Gateshatter
Not all hammers are tools of creation. Some are made for destruction, and some rare few truly excel at it.
Appearance
A truly massive maul, taller than most men (2.2m/7.2'). The handle is made of dark, worn oak; the head, unyielding granite. The two parts are bound together with tooled leather, of the same kind as forms the handle wrappings. An inscription on the head reads, "I shall pass". The entire weapon is extraordinarily heavy, even for a hammer; weighing in at approximately 47 kilos (103 lbs), the weapon is rather difficult to carry, much less swing in a battle.
Benefit
As the name implies, Gateshatter is designed to remove barriers. While abnormally heavy under most conditions, when swung at any form of barrier, the weapon becomes light as a feather on the wind. Easily capable of demolishing armor and doors, Gateshatter truly shines when confronted with a magical barrier, all but the most powerful of which it will rend asunder.
Drawback
When not actively being used to destroy a physical obstacle, Gateshatter is extremely heavy, almost to the point of unusability.
Lore
- Originally commissioned and used by The Hero to defeat The Sorcerer, a man known for his unbreakable defensive spells, which let him defeat any and all opposition with ease.
- Utterly demolished the gates of Svalisgard, the only time the city's fabled defenses were breached.
- Helped ease the way for the peaceful resolution of the bitter 7 year war between Svalisgard and Uttenheim.
Twist
Gateshatter also provides a minor bonus to breaking social barriers as well, smoothing over the frayed tempers of noblemen and cutting through the bureaucrat's red tape.
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* Awesome Name
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* Benefit
* Drawback
* Lore
* Twist
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? Responses (10)
I like the basic concept of this item, though a hammer that's good at breaking things is not the most original concept I've seen around these parts.
That said, though I really like the rest of the sub. I like the appearance, though I think that the weight may be a bit on the light side (I think that enough granite to not make a pole that long look silly would probably outweigh that, but I'm no expert on stone). I think that the lore is good for giving the weapon a suitably fearsome reputation, and I like that the weapon is portrayed as irresistible, rather than, say, +5 against gates. Also, given a Berlin Wall situation, I think you could find such an item suitable for creation as well as destruction.
I will say, though, that I think the twist could use a mite bit more elaboration. Does it work for the wielder? The owner? Everybody in the immediate vicinity? And does it make them more charismatic? Help the see the weak points in other's arguments? Smash down prejudices in people's minds?
You are correct about the weight. For the first time in a long while, I didn't run the napkin math to get an approximate number. For what I'm thinking, the head alone should weigh right about double what I listed it as (~0.79 m long, ~0.39 m wide and tall, lower end of granite density comes to just under 47 kilos). I'll have to modify that.
I try to avoid giving out stats, instead focusing on what the players would hear from the GM when describing it to them. Then the GM can give it the appropriate stats for whatever system they're using. Besides, it's so much cooler to hear about Gateshatter 'rending unbreakable defenses asunder' than it is to hear '+7 hammer'.
As for the twist, I had been thinking that it works purely for the wielder; for the rest, I left it intentionally vague so that potential GMs could use it as they saw fit.
Excellent - this fits exactly with how I interpreted this quest.
A great baliff's tool.
I actually like this hammer. It's a good, solid sub, but I would have liked to see more story hooks and background. Maybe a description of the current wielder.
I quite like the twist, the ability to break down social barriers would be surprisingly useful. I guess that because of its size, magic and the enhanced social abilities of the wielder, anyone who owns this would have a far ranging reputation.
I could definitely see the hammer's reputation, if not its actual power, being a great source of plot hooks and GM mischief.
3.0 base +0.5 for twist.
Breaking down social barriers with a MASSIVE hammer is a pretty funny idea. I'm not sure exactly how it would work, though. Does the bearer just walk up to someone with the hammer strapped onto his back and engage in conversation, or does he have to hold it threateningly? I can imaging that the effect is not entirely magical in nature, as the sheer size of this weapon would be enough to intimidate most sane people. . .
I read this as a sort of take on Alexander's solution to the Gordian Knot.
'Kindly stop with the bureaucratic runaround before I use this hammer to remove it permanently.'
I love the benefit/drawback balance. I think it works very well. The only thing missing is the backstory.
I was kinda imagining the weilder just setting down on the obstructive bureaucrat's desk and having it creak under the weight. Anyway, great sub.
fun idea, well described item, nice format excellent execution. If it were me I'd change the teaser to read only: I SHALL PASS, funny line that one.