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Kinetic Forge Hammer 774

—

by

Dale
in

From: Lineage 801 of the Va Korrum

This is not merely a weapon but a testament to the Va-Korrum philosophy of applied power. The hammer’s head is forged from a solid block of obsidian, intricately inlaid with a network of copper conduits that glow with internal heat. Housed within the head is a powerful magi-steam piston system. Before a swing, the user can prime the piston, causing the weapon to hiss as it builds immense kinetic energy. On a successful impact, this energy is released in a devastating concussive blast, capable of shattering stone and buckling heavy armor. The hammer’s haft is wrapped in fire-resistant megafauna hide, and the pommel contains a set of intricate tools for field-calibrating the piston’s pressure output.

Lore

This weapon is the culmination of Sar-Elun’s early studies into applied kinetic and thermal dynamics, a direct expression of the Va-Korrum philosophy that true power lies not in brute force, but in its perfect application. The “774” designation refers to the specific design iteration; it is the 774th schematic in a long lineage of prototypes, each improving upon the last. The goal was to create a weapon that could strike with the force of a city-sized industrial forge-press, but in a portable form.

The solid block of obsidian forming the hammer’s head was harvested from a specific resonant vein deep within the Great Fire Mountain, a place where the stone hums in perfect harmony with the volcanic ley lines. This unique property allows the obsidian to not merely withstand the piston’s internal blast, but to amplify its concussive force, turning a physical impact into a devastating wave of kinetic energy. The magi-steam piston system is psychically linked to the user’s “Mind’s Eye” through the copper conduits, allowing them to prime and release its energy with a mere thought. To wield this hammer is to wield a controlled earthquake, a testament to the belief that even the most violent force can be mastered through intellect and engineering.

Item Values and Mechanics

  • Tier One Stats: +2 Strength
  • Skills Gained: Grants Skill Proficiency in Athletics and Smith’s Tools.
  • Specific Slot: Two-Handed Warhammer
  • Passive Magic
    • Resonant Impact: The magically resonant obsidian head converts a portion of its impact into pure concussive force. All attacks with this weapon deal an additional 1d4 thunder damage.
    • Sundering Strikes: The hammer is designed to unmake structures. It deals double damage to objects and structures like walls or gates.
    • Thermal Imprint: The conduits keep the hammer’s head perpetually warm. When you hit a creature with this weapon, the impact leaves a lingering thermal signature. The target cannot benefit from being invisible to you, and you do not have disadvantage on attack rolls against it as a result of it being lightly obscured. This effect lasts until the start of your next turn.
  • Activatable Magic
    • The hammer has a pressure tank that can hold 3 Pressure Charges. It regains 1d3 expended charges daily at dawn. As an action, you can use the tools in the pommel to perform a field calibration, regaining 1 charge. This calibration can only be done once per long rest.
    • Kinetic Blast (Bonus Action): You can expend 1 Pressure Charge to prime the piston. If you hit with a melee attack with this weapon before the end of your current turn, the attack deals an additional 2d6 thunder damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be pushed 10 feet away from you.
    • Forge Press (Action): You can expend 1 Pressure Charge to use the hammer as a tool of creation. For the next hour, when making a Strength (Smith’s Tools) check to forge or repair a metal object, you can add double your proficiency bonus to the roll.
  • Tags: Kwe-Sar, Va-Korrum, Two-Handed, Warhammer, Magi-Tech, Steampunk, Artificer, Kinetic Force, Concussive, Obsidian, Prototype, Strength, Athletics, Smith’s Tools, Thunder Damage, Siege Weapon, Bonus Action, Charge, Pushback, Heavy, Resonant, Crafting

The Kinetic Forge-Hammer 774 is a prototype weapon of immense power and sophisticated design. It would not be found in a common weapon shop but in exclusive locales that deal in masterwork arms, advanced technology, or unique artifacts.

1. The Va-Korrum Proving Grounds (Sar-Kwe, Acheulean)

The Shop and Location: This is not a public shop but an advanced, high-security workshop and testing facility attached to the Va-Korrum guildhall in Sar-Kwe. It is a place where new designs are stress-tested and demonstrated to approved clients, such as high-ranking officers of the Acheulean military or trusted champions of the faith. The air smells of ozone, superheated steam, and polished metal.

The Transaction: One does not simply “buy” a Model 774 here. A prospective buyer must first be granted a demonstration, then submit a formal request for commission. The Va-Korrum artificers would then build a brand new hammer, custom-calibrated to the user’s strength and Core-Slot energy output. The process is lengthy, expensive, and reserved for those the lineage deems worthy.

Selling a genuine Model 774 back to the Proving Grounds would be an unusual event. The artificers would pay a fair price to reclaim their proprietary technology, but the transaction would be accompanied by a rigorous debriefing to understand how the weapon performed and why it was being relinquished.

The Cost:

  • To Buy (Commission): 1,100 Rhodium. This price covers the masterwork materials, the months of labor from a master artificer, and the implicit service and calibration guarantee.
  • To Sell: 500 Rhodium. The Va-Korrum would pay a premium to study a field-tested model and prevent their advanced technology from falling into the wrong hands.

2. The Gilded Blade (High-End Trade Metropolis)

The Shop and Location: The Gilded Blade is an exclusive arms and armor gallery in a neutral, wealthy city-state. The proprietor is a connoisseur of fine weaponry, displaying their wares on velvet-lined, magically-shielded plinths. The clientele consists of wealthy nobles, champion gladiators, and the leaders of the most successful mercenary companies.

The Transaction: Here, a Kinetic Forge-Hammer 774 would be a centerpiece attraction, likely acquired from a renowned adventurer who has retired or met a fortunate end. The proprietor would know its lineage and would emphasize its power and prestige. The transaction would be a formal affair, taking place in a private viewing room where the weapon’s functions could be safely demonstrated.

Selling the hammer to The Gilded Blade would involve a thorough appraisal. The proprietor would test the piston’s pressure, inspect the integrity of the obsidian head, and verify the authenticity of the Va-Korrum maker’s mark before making a generous offer.

The Cost:

  • To Buy: 950 Rhodium. The price is high, reflecting the weapon’s immediate availability, its rarity on the open market, and its proven combat effectiveness.
  • To Sell: 600 Rhodium. The proprietor knows they can find a wealthy buyer and is willing to pay a premium to have such a unique and powerful item in their collection.

3. The Wreckers’ Auction Block (Lawless Port City)

The Shop and Location: This is an illicit, invitation-only auction held in the repurposed hull of a massive, beached shipwreck. The auction deals in high-end salvage, both mundane and magical, often recovered from battlefields or “liberated” from their previous owners. The clientele is a dangerous mix of pirates, warlords, and spies.

The Transaction: The hammer would be presented as the star item of the night, “The Acheulean Earth-Shaker.” Its specific designation and history would be unknown, but its raw power would be obvious. The transaction is a fast-paced, high-stakes bidding war. The item is sold “as is,” with no guarantees of its condition.

Selling the hammer here is the fastest way to get a large sum of untraceable coin. The auctioneer takes a significant cut and asks no questions about the item’s origin. It’s a high-risk, high-reward environment for both buyers and sellers.

The Cost:

  • To Buy: Starting bid of 500 Rhodium, with the final price likely reaching 700-800 Rhodium depending on the bidders’ avarice. This is a chance to get the weapon at a discount, but it comes with the risk of it being damaged or hunted by its previous owners.
  • To Sell: The auctioneer would offer the seller 60% of the final sale price, a low percentage that reflects the risk and difficulty of fencing such a unique and recognizable weapon.

The Kinetic Forge-Hammer 774 is a weapon of overwhelming, deliberate force. Its roleplaying is not about elegant swings or swift strikes, but about the calculated application of immense power. It is loud, intimidating, and its wielder becomes a walking siege engine.

1. Breaching a Fortified Gatehouse

This is the environment the hammer was born for. It is a tool of unmaking, designed to dismantle fortifications with brutal efficiency.

Offensive Roleplay

  • The Situation: The party is faced with a massive, iron-banded wooden gate, barred from the other side and impervious to conventional attacks.
  • How it’s Used: Sar-Elun treats the gate not as an obstacle, but as a project. He uses the hammer’s Sundering Strikes passive combined with its Kinetic Blast active ability to act as a one-man battering ram.
    • Roleplay Description: “Sar-Elun approaches the gate, his expression calm and analytical. He takes a moment, pulling a small tool from the hammer’s pommel to check a pressure gauge on the weapon’s head. Satisfied, he primes the piston. With a loud HISS, the obsidian head vents a plume of steam, and its copper conduits glow with a fierce orange light. He swings the hammer in a wide, powerful, and perfectly controlled arc. The impact is not the crack of wood, but a deafening BOOM that echoes across the battlefield. The kinetic blast releases, instantly buckling the thick iron bands and blasting a shower of splintered oak inward. He has not just hit the gate; he has fundamentally unmade it at the point of impact.”

Defensive Roleplay

  • The Situation: Enemies are pouring through a breach in a wall, and the party needs to hold the line against a massive, armored foe like a war troll or an iron construct.
  • How it’s Used: The hammer is not a shield, but its force can be used to control the battlefield. Sar-Elun uses the pushback from the Kinetic Blast to turn the enemy into a temporary obstacle.
    • Roleplay Description: “Sar-Elun plants his feet in the breach, his Anchor Stance greaves locking him to the stone. As a hulking iron golem lumbers through the opening, Sar-Elun doesn’t aim for a killing blow. He primes the hammer and swings it at the construct’s center of mass. The concussive BOOM rings out, and the golem, despite its immense weight, is blasted ten feet backward. It stumbles, its bulk completely plugging the breach it just entered. Sar-Elun has used the hammer’s force not just to damage, but to defensively reshape the battlefield, buying his allies precious seconds to regroup.”

2. A Fight on a Narrow, Crumbling Rope Bridge

In this precarious environment, the hammer’s overwhelming force becomes a high-risk, high-reward tool where a single misstep could be disastrous.

Offensive Roleplay

  • The Situation: A heavily armored enemy champion blocks the path forward, confident that the narrow bridge prevents him from being outmaneuvered.
  • How it’s Used: Sar-Elun recognizes that fighting the champion directly is risky. Instead, he attacks the environment itself.
    • Roleplay Description: “Sar-Elun charges forward with a Piston Dash, the bridge groaning under the force of his landing. He primes the hammer, but instead of swinging at the champion, he aims at the bridge planks just in front of his foe’s feet. The kinetic blast, amplified by the hammer’s Sundering Strikes, doesn’t just damage the wood—it obliterates it. With a crack of thunder and a shower of splinters, a huge section of the bridge vanishes. The champion cries out in shock as his footing disappears, and he plunges into the chasm below. Sar-Elun has used the hammer’s power to surgically remove his opponent from the fight.”

Defensive Roleplay

  • The Situation: The party is halfway across the bridge when they are ambushed, with enemies charging them from the side they just left. Escape is impossible.
  • How it’s Used: The only defense is a drastic one. Sar-Elun decides to destroy their only path of retreat to eliminate their pursuers.
    • Roleplay Description: “He shouts a warning to his allies: ‘Hold on to something!’ Without hesitation, he turns back toward the cliff face they just left. He primes the hammer, taking a mighty, two-handed swing at the thick anchor post holding the bridge’s support ropes. The concussive blast is deafening in the narrow chasm. The massive wooden post explodes into splinters. With a great groaning sound, the entire back half of the bridge tears away, plunging into the abyss and taking the pursuing enemies with it. It’s a desperate, defensive act of demolition.”

3. An Arcane Library or Workshop

In a delicate environment filled with knowledge or complex machinery, the hammer’s role shifts from a weapon of brute force to a tool of precise, controlled application.

Defensive Roleplay

  • The Situation: The party is confronted by a rogue clockwork automaton in a library full of priceless, fragile scrolls. A destructive brawl is out of the question.
  • How it’s Used: Sar-Elun must end the fight with a single, disabling blow. He uses the Kinetic Blast not for raw damage, but as a surgical strike.
    • Roleplay Description: “Sar-Elun observes the automaton’s movements, ignoring its flailing limbs and focusing on the intricate gearwork in its torso. He primes the hammer, waiting for the perfect moment. As the automaton raises its arms, exposing a cluster of primary gears, he strikes. The kinetic blast is focused and precise. The concussive force doesn’t tear the machine apart; it buckles the gear casings and jams the mechanism with a sickening crunch of metal. The automaton freezes, disabled but intact. The surrounding shelves of scrolls are completely untouched. He has used overwhelming force to achieve a non-destructive victory.”

Offensive Roleplay

  • The Situation: The party finds a massive, ancient vault door sealed not by magic, but by a complex mechanical lock that has been seized by rust and time.
  • How it’s Used: This is where the hammer’s alternate function, the Forge Press, comes into play. Brute force would destroy the lock, but a controlled application of force might open it.
    • Roleplay Description: “Sar-Elun examines the colossal gears of the lock. ‘The mechanism is merely frozen. Direct impact is inadvisable.’ He activates the hammer’s Forge Press function. The head begins to glow with a steady, controlled heat, and the piston is primed for low-energy release. He places the hammer head against the main gear housing. With a series of controlled hisses, he releases rhythmic, percussive shocks—THUMP… THUMP… THUMP—not to break the mechanism, but to vibrate the seized gears free. With a deep groan of ancient, waking metal, the tumblers fall into place and the vault door swings open.”

Perception of Activation:

User’s Perspective (Sar-Elun)

  • Somatic & Auditory: The activation is an intimate, mechanical process. It begins as a thought, and the weapon responds. You feel a solid thump travel up the hammer’s haft as the piston chamber seals. This is immediately followed by the sharp, high-pressure HISS of magi-steam being injected into the chamber. The weapon vibrates in your hands with a deep, powerful hum, a feeling of immense, barely-contained kinetic energy. You feel the balance of the weapon shift, becoming heavier with potential.
  • Visual: The intricate copper conduits inlaid in the obsidian hammer head flare to life, shifting from a dull, warm glow to a brilliant, molten orange. A plume of superheated steam vents from a release nozzle near the head, momentarily obscuring your view of your hands. The air around the hammer head shimmers and distorts with intense heat.
  • Extrasensory (Thermal Sense): In your thermal vision, the hammer head instantly becomes the brightest object you can perceive, a searing, white-hot beacon of potential energy. You can see the waves of heat rolling off it, a clear visual representation of the power you now hold.
  • Extrasensory (Lithic Resonance): The resonant obsidian of the hammer head, normally a quiet hum in your senses, begins to scream with a high-frequency, dissonant vibration. It feels like holding a colossal tuning fork that has been struck by a giant, containing a powerful, angry note that is waiting to be released.
  • Extrasensory (Arcane Perception): You feel the familiar, sharp pull of energy from your Core-Slot Regulator, a measured and precise siphoning of power that is immediately converted and contained within the hammer. It is a feeling of focused, externalized power.

Observer’s Perspective

  • Auditory: The activation is loud, sudden, and unmistakably industrial. An observer hears a sharp, powerful HISS that cuts through the noise of battle, the sound of a high-pressure system being engaged. It is not a magical shimmer, but a raw, mechanical sound of immense power being brought to bear.
  • Visual: The dark, obsidian hammer head erupts with light as the copper conduits within it flare to a brilliant, fiery orange. A significant jet of white steam blasts from a nozzle on the weapon, creating a dramatic and intimidating visual effect. The air around the hammer visibly warps with heat haze. The weapon is now clearly and dangerously “charged.”
  • Somatic: Anyone standing within a few feet of the user is hit with a brief, forceful gust of hot, moist air from the venting steam. The hiss is powerful enough to be felt. They can also feel the heat radiating from the weapon itself.
  • Extrasensory (Arcane Perception): A magically-attuned observer would perceive a sharp, sudden surge of elemental and kinetic magic being drawn into and contained by the weapon. The hammer’s magical aura, once stable, now roils with violent, unstable energy. It is perceived as a weapon that has just been loaded with a powerful, explosive spell.

Positives

  • Potent Intimidation: The activation is a dramatic and terrifying display of power. The loud hiss, the glowing head, and the venting steam clearly announce that the next blow will be devastating. This can break an enemy’s morale, cause them to hesitate, or force them onto the defensive.
  • Clear Tactical Signal: For allies, the unmistakable sound and light of the hammer priming is a clear signal. They know that a heavy, line-breaking attack is imminent and can coordinate their own actions to capitalize on the impact or the opening it creates.
  • Focusing Sensation: For the user, the intense sensory feedback is a confirmation that the weapon is ready. The vibration, sound, and heat are a focusing ritual, allowing them to pour all of their intent into the single, empowered strike to come.

Negatives

  • Loss of Subtlety: Priming the hammer is the opposite of a subtle action. It makes a surprise attack with the empowered blow completely impossible, as it loudly broadcasts the user’s intent to everyone nearby.
  • Telegraphing the Attack: The activation clearly “announces” the user’s next move. A disciplined or agile opponent knows a devastating blow is coming and is given a crucial moment to prepare a defense, use a parry or dodge ability, or even attempt to disarm or disable the user before the blow can land.
  • Resource Commitment: Activating the piston expends a limited resource. If the user then misses the attack, is interrupted, or the target moves out of range, the charge is wasted. This makes the activation a tactical gamble, betting a resource on the success of the next swing.

Schematic: Va-Korrum Kinetic Impactor, Series 700

This document details the masterwork process for forging a Kinetic Forge-Hammer. The creation is a complex synthesis of arcane metallurgy, high-pressure magi-tech engineering, and the unique resonant properties of Acheulean obsidian. This is not a task for a mere blacksmith; it requires the steady hand of a master artificer who understands that power must be perfectly contained before it can be unleashed.

Materials Needed

  • One Resonant Obsidian Billet: The core of the weapon’s head. This cannot be any obsidian; it must be a flawless, solid block harvested from a deep, resonant vein within the Great Fire Mountain, where the stone is saturated with kinetic and thermal energy.
  • Three Ingots of Orichalcum-Copper Alloy: A highly conductive and heat-resistant alloy used to forge the intricate network of power conduits that will be inlaid into the obsidian head.
  • One Pre-Fabricated Magi-Steam Piston Assembly (Series 7): The mechanical heart of the weapon. This is a complex, masterwork component of sealed chambers and psychically-attuned release valves, typically only procurable from a Va-Korrum guild-hall.
  • One Hide of a Pyre-Salamander: A naturally fire-resistant and incredibly durable hide, used to wrap the hammer’s haft for a secure grip that can withstand the intense heat vented during activation.
  • One Artificer’s Field Calibration Kit: A set of master-quality, miniaturized tools (pressure gauges, runic tuners, spanners) that will be integrated into the pommel of the weapon.
  • A Scroll of Kinetic Binding (Va-Shar Script): This contains the precise runic formula that allows the piston assembly to be psychically linked to the user’s “Mind’s Eye” through the conduits.

Tools Required

  • A Volcanic Forge: A forge that draws its heat directly from an active ley line is necessary to properly heat the resonant obsidian without causing it to fracture.
  • Masterwork Smith’s & Tinker’s Tool Sets: Standard tools lack the precision for the conduit inlay and the piston housing integration.
  • Arcane Manometer: A diagnostic device used to measure and calibrate the intense magi-steam pressure within the piston chamber.
  • Runic Etching Stylus: A fine-tipped, magically-attuned stylus required to transfer the Va-Shar runes from the scroll to the piston’s control mechanism.

Skill Requirements

  • Mastery in Smith’s Tools: The forging and inlaying of the hammer’s head is a task of extreme precision and allows for zero imperfections.
  • Expertise in Arcana: Required to understand and inscribe the Kinetic Binding runes and to handle the magi-tech components without causing a catastrophic energy release.
  • Proficiency in Tinker’s Tools: Necessary for the delicate process of integrating the piston assembly and the field calibration kit into the weapon’s housing.
  • Trait Requirement: Must possess a Core-Slot or similar integrated power source. The hammer’s piston is powered by siphoning energy directly from the user; without a compatible power source, it is merely a heavy, inert hammer.

Crafting Steps

  1. Obsidian Head Preparation (2 Days): The process begins with heating the Resonant Obsidian Billet in the Volcanic Forge to a precise, malleable temperature. The crafter then uses the Smith’s Tools to meticulously carve the channels for the power conduits. This is the most dangerous physical step, as a miscalculation in temperature or a flawed strike can cause the entire block to explosively shatter.
  2. Conduit Inlaying & Runic Binding (2 Days): The Orichalcum-Copper Alloy is liquefied and carefully poured into the channels of the heated obsidian. As it cools, the crafter uses the Runic Etching Stylus to inscribe the Kinetic Binding runes onto the main control valve of the Magi-Steam Piston Assembly, a process requiring intense concentration and a steady hand.
  3. Core Assembly & Sealing (1 Day): The inscribed Piston Assembly is carefully fitted into the housing within the obsidian head. The conduits are connected, and the entire mechanism is sealed, a process that must be airtight to contain the immense pressure. The Arcane Manometer is used to perform a series of low-power pressure tests.
  4. Haft and Pommel Integration (1 Day): The Pyre-Salamander Hide is wrapped and cured around the hammer’s haft. The Artificer’s Field Calibration Kit is disassembled and then seamlessly integrated into the weapon’s pommel, ensuring all tools are accessible but secure.
  5. The First Priming (8 hours): The final and most perilous step. The crafter must attune the hammer to their own Core-Slot. They then perform the first full-power priming of the piston. This is a controlled but violent process. The crafter must use their own will and the newly installed calibration tools to tune the pressure release, venting excess energy until the weapon stabilizes. A successful priming will result in a clean, powerful hiss and a brightly glowing hammer head. Failure can result in a kinetic backlash that can shatter the crafter’s arms and render the weapon permanently inert.

Parable of Wasted Blow

Read now these words, which are but a dim shadow of the true telling, for they are taken from scrolls that were copied by a scribe who knew not the ancient tongue of the Va-Korrum. The meaning, therefore, may be a bent thing.

In the age of Sar-Elun the Youthful, the great forges of Acheulean were places of mighty noise and great strength. The Hammer-Brothers, the Kwe-Sar smiths whose bodies were shaped by a thousand years of tradition, did swing their hammers with the force of falling mountains. Their arms were thick as ironwood trees, and their blows could shape steel as a child shapes clay. They believed that the truth of the forge was in the strength of the arm.

But Sar-Elun, who was called the Calculator, would stand and watch, and his heart was not filled with awe, but with a strange sorrow. He watched the mightiest of the Greybeards of the Anvil take up his great hammer. The Greybeard did swing. The first blow was a glance. The second did but flatten the metal. The third was true, and the steel did bend to his will. Sar-Elun saw that for every true strike, many were but echoes, their strength lost to the uncaring air and the ringing of the stone. He saw the sweat on the Greybeard’s brow and knew it was the price of wasted power.

The Calculator went before the Hammer-Brothers. He said, “Your strength is great, but it is a leaky vessel. You give the anvil ten parts of your might, but only one part does the work. Where do the other nine parts go? They are a ghost, a wasted blow. I will build a hammer that wastes nothing. I will build a hammer that remembers.”

The Hammer-Brothers laughed. The sound was like stones rattling in a metal bucket. “A hammer is a simple thing, boy,” said the eldest Greybeard. “It is stone and wood and a strong arm. It does not have a mind. It does not remember. Your thoughts are the clatter of loose gears. Go back to your numbers and leave the real work to us.”

And so Sar-Elun went back to his workshop. But he did not forget. He sought to build a weapon against the great enemy, which was wasted effort. He took the Resonant Obsidian, which sings when it is struck, and he made a hammer head. Within it, he placed a piston, a thing of steam and pressure, a caged thunderclap. He bound it with conduits of sun-metal, which we call copper.

His first hammer, the scrolls say, he did strike upon the anvil, and it remembered the blow so well that it shattered its own head in a great blast. His hundredth hammer, it did remember the blow, but it would not release it, and it became a thing of such great weight that he could not lift it from the floor. The five-hundredth hammer did release the remembered blow, but without warning, and it flew from his hands and unmade a wall.

The scrolls say his attempts numbered seven hundred and seventy-four. Some say this is a true count of the failed hammers. Others say it is a number of spiritual meaning, the understanding of which is now lost. But on the 774th attempt, he was finished. He brought forth a great warhammer. It was a strange and hissing thing, and the Hammer-Brothers looked upon it with scorn.

In that time, a star did fall from the heavens, a thing of iron so hard that it would not yield. It was called the Star-Iron. The Greybeards of the Anvil sought to forge it, to make from it a blade for their queen. For seven days they struck it with their mightiest hammers, but the Star-Iron did not even show a dent. Their great arms grew weary, and their pride was wounded.

Then Sar-Elun the Calculator came forth, holding his Hammer-That-Remembers. He did not approach the Star-Iron. He stood before the great anvil, and he swung his strange hammer upon it. BOOM. A great hiss of steam came from the weapon, and its sun-metal veins did glow. The Greybeards muttered, for he had struck the empty anvil, a wasted blow.

Sar-Elun swung again. BOOM. The hiss was louder, the glow brighter. He had struck nothing of worth. The Greybeards began to laugh at his folly.

A third time he struck the empty anvil. BOOM. A fourth. A fifth. With each blow, the Kinetic Impactor hissed and shone, and the air around it grew thick with power. He was not wasting his strength; he was gathering it. He was teaching the hammer the memory of his might.

After the tenth blow, the hammer was thrumming, a screaming, glowing thing of terrible power. Sar-Elun, with the strength of ten blows held in his hands, turned to the Star-Iron. He swung once.

There was not a great crash. There was a deep, resonant CRACK that silenced the entire forge.

Upon the face of the un-markable Star-Iron, a great fissure appeared, splitting it from end to end. The Greybeards were silent. Their hundred blows of raw strength had done nothing. The single, remembered blow of the Calculator had broken the unbreakable. He had proven that it is not the strength of the arm that matters most, but the wisdom that guides it.

The Moral of the Story: A single, well-aimed blow is mightier than a hundred wasted swings.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)

Earthshaker Maul

Weapon (maul), rare (requires attunement)

This massive warhammer has a head forged from a single, polished block of obsidian, with copper conduits that glow with a faint, internal heat. The weapon is surprisingly well-balanced, though it emits a constant, soft hiss of steam.

You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.

Sundering Strikes. The maul deals double damage to objects and structures.

Kinetic Piston. The maul has 3 charges. It regains 1d3 expended charges daily at dawn.

  • Kinetic Blast (1 Charge). As a bonus action, you can prime the maul’s internal piston. The first time you hit with a melee attack using the maul before the end of your turn, the attack deals an additional 2d8 thunder damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be pushed 10 feet away from you.
  • Forge Press (1 Charge). As an action outside of combat, you can use the maul to assist in smithing. If you spend one hour repairing or fabricating a metal object using smith’s tools, you can expend 1 charge to complete the work with masterful precision. You make the ability check for this work with advantage.

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Pneumatic Concussion Hammer

An experimental demolition tool from a mad inventor, this massive sledgehammer is fitted with a dangerous, high-pressure steam piston. It was designed to breach bank vaults but serves equally well as a terrifyingly crude weapon. It requires a boiler backpack (included) connected by a reinforced hose.

  • Skill: Melee Weapon (Heavy)
  • Damage: 1D10+2 + Damage Bonus
  • Special Rules:
    • Unwieldy: The hammer is incredibly heavy and awkward. It requires a STR of 80 or more to use without suffering a penalty die on all attack rolls.
    • Breaching Tool: The hammer’s concussive force is devastating to structures. It halves the effective HP of doors, walls, and barriers when calculating the damage done to them.
    • Pneumatic Charge: Before making an attack, the user may attempt a Hard (–20) Mechanical Repair roll to prime the piston. If successful, the user’s next attack with the hammer gains the Impale special rule and pushes a human-sized target back 1D3 yards. If the Mechanical Repair roll is a Fumble, the piston backfires, inflicting 1D10 damage on the user as the hammer’s haft shatters in their hands.

Blades in the Dark

The Unbraked Forge-Hammer

A monster of a weapon, likely salvaged from an Ironsea foundry or a Skovlander siege engine. It is a huge obsidian-headed maul that hisses with steam, fitted with a piston that can store and release kinetic energy with devastating force.

This is a heavy weapon (2 load).

  • Fictional Permissions: You are armed with a massive, steam-powered hammer capable of storing and releasing immense kinetic force. It is incredibly loud, destructive, and intimidating.
  • When you Wreck an obstacle (like a door or wall) with this hammer, you gain +1 effect.
  • Charging the Blow: When you have time and a suitable surface (an anvil, a sturdy wall, the ground itself), you can prepare a devastating blow. The GM will create a 4-segment clock, “Hammer Charged.” When you take an action to strike a surface, you can tick the clock. Once full, you can unleash the charge on your next attack. When you do, erase the clock and take +1d to your action roll.
  • Concussive Blast: When you unleash a charged blow and succeed, you can choose to spend 1 Stress to also send your target (or debris from the obstacle) flying across the room, creating a massive distraction or knocking them out of the fight for a moment.

Knave (2nd Edition)

Piston Maul

A huge, two-handed maul with a head of polished black stone and a hissing piston mechanism. It is incredibly heavy and powerful.

  • Slots: Takes up 3 inventory slots (two-handed).
  • Damage: Deals d10 damage.
  • Unwieldy: All attacks made with the maul are at a disadvantage unless your Strength defense is 15 or higher.
  • Special Quality: The maul always deals maximum damage (10) to inanimate objects like doors, chests, and walls.
  • Kinetic Charge (1 use per combat): Once per combat, you may declare you are using the piston before you roll to attack. Your attack is made with advantage. If it hits, it deals an additional d10 damage, and a human-sized or smaller target must pass a Strength save or be knocked back 10 feet.

Fate Core System

The Hammer That Remembers the Blow

This is an Extra, a signature weapon that grants the user unique tactical options through its ability to store and release force.

  • Aspects:
    • High Concept: Prototype Kinetic-Charge Warhammer
    • Trouble: Requires a Moment to Build Power
    • Other: As Much a Tool as a Weapon
  • Stunts:
    • Sundering Blow: Because of the hammer’s devastating concussive force, gain a +2 bonus to Overcome actions when you use your Fight skill to destroy inanimate objects like doors, walls, or siege equipment.
    • Charge the Piston: Once per scene, you can Create an Advantage by taking a moment to prime the hammer. This places the aspect Piston at Full Pressure on your weapon with one free invocation, without needing to make a roll.
    • Unleash the Blast: When you successfully Attack a target while the Piston at Full Pressure aspect is in play, you can invoke that aspect to not only gain the +2 bonus but to also send your target flying. This forcefully moves them to an adjacent zone and places the situational aspect Blasted Across the Room on them.

Numenera & Cypher System

The Kinetic Accumulator Maul

This is an artifact, a massive weapon that hums with contained energy and vents steam when its internal engine is engaged. It appears to store the energy of motion for a single, devastating release.

  • Level: 7
  • Form: A massive, obsidian-headed maul with a network of glowing copper conduits and a hissing piston assembly.
  • Effect:
    • Passive: This is a heavy weapon, inflicting 6 points of damage. The weapon is also perfectly balanced for smithing work; the user is trained in all tasks involving forging or repairing metal objects.
    • Active (Accumulate Charge): Action: The user primes the piston system, making a series of loud clicks and hisses. The maul’s conduits begin to glow brightly, indicating it is charged.
    • Active (Discharge Blast): Action: If the maul was charged in the user’s previous round, they can make an attack. On a successful hit, the attack inflicts an additional 4 points of damage (for a total of 10 points), and the target is stunned and knocked back a short distance, losing their next turn.
  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (Check for depletion only when the Discharge Blast ability is used).

Pathfinder (2nd Edition)

Sky-Metal Impactor

Item 10 Rare, Magical, Evocation Usage held in 2 hands; Bulk 2 Base Weapon Maul

This oversized maul is forged from a block of polished obsidian, with intricate copper conduits inlaid in its surface that glow with a faint inner heat.

This is a +2 striking maul. The maul deals double its weapon damage dice to structures. It can also be used as a set of master’s smith’s tools.

Activate [one-action] Prime Piston (Manipulate) Frequency once per minute; Effect You prime the hammer’s internal piston with a loud hiss. The conduits on the hammer’s head glow brightly. If your next action this turn is a Strike with the Impactor, the Strike deals an additional 2d8 sonic damage. On a critical hit with this Strike, the target is pushed 10 feet away from you and knocked prone.

Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE)

The Forge-Lord’s Gavel

A legendary weapon of the Kwe-Sar artificers, this enormous obsidian maul is powered by a magi-steam piston, allowing it to strike with the force of an industrial forge press.

  • Requirements: Seasoned, Strength d8+
  • Damage: Str+d10; AP: 2; Parry: -1; Hands: 2
  • Notes: Heavy Weapon
  • Abilities:
    • Siege Weapon: The hammer deals its damage as Mega-Damage against inanimate structures (barriers, gates, walls, etc.). This multiplies the final damage total by 10 for the purposes of destroying the structure.
    • Kinetic Charge: As an action, the user can prime the hammer, giving them a +2 bonus on their next Fighting roll with the weapon this turn. If the attack is successful and gets a raise, in addition to the normal bonus d6 of damage, it also creates a concussive blast. This affects a Cone Template originating from the user; any target in the cone must make a Strength roll at -2 or be knocked back 1d4″.
    • Masterwork Tool: The hammer also counts as a portable anvil and set of smith’s tools, granting a +1 bonus to all Repair rolls involving metal objects.

Shadowrun, Sixth World

Ares ‘Breacher’ Power Maul

A signature heavy weapon from Ares Macrotechnology, the ‘Breacher’ is designed for urban pacification and high-threat entry teams. The oversized hammer head houses a powerful pneumatic piston system that can be charged to deliver a devastating concussive blast on impact. It is unsubtle, loud, and brutally effective.

  • Type: Melee Weapon (Clubs)
  • Accuracy: 4
  • DV: (STR + 4)P
  • AP: -3
  • Availability: 16R
  • Cost: 35,000¥

Game Effects:

  • Demolition: This weapon is designed to destroy cover. It deals double its DV against barriers (walls, doors, etc.).
  • Unsubtle: The weapon is large and menacing. The user gains a +1 dice pool bonus on Intimidation tests, but a -3 penalty on any Stealth tests.
  • Kinetic Charge (Simple Action): The user can prime the pneumatic piston with a loud hiss. The user gains 2 Edge. This Edge can only be used for the Called Shot: Knockdown or Called Shot: Disarm options on their next attack with this weapon during the same Combat Turn.
  • Concussive Blast: When the user makes a successful attack after using the Kinetic Charge, the attack also gains the Blast (5m) trait, forcing anyone else caught in the blast to resist the weapon’s base DV.

Starfinder

Maul of the Star-Forge

Level 14; Price 88,000 credits; Hands 2; Bulk 2 Damage 6d8 B & So; Critical Knockdown

This massive hammer has a head forged from a solid block of obsidian quarried from a collapsing star. Intricate copper conduits channel immense energy to a magitech piston within, allowing it to strike with the force of a meteor.

Special Properties: Analog, Powered, Unwieldy

  • Sunder: This weapon deals double damage to objects, barriers, and structures. It is a masterwork tool for the Engineering skill.
  • Kinetic Charge (Move Action): You can spend a move action to prime the weapon’s kinetic cell, causing it to hiss with contained energy. If your next attack with the maul this turn is a successful hit, you can activate one of the following effects:
    • Concussive Blast: The attack deals an additional 3d8 sonic damage, and the target is pushed back 10 feet.
    • Forge Press: If the target is a construct or object, you can attempt a sunder combat maneuver against it as a free action. You gain a +4 circumstance bonus to this combat maneuver.

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

Industrial Kinetic Maul (IKM-7)

A piece of heavy industrial equipment designed for demolition and asteroid mining, the IKM-7 is often repurposed as a brutal close-quarters weapon. Its internal power cell fuels a kinetic piston that can crack a ship’s hull or an unfortunate enemy.

  • TL: 11
  • Mass: 8 kg
  • Power: 5/charge
  • Cost: Cr 50,000
  • Skill: Melee (heavy weapon)
  • Damage: 4D6
  • Traits: Cumbersome, Demolitions 2 (deals 2 extra dice of damage to structures).

Abilities:

  • The IKM-7 has an internal power cell that holds 10 charges and can be recharged from a standard power pack.
  • Kinetic Charge: As a significant action, the user can expend 1 charge to prime the piston. The next successful attack made with the maul adds +1D to its damage roll and automatically knocks a human-sized target prone.
  • Tool Mode: The maul can be used in place of a standard tool kit for any Mechanic or Engineer check involving heavy machinery or demolition, granting DM+1 on the check.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (4th Edition)

Dwarf Cog-Hammer

A marvel of the Dwarf Engineers Guild, this gromril-headed great hammer is fitted with a complex and often temperamental steam-piston. When it works, it can strike with the force of a grudge-thrower, sending foes flying and shattering stone with equal ease.

This is a rare magical great weapon.

  • Damage: SB + 6
  • Qualities: Dwarf-Crafted, Impact, Pummel, Slow, Tiring, Unreliable.
  • Rune of Sundering: The hammer is etched with a minor Rune of Sundering. It ignores 4 Armour Points when damaging inanimate objects like doors, walls, shields, and armour.
  • Steam-Piston Charge: Before making a Test to attack with this weapon, the wielder may declare they are using the piston. They gain a +10 bonus to the Test. If the attack is successful, it deals an additional +2 damage and the target must make a Challenging (+0) Agility Test or gain the Prone Condition.
  • Unreliable: As per the Unreliable Quality, whenever the wielder rolls a Fumble on their attack Test, the hammer’s mechanism catastrophically fails. The wielder must roll on the ‘Oh, Not Again!’ table from the Engineer Career to determine the disastrous result.