Is D&D’s Hammer of Thunderbolts Anything Like Thor’s Mjolnir

One of the most powerful magic weapons in the current edition of Dungeons & Dragons is the Hammer of Thunderbolts, which can deal an incredible amount of damage. The fact that it’s a hammer with thunder powers means that it has the same concept as Thor’s hammer, but can it really hold a candle to the mythical Mjolnir?

The current version of Dungeons & Dragons’ Hammer of Thunderbolts is actually weaker than the ones from the older versions of D&D, as the third edition version had a +5 bonus, while the mighty Crom Faeyr from Baldur’s Gate 2 could instantly kill constructs upon impact. It’s clear that the Hammer of Thunderbolts in Dungeons & Dragons is meant to evoke Thor’s hammer Mjolnir, especially in regards to its giant-killing power, but it’s not meant to be the real deal.

In the current edition of D&D, the Hammer of Thunderbolts is a maul weapon. According to D&D Beyond, the Hammer of Thunderbolts grants +1 to attack and damage rolls, raises the bearer’s Strength score by four points, can force giants to roll a saving throw or die when struck, and it can burn charges to be thrown and create a powerful thunderclap. The bearer has to be wearing a belt of giant strength and a set of gauntlets of ogre power in order for D&D’s Hammer of Thunderbolts to function.

In Dungeons & Dragons, The Real Mjolnir Is Out There

The main reason why the Hammer of Thunderbolts in Dungeons & Dragons is different from Mjolnir is that Mjolnir already exists in the D&D multiverse. The current edition of the Player’s Handbook has a list of Norse deities that the players can worship, and Thor is among them. This means that Thor exists in D&D. The third edition of Deities & Demigods even included stats for Thor, in case any party was foolish enough to mosey on into Asgard and pick a fight with the Norse gods of Dungeons & Dragons.

The version of Mjolnir in Deities & Demigods was a +5 chaotic distance ghost touch holy mighty cleaving returning thundering warhammer, which means that its enchantments break the rules for traditional magic weapons in D&D. The Dungeons & Dragons version of Thor himself is a level 20 Barbarian/level 20 Ranger, whose first hit has an attack bonus of +109 and a damage roll of 4d8+84 (times three on a critical hit). Thor’s divine nature means he always rolls maximum damage on attack rolls. The people who are disappointed that D&D’s Hammer of Thunderbolts isn’t the same as Mjolnir should be happy that they didn’t have to go through Thor from the old editions of Dungeons & Dragons in order to acquire it.

Source: D&D Beyond

About The Author

Scott Baird
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Scott has been writing for Screen Rant since 2016 and regularly contributes to The Gamer. He has previously written articles and video scripts for websites like Cracked, Dorkly, Topless Robot, and TopTenz.
A graduate of Edge Hill University in the UK, Scott started out as a film student before moving into journalism. It turned out that wasting a childhood playing video games, reading comic books, and watching movies could be used for finding employment, regardless of what any career advisor might tell you. Scott specializes in gaming and has loved the medium since the early ‘90s when his first console was a ZX Spectrum that used to take 40 minutes to load a game from a tape cassette player to a black and white TV set. Scott now writes game reviews for Screen Rant and The Gamer, as well as news reports, opinion pieces, and game guides. He can be contacted on LinkedIn.

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