Trollhammer

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Description

A trollhammer is a massive two-handed weapon, usually a mace or hammer, that strikes with such concussive force that it temporarily stuns both the target and the wielder.

A common misconception about this weapon is that it is named a Trollhammer because it is a weapon used to kill trolls. While this may be the case, the fact of the matter is that the early Winterfolk first encountered these weapons in the hands of the trolls, and only used them against them at the point where they took them away from their previous owners ... Fully grown troll can wield such a hammer in only one hand, and are seemingly unaffected by the weapon's malign powers. Stories of the final battles tell of troll champions who used these weapons to devastating effect, crushing all who came before them until eventually they were overwhelmed by sheer weight of numbers. Legend states that the original Trollhammers did not afflict their wielder, but that the dying trolls called down a curse upon the weapons their enemies had stolen from them - these are surely fanciful accounts embroidered by scops to make better sagas.

Rules

• Form: Two-handed Weapon. Despite the name any two-handed weapon may be a trollhammer.
• Effect: You may spend a hero point to call PARALYSE when you strike with this weapon. You are also affected by PARALYSIS when you use this ability.
• Materials: Crafting a trollhammer requires ten ingots of tempest jade. six ingots of ambergelt and six measures of beggar's lye. It takes one month to make one of these items.

A duelling form that saw some brief popularity in Temeschwar employed two opponents with Trollhammers fighting in a ring. The amusing interludes where both combatants were locked in position, glowering at each other, provided a novel series of stages to allow further betting and commentary on form. It was also a boon to artists who used the frozen tableau as a basis to fully capture the drama and savagery of a duel. In the end the fickle butterfly of League fashion flapped its wings, and the Trollhammer Bouts were simply no longer the done thing. The remaining Trollhammers were bought up cheap by the unscrupulous Free Captain, Ugo Berensky, who used them to equip a virtual suicide unit for his Free Company, employing the poor and desperate to run ahead of his own soliders and paralyse the enemy.