EN Arsenal Hooked Hammer - Review by Jason Lund (Anio)
Hooked hammer? Isn't that a weapon used by gnomes? That was the extent of my knowledge coming into this product but by the end, I could imagine using it for several character concepts.
EN Arsenal Hooked Hammer (HH) is the fourth in a series of PDFs by EN Publishing focussed upon arms and armour. This PDF, written by Adam Windsor, touts itself as the complete weapon sourcebook for hooked hammers and does a good job of it. The product comprises two PDF files, one of which is a printer-friendly version. Each PDF is 26 pages long (including 1 full colour page, 1 table of contents and credits page and 1 OGL page).
The hooked hammer is an exotic weapon in D20 terms but almost entirely fantastical in its origins. After spending a couple of paragraphs on its distant historical counterparts, the author dives right into a description of the weapon, including specific design considerations in its construction, means of stowing the weapon when not in combat and a table providing damage, weight and cost by size category. The author even spends time discussing the relative preferences that the races in the Player's Handbook would have for the hooked hammer and makes it applicable to an audience wider than warrior-style gnomes.
Chapter Two is where the meat of HH really begins to show with over nine variants to the standard hooked hammer. Though most of the variants require a specific Exotic Weapon proficiency to use them, the differences in these hooked hammers are colourful and useful. The first variant, the bursting hammer (which itself has seven variants), consists of a hammer with a replaceable hollow head that breaks open upon hitting a hard surface or creature and releases a variety of substances, including alchemists' fire, holy water or something called thunderhead that deafens its victims. Other variants include the clawed hammer, drum hammer, head hook sword, heaven and earth blade, hooked shovel, howling hooked hammer, spade hammer and yuan yang razors.
Some of these weapons, including the heaven and earth blade, the yuan yang razors and the head hook sword, are based upon weapons developed in China that were generally for use in martial arts. Though the mental image of a martial arts gnome might not seem fitting, the product does a good job of also making the hooked hammer accessible to characters of Medium and larger sizes. The yuan yang razors, for instance, are designated as monk weapons and therefore usable in a monk's flurry of blows. This chapter also offered up the first real disappointment of the product: no weapon drawings. Like their monster counterparts, variant weapons really need their own artwork to help the DM and players to visualise how these weapons might be used. A description and mechanics are par for the course, but drawings are the real selling points on things like weapons, especially when they require a separate feat to use. This chapter is polished off with rules for craftsmanship and several rule options including weapon dancing and weapon familiarity.
Chapter Three begins with tactics and techniques for using the hooked hammer. Tricks for using the hooked hammer for mining, climbing, crafting and even as a reach weapon are briefly described, as well as including a small table that lists which tactics can be used with each variant of the hooked hammer from Chapter Two. This leads nicely into a presentation of weapon feats. As is to be expected, these feats are provided to heighten the usage of the hooked hammer and include feats like Dual Finesse, a feat that allows a character to make attacks with a double weapon using their Dexterity instead of Strength, Hammer and Nail, a variant on the Power Attack feat intended for low strength characters, and Hobbling Strike, a feat that allows a hit to reduce a target's speed by half for 24 hours. In total, twelve feats are provided and nicely round out a solid chapter designed to show the versatility of the hooked hammer.
Chapter Four provides three new prestige classes. On the whole, these classes were interesting but not ground breaking and the hooked hammer seemed more or less to be tacked on for at least two of the classes. The first class, the Rose Stone Disciple, is a prestige class for monks and designed around ki abilities that boost trips, bull rushes and sundering. The martial arts style used by the Disciples purports to having been developed during only one battle and despite this fairly improbable explanation, the class provides some solid abilities for monks with a defensive angle. A sidebar also gives options for converting this class to a psionically-focussed class.
The Ioun Walker, the second of the presented prestige classes, is a psionic class that gradually develops powers based upon the magical Ioun Stones. I like this class. It is different without being bizarre and provides options for someone wanting to develop along the path of the Ioun Walker. The most interesting part of the class are the physical changes that overcome the Ioun Walker as they advance in level, making them mineral-like in appearance and gaining suitably flavourful class abilities. At first level and again at fourth, seventh and tenth level, the Ioun Walker can choose from a list of abilities that also affect physical changes. Access to these abilities, known as the Gifts of Ioun, are based upon the number of levels in Ioun Walker in addition to the character’s Charisma modifier. At first level and without a Cha modifier, the Ioun Walker can choose the Gift of Ioun that makes them no longer require food or water. The Gifts of Ioun improve until the Ioun Walker could be immune to critical hits. Other abilities within the class grant the power to sense minerals and burrow through stone. Despite some flexibility within the interesting class path, the Ioun Walker's relationship to the hooked hammer is tenuous at best and could just as easily have been a regular hammer, pick, sword or crossbow.
The final class presented within HH is the Weapon Dancer. I've never been able to imagine someone dancing around with a mining hammer in hand, but this class is based upon that very idea. This is a bardic prestige class and despite its inclusion in this product, has no solid link to the hooked hammer in any way. The progression of class abilities follows a similar path to the Shadowdancer prestige class provided in the DMG, with flavour and abilities aimed at dance and music rather than shadows. I also liked this class but only one class ability requires the use of the hooked hammer and, as with the Ioun Walker, the ability could just as easily have used another weapon.
Chapter Five rounds out this product with two new spells, six new weapon enhancements, four magic hooked hammers and a deity of hooked hammers. None of these inclusions are particularly stellar, but they do provide a sense of completion after having read through the PDF. That said, I think that it is difficult to come up with new spells and magic items that aren't derivative of other works and this product provides additions to a DM's arsenal that are very suitable, not only for hooked hammers, but also other weapons.
The layout is good and the editing is fairly tight. Artwork is in black and white and fairly sparse but flavourful, though no artwork is provided for the several variant hooked hammers listed in Chapter Two. EN Publishing does hit the mark when it comes to using PDF technology as this product contains a list of all tables and sidebars as well as complete and tiered bookmarking. The OGL page lists over thirty references aside from the SRD including Arms & Armour from Bastion Press and Traps & Treachery from Fantasy Flight Games.
Summary
With EN Arsenal Hooked Hammer, EN Publishing has made more hits than misses. The hits include good editing, balanced mechanics, good use of bookmarks and completeness in addressing its focus. It also achieves its goal of introducing a host of DMs and players to the versatility of the hooked hammer. The misses include no artwork for the weapons and the lack of applicability of the classes to the product's focus. EN Arsenal Hooked Hammer is a solid 3 1/2 star product, but drops back to 3 stars for not maintaining design focus.
Review by Jason Lund (Anio)
