Weapons

Your class grants proficiency in certain weapons, reflecting both the class’s focus and the tools you are most likely to use. Whether you favor a longsword or a longbow, your weapon and your ability to wield it effectively can mean the difference between life and death while adventuring.

The Weapons table shows the most common weapons used in Hyrule, their price and weight, the damage they deal when they hit, and any special properties they possess. Every weapon is classified as either melee or ranged. A melee weapon is used to attack a target within 5 feet of you, whereas a ranged weapon is used to attack a target at a distance.

Weapon Proficiency

Your race, class, and feats can grant you proficiency with certain weapons or categories of weapons. The two categories are simple and martial.

Most people can use simple weapons with proficiency. These weapons include clubs, maces, and other weapons often found in the hands of commoners. Martial weapons, including swords, axes, and polearms, require more specialized training to use effectively. Most warriors use martial weapons because these weapons put their fighting style and training to best use.

Proficiency with a weapon allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with that weapon. If you make an attack roll using a weapon with which you lack proficiency, you do not add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll.

Weapon Properties

Many weapons have properties which affect their use, as shown in the Weapons table.

Ammunition. You can use a weapon that has the ammunition property to make a ranged attack only if you have ammunition to shoot from the weapon. Each time you attack with the weapon, you expend one piece of ammunition. A piece of ordinary ammunition such as an arrow or bolt costs 1 rupee and weighs less than ¹⁄₄ pounds. Drawing the ammunition from a quiver, case, or other container is part of the attack (you need a free hand to load a one-handed weapon). Generally, any ammunition you use in an attack is destroyed beyond use. If you use a weapon that has the ammunition property to make a melee attack, you treat the weapon as an improvised weapon.

Aquatic. If you make an attack with a weapon while underwater, your attack roll has disadvantage unless your weapon has the aquatic property. If a creature has a swim speed, any attacks it makes with unarmed strikes or natural weapons such as bites are aquatic.

Dire. If you make an attack roll with a dire weapon with which you are proficient, you do not add your proficiency bonus to your attack roll. You instead add your proficiency bonus to your damage roll if you hit.

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

Light. A light weapon is small and easy to handle, making it ideal for use when fighting with two weapons. See two weapon fighting.

Loading. Because of the time required to load this weapon, you can fire only one piece of ammunition from it when you use an action, bonus action, or reaction to fire it, regardless of the number of attacks you can normally make.

Range. A weapon that can be used to make a ranged attack has a range 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.

Reach. This weapon adds 5 feet to your reach when you attack with it, as well as when determining your reach for opportunity attacks with it.

Returning.

Special. A weapon with the special property has unusual rules governing its use, explained in the weapon’s description. See either the page for the weapon, or the Special Weapons section layer on this page.

Thrown. If a weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon to make 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 dagger, you can use either your Strength or your Dexterity since the dagger has the finesse property.

Two-Handed. This weapon requires two hands when you attack with it.

Versatile. This weapon can be used with one or two hands when making a melee attack. A damage value in parentheses appears with the property—the damage when the weapon is used with two hands to make a melee attack. If you make a ranged attack with this weapon, you can only use one hand.

Weapons

Weapon	Damage	Properties	Cost	Weight
Simple Melee Weapons
Bug-catching net	1 bludgeoning	1 r	2 lb	Light, special
Club	2 (1d4) bludgeoning	1 rp	2 lb	Light
Dagger	2 (1d4) piercing	20 rp	1 lb	Aquatic, finesse, light, thrown (range 20/60)
Handaxe	3 (1d6) slashing	20 rp	2 lb	Light, thrown (range 20/60)
Javelin	3 (1d6) piercing	5 rp	2 lb	Aquatic, thrown (range 30/120)
Quarterstaff	3 (1d6) bludgeoning	5 rp	4 lb	Versatile (1d8)
Sickle	3 (1d6) piercing	5 rp	2 lb	Light
Hammer	3 (1d6) bludgeoning	15 rp	4 lb	Thrown (range 20/60), versatile (1d8)
Spear or trident	3 (1d6) piercing	15 rp	3 lb	Aquatic, thrown (range 20/60), versatile (1d8)
Crusher	4 (1d8) bludgeoning	200 rp	12 lb	Dire, two-handed
Greatclub	4 (1d8) bludgeoning	2 rp	10 lb	Two-handed
Simple Ranged Weapons
Blowgun	1 piercing	10 rp	1 lb	Ammunition (range 25/100), special
Dart	2 (1d4) piercing	1 rp	1⁄4 lb	Finesse, thrown (20/60)
Slingshot	2 (1d4) bludgeoning	3 rp	1 lb	Ammunition (range 30/90), aquatic, two-handed
Shortbow	3 (1d6) piercing	250 rp	2 lb	Ammunition (range 80/320), two-handed
Light crossbow	4 (1d8) piercing	250 rp	5 lb	Ammunition (range 80/320), aquatic, loading, two-handed
Martial Melee Weapons
Whip	2 (1d4) slashing	100 rp	3 lb	Finesse, reach, special
Shortsword	3 (1d6) piercing	200 rp	2 lb	Aquatic, finesse, light
Scimitar or cutlass	3 (1d6) slashing	200 rp	2 lb	Finesse, light
Lizal boomerang	3 (1d6) slashing	500 rp	3 lb	Aquatic, finesse, returning (range 30/120)
Broadsword	4 (1d8) slashing	250 rp	2 lb	Finesse
Rapier	4 (1d8) piercing	250 rp	2 lb	Finesse
Flail	4 (1d8) bludgeoning	100 rp	3 lb.	—
War pick	4 (1d8) piercing	100 rp	3 lb.	—
Battleaxe or longsword	4 (1d8) slashing	200 rp	3 lb.	Versatile (1d8)
Morningstar	4 (1d8) piercing	200 rp	3 lb.	Versatile (1d10)
Warhammer	4 (1d8) bludgeoning	200 rp	3 lb.	Versatile (1d10)
Pike	5 (1d10) piercing	50 rp	18 lb	Aquatic, reach, two-handed
Pole hammer	5 (1d10) bludgeoning	50 rp	18 lb	Reach, two-handed
Glaive or halberd	5 (1d10) slashing	200 rp	6 lb.	Reach, two-handed
Moblin spear	5 (1d10) piercing	350 rp	6 lb.	Dire, reach, two-handed
Giant boomerang	5 (1d10) bludgeoning	500 rp	7 lb	Returning (range 20/80), two-handed
Lance	6 (1d12) piercing	100 rp	6 lb	Reach, special, two-handed
Greataxe	6 (1d12) slashing	300 rp	7 lb.	Two-handed
Claymore or greatsword	7 (2d6) slashing	500 rp	7 lb.	Two-handed
Maul	7 (2d6) bludgeoning	500 rp	10 lb.	two-handed
Martial Ranged Weapons
Boomerang	3 (1d6) bludgeoning	10 rp	1 lb	Light, returning (range 30/120)
Hand crossbow	3 (1d6) piercing	750 rp	3 lb	Ammunition (range 30/120), aquatic, light, loading
Longbow	4 (1d8) piercing	500 rp	3 lb	Ammunition (range 150/600), two-handed
Duplex bow	5 (2d4) piercing	900 rp	2 lb	Ammunition (range 30/120), two-handed, special
Heavy crossbow	5 (1d10)	500 rp	18 lb	Ammunition (range 100/400), aquatic, loading, two-handed

Special Weapons

The following weapons have a special property.

Bug-catching net. A Tiny creature hit by this net suffers no damage, but is grappled by you, and restrained until it is freed from the grapple. Amorphous creatures are unaffected. A creature restrained by a net can use its action to attempt escape by making a Strength (Athletics) check contested by your Strength (Athletics) check, but the restrained creature automatically fails the contest unless its result is at least 10. Maintaining the grapple requires one hand from you, and you cannot make another attack with this bug-catching net while you are maintaining the grapple. Dealing 5 slashing damage to the net (AC 10) frees the restrained creature without harming it, ending the effect and destroying the net.

Blowgun. When you hit with a ranged attack using using Dexterity for your attack roll, you can add either your Dexterity or your Constitution to the damage roll of a blowgun.

Duplex bow. As ammunition a duplex bow uses two arrows for each attack. If an attack with this weapon uses one arrow instead of two, a hit deals only 1d4 damage instead of 2d4.

Lance. You have disadvantage on attack rolls with a lance if you attack a target within 5 feet of you, unless you are Large or otherwise can wield Large weapons without penalty. You can wield a lance with only one hand if you are mounted, or if your size is Large or larger.

Whip. If you are proficient with whips and wielding one, you can use your action to shove a creature within the reach of your whip. When shoving a creature in this way, you can only pull the creature 5 feet towards you or attempt to knock it prone.

Silver and Adamantine Weapons

Some monsters with immunity or resistance to the damage from nonmagical weapons are susceptible to weapons made with silver or adamantine. While silver weapons are reasonably common, adamantine doesn't exist in Hyrule. Some specific weapons like a cobble crusher or guardian weapon are nonetheless are the equivalent of an adamantine weapon.

A silver weapon costs 1,000 rupees more than a normal weapon of its type. A single piece of silver ammunition costs 100 more rupees than normal. A silver weapon gains the aquatic property and doesn't rust.

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 miniblin.

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 GM 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.

The text of this page is partly based on the the V5.1 Systems Reference Document (SRD). The text of both this page and the SRD are released under Creative Commons (“CC-BY-4.0”). [1]