Maces are club-like, bludgeoning weapons of war created to smash and pulverize the thick and strong armour of heavily armored units to a pulp which normal blades cannot do without a lot of force behind them. These weapons are usally easily and quickly made in order to provide a vast army which is capable of overcoming its opponents with sheer numbers and in one swoop can crush and pulverize an armored unit of soldiers. Maces were mainly constructed against the growing threat of heavy armored units during the great Sarvonian Wars in order to destroy the enemies' defenses with single blows of these versatile weapons. There are three main types of Maces: The Spiked Mace, the Flanged War Mace and finally the Dowl Pin Mace.

Description. The Mace is an advance on the club, a wooden, metal-reinforced or metal shaft, approx. around 1 ped in length, with a head made of iron or steel adding another half a ped to the length of the weapon. The head is normally about or slightly thicker than the diameter of the shaft, shaped with flanges, knobs or spikes to allow greater penetration of armour. The Mace, like the war hammer and various other weapons of the time of the great Sarvonian Wars, came about because of the increased use of more effective armor on the battlefield.

Maces are bludgeoning weapons with a single important improvement over the rudimentary club - they are constructed of metal. The simplest Mace consists only of a heavy round metal ball end and short handle, but many additions to the Mace increase its usefulness as like the Flail a char could be attached from the end of the handle to the ball turning it into a whirling Mace and with spinning it into the air could cause heavy damage. Spikes allow it to pierce and tear through flesh, Flanges can crack and smash open armour like an egg, and the maces easy grip handle construction lets it gain more momentum before it devastates the enemy. Because of their bludgeoning nature, maces are best used on heavy armed infantry and polearm warriors, who cannot defend themselves quick enough to block this heavy weapon.

Weapon Types. There are generally 3 types of Maces that that a person may use or buy in many of the Santharian blacksmiths:

• The Spiked Mace

• The Flanged War Mace
• The Dowl Pin Mace

The Maces can be described in detail as follows:

• The Spiked Mace
  The most common and most lethal weapon of the mace family probably is the Spiked Mace. This type of mace Mace is capable of delivering a crushing blow to even heavily armored opponents. This Mace is made with a solid steel ball and a hollow steel shaft. The fixed iron ball attached to the end of the handle holds up to 30 or more very sharp iron spikes about 5 grains long each, that when hitting its adversary can rip and tear its opponents skin to shreds dealing an already fatal blow with the first strike. The length of the Mace from the start of the handle to the end of the handle is a little under a third of a ped and the diameter of the Mace's ball is around ten nailsbreadths.
   

• The Flanged War Mace
  The second most common Mace is the Flanged Mace, which at first glance looks very simple and plain but tcan crush and puncture even the heaviest armor. This two-handed war Mace is devastating in battle and like its first brother, the Spiked Mace, can kill its opponent with the first strike. The mace mainly is made from a single pole of wood which is a little under a third of a ped. The grip is made out of any hard hide of an animal, more often than not deer or some types of cattle hide is used and tied onto the wooden handle to provide better grip and more leverage in attack. As you move up the small pole you can find four to five very small axe type blades attached to the top of the wood, which sprout from the top of the pole and are placed a small way down the length of the Mace. These blades vary in size, and it really is up to the blacksmith how they are designed. But the bigger the blades the more devastating though heavier the weapon is, the smaller the less devastating and less heavy - some blacksmiths make a variety of these weapons so that the soldier can pick for the right weapon for himself. More often than not however these axe blades are about half a palmspan long each and sometimes made so that they are small dagger like blades substituting the axe type blade.
   

• The Dowl Pin Mace
  The last and least effective of these type of weaponry is the Dowl Pin Mace which is considerably smaller than both its other brothers. This weapon was totally mass produced during the Sarvonian Wars and sold cheaply to anyone who wanted to buy one for any reason, soldier or not. This weapon is a one handed Mace made from a single pole of wood about half a ped long and was simply and methodically pinned with 50 to 60 approx. 3 grain long cylinder shaped iron rods, acting as a further advanced club type weapon that could easily bludgeon its opponents to death. However, these weapons are even heavier than its counterparts and very cumbersome to carry and to fight with. These maces are often bought by thugs or thieves as they are the most cheap, but nevertheless deadly whenever used against an only slightly protected and unsuspecting foe... The Dowl Pin Mace therefore is the poor man's version of the Mace.

Usage. The Mace as a weapon is used more as an infantry weapon rather than by common adventurers or travellers due to the weight of the weapon which could sometimes weigh up to 7 dippers and to a traveller it is not worth carrying. The soldiers that carry this type of weapon would be a backslide infantry members meaning they would need to be rushed in to the battle if the opposing forces sent their heavy armored soldiers in. The Maces are generally used to smash, pierce and cripple the enemy heavy armored units and defend the lighter units on the battlefield. Sometimes soldiers carrying Maces are sent in vast numbers to tear and cripple an enemy base or small fortification as these weapons can demolish encampments in numbers within moments. However, saying that, trolls, giants and even barbarians of that heavy, large stature often carry this weapon or varieties of it as their primary fighting source.

Fighting Style. This weapon is most often used like a club or hammer - you would simply batter you opponents to death by swiping and smashing the end of the Mace into either body or skull killing opponents within moments. Most soldiers carrying this type of weapon are being highly trained for its proper use and are considerably strong enough to hold the Mace with one hand and carry a shield in the other offering these brutal soldiers about as much defense as a swordsman would have.

Origin/History. The origins of this weapon is quite unknown as these weapons of great velocity and strength have spread to be used across the armies of southern Sarvonia, but it is said that these weapons were first made by the humans while the early ferocious wars were taking place.