Level Up (A5E) Are nets melee weapons in A5e?

[Sepulchre]

Is the net a melee weapon in A5e? It was moved from being a ranged martial weapon in O5e to the miscellaneous table. It has the thrown weapon property, but on melee weapons, thrown is merely an option. The lance is a melee weapon on the same table.

Can you make melee weapon attacks with a net?

 

[Tessarael]

Per the Adventurer's Guide, page 309: "If you use a ranged weapon to make a melee attack, it is treated as an improvised weapon." It would do d4 bludgeoning damage.

The other issue with a net is that it has thrown weapon range of 5/15. At range 5', the attack is at disadvantage as you are within your opponent's reach. Beyond range 5', you are at long range, so the attack is also at disadvantage. It is the only weapon that has a thrown/ranged attack range of 5/something.

Makes a net user want to cry and use bolas instead. IMHO, you could permit a net wielder to use the net to grapple an opponent in melee, using the standard A5E grappling rules.

I'd make bolas a rare weapon with range of 20/60, damage d4, and I'd keep the restrained property the same: "A corporeal Large or smaller creature that cannot move through a space one inch or smaller who is hit by a net is restrained until it is freed. A creature can use its action to make a DC 10 Strength check, freeing itself or another creature within its reach on a success. Bolas have AC 10, 5 hit points, and immunity to bludgeoning damage."

 

[DataDwarf]

I made a homebrew feat for my players that want that "Gladiator" net+spear feel

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Net Expert

Thanks to extensive practice with the Net, you gain the following benefits:

• You ignore the restriction on the number of attacks you may take if you attack with a net. However, you may still only attack once with a net per turn.
• Being within 5 feet of a hostile creature doesn’t impose disadvantage on your ranged attack rolls with a net.
• When you use the Attack action and attack with a one-handed weapon, you can use a bonus action to attack with a net you are holding.

 

[Sepulchre]

Per the Adventurer's Guide, page 309: "If you use a ranged weapon to make a melee attack, it is treated as an improvised weapon." It would do d4 bludgeoning damage.

The other issue with a net is that it has thrown weapon range of 5/15. At range 5', the attack is at disadvantage as you are within your opponent's reach. Beyond range 5', you are at long range, so the attack is also at disadvantage. It is the only weapon that has a thrown/ranged attack range of 5/something.

Sorry if I wasn’t clear. In O5e, a net is a ranged weapon because it is on the ranged weapons table. As far as I can tell, every other weapon with the thrown property in A5e is a melee weapon. The net in A5e was moved to the “miscellaneous table,” along with two melee weapons, the garrote and the lance, and the spear thrower, which has the range and loading properties.

If I did not have a prior about the net from O5e, I would think it was a melee weapon with the thrown weapon property. Heck, I think that is probably the best reading RAW. Adding support is the fact that the O5e dart was changed from a ranged weapon with the thrown property to a ranged weapon with the ranged property. The thrown property in A5e is (I believe) exclusive to melee weapons.

My question is whether the intent was to make the net a melee weapon, or whether the net is supposed to function like the old O5e net despite the changes.

 

[Selganor]

If something in A5E is different from O5E my basic assumption is: "They changed this because the O5E version was missing something."

So it seems they took the "close combat net" in account when going through the weapons.

Regarding the Dart, I just noticed that there's no simple thrown weapon with 1d4 damage (it starts with 1d6 handaxe/javelin/spear/trident)

Both throwing dagger (a "normal" dagger can't be thrown) and dart are martial weapons. Throwing dagger is for the strong ones (thrown property allows Str for attack/damage) and Dart for the nimble ones (ranged weapons using Dex for attack/damage)

 

[arms]

rock?

If something in A5E is different from O5E my basic assumption is: "They changed this because the O5E version was missing something."

So it seems they took the "close combat net" in account when going through the weapons.

Regarding the Dart, I just noticed that there's no simple thrown weapon with 1d4 damage (it starts with 1d6 handaxe/javelin/spear/trident)

Both throwing dagger (a "normal" dagger can't be thrown) and dart are martial weapons. Throwing dagger is for the strong ones (thrown property allows Str for attack/damage) and Dart for the nimble ones (ranged weapons using Dex for attack/damage)

I think I'd just throw a stone instead of training to throw darts or so

 

[Tessarael]

If something in A5E is different from O5E my basic assumption is: "They changed this because the O5E version was missing something."

So it seems they took the "close combat net" in account when going through the weapons.

Regarding the Dart, I just noticed that there's no simple thrown weapon with 1d4 damage (it starts with 1d6 handaxe/javelin/spear/trident)

Both throwing dagger (a "normal" dagger can't be thrown) and dart are martial weapons. Throwing dagger is for the strong ones (thrown property allows Str for attack/damage) and Dart for the nimble ones (ranged weapons using Dex for attack/damage)

You're correct, though trident is a martial weapon.

It's interesting. Wizards get daggers, darts, slings, and quarterstaffs. Sorcerers get the same + light crossbows. Warlock gets simple weapon proficiency; though for some reason in Fantasy Grounds I recall it listing the same as Wizard for A5E - probably a copy and paste error.

Allowing Dexterity and Strength to both be used with thrown weapons is a nice touch in the LUA5E Adventurer's Guide. In 5E D&D, using Dexterity was limited to thrown weapons with the finesse property.