Need help with a player wanting a 2h bludg weapon

[MythandLore]

** I'm not terribly happy with that name, though. The other options I thought of were "mattock, war" and "mallet, war" -- but a mattock isn't really a bludgeoning weapon, and I tend to think of a small hammer when I hear "mallet". Anybody got a better name?

A "Martel" maybe?

Mattocks are digging tools.

 

[Someguy]

Lucern Hammer?

Those were the polearm warhammers I think, but could be basically the same, look what they did to the halberd, no longer reach, so it could be reasonable to say that this also applies...it jsut isn't a reach weapon...

 

[Rowenstin]

Large, 2d6/x3 seems the best option for me - it makes a different weapon from greataxes and greatswords.

Why not call it Greathammer?

 

[Draco Argentum]

Yeah Martel or Martel de Fer if you want something a little longwinded. Of course if you have a pathological hatred of Diablo II don't use either.

 

[MythandLore]

Yeah Martel or Martel de Fer if you want something a little longwinded. Of course if you have a pathological hatred of Diablo II don't use either.

Martel means "Hammer"
Martel de Fer means "Hammer of War" aka "the War-Hammer"
I never liked Diablo so I didn't play it, so I'm not sure I know what your talking about.

 

[MythandLore]

Lucern Hammer?

Those were the polearm warhammers I think, but could be basically the same, look what they did to the halberd, no longer reach, so it could be reasonable to say that this also applies...it jsut isn't a reach weapon...

A Lucern Hammer (is a piece of crap) had a very light "hammer-like head.
Not really a real hammer.
It was a weapon very similar to the halberd, but the spike on its end was generally longer than that of a halberd, and instead of an axe head the Lucern hammer had a smaller, hammer-like head with three prongs.
It turned out this function was not as efficient against armor as the axe blade, it was replaced by the halberd amongst the ranks of the Swiss after the 14th century.
The shaft of the pole-arm was about 7 feet to the "hammer-head" then a foot long spike went another foot to make it about 8 feet long total.

A large two-handed warhammer looked (some of them, others had the rear pick-like spike) and functioned similar to a Sledge hammer.
It does a good job of defeating an armored opponent.

 

[Mal Malenkirk]

Martel means "Hammer"

Actually, that's old french. "Hammer" translates to Marteau in modern french.

Martel is almost out of use as a noun. It survives only in an old expression that means "to worry" (se faire du martel) that few still remember.

But then this is D&D so I guess using old french kinda makes sense. You won't see many francophone use it, though. Too weird.

Martel de fer is even worse. It litteraly translates to Iron Hammer! Maybe it's a term that was used a few centuries back, I wouldn't know. I just know that today it sounds really silly. The translation for warhammer is Marteau de Guerre and that's the term most french speaking D&D player will use.

 

[Dr. Zoom]

I had a player awhile back ask me if he could use a large warhammer like the bad guy in Conan the Barbarian, so I made the stats for one. I used the smaller/larger weapons chart and gave my Great Warhammer 2d6 damage and a crit rating of 20/x3. I like the idea of the Maul being exotic between the two, like the dwarven waraxe and bastard sword. I think I will add that one to my new weapons list.

 

[MythandLore]

Actually, that's old french. "Hammer" translates to Marteau in modern french.

Martel is almost out of use as a noun. It survives only in an old expression that means "to worry" (se faire du martel) that few still remember.

But then this is D&D so I guess using old french kinda makes sense. You won't see many francophone use it, though. Too weird.

Martel de fer is even worse. It litteraly translates to Iron Hammer! Maybe it's a term that was used a few centuries back, I wouldn't know. I just know that today it sounds really silly. The translation for warhammer is Marteau de Guerre and that's the term most french speaking D&D player will use.

Martel "Hammer or Mallet" is from Frankish (maybe even gaulish 7th centuryish at least) before the time of even the Holy Roman Empire and Charlemagne.
Then there are is hache de fer, pioche de fer, epee de fer, baton de fer and arme de fer, at any rate your probably right about fer meaning iron (Mon Francais etant pauvre).
But a "Martel de fer" was a weapon from the old times to 16th centry.
How the name was what it was, no one may ever know, I sure don't.
It was pretty rare for the most part, axes being much better for a lot of reasons, maces too, and flails (well you get the picture).
Historiclly hammers have never really been that importent or even that great a weapon, just like the "Lucern Hammer".
They were fairly easy to use and could hurt a person in armor though.
But it was called the "Martel de fer" for a very long time, an it's name did mean Warhammer.
Even now if your talking to someone about old weapons and you say "Martel de fer" they know your talking about an old northern european warhammer.
But then again it's a game, and game designers tend to look for odd obscure names, even if they are going to use them incorrectly.
Some of my DnD friends play Everquest and I watch them from time to time, anyway there is this weird crasy looking two bladed weapon in the game, so I asked them, "What's that?"
Then acting like I should know he said, "It's a knuckle duster."
That weren't no real knuckle duster. (Don't even get me started on what they call a "lamentation")
Where do they come up with this stuff, the real things are far more intresting.