Fixing the Weapons Table, Part 8: Bludgeoning Weapons

Welcome back to my ongoing series, Fixing the Weapons Table, wherein I channel my MA in medieval history and my near-compulsive need to tweak with game mechanics toward making the Pathfinder weapons table even better!  Today we'll be looking at bludgeoning weapons thanks to a reader's request for more options for hammer lovers.

In my very first installment of Fixing the Weapons Table, I talked about heavy maces vs morningstars and gave the heavy mace a +2 to sunder attempts.  In my two posts about polearms, I gave you the bec de corbin and lucerne hammer and the great morningstar and pollaxe.  So what else is there to say on the subject of bludgeoning weapons?  Well, I'll be talking about clubs, mauls, and flails, introducing pick-hammers and multi-headed flails, and letting you punch people in the face with a buckler.  Sound good?  Read on!

The following material given in gold text is available as Open Game Content under the OGL.  Open Game Content is ©2015 Jonah Bomgaars.


Pick-Hammers

Late 16th C. Eastern European horseman's hammer and mid 16th C. German horseman's hammer - Leeds Royal Armouries (photo: d20 despot)

In D&D and Pathfinder, picks and hammers are separate weapons, but that was often not the case in the late Middle Ages and Early Modern period, when hammers were actually used in battle.  Most warhammers have a 'hammer' head and a 'pick' head - the two weapons being combined into one for maximum utility and versatility.  I've made light and heavy versions of the pick-hammer:

Pick-Hammer, Light - Light Martial Weapon
   Cost: 10 gp
   Dmg (S): 1d3
   Dmg (M): 1d4
   Critical: x3
   Weight: 2 lb.
   Type: B or P

Pick-Hammer, Heavy - One-Handed Martial Weapon
   Cost: 25 gp
   Dmg (S): 1d4
   Dmg (M): 1d6
   Critical: x3
   Weight: 3 lb.
   Type: B or P

A pick-hammer combines the bashing power of a hammer with the piercing blow of a pick.  It is not a double weapon, and any enchantments applied to the weapon operate normally no matter which part of the weapon's head deals the blow, except for enchantments that apply only to bludgeoning or piercing weapons.  Such enchantments apply only to attacks dealing the appropriate type of damage.  

The light pick-hammer has a better crit than a light hammer, but cannot be thrown, while its crit isn't as good as the light pick's, making the versatility of being able to deal bludgeoning and slashing damage with one weapon somewhat of a trade-off.  Similarly, the heavy pick-hammer does the same damage as a heavy pick but with a lesser crit value, and has the same crit value as a warhammer but does less damage.

Maul
Pathfinder was much in need of a two-handed hammer, so a while ago I statted up a maul for just such a purpose.  As it turns out, in the Inner Sea World Guide, Paizo had already statted up a similar weapon, but they inexplicably named it an earthbreaker.  Since the English language already has a nice name for a heavy, two-handed hammer (maul is the word), I renamed it.  The stats for it are just fine - I would just lower the weight from 14 lbs. to a much more manageable (but still heavy) 6 lbs.

Clubs
I have no beef with that simplest of simple weapons, the club.  I do, however, think that the greatclub should also be free instead of costing 5 gp (since you can, by their own admission, just use a hefty tree branch).  I would also lower the weight to 6 lbs. because I am on a neverending quest to give RPG weapons slightly more reasonable weights.

With a simple club that deals 1d6 damage and a two-handed martial club that deals 1d10 damage, there is a nice gap for a one-handed martial club that does 1d8 damage.  This represents moderate-sized basic bashing weapons used by cultures with little to no access to metal (or folks who can't afford it.  Or druids).  So I made the war club:

War Club - One-Handed Martial Weapon
   Cost: --
   Dmg (S): 1d6
   Dmg (M): 1d8
   Critical: x2
   Weight: 4 lb.
   Type: B

Shield Bash

Illustration depicting sword-and-buckler combat from an early 16th century Nuremberg fighting manual, via Staatsbibliothek Berlin

As they are now, shield bashes feel a little weak, especially given the number of feats you have to take to make them worthwhile.  I would step the damage up for all the shield bashes, so a bash with a light shield does 1d4 damage, a spiked light shield does 1d6, a heavy shield does 1d6, and a spiked heavy shield does 1d8.

The buckler needs some love as well.  As written, a buckler gets strapped to your off hand so you can use it while wielding a two-handed weapon, and you can't make a shield bash with it.  In actual sword-and-buckler fighting, a buckler is only paired with a one-handed weapon.  You hold a buckler in your shield-hand out in front of you, so that it presents as large of a target to the enemy as possible.  It forms a dynamic defense with your sword while you swing it.  And - crucially, for this blog post - you absolutely hit people with it as often as you can.  You can use it to knock away a sword blow and drive your sword in where your opponent is unguarded, or you can get in close and jam him in the face or throat with the edge of the buckler, or press the boss of the buckler into his shoulder or hip to control him while attempting a grapple or take-down.

So here's what I would do: get rid of that nonsense about strapping it to your forearm and not being able to bash with it or get it spiked.  And treat light shields a light weapon for the purposes of penalties on attack rolls, but a one-handed weapon for the purposes of being able to use it in a grapple.  A buckler, on the other hand, always counts as a light weapon.  

Buckler - Light Martial Weapon
   Cost: 15
   Dmg (S): 1d2
   Dmg (M): 1d3
   Critical: x2
   Weight: 1 lb.
   Type: B

Buckler, Spiked - Light Martial Weapon
   Cost: 25
   Dmg (S): 1d3
   Dmg (M): 1d4
   Critical: x2
   Weight: 2 lb.
   Type: B

Flails
Outside of the two-handed weapon that D&D/Pathfinder players know as a heavy flail, there is some scholarly debate on whether the one-handed ball-and-chain style flails so common to fantasy works were widely used in the Middle Ages (or if they even existed in the first place).  Fear not - I'm not taking your flails away.  In fact, I'm improving them!  I've noticed that, while a heavy flail has a 19-20/x2 crit, a regular flail has only a x2 crit.  I would give the heavy flail a plain old x2 crit as well.
 
Wait, I thought I said I was going to improve flails...  Well, given that a flail's flexible nature lets it swing over the top or around the sides of a shield, I would add the following rule to flails: When fighting with a flail, ignore 1 point of your opponent's shield bonus to AC.  

Gnomes of Golarion introduces a flailpole, an exotic weapon which is basically a regular flail with reach and without the disarm ability.  I would make that a martial weapon rather than exotic, since reach has its own set of advantages and disadvantages, and it is not as good as a heavy flail anyways.

Multi-Headed Flails

19th C. Indian two-headed flail - Leeds Royal Armouries (photo: d20 Despot)

If regular ol' flails are up for debate, multi-headed flails were almost certainly not real weapons in the Middle Ages (the one pictured above is a 19th century Indian weapon, and was probably a parade weapon not used in battle).  Nevertheless, they are fantasy staples, so it only seems right to have them statted up.

This weapon is comprised of a stout haft with two or three chains at one end attached to spiked steel balls.  A multi-headed flail deals powerful blows but is awkward to wield.  Despite having multiple heads, a multi-headed flail is treated as a single weapon for the purposes of enchantments.  

Flail, Two-Headed - One-Handed Exotic Weapon
   Cost: 20
   Dmg (S): 2d3
   Dmg (M): 2d4
   Critical: 19-20/x2
   Weight: 4 lb.
   Type: B and P
   Special: -1 on attack rolls

Flail, Three-Headed - Two-Handed Exotic Weapon
   Cost: 40
   Dmg (S): 3d3
   Dmg (M): 3d4
   Critical: 18-20/x2
   Weight: 5 lb.
   Type: B and P
   Special: -2 on attack rolls

Still, despite having statted them up, I would have reservations about letting my players use one.  The three-headed flail has a high average damage (7.5) and a high crit range, which might make it a little too good despite the -2 to hit and the need for an Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat.  But that might just be me.  Use at your own discretion.

-your flanged d20 despot