D&D 5E Can thrown weapons be used for sneak attack damage?

[MG.0]

Some thrown weapons are considered ranged weapons (dart).

A dart isn't a melee weapon. It isn't the method of propulsion, it's the intended use.

I could club someone over the head with a crossbow, but that doesn't make it a melee weapon.

 

[Warmaster Horus]

A dart isn't a melee weapon. It isn't the method of propulsion, it's the intended use.

I could club someone over the head with a crossbow, but that doesn't make it a melee weapon.

The original question was can a thrown weapon be used for sneak attack damage. A dart, which is a ranged weapon and can be thrown, most certainly qualifies.

 

[Minigiant]

The dart can be thrown fro sneak attack damage as it is a ranged weapon. It can also be thrown fro sneak attack damage as it is a finesse weapon.

A dagger can be thrown fro sneak attack damage as it is a finesse weapon.

The Sage Advice does allow for the justification of an addition "throwing axe" weapon which is a thrown finesse weapon which deals slashing damage. Maybe a chakram.

Chakram
5 gp
1 lb
1d6 Slashing damage
Finesse, thrown (20/60)


(Insert Xena Warcry here)

 

[MG.0]

The original question was can a thrown weapon be used for sneak attack damage. A dart, which is a ranged weapon and can be thrown, most certainly qualifies.

I know. I just pointing out that whether or not you throw it is pretty much irrelevent when classifying into melee/ranged.

If I throw my crossbow, is it a ranged weapon (DEX), or a thrown improvised weapon (STR?)

 

[SoltariNagumoto]

I know. I just pointing out that whether or not you throw it is pretty much irrelevent when classifying into melee/ranged.

If I throw my crossbow, is it a ranged weapon (DEX), or a thrown improvised weapon (STR?)

All personal opinions are irrelevant when classifying weapons into melee/ranged, they're already classified. There's a chart in the book that clearly lists which weapons are which. A DM can adjust rules however he wants but that doesn't change what the book says. Note that there is a difference between the terms weapon and attack in the rulebook. They're not interchangeable.

If you throw your crossbow as it does not have the thrown property it is now an improvised thrown weapon dealing 1d4 damage and with a normal range of 20 feet and a long range of 60 feet, add your STR to the attack and damage rolls. Not capable of a sneak attack for the same reason throwing a rapier doesn't work.

Thrown is a special property that allows some weapons of either the melee or ranged variety to make a ranged attack at the ranges it specifies by throwing the weapon itself, it also states that if the weapon is a melee weapon you use whatever stat would normally be used by said weapon to determine attack and damage bonuses. That's why using vanilla rules only the dagger and the dart can be thrown for a sneak attack. The dagger because it has the finesse property which it keeps when thrown because the thrown property means it remains a dagger with its stats when you throw it. The dart because it has both the ranged and finesse properties which it keeps because it has the thrown property thus maintaining its stats.

It's very simple if you stop using weapon and attack interchangeably. The rules never do and you shouldn't either (to avoid confusion on your part and that of your DM and/or players). Check my post on the previous page of this thread if you'd like an even more exhaustive description of the rules at play here.

P.S. Just to make sure no one takes it that way. I am not saying that MG.0 was wrong, I'm agreeing with him about the classification thing and expanding on his point. Also answering his question which may or may not have been rhetorical. Then addressing the point that in my observation is usually the source of confusion about this topic.

 

[MG.0]

P.S. Just to make sure no one takes it that way. I am not saying that MG.0 was wrong, I'm agreeing with him about the classification thing and expanding on his point. Also answering his question which may or may not have been rhetorical. Then addressing the point that in my observation is usually the source of confusion about this topic.

At first I was thinking my tongue in cheek statement was being taken the wrong way. Agreed on all counts.

 

[Mochan]

Actually, no. If you use the bow to hit someone with, Arrow-style, it becomes an improvised weapon. Your DM might treat it as a club. No finesse, so no sneak attack.

A dagger is a finesse weapon. That property applies regardless of whether it is used for a melee strike or thrown, so yes... you can get sneak attack damage from throwing a dagger, as long as the other conditions for sneak attack are present. This is not complicated.

That's what an intelligent person using common sense would rule.

But someone going by RAW can use the same logic used to counter the "let a thrown stone be a sneak attack weapon" by saying the bow is still a ranged weapon, no matter if you use it to club someone, so it still gets sneak attack.

See? This is the problem with RAW. DMs can make judgement calls however they see fit, the guiding principle IMO should always be what's fun for everyone.