Siege Axe (3.5e Equipment)
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Siege Axe
Exotic Two-Handed Melee
| Cost: | 800 gp |
|---|---|
| Damage (Small): | 2d8 |
| Damage (Medium)1: | 3d8 |
| Critical: | 20/×4 |
| Weight2: | 60 lbs |
| Type3: | Slashing or Bludgeoning |
| HP4: | 50 |
| Hardness: | 14 |
1. See Damage Increases by Size to calculate the damage for a weapon larger than Medium or smaller than Small.
2. Weight figures are for Medium weapons. A Small weapon weighs half as much, and a Large weapon weighs twice as much.
3. When two types are given, the weapon is both types if the entry specifies "and", either type (player's choice at time of attack) if the entry specifies "or", or each end of the double weapon is a different type if the entry specifies "/".
4. The hp value given is for Medium armor, weapons, and shields. Divide by 2 for each size category of the item smaller than Medium, or multiply it by 2 for each size category larger than Medium.
The peaceful Goliaths of Rockhelm are a people known for their immense strength and resilient architecture. They forge special axes with huge, broad heads of hardened cobalt steel for the express purpose of demolition. Using the enormous momentum generated by its long shaft, the flat hammerside of a Rockhelm siege axe smashes through solid granite with the same ease as its edge cleaves the thickest wooden beams. It was only a matter of time before warlords took notice of this tool's potential as a weapon.
The heads of siege axes are fashioned from a huge lump of cobalt-enriched steel, beat and forged into a wedge-like shape over the course of weeks. In effect, the siege axe is both an axe and a hammer, the massive weight of which is designed to smash through wood, stone and even steel, let alone flesh and bone. Its steel shaft is long and thick, reinforced with riveted splints and lined with leather for ease of grip.
The siege axe is an exotic weapon by default, but can be used proficiently in two hands as a martial weapon if the wielder has a Strength score of 23 or more. If the wielder has Exotic Weapon Proficiency, this Strength requirement is reduced by 5. Failing to meet the requirement makes the siege axe an improvised weapon with a -4 penalty to attack and damage rolls. Even when not meeting the prerequisites however, the siege axe can be used effectively as a demolition tool provided its weight does not exceed the user's maximum light load.
Even in the hands of an amateur, a siege axe boasts a tremendous destructive power. The siege axe can ignore the hardness or damage reduction/adamantine of whatever it hits by an amount equal to its own hardness (to a minimum of 0), and deals double damage against unattended objects, and when used as part of a Strength check opposing a break DC, the wielder gains a bonus of +8 or its own base attack bonus, whichever is higher.
Combat Options[edit]
In combat, a siege axe is wielded in a slow and deliberate manner, creating as much momentum as efficiently as possible to utterly demolish the enemy. To any wielder that is proficient, the siege axe's increased damage against unattended objects also extends to constructs and creatures of solid mineral, like earth elementals. Any creature that takes damage from a shatter spell also takes double damage from a siege axe.
The bludgeoning hammer side of a siege axe confers a +4 bonus to all bull rush checks, whereas the slicing axe side confers a +4 bonus to all sunder checks.
Any wielder that meets the Strength prerequisite gains access to the following ability:
- Siege Attack: The wielder of a siege axe may completely forego his defense to put all of his power behind his swing. Any proficient wielder may take a penalty to his Armor Class that is less than or equal to half his base attack bonus (rounded up), and gain that penalty as a bonus to the damage of his attacks for the round.
Furthermore, a wielder with Exotic Weapon Proficiency and sufficient Strength to meet the reduced prerequisite gains the following benefits:
- Improved Siege Attack: When the wielder induces a penalty on his Armor Class, he instead gains twice the penalty to his damage.
- Bonebreaker: The wielder may focus all of his power into a single strike for the round, dealing additional damage equal to the axe's base damage (3d8 for a Medium sized siege axe) for every iterative attack he sacrificed, up to a maximum of three times at BAB +16. Any creature damaged by this attack is slowed for one round unless it makes a successful fortitude save (DC 10 + ½ BAB + Str). If the target fails a save by 10 points or more, it is effectively slowed permanently due to broken bones, until the damage is fully healed.
- Irresistible Blow: The wielder performs a melee attack with the hammer side of his siege axe as a part of a standard action, using the weight of the axe to blow his enemy back, hard. The target hit is effectively bull rushed and thrown back 5 feet for every 5 points that the wielder's check result beats the defender's check result. A creature moved by this ability takes 2d6 points of extra damage for every 5 feet so traveled. The wielder may use Power Attack or the siege axe's AC to damage conversion in conjunction with this ability, gaining a bonus to the opposed check equal to the total penalty taken.
- Cleave Everything: The momentum of a siege axe is so great that it only stops when it meets equal and opposite resistance. If the damage of an attack made with the axe-side of a siege axe is enough to outright kill its target, it cleaves right through and continues on its path to deal the remaining damage to any other target adjacent to you. The siege axe only stops under one of the following circumstances: once it encounters an enemy whose AC is higher than the original attack roll, once the axe expended all of its damage, or once the wielder stops the axe swing himself.
- Rocksplitter: The wielder performs a melee attack with the axe side of his siege axe as a part of a standard action, smashing down on the ground with immense power and splitting it into a line of destruction with a length of 10 feet plus the wielder's base attack bonus, rounded down to the nearest 5-foot increment. He rolls damage against the ground or floor as though attacking an unattended object, and any creature caught in the line must make either a Balance check or a Reflex save to prevent taking the axe's base damage and fall into the crevice, where it is effectively prone and stuck. A creature stuck in a rocksplitter crevice may free itself as a standard action with a DC 15 Strength or Escape Artist check. If the damage is enough to destroy the floor alright, any creatures stuck in the crevice will instead fall through to the nearest surface below.
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