I have to say, the Soulknife has a special place in my heart and has a plethora of role play possibilities, making the class a complete joy to play. However, there is an issue that needs to be fixed by WotC. This is in relation to inconsistencies between the Rogue’s Sneak Attack and the Soulknife’s Psychic Blades, which I believe may resolve the debate of Thrown vs Ranged, at least in the case of the Soulknife at the very least.
The Inconsistency
Sneak Attack stipulates that the weapon must have a Finesse or Ranged property.
Psychic Blade defines the blade as Finesse and Thrown
According to RAW, the Psychic Blade is eligible for Sneak Attack when thrown, which is inconsistent with the Sneak Attack rules, as daggers are not listed as having a ranged property, but have the Thrown property. For this reason, I believe WotC’s intention would be that a weapon with a Thrown property can be defined and a Melee Weapon or a Ranged weapon depending on how it is being used at the time. Think of the Thrown property as being a versatile property allowing you to opt for Melee or Ranged. This would mean that any feat or ability that requires a Ranged Weapon Attack would apply to the Psychic Blade.
This would mean that the Sharpshooter feat and Thrown Weapon Fighting style would both be is applicable to Psychic Blades, as would any other mechanic that stipulates a Range Weapon or Ranged Attacks. Unless WotC has formal position on this that I am not aware of, I believe this is the intention, at least for Soulknives.
Home-Brew Recommendation
Lastly, for those who are interested resolving the magical weapon dilemma for Soul Knife Rogues, I have home-brewed the following Soulknife feature, which I do not see as a game breaking mechanic, and should be considered to drive engagement of the class.
Psychic Bond
At 3rd level the Soulknife can create a Psychic Bond with a magical weapon to inherit its magical attack roll bonuses. For example a +1 short sword can be bonded with to gain +1 to hit and damage on all Psychic Blade attacks. Magic weapons with special properties, such as Flame Tonge, Vicious and vorpal, will not be applied to the Psychic Blade, however their magical attack bonus values will be. Also, if the weapon requires attunement, the Soulknife will need to attune to the item to bond with it. Lastly, using the bonded weapon to take the attack action automatically breaks the bond.
The bond can only be established one weapon and the character is proficient in and requires a 1 hour uninterrupted ritual to complete.
The bond is broken under the following conditions
The player character dies
The attack action is taken with the weapon
The weapon is broken
A psychic bond is established with another weapon
The weapon is separated from the player character by 60 feet or more
There is no inconsistency with the rules - both daggers and the Psychic Blade feature clearly define that daggers/soul knives are finesse weapons and thus can trigger sneak attack. The formal position is that they are melee weapons with the thrown properly, and thus fail to meet the requirement of being a ranged weapon for Sharpshooter.
That said, one can always homebrew whatever their DM and them agree to - and thrown weapons are pretty darn awful as compared to other fighting styles and could use all the help they can get.
Good point, i guess I am reading Psychic Blades as as finesse weapons for melee and Thrown for Ranged. I am not sure I see the value of Thrown and Ranged weapons and struggle with the concept. Do you know if WotC has ever taken a position on this. It seems to me the Thrown is more of a versatile property, meaning it could be melee or ranged, however, I see how the wording indicates otherwise now. We will definitely need to homebrew that and you are right, that there is not much value in thrown weapons based on RAW. Thanks for your reply.
Good point, i guess I am reading Psychic Blades as as finesse weapons for melee and Thrown for Ranged. I am not sure I see the value of Thrown and Ranged weapons and struggle with the concept. Do you know if WotC has ever taken a position on this. It seems to me the Thrown is more of a versatile property, meaning it could be melee or ranged, however, I see how the wording indicates otherwise now. We will definitely need to homebrew that and you are right, that there is not much value in thrown weapons based on RAW. Thanks for your reply.
Finesse applies to both range and melee - a handaxe, for example, is not a finesse weapon, which means you use strength regardless of whether you are throwing it or using it in melee. A dagger is a finesse weapon, meaning you can use dex or strength when throwing it.
Thrown just means you can throw it - that you toss the weapon and no longer have it after the attack is done, so you either need to use a new weapon, have it magically return to you, or pick it up. It allows you to use a melee attack at range, but does not turn a dagger into a range weapon (notably, there are darts, which are mostly equivalent to daggers in damage, but they are range weapons and can implicate sharpshooter).
Understood, but I am still struggling with this. When you look at Roll20 and lookup dagger, it says its a melee weapon with the following properties. Finesse, light, range, thrown. DnDBeyond does not add the range property but identifies the range in the thrown property. When DnDBeyond stipulates Ranged Weapon attack. Do they mean Ranged Weapon property or ranged weapon classification. I know this is an old debate, but Roll20 does have "Range" as a property. Is this something they just decided to do, or is this some sort of after the fact consensus by WoTC? Not sure why I care so much, as a DM I would have no problem ruling in this manner, but as a player it would need to be clarified.
The “Range” referenced on Roll 20 is not changing the weapon type from “melee weapon (simple, dagger)” which is the relevant property for Sharpshooter - it merely references how far you can throw the weapon, 20 feet (or 60 feet if at long range). Sharpshooter specifies “attack with a ranged weapon” - if it applies to daggers, it would say “make a ranged attack”, referencing the type of attack, not the weapon specifically.
Maybe I wasnt clear on my rant :) She issue with with Sharpshooter
ou have mastered ranged weapons and can make shots that others find impossible. You gain the following benefits:
Attacking at long range doesn't impose disadvantage on your ranged weapon attack rolls.
Your ranged weapon attacks ignore half cover and three-quarters cover.
Before you make an attack with a ranged weapon that you are proficient with, you can choose to take a -5 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits, you add +10 to the attack's damage.
DNDBeyond says a dagger is Finesse, light, Thrown
Roll20 says a dagger is Finesse, light, Range, Thrown
Not sure which is right, but in Roll20 it is classified with the Ranged property.
Maybe I wasnt clear on my rant :) She issue with with Sharpshooter
ou have mastered ranged weapons and can make shots that others find impossible. You gain the following benefits:
Attacking at long range doesn't impose disadvantage on your ranged weapon attack rolls.
Your ranged weapon attacks ignore half cover and three-quarters cover.
Before you make an attack with a ranged weapon that you are proficient with, you can choose to take a -5 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits, you add +10 to the attack's damage.
DNDBeyond says a dagger is Finesse, light, Thrown
Roll20 says a dagger is Finesse, light, Range, Thrown
Not sure which is right, but in Roll20 it is classified with the Ranged property.
Golaryn is correct in that Roll20 has mislabeled the dagger. The only weapon that has both the ranged and thrown properties is the dart.
Sharpshooter's third bullet applies only to ranged weapons (ie. bows, crossbows, guns, darts, slings, blowguns). A net can't do extra damage if it doesn't do damage in the first place.
Sharpshooter's first and second bullet point applies to both ranged and thrown weapons, and the reason is because "ranged weapon attack" is interpreted as [ranged] [weapon attack].
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Within Roll20 they use range simply to mean that you can make an attack at a target more than 5ft away. If you look at all the thrown weapons in the compendium such as the hand axe you will see that they list range. It’s a little strange, but it doesn’t mean the weapon has the Ranged property. It is really badly worded, the table shows it as range x/y and if you click on the link to the item it shows Finesse, light, Range,Thrown, but thats a config error and does not represent the ranged property. I don’t think I can attach a screenshot via my phone so;
Maybe I wasnt clear on my rant :) She issue with with Sharpshooter
ou have mastered ranged weapons and can make shots that others find impossible. You gain the following benefits:
Attacking at long range doesn't impose disadvantage on your ranged weapon attack rolls.
Your ranged weapon attacks ignore half cover and three-quarters cover.
Before you make an attack with a ranged weapon that you are proficient with, you can choose to take a -5 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits, you add +10 to the attack's damage.
DNDBeyond says a dagger is Finesse, light, Thrown
Roll20 says a dagger is Finesse, light, Range, Thrown
Not sure which is right, but in Roll20 it is classified with the Ranged property.
This has been gone over countless times. A simple Google search will lead you to Jeremy Crawford tweet about this.
I know Crawford gave his opinion, but like Shield Master and Nondetection, he can still be wrong multiple times until he is shown the truth. Here is the truth, and I hope he corrects his error in judgement in an open forum soon.
For the Soulknife, specifically, it qualifies for all three benefits of the Sharpshooter Feat. For the Psychic Blades it specifically states,
"After you attack with the blade, you can make a melee or ranged weapon attack with a second psychic blade as a bonus action on the same turn, provided your other hand is free to create it. The damage die of this bonus attack is ld4, instead of ld6."
Thus a thrown psychic blade, but not a regular weapon, is a ranged weapon, NOT a ranged attack, which is what a melee weapon with only the thrown property makes. Since the description in the subclass specifically states a Ranged Weapon Attack and only a ranged weapon can make that attack. This is the exact qualification for the 3 ability in the Sharpshooter feat, which says,
"Before you make an attack with a ranged weapon that you are proficient with, you can choose to take a -5 penalty to the attack roll. If that attack hits, you add +10 to the attack's damage."
As to the Dagger issue, it is simple:
If the weapon does not say range in the category or properties, it is only thrown and does not qualify for feats that require range weapon attacks.
If the weapon does have range/ranged weapon in either category/properties listed, then it has the magic words and qualifies for those feats.
if the weapon has Finesse as a property, it specifically and automatically qualifies that weapon for Sneak Attack Damage, regardless of how or when you are using it. You still have to fulfil the requirements for the Rogue Ability, but any finesse weapon fulfills one of the components for that ability.
"After you attack with the blade, you can make a melee or ranged weapon attack with a second psychic blade
You are parsing that phrase wrong. The blade does not change from a melee to a ranged weapon. The "ranged" adjective here is describing the weapon attack, not the weapon. It can't just say "ranged attack" because every attack in D&D is specified to be either a weapon attack or a spell attack, due to the fact that the same character can have different modifiers for each type of attack.
Feels like nitpicking, but it's just how D&D language works. It's like how an unarmed strike is a melee weapon attack, but is not an attack with a melee weapon.
This is not really a debate or a shaky Crawford interpretation, it's just how the language has always worked. If a ranged weapon attack was the same thing as an attack with a ranged weapon, Sharpshooter would not use different language between its bullet points. It was specifically designed to grant some - but not all - of its benefits to melee weapons with the thrown keyword, which allows you to make a ranged weapon attack with a melee weapon.
You keep misreading the example to suit your narrative, yet it does NOT suit such a narrative.
This is not a dagger, or any such melee weapon, nor is it listed in the Melee weapon list, nor the Ranged Weapon list. So General Rules. around those listed weapons, do not apply to this SPECIFIC weapon. You have to pay close attention to what the subclass rules say to understand its properties. You also have wrong that ranged weapons do ranged weapon attacks, melee weapons do ranged melee attacks, or ranged melee weapon attacks. Daggers are listed as melee weapons, thus make melee attacks, Thrown weapon attacks or ranged melee weapon attacks, only ranged weapons do ranged weapon attacks.
"Also at 3rd level, You can manifest your psionic power as shimmering blades of psychic energy. Whenever you take the Attack action, you can manifest a psychic blade from your free hand and make the attack with that blade. This magic blade is a simple melee weapon with the finesse and thrown properties. It has a normal range of 60 feet and no long range, and on a hit, it deals psychic damage equal to 1d6 plus the ability modifier you used for the attack roll. The blade vanishes immediately after it hits or misses its target, and it leaves no mark on its target if it deals damage.
After you attack with the blade, you can make a melee or ranged weapon attack with a second psychic blade as a bonus action on the same turn, provided your other hand is free to create it. The damage die of this bonus attack is 1d4, instead of 1d6."
So it is a Simple melee weapon with the finesse and thrown property, but has a range similar to a dagger, but only has a short range that is as long as the dagger's long range. It can make melee or ranged weapon attacks (meaning it also qualifies as a ranged weapon). Although identical, it does 1d6 in your main hand and 1d4 in your off-hand. A ranged weapon attacks at range, and snice it isn't listed on the table, and the description says it can do both melee and ranged weapon attacks, it is also a ranged weapon.
Do you change its damage to both be either 1d6, or 1d4?
Do you change its range to 20/60?
Do you ignore its finesse property?
It does NOT say ranged attack, (which is the general term that includes thrown weapons), which appears to be what your gaslighting, it says it performs a RANGED WEAPON ATTACK, which only ranged weapons can do. So like 1d6/1d4, 60' range with no long range, it is both a melee weapon when used that way and a ranged weapon when used at range.
Yes, it says melee weapon, but it also says it makes both melee and ranged weapon attacks. Why do you ignore certain parts that fit you erroneous narrative, yet support other parts. the entire description of this unique weapon is to be respected and since it says it makes both attacks, you must respect that it makes ranged weapon attacks, thus qualifying it for the third part of the feat.
You keep misreading the example to suit your narrative, yet it does NOT suit such a narrative.
This is not a dagger, or any such melee weapon, nor is it listed in the Melee weapon list, nor the Ranged Weapon list. So General Rules. around those listed weapons, do not apply to this SPECIFIC weapon. You have to pay close attention to what the subclass rules say to understand its properties.
"Also at 3rd level, You can manifest your psionic power as shimmering blades of psychic energy. Whenever you take the Attack action, you can manifest a psychic blade from your free hand and make the attack with that blade. This magic blade is a simple melee weapon with the finesse and thrown properties. It has a normal range of 60 feet and no long range, and on a hit, it deals psychic damage equal to 1d6 plus the ability modifier you used for the attack roll. The blade vanishes immediately after it hits or misses its target, and it leaves no mark on its target if it deals damage.
After you attack with the blade, you can make a melee or ranged weapon attack with a second psychic blade as a bonus action on the same turn, provided your other hand is free to create it. The damage die of this bonus attack is 1d4, instead of 1d6."
So it is a Simple melee weapon with the finesse and thrown property, but has a range similar to a dagger, but only has a short range that is as long as the dagger's long range. It can make melee or ranged weapon attacks (meaning it also qualifies as a ranged weapon). Although identical, it does 1d6 in your main hand and 1d4 in your off-hand. A ranged weapon attacks at range, and snice it isn't listed on the table, and the description says it can do both melee and ranged weapon attacks, it is also a ranged weapon.
Do you change its damage to both be either 1d6, or 1d4?
Do you change its range to 20/60?
Do you ignore its finesse property?
It does NOT say ranged attack, (which is the general term that includes thrown weapons), which appears to be what your gaslighting, it says it performs a RANGED WEAPON ATTACK, which only ranged weapons can do. So like 1d6/1d4, 60' range with no long range, it is both a melee weapon when used that way and a ranged weapon when used at range.
Yes, it says melee weapon, but it also says it makes both melee and ranged weapon attacks. Why do you ignore certain parts that fit you erroneous narrative, yet support other parts. the entire description of this unique weapon is to be respected and since it says it makes both attacks, you must respect that it makes ranged weapon attacks, thus qualifying it for the third part of the feat.
Gaslighting, lmao
In the rules of the game, melee weapons being capable of making ranged weapon attacks does not make them ranged weapons. A melee weapon with the Thrown property isn't considered a ranged weapon. Those weapons aren't listed on the Ranged weapons table, because they're not Ranged weapons.
It does NOT say ranged attack, (which is the general term that includes thrown weapons), which appears to be what your gaslighting, it says it performs a RANGED WEAPON ATTACK, which only ranged weapons can do. So like 1d6/1d4, 60' range with no long range, it is both a melee weapon when used that way and a ranged weapon when used at range.
I'll say it one more time since you seem to have ignored my entire post. It does not say "ranged attack" because it needs to specify whether it is a ranged weapon attack or a ranged spell attack. They need to make this clarification because, as you point out, this weapon is not a regular weapon and it's not automatically clear that this psychic-only attack is a weapon attack.
The only places the rules say "ranged attack" is where it is very clear whether it is a weapon or a spell making that attack. "Weapon" is not the default assumption when a ranged attack is mentioned.
There is nothing in the game that is both a melee weapon and a ranged weapon. If they were taking that unprecedented step with this feature, they would have said it directly.
Additionally, melee weapons can absolutely make ranged weapon attacks. Every time you throw a weapon with the thrown property, you are making a ranged weapon attack with a melee weapon. Which coincidentally is exactly what soulknife is describing.
Are you aware that unarmed strikes are considered melee weapon attacks, but are not considered to be melee attacks with a weapon? This is the same thing. It's not the most sensical wording, but it is rock-solidly consistent throughout the edition.
"Also at 3rd level, You can manifest your psionic power as shimmering blades of psychic energy. Whenever you take the Attack action, you can manifest a psychic blade from your free hand and make the attack with that blade. This magic blade is a simple melee weapon with the finesse and thrown properties. It has a normal range of 60 feet and no long range, and on a hit, it deals psychic damage equal to 1d6 plus the ability modifier you used for the attack roll. The blade vanishes immediately after it hits or misses its target, and it leaves no mark on its target if it deals damage.
After you attack with the blade, you can make a melee or ranged weapon attack with a second psychic blade as a bonus action on the same turn, provided your other hand is free to create it."
The description SPECIFICALLY refers to it as a "ranged Weapon Attack" Which qualifies for the third ability of the Sharpshooter Feat.
Melee weapons make THROWN attacks, if they have the Thrown property. Range weapons make Ranged weapon attacks.
The Sharpshooter, third part, specifically says, "attack with a ranged weapon" and the Psychic Blades specifically say you can make "a melee or ranged weapon attack". By RAW they are the same and therefore qualify. They are a unique weapon that borrow from different weapons and have unique qualities that no listed weapon has, including being able to attack as both a melee weapon and a ranged weapon.
These are MAGIC PSYCHIC BLADES. Nowhere in the description does it say they are daggers or shortswords. I Italicized each reference in the description to reinforce this error of interpretation. These blades are a mix of numerous, shortsword damage, dagger range, ignores range the long range properties of a ranged weapon, can make melee attacks and ranged weapon attacks.
I have to say, the Soulknife has a special place in my heart and has a plethora of role play possibilities, making the class a complete joy to play. However, there is an issue that needs to be fixed by WotC. This is in relation to inconsistencies between the Rogue’s Sneak Attack and the Soulknife’s Psychic Blades, which I believe may resolve the debate of Thrown vs Ranged, at least in the case of the Soulknife at the very least.
The Inconsistency
According to RAW, the Psychic Blade is eligible for Sneak Attack when thrown, which is inconsistent with the Sneak Attack rules, as daggers are not listed as having a ranged property, but have the Thrown property. For this reason, I believe WotC’s intention would be that a weapon with a Thrown property can be defined and a Melee Weapon or a Ranged weapon depending on how it is being used at the time. Think of the Thrown property as being a versatile property allowing you to opt for Melee or Ranged. This would mean that any feat or ability that requires a Ranged Weapon Attack would apply to the Psychic Blade.
This would mean that the Sharpshooter feat and Thrown Weapon Fighting style would both be is applicable to Psychic Blades, as would any other mechanic that stipulates a Range Weapon or Ranged Attacks. Unless WotC has formal position on this that I am not aware of, I believe this is the intention, at least for Soulknives.
Home-Brew Recommendation
Lastly, for those who are interested resolving the magical weapon dilemma for Soul Knife Rogues, I have home-brewed the following Soulknife feature, which I do not see as a game breaking mechanic, and should be considered to drive engagement of the class.
Psychic Bond
There is no inconsistency with the rules - both daggers and the Psychic Blade feature clearly define that daggers/soul knives are finesse weapons and thus can trigger sneak attack. The formal position is that they are melee weapons with the thrown properly, and thus fail to meet the requirement of being a ranged weapon for Sharpshooter.
That said, one can always homebrew whatever their DM and them agree to - and thrown weapons are pretty darn awful as compared to other fighting styles and could use all the help they can get.
Good point, i guess I am reading Psychic Blades as as finesse weapons for melee and Thrown for Ranged. I am not sure I see the value of Thrown and Ranged weapons and struggle with the concept. Do you know if WotC has ever taken a position on this. It seems to me the Thrown is more of a versatile property, meaning it could be melee or ranged, however, I see how the wording indicates otherwise now. We will definitely need to homebrew that and you are right, that there is not much value in thrown weapons based on RAW. Thanks for your reply.
Finesse applies to both range and melee - a handaxe, for example, is not a finesse weapon, which means you use strength regardless of whether you are throwing it or using it in melee. A dagger is a finesse weapon, meaning you can use dex or strength when throwing it.
Thrown just means you can throw it - that you toss the weapon and no longer have it after the attack is done, so you either need to use a new weapon, have it magically return to you, or pick it up. It allows you to use a melee attack at range, but does not turn a dagger into a range weapon (notably, there are darts, which are mostly equivalent to daggers in damage, but they are range weapons and can implicate sharpshooter).
Understood, but I am still struggling with this. When you look at Roll20 and lookup dagger, it says its a melee weapon with the following properties. Finesse, light, range, thrown. DnDBeyond does not add the range property but identifies the range in the thrown property. When DnDBeyond stipulates Ranged Weapon attack. Do they mean Ranged Weapon property or ranged weapon classification. I know this is an old debate, but Roll20 does have "Range" as a property. Is this something they just decided to do, or is this some sort of after the fact consensus by WoTC? Not sure why I care so much, as a DM I would have no problem ruling in this manner, but as a player it would need to be clarified.
The “Range” referenced on Roll 20 is not changing the weapon type from “melee weapon (simple, dagger)” which is the relevant property for Sharpshooter - it merely references how far you can throw the weapon, 20 feet (or 60 feet if at long range). Sharpshooter specifies “attack with a ranged weapon” - if it applies to daggers, it would say “make a ranged attack”, referencing the type of attack, not the weapon specifically.
Hmmmmm yes you are correct. There’s no correlation there at all.
Maybe I wasnt clear on my rant :) She issue with with Sharpshooter
ou have mastered ranged weapons and can make shots that others find impossible. You gain the following benefits:
DNDBeyond says a dagger is Finesse, light, Thrown
Roll20 says a dagger is Finesse, light, Range, Thrown
Not sure which is right, but in Roll20 it is classified with the Ranged property.
Roll20 is wrong
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ModeratorGolaryn is correct in that Roll20 has mislabeled the dagger. The only weapon that has both the ranged and thrown properties is the dart.
Sharpshooter's third bullet applies only to ranged weapons (ie. bows, crossbows, guns, darts, slings, blowguns). A net can't do extra damage if it doesn't do damage in the first place.
Sharpshooter's first and second bullet point applies to both ranged and thrown weapons, and the reason is because "ranged weapon attack" is interpreted as [ranged] [weapon attack].
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Within Roll20 they use range simply to mean that you can make an attack at a target more than 5ft away. If you look at all the thrown weapons in the compendium such as the hand axe you will see that they list range. It’s a little strange, but it doesn’t mean the weapon has the Ranged property. It is really badly worded, the table shows it as range x/y and if you click on the link to the item it shows Finesse, light, Range,Thrown, but thats a config error and does not represent the ranged property. I don’t think I can attach a screenshot via my phone so;
This has been gone over countless times. A simple Google search will lead you to Jeremy Crawford tweet about this.
The first two apply the 3rd does not
https://mobile.twitter.com/jeremyecrawford/status/719326851173187585
I know Crawford gave his opinion, but like Shield Master and Nondetection, he can still be wrong multiple times until he is shown the truth. Here is the truth, and I hope he corrects his error in judgement in an open forum soon.
For the Soulknife, specifically, it qualifies for all three benefits of the Sharpshooter Feat. For the Psychic Blades it specifically states,
"After you attack with the blade, you can make a melee or ranged weapon attack with a second psychic blade as a bonus action on the same turn, provided your other hand is free to create it. The damage die of this bonus attack is ld4, instead of ld6."
Thus a thrown psychic blade, but not a regular weapon, is a ranged weapon, NOT a ranged attack, which is what a melee weapon with only the thrown property makes. Since the description in the subclass specifically states a Ranged Weapon Attack and only a ranged weapon can make that attack. This is the exact qualification for the 3 ability in the Sharpshooter feat, which says,
"Before you make an attack with a ranged weapon that you are proficient with, you can choose to take a -5 penalty to the attack roll. If that attack hits, you add +10 to the attack's damage."
As to the Dagger issue, it is simple:
You are parsing that phrase wrong. The blade does not change from a melee to a ranged weapon. The "ranged" adjective here is describing the weapon attack, not the weapon. It can't just say "ranged attack" because every attack in D&D is specified to be either a weapon attack or a spell attack, due to the fact that the same character can have different modifiers for each type of attack.
Feels like nitpicking, but it's just how D&D language works. It's like how an unarmed strike is a melee weapon attack, but is not an attack with a melee weapon.
This is not really a debate or a shaky Crawford interpretation, it's just how the language has always worked. If a ranged weapon attack was the same thing as an attack with a ranged weapon, Sharpshooter would not use different language between its bullet points. It was specifically designed to grant some - but not all - of its benefits to melee weapons with the thrown keyword, which allows you to make a ranged weapon attack with a melee weapon.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
D&D has the frustrating flaw, that Ranged Weapon Attacks, and an attack with a Ranged Weapon are different things.
You keep misreading the example to suit your narrative, yet it does NOT suit such a narrative.
This is not a dagger, or any such melee weapon, nor is it listed in the Melee weapon list, nor the Ranged Weapon list. So General Rules. around those listed weapons, do not apply to this SPECIFIC weapon. You have to pay close attention to what the subclass rules say to understand its properties. You also have wrong that ranged weapons do ranged weapon attacks, melee weapons do ranged melee attacks, or ranged melee weapon attacks. Daggers are listed as melee weapons, thus make melee attacks, Thrown weapon attacks or ranged melee weapon attacks, only ranged weapons do ranged weapon attacks.
"Also at 3rd level, You can manifest your psionic power as shimmering blades of psychic energy. Whenever you take the Attack action, you can manifest a psychic blade from your free hand and make the attack with that blade. This magic blade is a simple melee weapon with the finesse and thrown properties. It has a normal range of 60 feet and no long range, and on a hit, it deals psychic damage equal to 1d6 plus the ability modifier you used for the attack roll. The blade vanishes immediately after it hits or misses its target, and it leaves no mark on its target if it deals damage.
After you attack with the blade, you can make a melee or ranged weapon attack with a second psychic blade as a bonus action on the same turn, provided your other hand is free to create it. The damage die of this bonus attack is 1d4, instead of 1d6."
So it is a Simple melee weapon with the finesse and thrown property, but has a range similar to a dagger, but only has a short range that is as long as the dagger's long range. It can make melee or ranged weapon attacks (meaning it also qualifies as a ranged weapon). Although identical, it does 1d6 in your main hand and 1d4 in your off-hand. A ranged weapon attacks at range, and snice it isn't listed on the table, and the description says it can do both melee and ranged weapon attacks, it is also a ranged weapon.
Do you change its damage to both be either 1d6, or 1d4?
Do you change its range to 20/60?
Do you ignore its finesse property?
It does NOT say ranged attack, (which is the general term that includes thrown weapons), which appears to be what your gaslighting, it says it performs a RANGED WEAPON ATTACK, which only ranged weapons can do. So like 1d6/1d4, 60' range with no long range, it is both a melee weapon when used that way and a ranged weapon when used at range.
Yes, it says melee weapon, but it also says it makes both melee and ranged weapon attacks. Why do you ignore certain parts that fit you erroneous narrative, yet support other parts. the entire description of this unique weapon is to be respected and since it says it makes both attacks, you must respect that it makes ranged weapon attacks, thus qualifying it for the third part of the feat.
Gaslighting, lmao
In the rules of the game, melee weapons being capable of making ranged weapon attacks does not make them ranged weapons. A melee weapon with the Thrown property isn't considered a ranged weapon. Those weapons aren't listed on the Ranged weapons table, because they're not Ranged weapons.
Sharp Shooter is gone in 1D, fixed?
I'll say it one more time since you seem to have ignored my entire post. It does not say "ranged attack" because it needs to specify whether it is a ranged weapon attack or a ranged spell attack. They need to make this clarification because, as you point out, this weapon is not a regular weapon and it's not automatically clear that this psychic-only attack is a weapon attack.
The only places the rules say "ranged attack" is where it is very clear whether it is a weapon or a spell making that attack. "Weapon" is not the default assumption when a ranged attack is mentioned.
There is nothing in the game that is both a melee weapon and a ranged weapon. If they were taking that unprecedented step with this feature, they would have said it directly.
Additionally, melee weapons can absolutely make ranged weapon attacks. Every time you throw a weapon with the thrown property, you are making a ranged weapon attack with a melee weapon. Which coincidentally is exactly what soulknife is describing.
Are you aware that unarmed strikes are considered melee weapon attacks, but are not considered to be melee attacks with a weapon? This is the same thing. It's not the most sensical wording, but it is rock-solidly consistent throughout the edition.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
In the properties of the Psychic Blades is reads,
"Also at 3rd level, You can manifest your psionic power as shimmering blades of psychic energy. Whenever you take the Attack action, you can manifest a psychic blade from your free hand and make the attack with that blade. This magic blade is a simple melee weapon with the finesse and thrown properties. It has a normal range of 60 feet and no long range, and on a hit, it deals psychic damage equal to 1d6 plus the ability modifier you used for the attack roll. The blade vanishes immediately after it hits or misses its target, and it leaves no mark on its target if it deals damage.
After you attack with the blade, you can make a melee or ranged weapon attack with a second psychic blade as a bonus action on the same turn, provided your other hand is free to create it."
The description SPECIFICALLY refers to it as a "ranged Weapon Attack" Which qualifies for the third ability of the Sharpshooter Feat.
Melee weapons make THROWN attacks, if they have the Thrown property. Range weapons make Ranged weapon attacks.
The Sharpshooter, third part, specifically says, "attack with a ranged weapon" and the Psychic Blades specifically say you can make "a melee or ranged weapon attack". By RAW they are the same and therefore qualify. They are a unique weapon that borrow from different weapons and have unique qualities that no listed weapon has, including being able to attack as both a melee weapon and a ranged weapon.
These are MAGIC PSYCHIC BLADES. Nowhere in the description does it say they are daggers or shortswords. I Italicized each reference in the description to reinforce this error of interpretation. These blades are a mix of numerous, shortsword damage, dagger range, ignores range the long range properties of a ranged weapon, can make melee attacks and ranged weapon attacks.