Into the Storm gives us rules for the Thunder Hammer. These rules grant it Power Field and Unwieldy. The Errata has already hit this item and has it add double the wielder's SB to damage. However, none of this seems to match up with what the Thunder Hammer can do in Deathwatch. Granting that the Astartes version is going to do more damage, I'm still left with a few questions:

1) The DW version has Concussive. Since this appears to be the prime trait of the Thunder Hammer, shouldn't the ItS version have Concussive too?

2) The DW version does not add double the wielder's SB to damage. Is this an issue that will be addressed in upcoming DW errata, or is it an intentional difference? Should the double SB addition be dropped if the ItS version is given Concussive (as noted in the above question)?

3) Does the ItS version of the Thunder Hammer require two hands to wield by an unaugmented human? I am assuming so, but melee weapons found in ItS that require two hands seem to have this noted.

Let me add that question "1)" assumes use of Deathwatch (or the DW GM's screen) to get the rules for the Concussive weapon quality and that Concussive would be added instead of Shocking (Shocking is provided by the errata).

ItS version is a Mezoa-pattern weapon, lighter than other Imperial variants. Stands to reason that it's less powerful than the Astartes equivalent.

HappyDaze said:

Originally, the concussive force emitted by a Thunder Hammer on impact was such that anyone not in Terminator armour was in real danger of being thrown off their feet whenever they struck with it. That's since changed - Astartes in Power Armour can happily wield them now - but it still strikes me that a Thunder Hammer built for human, as opposed to Astartes, use would produce a far less significant blast upon impact. That's my opinion on the matter, anyway. The Mezoa-pattern Thunder Hammer is really more of a Power Hammer (that is, a power weapon in the shape of a hammer) than a true Thunder Hammer, IMO, and thus is quite allowed to have different stats.

Also, the Concussive quality isn't in Rogue Trader, and Deathwatch wasn't available when Into the Storm was being written (and thus we didn't know about that quality), hence why it wasn't included in the Mezoa Thunder Hammer's rules.

Here are the official replies from Sam:

Hello [HappyDaze],

I'll answer your questions in order.

1) Concussive is a Deathwatch Weapon Quality. You'll note the RT errata adds the Shocking Quality to the Mezoa-pattern Thunder Hammer, giving it a very similar effect.

2) The DW Thunder Hammer should double the user's SB, in the same manner as a Power Fist.

3) The Mezoa-pattern Thunder Hammer does not require two hands to wield.

Hope that helps!

Sam

You've got to love #3 - now I can go all badass with a Thunder Hammer in one hand and a Power Sword (preferably a Mordian-pattern for the extra Parry bonus) in the other!