Is the Warhammer a D&D Invention?

[Sepulchrave II]

Whenever I think of real-life war-hammers, I think of military picks designed to penetrate armor.

The D&D warhammer is just - well, a big hammer. Military picks are something different.

Any ideas?

 

[ExploderWizard]

The big D&D hammers are based on the maul, which is useful as both a tool and a weapon. Mauls are too heavy for most people as an effective weapon. Heroic D&D strength allows them to be swung around as easy as baseball bats.

 

[mach1.9pants]

Off the top of my head I know English long bow types used a maul to hammer in their stakes then to bash stuck in the mud french surrender monk.., I mean Knights etc at Agincourt.

But not really a full on military weapon, more like a tool used for both (like pole arms etc)

 

[Ed_Laprade]

Yeah, real-life war hammers were relatively small with a hammer-head on one end and a spike on the other. Very effective weapons vs. armor, hide, or whatever. (Usually used from horseback.) The big sledgehammer things weren't proper weapons, as explained above.

 

[pawsplay]

I disagree with the assertion that the maul was not a weapon proper. Particularly during the late medieval era, shields fell into disfavor except as strategic armament, and many heavier weapons became more popular in order to compete with heavier armor. The maul was one such weapon.

That said, a military maul was probably a lot smaller than what you might surmise from a D&D illustration. Even a two-handed weapon becomes increasingly less practical as it reaches and exceeds five pounds in weight.

 

[Doug McCrae]

I say thee nay.

 

[Dragonhelm]

I say thee nay.

"Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor."

Mjolnir rocks on toast.

 

[pawsplay]

While the thought of killing someone with one of my twenty-five pound hand weights does have a certain appeal, I think you would indeed need to be of the Aesir born to wield such a thing.

 

[Henry]

Yeah, one of my first misconceptions about medieval weapons that was broken was that most period weapons were these hulking 5 to 15 pound things, courtesy of AD&D encumbrance charts. When I found out that most hand weapons were so freakin' light, and that weapons approaching 8 to 10 pounds were considered too heavy for effective use, I was quite surprised.

 

[Remathilis]

Yeah, one of my first misconceptions about medieval weapons that was broken was that most period weapons were these hulking 5 to 15 pound things, courtesy of AD&D encumbrance charts. When I found out that most hand weapons were so freakin' light, and that weapons approaching 8 to 10 pounds were considered too heavy for effective use, I was quite surprised.

Say it with me now...

D&D weapon encumbrance is not a measure of weight. It is an abstraction supposedly to take into account weight, area, and stowability.

A 15 lb greatsword is probably only 6-8 lbs, but its size and bulk "doubles" its weight to show how big and clumsy it is to carry.