I want to start designing some good crushing weapons... particularly flails, being the high damage weapon that Gelthrae uses.
But first... What EXACTLY is the defining characteristics that differ with maces, flails and morningstars? Anyone know?

A mace from my understanding is a more formalized club (can be a stick with a ball on the end, or a billy clubish item). A morning star is similar, but there are spikes on it. A flail is a ball on a chain.

I thought the Mace was the ball and spikes on a stick.
Morningstar was the one on the chain
and a flail is uh.. the same thing as a morning star but there are multiple balls and chains

From searching the web, your right. But from D&D, I'm right....
Kails right.

According to Diablo 2, a mace is a ball on a stick, morningstar is a spiked ball on a stick, flail is a ball on a chain on a stick.

I did lots of research on this.
Mace is generally an elongated end with 4 directions of localised pressure. A ball on a stick is a bit innacurate, since they tend to be long oval like shapes with little protrusions. Although one things is for sure.. Maces do not have chains.

A morning star is a stick with a single spiked ball at the end of a chain, but it is also a longer mace without the chain, and is more fitting to be a ball on a stick. The whole star thing comes from the numerous spikes that come out of the ball to make it look like a star.

A flail is any bludgeon weapon that can be used in a whiplike fashion, and generally has some spikes or sharp objects attached to them. Flails if only having one ball would have a longer chain than a morningstar and not be so spikey on the ball end of things. But some flails have up to 5 chains and balls.

The Hammer is a small one handed item used to quickly hammer things. It can be pick like or like your carpenter hammer, but fancier.

Never played D&D

Typically maces are flanged, so it is a bit more then just a "ball on a stick."

Mmmkay

Mace



Morningstar



Flail



*wave*

Isn't that middle one just a differently-shaped mace?

No thats what I was trying to say in my post... Flanged was the word I was looking for...

A morningstar can or can not have a chain.. its just that ball with lots of spikes.

The picture of the flail would be a morningstar unless that chain is fairly long, which since it only shows the chain and not the stick would imply that it is.

Maces typically have flanges (as was mentioned already). Meaning, if you were to look down on one from an end, it would look something like a cross. This puts all the pressure on a narrow, blunt line.

Morningstars have spikes. The majority of the damage is caused by the weight driving the spikes. Hence, morningstars aren't actually bludgeons.

I must say that masterwork flails are the best weapons in the game, both of mine are at around 170 damage with around 170 speed and around 170 to hit.

Beautiful weapons and they hurt too.

Damn. I wish I was a Bonecrusher .

A morningstar is a variation on a mace, really.

If you've ever actually tried to use a flail, or a reconstruction of one, you will know how GODDAMN INSANE they are to use. I garuntee you that you will hit yourself more often than you will hit anything else unless you know how to use them, but they're quite scary, and they can disarm other weapons as they are swung about.

One of the big differences between a mace and a morningstar is that a mace is often filled with lead to make it swing heavier, whereas a morningstar is not (especially morningstars with ball and chain setups).