Gary’s Big Hammer

Gary’s Big Hammer is a compact magical hammer that expands to an enormous scale when thrown. Gary uses it during the defence of the brightheart city, where one strike destroys a mass of undead and leaves the enlarged weapon plugging a breach in the fortifications. (Chapters 766–767)

History

The hammer first appears hanging in tiny form from Gary’s belt during the undead assault. When enemies break through a two-storey opening, he throws it into their path. The weapon grows in flight to a size proportioned for a giant, crushes the attackers beneath it and strikes hard enough to crack the surrounding wall. Gary’s choice solves both the immediate attack and the open-breach problem in a single action. (Chapter 766)

After the strike, the hammer remains lodged in the gap as a massive physical obstruction. Gary explains that this version is a one-use item unless someone happens to need a hammer of giant scale afterward. Its price exceeds that of a merely medium-sized expanding hammer, making the throw an extravagant but effective emergency measure. (Chapters 766–767)

Properties and use

The item combines portable storage size with sudden expansion and crushing momentum. Its enormous final mass makes it suitable for breaking formations, striking fortifications or creating an instant barricade. In the brightheart battle, the same expansion that kills the undead also prevents more from immediately using the opening. (Chapter 766)

Its defining limitation is that it does not conveniently return to portable form after use. The result is functionally disposable unless the enlarged hammer itself remains useful, and deploying it near structures can cause collateral cracking. The item’s expense also makes it a contingency rather than Gary’s normal smithing or combat hammer. (Chapters 766–767)

Associated characters

• Gary: Gary carries and deploys the hammer, deliberately sacrificing an expensive item to stop an undead breakthrough. (Chapters 766–767)