D&D: The Best Magic Hammers in 5th Edition
Magic hammers are a rarity in D&D. But even among the few, these magic hammers really hit home. Heft them if you can!
When it comes to weapons in D&D, there are swords for days. The first time a designer reaches for a new specific magic weapon with a cool name and cool powers, it’s a sword. The second and third times too. Then it’s axes. Then maybe a spear or three. And hammers? War or otherwise? They’re rare, friend.
But that doesn’t mean they aren’t cool. After all, a warhammer was cool enough to inspire a whole gaming empire. One that spans 40k years, if you take my meaning. So these are some of the best magic hammers in D&D (and a little jam for your reading.)
Duskcrusher
Duskcrusher is a magical warhammer of unusual make. It’s a leather-wrapped metal rod that crackles into a warhammer head of fiery radiance with a bonus action. When you swing Duskcrusher, you are swinging sunlight itself (which means Vampires don’t like it at all). When active, Duskcrusher is a +2 magical warhammer that deals radiant damage and deals extra radiant damage to undead creatures.
But on top of that? This hammer lets you cast the Sunbeam spell, which gives you one minute’s worth of magical sunlight lasers once per day. You can find this magic hammer in Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount.
Hammer of Thunderbolts
This magical maul was created to destroy giants. It takes exceptional strength, beyond mortal power to wield it. Specifically, you have to be wearing a belt of giant strength and gauntlets of ogre power to actually be able to wield this weapon. But while you are attuned to the weapon and holding it, your Strength score increases by 4 and can go as high as 30.
Additionally, any giant it crits must save or die. But that’s just icing on the cake.
The real benefit of the weapon is the enhanced strength. And its ability to be thrown and explode into a massive, stunning thunderclap. You can hurl it into a crowd of foes, and every creature within 30 feet of a target you hit, must save or be stunned until the end of your next turn. You can do this five times per dawn. This magic hammer is in the DMG!
Grovelthrash
Grovelthrash is one of the Vestiges of Divergence included in Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount. This means it’s a three-staged artifact weapon, left behind after the gods broke out into a cataclysmic war with one another (and the mages who sought to usurp them).
This magic hammer grows in power with the wielder. Starting off with the ability to take 1d6 psychic damage, to deal 2d6 extra bludgeoning damage on a hit. As well as granting advantage on insight checks to see through deception.
As it becomes Awakened, it grows in power, granting a burrowing speed that can go through sand, loose earth, mud, or ice (but not solid rock). And a reaction that deals psychic damage to a successful attacker.
And at the Exalted stage, it becomes its most powerful yet. Its wielder deals an extra 2d6 bludgeoning when below half their hit point maximum, and can cast earthquake, meld into stone, or stone shape.
Akmon, Hammer of Purphoros
Finally, we have a magical artifact hammer from Mythic Odysseys of Theros. Akmon, Hammer of Purphoros is the hammer of the god of the forge. His hammer works wonders and disasters in equal measure.
When a mortal comes across it, the world changes. An important work might come into being, a powerful creature may be destroyed, or perhaps the god will bring his influence where he himself isn’t welcome. Either way, the magic hammer has powers befitting a god. Anyone struck with it takes 3d10 extra fire damage, on top of it being a +3 warhammer.
On top of that, anyone holding the hammer is resistant to fire and immune to exhaustion. Naturally, they can take advantage on any smith’s tools checks they make.
Finally, they can cast one of the following spells per day: animate objects, heat metal, fabricate, magic weapon, mending, or shatter.
And that’s it for magic “hammers” sure there are clubs and maces and the like, but hammers? Only three specific ones in all of 5th Edition.
