The Melee Weapons: Maces & Clubs

"I have seen the Paladins of the Western Lands upon the battlefield. It is a sight to behold. They are one-man armies, standing taller than the troops they lead and clad in armor too heavy for a normal man. Yes, I am retired now, but the war between the Mother Empire and the All-One Church continues to this day -- though today it is a cold war as it has been nearly 40 years since the last all-out conflict."
-Tyler, Get of Delmar, Retired Soldier

The Morning Star

Maces are great, two-handed smashing weapons. These are large martial weapons and they are not subtle to keep on one's person. A Mace is excellent for smashing through an enemy's defenses as they receive bonuses to hit. Fighters who are trained in the wielding of Maces are able to deliver Stunning Blows with their strikes, inhibiting the offensive capabilities of their foes.

The humble Club is a one-handed version of the Mace. While it is a crude weapon, it requires no training to use and is a subtle in that it can be worn publicly without arousing suspicion. Fighters who choose to wield a Club can utilize their Weapon Proficiencies in Maces with them.

Fighters training with Quarterstaffs, a type of Club

Maces are known in three forms within the Mother Empire: the Flanged Mace, the Morning Star and the Bantu Head Mace or Great Club.

The Flanged Mace

The Flanged Mace is a long haft ending in a head of multiple wedges or blades. It is the most common version of the Mace and lives up to its reputation of smashing through defenses and delivering terrible blows. Like all two-handed weapons, the Flanged Mace can be wielded in one hand, but with an increased Strength requirement and penalty to the attack roll.

The Morning Star is similar to the Flanged Mace, but has a longer haft topped with a heavy ball studded with spikes. It is much more capable of punching through its target's defenses though it lacks some of the hitting power of the Flanged Mace.

A Bantu Head Mace of Westman construction

The Great Club or Head Mace is a design imported from the Bantu culture. It is a large, tapering shaft that is typically embossed or studded in various ways. It is known as a "Head" Mace due to the traditional Bantu practice of carving or embossing horrific demon-faces on its top. The Westman designs drop this component of Bantu construction, though an imported Head Mace with the aforementioned designs will go for a great amount of Silver as they are considered works of art!

The simple Clubs have several standard variations. The Baton is a standard issue weapon used by Guardsmen. The Guard will resort to these weapons first if having to take down a criminal or other no-good-doer -- only resorting to their Dirks and Pistol-Crossbows if met with lethal force. Most other Clubs are either Heavy Clubs or Simple Clubs, and can vary a great deal in their quality. Any sort of improvised weapon is functionally a Heavy or Simple Club, but will become useless after seeing a few combats!

The standard Baton of the Guardsmen