Mace
A mace is little more than a metal club, usually consisting of a reinforced shaft with a metal head (sometimes studded). Although the mace has a history that goes back all the way to 12,000 BC, this weapon didn’t see prominent use until the Middle Ages. Armor was designed then to help a knight withstand attacks from bladed weapons. The damage from blades, axes and arrows was more easily nullified with chain or plate mail. Although a mace certainly could not pierce armor, the mace did crush the chain mail enough to allow for blunt trauma to a knight’s body. Where an arrow would simply bounce off, the mace could still, on an off-chance, break bones or crush heads.
Another curious piece of history about the mace is its occasional use by medieval clergy. Canon rule forbade priests from drawing blood. A mace, on the other hand, doesn’t precisely spill blood — damage can theoretically be delivered to an enemy without ever spilling a drop. Apocryphal stories (sometimes in tales from the Battle of Hastings or in poems like the “Song of Roland”) from this time period tell of priests wading into a battle, maces at the ready.
Another curious piece of history about the mace is its occasional use by medieval clergy. Canon rule forbade priests from drawing blood. A mace, on the other hand, doesn’t precisely spill blood — damage can theoretically be delivered to an enemy without ever spilling a drop. Apocryphal stories (sometimes in tales from the Battle of Hastings or in poems like the “Song of Roland”) from this time period tell of priests wading into a battle, maces at the ready.
Item type
Weapon, Melee
Size: 2/L
Durability: 3
Cost: ••