Warhammer

(This entry refers to the historical weapon - for the marketing aid used to sell overpriced miniatures see Warhammer Fantasy Battles or the associated RPG Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying)

Basic Information

Not the oversized sledgehammer that much fantasy fiction likes to depict (that would usually be a maul¹) but something a lot more like a modern claw hammer.

The historical warhammer was primarily an anti-armour weapon, using its bludgeoning head for impact damage or the spike on the reversed side for piercing attacks. Sometimes called a bec de corbin² this was a moderately popular weapon once plate armour began to dominate over chainmail in the mid to late middle ages.

Sources

Bibliography

1. full source reference

Game and Story Use

• Quite a late period weapon, but "pick" type weapons appear at least as far back as the Bronze Age, and possibly earlier.

Footnotes

1. and, if made as normally depicted, too heavy to use

2. French for "crow's beak"