A mace is just a masterwork club!

[frankthedm]

I was trying to figure out what the fundamental differences between maces and clubs actually are, and other than fancier craftsmanship, I'm at a loss.

Light mace counts as a light weapon, despite weighing a pound more than a club. Club is more suitable for throwing but is beaten out in the damage department by the heavy mace, both of them being one handed.

Being different in the proficiency department is quite understandable since maces will require more follow through on each swing.

A mace is always purposefully crafted.

Dispite what some posters have claimed, clubs are not mearly sticks off the ground. They require fashioning to be a weapon, just not enough to be worth a copper. 3.0 PHB "A wooden club is so easy to find and fashion that it has no cost"

 

[Dandu]

Tangent: What is the difference between a mace and a morning star?

 

[Herobizkit]

About 4 gp. Wakka wakka wakka.

 

[Sekhmet]

Light mace counts as a light weapon, despite weighing a pound more than a club. Club is more suitable for throwing but is beaten out in the damage department by the heavy mace, both of them being one handed.

Being different in the proficiency department is quite understandable since maces will require more follow through on each swing.

Dispite what some posters have claimed, clubs are not mearly sticks off the ground. They require fashioning to be a weapon, just not enough to be worth a copper. 3.0 PHB "A wooden club is so easy to find and fashion that it has no cost"

As I mentioned, a club needs only be wrapped at the handle to function as a club.
Other treatments typically include fire hardening, etching, or shaping. None of which really improve the club in any meaningful fashion, but certainly make it more aesthetically pleasing and (typically) a little bit harder to break.
[MENTION=85158]Dandu[/MENTION] A morning star is always a mace, but a mace is not always a morning star. Morning stars are specifically maces with spikes. It is specifically called a morning star due to a bad translation of "goedendag" when it first appeared in the English language.

 

[Dandu]

So in D&D, a Morning Star is a spiked mace, whereas the Mace is an unspiked mace.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

So in D&D, a Morning Star is a spiked mace, whereas the Mace is an unspiked mace.

No, a Morningstar is a spiked mace, while a mace is a Morningstar with flanges.

 

[Dandu]

So why does the D&D Mace not do piercing damage, or are flanges not enough?

 

[Sekhmet]

Flanges would be, at the most optimistic, slashing damage like a sword. Not all maces are flanged, however, and the images presented in the PHB don't really suggest any sort of piercing or slashing effect, just protruding metal bulges.

 

[Ashtagon]

No, a Morningstar is a spiked mace, while a mace is a Morningstar with flanges.

Link is relevant?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

It's a flange...

(IOW, double entendre to the utterly ridiculous extent)