War Hammer of Glory

December 28, 2023

Weapon, very-rare

dnd dnd-5e tier-1 tier-2 tier-3 tier-4

As you take up the war hammer, you feel it vibrate and radiate with energy. Those around you feel it reach out and call to them.

Mechanics

School of magic: Evocation and Enchantment

You have a +x bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.

Refer to the table below to determine the values for your level of play. These tiers are at the discretion of the GM. For example, and level 5 player close to leveling up may receive a tier 2 version of the item. Also, the DM can choose to have the magic items “level up” with the player, or maybe the player needs to upgrade the magic item.

Tier of Play
1	+1
2	+2
3	+3
4	+4

A creature has proficiency with war hammers while wielding the weapon.

The weapon is not cursed and can be discarded at any time (See GM Note below). Using the spell Identify or other magical detection spells will only reveal the original intention of the crafter, not specifically the adverse effects.

"The weapon provides a +x bonus to attack and damage rolls, and offers opportunities for glory to the wielder"

The wielder of this weapon will be targeted more frequently during battle. Random attacks may also occur from weak-willed creatures.

Proficiency with a war hammer allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it.

DM Notes

Whether or not the weapon is cursed is up to you. Providing it as a cursed weapon could offer the adventurers an opportunity to remove the curse and preserve the power of the weapon. If the weapon is not cursed, it could provide for some interesting, surprising, and/or strange battles up until it is discarded, destroyed… or given away…

Flavor

The War Hammer of Glory, also known historically as the Enduring War Hammer of the Twelve, earned its namesake after it was unearthed by miners who (somewhat) successfully used it to defend their mine from a goblin attack. The miner who became the weapon’s new owner sung its praise as he gave up the mining profession and became an adventurer. But while the weapon’s name has been cemented in history, the details of its full story are vague and unknown to most. The fate of its owner is known to even fewer.

An exquisitely forged weapon, the war hammer was crafted by an ambitious blacksmith who wanted to finally use the deadly implements they crafted. They took their finest armor and life savings, and traveled to a magical forge to craft their destiny. Though well intended, the war hammer they forged became imbued with their same desire for glory and fame.

Unbeknownst at the time, the war hammer would bring about their swift and untimely demise, and soon after leaving the forge they came under assault by bandits. The blacksmith, surprised by the attack, wielded their newly crafted weapon with an abundance of skill. The bandits’ leather armor was no match for the magical hammerhead. Emboldened by their newfound skill and success, the ex-blacksmith continued their journey.

But soon after the previous battle, a group of goblins took their place. Then a group of orcs appeared, followed by hobgoblins. Over the course of the next several days a never-ending flow of enemies was drawn to the war hammer. Eventually came the ogres, and after crushing the skull of one such creatures, the ex-blacksmith lay bloodied and exhausted on the ground. It was then that they heard the ground-shaking stomps of a second ogre crashing through the woods. No one knew of ex-blacksmith, nor their fate.

For years, a new would-be hero would come along and take up the war hammer, but their stories always ended the same, and the war hammer would search for a new owner.

When a group of miners discovered the war hammer deep in a cave, they came under attack soon after. As the war hammer tore through the intruders, it seemed to draw the aggression of the attackers instead of strike fear into them. As such, the wielders fell one by one until only one remained, and the goblins were vanquished. The sole survivor, Galdan Graystone, used the war hammer to launch a rather successful, but short-lived, adventuring career.

Galdan could feel the war hammer pulsing with energy as another goblin rushed him. He watched the surprise in the goblin's eyes as the hammer smashed straight through its wooden shield and caved in the frail creatures ribcage. Another goblin came at Galdan and met the same fate. Their shields were useless against the arcane energy focused into the war hammer's head. The third and final goblin wore a look of terror never before seen by Galdan, yet the monster still marched forward. Its pale green face wore a twisted snarl, but its eyes revealed the true emotion of the monster.

"This one must be their leader" thought Galdan as his adversary closed the gap. The most skilled of the group, the goblin danced around Galdan's swing of the war hammer, retaliating each time with a simple but effective club adorned with metallic spikes. The powerful swings from the scrawny creature bruised his flesh while the spikes drew blood. Against the brutal weapon Galdan's threadbare clothing offered zero protection and was quickly becoming dotted with red. It was obvious the goblin recognized the power of the weapon and was avoiding contact with it at all costs. But the goblin's cautions gave way when Galdan used a feint to draw out an attack. Instead of risking a strike on the goblin, Galdan aimed for its club. A loud bang rang out as splinters and bits of metal flew from the club and ricocheted off the cave wall as it was ripped from the goblin's hand.

Galdan relaxed a little and started to lower the hammer, thinking that the disarming of his opponent would end the fight. But the goblin, unarmed and with a desperate look on his face, continued the assault. Galdan, caught off guard and off balance, tried to retreat and fell backwards, but swung the hammer upward just in time to catch the goblin's chin. Now the fight was over.

Galdan was himself a bit stunned. He looked at the goblin corpses scattered up towards the cave entrance but quickly his gaze shifted to that of his fellow miners. They all lay still where they had fallen. He remembered each one before him taking up the hammer and doing their duty to protect their mine. He was proud that one of them had survived, and even prouder that it was him who had survived. As he slowly rose, he checked himself over and found that none of the wounds he had received were life-threatening.

That's when Galdan heard the low rumble emanating from deep inside the cave.

Additional Images

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Attribution

This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.