Volendrung (Skyrim)

"What do you intend to do with that hammer, friend? Knock down a house?"

- Hold Guard

Volendrung is a unique two-handed weapon and Daedric artifact that was forged by the Dwemer.

Also known as the Hammer of Might, this ancient Dwarven warhammer has appeared time and again through Tamriel for the last several hundred years.

History
The warhammer originally belonged to the Rourken, a clan of the Dwemer who migrated from their homeland of Morrowind.

Legend states that the chieftain threw his hammer across Tamriel and proclaimed that his clan would settle wherever it landed. The hammer landed in the province of Hammerfell (hence the name).

True to his word, the leader of the Rourken raised the city of Volenfell, the capital of the western Dwemer, at the location. How exactly this mythical Dwarven hammer ended up in Malacath's possession is unknown.

Acquisition
It is received from the Daedric Prince Malacath as a reward for completing The Cursed Tribe.

Smithing
Volendrung can be upgraded with an ebony ingot and the Arcane Blacksmith perk, however it does not benefit from any smithing perks. This means that the weapon cannot be improved past flawless quality without boosting the Smithing skill over 100. This can be achieved by using enchanted items, blacksmithing potions to Fortify Smithing, and/or Console Commands.

Usefulness
Volendrung's enchantment merges very well with its weapon class. Power attacking with two-handed weapons naturally drains stamina very quickly. The powerful enchantment can offset this somewhat by absorbing stamina from the opponent to allow additional power attacks.

While useful at lower levels, Volendrung can become obsolete at higher levels as it does not benefit from any smithing perks, thus other warhammers can quickly outclass it for maximum damage output. However, although Volendrung is a warhammer, it swings as fast as a greatsword, effectively giving it more damage per second than any other warhammers except possibly The Longhammer. It has the same base damage as the ebony warhammer.

Quotes
When speaking to guards with Volendrung equipped, they may comment:
 * "What do you intend to do with that hammer, friend? Knock down a house?"
 * Alternatively, they may whistle and say "That is one big hammer."

Trivia

 * Although both Spellbreaker and Volendrung are Dwemer artifacts, Volendrung's improvement material is not a Dwarven metal ingot, but an ebony ingot. In lore, this could be due to the design and build of Volendrung.
 * Shagrol's Warhammer will transform into Volendrung, upon completion of the quest The Cursed Tribe.

Bugs

 * The hammer may not stay attached to a weapon rack when you have left the room.
 * If put on a weapon plaque in Hjerim, it must be put on the weapon rack on top for one to be able put a weapon below it (putting it on the two plaques on top of each other). If put on the bottom plaque, then nothing can be put on top of it.
 * Sometimes the hammer won't appear at all.
 * Solution: Save and reload.
 * The entire hammer will pulse red rather than just the dot on the head.