Recently ran into something that has thrown me for a loop. What makes a weapon capable of the full use of the Feat Sharpshooter? Is it limited to the basics in a Bow, Crossbow or Darts? Or could someone use it for Hand axes, Spears, Javelins, and Tridents? Looking at the Feat https://www.dndbeyond.com/feats/sharpshooter, it only states a Ranged Weapon you are Proficient with. And Hand axes, Spears and so on all have a Ranged capability.
Recently ran into something that has thrown me for a loop. What makes a weapon capable of the full use of the Feat Sharpshooter? Is it limited to the basics in a Bow, Crossbow or Darts? Or could someone use it for Hand axes, Spears, Javelins, and Tridents? Looking at the Feat https://www.dndbeyond.com/feats/sharpshooter, it only states a Ranged Weapon you are Proficient with. And Hand axes, Spears and so on all have a Ranged capability.
Note for below: I am talking about full use of Sharpshooter, as you asked about, i.e. its third bullet point. The top two bullet points do work with ranged attacks made with melee weapons.
All ranged weapons can be used with Sharpshooter. Hand Axes, Spears, Javelins, and Tridents are melee weapons with the thrown property, meaning they are melee weapons you can make ranged attacks with, so none of them can be used with Sharpshooter, as they are not ranged weapons.
Light Crossbows, Shortbows, Darts, Slings, Blowguns, Hand Crossbows, Heavy Crossbows, Longbows, and Nets are ranged weapons, as it says in the PHB in the weapons table. Those are the weapons that work with Sharpshooter, base. All other weapons in the table are melee weapons, so none of them do.
There are other weapons than those found in that table - for example, a musket, pistol, or laser rifle - but all of them are melee or ranged. Sharpshooter is for ranged weapons.
Yep. Just realized exactly how everything was classified. I've seen the Book for like 3 years now, I've seen all four categories. And I just realized that it was split into Melee and Ranged after i read your response. Thanks for the clarification, and for your time =)
If you interpret it this way, wouldn’t that mean a player could throw a ranged weapon like crossbow, and still benefit from the 3rd part of the sharpshooter feat?
If you interpret it this way, wouldn’t that mean a player could throw a ranged weapon like crossbow, and still benefit from the 3rd part of the sharpshooter feat?
This thread is a couple of years old but the rules haven't changed.
In the end, it's up to your DM. However, a thrown crossbow is not being used as a crossbow to fire a piece of ammunition, it is being used as an improvised weapon. As such, I wouldn't consider it a "Ranged Weapon" for Sharpshooter since it is not a Ranged Weapon in this context, it is an improvised weapon.
"Improvised Weapons
Sometimes characters don't have their weapons and have to attack with whatever is at hand. An improvised weapon includes any object you can wield in one or two hands, such as broken glass, a table leg, a frying pan, a wagon wheel, or a dead goblin.
Often, an improvised weapon is similar to an actual weapon and can be treated as such. For example, a table leg is akin to a club. At the DM's option, a character proficient with a weapon can use a similar object as if it were that weapon and use his or her proficiency bonus.
An object that bears no resemblance to a weapon deals 1d4 damage (the DM assigns a damage type appropriate to the object). If a character uses a ranged weapon to make a melee attack, or throws a melee weapon that does not have the thrown property, it also deals 1d4 damage. An improvised thrown weapon has a normal range of 20 feet and a long range of 60 feet.
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Recently ran into something that has thrown me for a loop. What makes a weapon capable of the full use of the Feat Sharpshooter? Is it limited to the basics in a Bow, Crossbow or Darts? Or could someone use it for Hand axes, Spears, Javelins, and Tridents? Looking at the Feat https://www.dndbeyond.com/feats/sharpshooter, it only states a Ranged Weapon you are Proficient with. And Hand axes, Spears and so on all have a Ranged capability.
Note for below: I am talking about full use of Sharpshooter, as you asked about, i.e. its third bullet point. The top two bullet points do work with ranged attacks made with melee weapons.
All ranged weapons can be used with Sharpshooter. Hand Axes, Spears, Javelins, and Tridents are melee weapons with the thrown property, meaning they are melee weapons you can make ranged attacks with, so none of them can be used with Sharpshooter, as they are not ranged weapons.
Light Crossbows, Shortbows, Darts, Slings, Blowguns, Hand Crossbows, Heavy Crossbows, Longbows, and Nets are ranged weapons, as it says in the PHB in the weapons table. Those are the weapons that work with Sharpshooter, base. All other weapons in the table are melee weapons, so none of them do.
There are other weapons than those found in that table - for example, a musket, pistol, or laser rifle - but all of them are melee or ranged. Sharpshooter is for ranged weapons.
Yep. Just realized exactly how everything was classified. I've seen the Book for like 3 years now, I've seen all four categories. And I just realized that it was split into Melee and Ranged after i read your response. Thanks for the clarification, and for your time =)
If you interpret it this way, wouldn’t that mean a player could throw a ranged weapon like crossbow, and still benefit from the 3rd part of the sharpshooter feat?
This thread is a couple of years old but the rules haven't changed.
In the end, it's up to your DM. However, a thrown crossbow is not being used as a crossbow to fire a piece of ammunition, it is being used as an improvised weapon. As such, I wouldn't consider it a "Ranged Weapon" for Sharpshooter since it is not a Ranged Weapon in this context, it is an improvised weapon.
"Improvised Weapons
Sometimes characters don't have their weapons and have to attack with whatever is at hand. An improvised weapon includes any object you can wield in one or two hands, such as broken glass, a table leg, a frying pan, a wagon wheel, or a dead goblin.
Often, an improvised weapon is similar to an actual weapon and can be treated as such. For example, a table leg is akin to a club. At the DM's option, a character proficient with a weapon can use a similar object as if it were that weapon and use his or her proficiency bonus.
An object that bears no resemblance to a weapon deals 1d4![]()
damage (the DM assigns a damage type appropriate to the object). If a character uses a ranged weapon to make a melee attack, or throws a melee weapon that does not have the thrown property, it also deals 1d4![]()
damage. An improvised thrown weapon has a normal range of 20 feet and a long range of 60 feet.