Equipment

Equipment: Ranged Weapons

The table below contains a list of ranged weapons. Ranged weapons come in different categories:

•         Ranged simple weapons. If you have proficiency with simple weapons, you are proficient with these ranged weapons. Simple ranged weapons represent ranged weapons that are easy to make or weapons that the regular people could own for hunting or self-defence.

•         Ranged martial weapons. If you have proficiency with martial weapons, you are proficient with these ranged weapons. Martial ranged weapons represent ranged weapons that are made primarily for war. These weapons are usually slightly more complicated to use.

•         Ranged firearm weapons. If you have proficiency with firearm weapons, you are proficient with these ranged weapons. Firearm ranged weapons are weapons that propel ammunition with explosive powder. These weapons are complicated to use and maintain.

•         Ranged alchemical weapons. If you have proficiency with alchemical weapons, you are proficient with these ranged weapons. Alchemical ranged weapons are made by mixing reagents. These weapons are consumed when they are used.

Ranged Weapons

Special Ranged Weapons

Acid Vial

A creature hit by the acid vial takes 2d4 acid damage automatically at the beginning of your next turn.

Alchemist’s Fire

A creature hit by the alchemist’s fire also starts burning.

Blowgun

When you are hidden from a creature and miss it with a ranged attack using the blowgun, making the attack doesn't reveal your position.

Bola

A medium or smaller creature hit by a bola is knocked prone and grappled until it is freed. A bola has no effect on creatures that are formless or have no legs, or creatures that are large or larger. A creature can use its action to make a DC 10 Dexterity check, freeing itself or another creature within its reach on a success. Dealing 5 damage to the Bola (AC 10) also frees the creature without harming it, ending the effect and destroying the Bola. The bola is immune to bludgeoning, poison, and psychic damage.

When you use an action, bonus action, or reaction to attack with a Bola, you can make only one attack regardless of the number of attacks you can normally make.

Flash Powder

When you make an attack with this weapon, you can throw it at a point within range instead. Each creature within 5 feet of that point must make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or become blinded until the end of its next turn.

Powder Grenade

When you make an attack with this weapon, you can throw it at a point within range instead. Each creature within 5 feet of that point takes 1d6 thunder damage and must make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or take an additional 2d6 piercing damage.

Simple Poison

A vial of simple poison has several uses:

•          When you hit a creature with a simple poison, it also becomes poisoned until the end of its next turn.

•          You can use the poison in this vial to coat one slashing or piercing weapon or up to three pieces of ammunition. Applying the poison takes an action. Once applied, the poison retains potency for 1 minute before drying. A creature hit by the poisoned weapon or ammunition must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or take an additional 1d8 poison damage and that target is poisoned until the end of its next turn. Once you hit a creature with the poisoned weapon or ammunition, the poison is gone from that weapon or ammunition.

•          You can distribute this simple poison in up to 10 specially prepared darts or blowgun darts. When you do so, that weapon deals 1d4 poison damage on a hit instead of its normal damage and that target is poisoned until the end of its next turn. Once you attack a creature with the poisoned dart or blowgun dart, the poison is gone from that weapon or ammunition.

Special Arrows

Weapons that use arrows as ammunition can replace them with special arrows. Special arrows halve the range of the ranged weapon but modifies the weapon when fired.

Sticky Bomb

On a hit, the sticky bomb attaches to the target. If the sticky bomb is still attached to the target at the beginning of your next turn, it detonates and deals 3d10 thunder damage to the target. Constructs and objects take double damage from this detonation. The target, or a creature that can reach the target, can use an action to try and remove the sticky bomb. To remove the sticky bomb, a creature must succeed on a DC 10 Strength saving throw. If removed, the sticky bomb is destroyed.

Weapon Properties

Size Properties

Different weapons have different size that dictates how they are used - some weapons are large and bulky and require two hands to use, while other weapons are small and easy to conceal:

•          Light. A light weapon is easy to handle, making it ideal for use when fighting with two weapons. You can attack with two weapons (see the two-fighting rules above) if at least one of the weapons have this feature.

•          Heavy. You must have at least 13 strength to use a heavy weapon effectively. A character with a strength score lower than 13 have disadvantage on attack rolls using heavy weapons. You can ignore the heavy property of ranged weapons with the trigger property if the weapon is mounted or resting on something (like a wall or if the character is lying prone on the ground).

•          Small. This weapon is particularly small, making it easier to conceal. You roll with advantage when trying to hide or conceal this weapon. You can draw a small weapon you are carrying at any time during your turn or another creature’s turn (see normal rules for changing weapons above).

•          Two-handed. You must use two hands to wield this weapon. Small and smaller characters cannot use two-handed melee weapons.

Special Weapon Properties

Many weapons have special properties related to their use, as shown in the Weapons table. These properties represent the different designs awards different weapons different use in combat. A creature only benefits from a weapon’s property if they are attacking with it, even if they are wielding another weapon (e.g. you do not gain the brutal weapon property when attacking with a dagger even if you have a sickle in your other hand; you must attack with the sickle to get this benefit):

•          Ammunition. You can use a weapon that has the ammunition property to make a ranged attack only if you have ammunition to fire from the weapon. Each time you attack with the weapon, you expend one piece of ammunition. Drawing the ammunition from a quiver, case, or other container is part of the attack (loading a weapon requires two hands, one to handle the weapon and one to manipulate the ammunition). At the end of the battle, you can recover half your expended ammunition by taking a minute to search the battlefield. If you use a weapon that has the ammunition property to make a melee attack, you treat the weapon as an improvised weapon. A sling must be loaded to deal any damage when used in this way.

•          Brutal. You deal an additional 1d4 damage if the attack is made with advantage. This damage is not multiplied on a critical hit.

•          Crushing. When you score a critical with this weapon, the target is stunned until the beginning of its next turn or until it takes damage, is hit by an attack or fails a saving throw.

•          Finesse. When making an attack with a finesse weapon, you can use your choice of your Strength or Dexterity modifier for the attack and damage rolls. You must use the same modifier for both rolls.

•          Loading. Because of the time required to load this weapon, you can fire the weapon only once per turn, regardless of the number of attacks you can normally make.

•          Mass. You deal +2 damage on melee attacks made with this weapon.

•          Overdraw. When you make ranged attacks with this weapon, you can use Strength modifier instead of Dexterity, for the damage rolls.

•          Powder. This weapon is packed with a powerful and unstable powder. You have advantage on the first ranged attack you make with a powder weapon on a turn if the attack is made within the weapon’s normal range. In addition, when you roll a 1 on any of the weapons damage dice (even if that damage die is subsequently re-rolled), it malfunctions and cannot be used to make ranged attacks again before it has been fixed. To attempt to fix a powder weapon, you use an action and roll 1d6. On a 6, the weapon is fixed and usable again.

•          Piercing. You can re-roll one d20 whenever you make an attack with advantage.

•          Range. A weapon that can be used to make a ranged attack has a range shown in parentheses after the ammunition or thrown property. The range lists two numbers. The first is the weapon’s normal range in feet, and the second indicates the weapon’s long range. When attacking a target beyond normal range, you have disadvantage on the attack roll. You can’t attack a target beyond the weapon’s long range.

•          Reload. You can make a number of attacks with this weapon equal to the number in the parenthesis before it needs reloading. reloading this weapon requires an action.

•          Special. A weapon with the special property has unusual rules governing its use, explained in the weapon’s description (see "Special Weapons" section below the weapon tables).

•          Tearing. If you score a critical hit with this weapon, you can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.

•          Thrown. If a weapon has this property, you can throw the weapon making a ranged attack. If the weapon is a melee weapon, you use the same ability modifier for that attack roll and damage roll that you would use for a melee attack with the weapon. For example, if you throw a handaxe, you use your Strength, but if you throw a knife, you can use either your Strength or your Dexterity, since the knife has the finesse property.

•          Thundering. Attacking with this weapon produce a loud noise that is audible from at least 300 feet away.

•          Trigger. The prone condition does not impose disadvantage on attack rolls with this weapon.