Club (weapon)
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The club, also called a also the cudgel, bludgeon, shillelagh, bang or knobkerrie, serves as a versatile melee weapon and a hurled projectile, traditionally crafted from hardwood. Typically, it takes the form of a wooden shaft measuring approximately 24 to 30 inches in length, featuring a reinforced, rounded knob at one end.
Contents
It has the benefit that anyone can fashion a makeshift club from everyday objects such as a table-leg, a fragment of a bannister or even a belaying pin — any might be employed as an improvised club if no other weaponry is at hand.
Weapons with spikes, metal-weighted heads, chiseled sharp edges or set with metal studs belong to a different class of weaponry and are more appropriately categorized as maces or godentags. These specialized variations are described elsewhere.
Combat
The club inflicts damage ranging from 1 to 6, adjusted by the wielder's strength. Hitting with a hurled club can be improved by a high [[Dexterity (ability stat)|dexterity. When using it in close combat, fighters often employ a swift, forceful swing, leveraging their strength to maximize the impact. The goal is to strike the target with the rounded knob or the hardened end of the club, aiming for vulnerable areas to deliver a powerful blow.
| Bow | Point Blank |
Short | Medium | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | 2 | 3-5 | 6-7 | 8-9 |
The range of a thrown club is typically limited, making it essential for the thrower to have a good sense of distance and timing. A well-aimed throw can catch opponents off guard or incapacitate them from a distance, adding a tactical advantage to this unconventional use of the weapon.
At 3½ lbs., the club is considered to be a "light weapon," so it's used with one hand and takes 1 action point to draw from a character's belt. If a roll to hit produces a fumble, the club will break on a 1 in 4. It's the right size and length to be used while on horseback.
The club is a hereditary weapon in various forms, shown in brackets, for characters raised in the Dutch Colonies (knop), Leinster & Munster (shillelagh), Northumbria & Ulster (cudgel), among Plains Natives in America and the Zulu (knobkerrie). It's favoured among persons whose progenitor is a hermit, innkeeper and sailor. This grants a +1 bonus to hit for these peoples.
The 1st level druid spell, shillelagh, transforms an ordinary club of that type into a temporary magical weapon.
