Are thunderstones magical?

[Lemur]

If you go by the pictures in the books, yeah. But there are chain weapons that work...

Believe me, I know. But they didn't try to put spikes on them, and the point of them was primarily to entangle the target or lock down his weapon while staying out of reach. The killing blow was more likely to be dealt by a secondary weapon, or a teammate. A long chain weapon with spikes wouldn't have enough force to present a significant enough threat to justify their placement on the weapon, plus any additional danger they presented would also be a risk towards the wielder.

And it's not like it's the only impractical weapon out there. Dire flail is another good example.

Detect PROFIT!!!
And on the subject of weapons that wouldn't work, the warhammer depicted in the PHB is totally stupid. Have you ever picked up an anvil on a stick--much less swung it--much less hit anyone with it? Real warhammers look like modern claw hammers, except with a longer handle and a spike instead of the claw. The gnome hooked hammer is more realistic.

Thank you. I've had trouble explaining this very thing to people before, because they don't believe me.


I was looking at an arms and armor exhibit the other day, and I couldn't help but think of the discrepancy between the current trend in fantasy weapon designs and the real things. Some of the weapons and armor out there is actually quite ornate, in ways you might not always expect even. But it's nothing like some of the modern fantasy artwork out there. Looking at the art in the 4th ed. handbook I can't help but think that the weapons and armor looked more like Power Rangers toys than actually dangerous implements. [/derailrant]