[tbone]

I've asked this question on the forum long ago, and have even asked medieval combat enthusiast forums somewhere out there: What's the combat reason (not social, monetary, etc. reason) to select a mace over an axe?

I don't recall I ever got a solid reason. Maybe a mace just doesn't have a battlefield advantage over an axe, and that's that.

But Bruno makes a good point: if the goblin is making skull hits, GURPS gives maces the same damage multiplier as an axe. The game also gives a mace better base damage for its weight than it gives an axe, so in a GURPS reality, that goblin actually knows what he's doing!

More broadly, though, I don't see much combat reason to choose the mace. Mebbe the powers of blunt weapons should be boosted a bit: say, tweak the rules to create more of a gap between sharps & blunts in terms of knockback. Or boost the knockout potential of blunt weapons on skull/face/head hits: say, x1.5 damage for blunts, or x2 if a dedicated "KO" weapon like a cosh, only for the purpose of determining a major wound to check for knockdown/stunning/KO.

That latter bit may or may not be realistic, but it fits a common game system (and fiction) concept of extra knockout potential for blunt weapons to the head.