammer with hammer and fluke,

below is what I came up with so far basically a cut down wallace collection poleaxe with a second, mirrored hammer head (for symmetry mostly, also i like the rondels stylistically.. and it also says 'one or two handed' ) also the top spikes have been cut down to symbolise the inability to deal piercing damage

who else has their own suggestions

also, how much do these pollaxe hammer polls weigh anyways?

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official weapons art in the pathfinder players handbook

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A&A wallace collection pollaxe photoshopped to have 2 hammerheads

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another cut down pollaxe with a double hammer look and cut down top spike (source, 3D model freeshare site) [ Download ]

You'll have to think a bit about how you conceive of a fantasy war hammer, especially whether it's one or two-handed. The Wallace Collection might say this poleaxe is "one or two-handed" but judging from the way it looks, I would be extraordinarily surprised if anyone tried to use it with one hand. You would need two to wield this weapon well.

The other option is to go with some of the shortened poleaxes that we find in the 15th century. These include weapons like the one found in the Wallace Collection, which is clearly single-handed and weighs 1.22 kg. It can be seen here: https://tinyurl.com/wx3g9vj

As for weights, it depends a lot on whether you are talking about a two-handed poleaxe like the one you've shown, or a single-handed one like the example I gave. The myArmoury featured article on the poleaxe lists a few weights, but none of the weapons are precisely like the one you've shown.

A halberd-like poleaxe is listed at 5 lbs 7 ounces. A more obviously hammer-shaped poleaxe from the Royal Armouries at Leeds weighs in at 7 lbs 11 ounces. A third example is from the Higgins, a sister "hammer" (to the single-handed one in the Wallace Collection, above) in form, save that the haft is much longer at 41 inches. It weighs 3 lbs 8 ounces.

See here: http://myArmoury.com/feature_spot_poleaxe.html

Your weight of 5 lbs doesn't seem too far off, though judging from the sizes of the heads, I think 6 or 7 lbs might be better.

Personally, I prefer the single-handed style war hammers for fantasy games. I think it fits better with the milieu, and your character can still use a shield if they want.

Ah, but note that it also has x3 critical damage, which is typically a feature of piercing blades - clubs, maces and other blunt instruments have x2 almost exclusively. That to me suggests the presence of a back spike, most of the time eschewed in favor of the hammer face to avoid getting stuck but used when the opportunity for a more decisive strike presents itself. :)