How would you stat a boomerang?

[Afrodyte]

I'm inclined to make it a simple ranged weapon that does 1d4 bludgeoning damage with the thrown property and a range of 30/120. Due to the relative rarity of boomerangs and the craftsmanship that goes into them, I can see them costing about 5 gold pieces (or more).

However, if there are better options, I'm open to those.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Gosh, given how hard they are to actually use properly, it'd be nice if there were some sort of obstacle to any random Joe picking it up and using it. In 3E, I'd call them Exotic Weapons. I don't have the PHB yet -- is there anything comparable there?

The stats otherwise look fine.

 

[jrowland]

I'd require a feat to obtain, but given the heftiness of 5E feats, you'll want to add a bit more to the feat such as add a "Return" property (returns on a miss) to be thorough and something else.

 

[Connorsrpg]

This one has always made me laugh.

Boomerangs for killing/stunning things would not return. Only light ones thrown at small birds possibly.

If they hit they do NOT return.

Large ones are just better designed throwing clubs really. They looked more like a capital L. Not the V/U sort of shaped light-weight throwing ones.

I would just go with club with a little extra range.

Or lighter ones with returning on a miss. BUT there needs to be a LOT of open space for the boomerang to make the return journey too. And it would spend the whole round in the air. Perhaps you need to take an action/reaction to catch it. Such space is rare in DnD combat - another reason I find it odd that they are always written as returning.

Getting a boomerang to return (and catch it) when not aiming to do anything BUT get it to return is difficult enough.

 

[Paraxis]

A d4?

I would do a d6 (20/60 range) if you just have simple weapon prof, and if you have martial weapon prof have it return on a miss. Magic ones would return all the time.

I mean we want to encourage people to play characters like these two, not use some skewed sense of realism in a game with hit points and magic to keep them from having fun.




Boomerangs are cool like bow ties and fezzes!

 

[Afrodyte]

A d4?

I would do a d6 (20/60 range) if you just have simple weapon prof, and if you have martial weapon prof have it return on a miss. Magic ones would return all the time.

I mean we want to encourage people to play characters like these two, not use some skewed sense of realism in a game with hit points and magic to keep them from having fun.

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Boomerangs are cool like bow ties and fezzes!

Is there a more streamlined way to do that? Perhaps by just making them martial and having the "returns on a miss" property? Or perhaps something that makes a boomerang work a bit like Xena's chakram where it ricochets back to the wielder's hand unless it gets embedded or something?

 

[Connorsrpg]

Yes we have magic and dragons etc, BUT that doesn't take away from verisimilitude.

Thor's hammer returns. All hammers do not. (You have to spend a little more investment/magic to play specialised heroes).

Water does not flow uphill.

Trees produce leaves.

Javelins do not fly around corners.

Boomerangs do not return easily, and certainly not in confined spaces or when they hit something.

Barring magic, these things are consistent in my settings.

To try and help with stats (and how I would use them):

I would go with club (though the large Koori hunting boomerangs used down here could easily be bumped to a d6 damage - I didn't realise a club was so low). Those ones never return though.

Smaller ones; d4 damage; return on a miss (if there is enough space to either side equal to the range of target would make sense. eg: throwing at target 40ft away, there needs to be 40ft of open space to either side b/w you and target).

If you want boomerangs returning in confined spaces, that is good for you, but it is not how a boomerang works. If it is to return it travels in a large loop, and often circles above you again before the catch. Getting to come back to where you stand is extremely hard. Getting modern ones, crafted specifically to return to land within several feet of you is a skill. As stated, could even go with requiring an action/reaction to catch (possibly on next round for long range).

 

[Afrodyte]

Yes we have magic and dragons etc, BUT that doesn't take away from verisimilitude.

Thor's hammer returns. All hammers do not. (You have to spend a little more investment/magic to play specialised heroes).

Water does not flow uphill.

Trees produce leaves.

Javelins do not fly around corners.

Boomerangs do not return easily, and certainly not in confined spaces or when they hit something.

Barring magic, these things are consistent in my settings.

To try and help with stats (and how I would use them):

I would go with club (though the large Koori hunting boomerangs used down here could easily be bumped to a d6 damage - I didn't realise a club was so low). Those ones never return though.

Smaller ones; d4 damage; return on a miss (if there is enough space to either side equal to the range of target would make sense. eg: throwing at target 40ft away, there needs to be 40ft of open space to either side b/w you and target).

If you want boomerangs returning in confined spaces, that is good for you, but it is not how a boomerang works. If it is to return it travels in a large loop, and often circles above you again before the catch. Getting to come back to where you stand is extremely hard. Getting modern ones, crafted specifically to return to land within several feet of you is a skill. As stated, could even go with requiring an action/reaction to catch (possibly on next round for long range).

That is not what verisimilitude means (really, it isn't). Even if it did mean that, this level of fussiness over details is not one of my goals for giving stats for this weapon. Otherwise, I would have said that I was looking for the most realistic portrayal of a boomerang in D&D stats.

 

[GX.Sigma]

I'd treat a boomerang as a non-weapon, unable to even serve as an improvised weapon.

I know that's not the answer you're looking for, so how about this:

Boomerang
Martial ranged weapon
75 gp
1d6 bludgeoning damage
Returning (range 30/120), light

Returning: This weapon returns to you after being thrown (on a hit or miss). Because of the time required to catch it, you can throw it only once when you use an action, bonus action, or reaction to throw it, regardless of the number of attacks you can normally make.

 

[Afrodyte]

I'd treat a boomerang as a non-weapon, unable to even serve as an improvised weapon.

I know that's not the answer you're looking for, so how about this:

Boomerang
Martial ranged weapon
75 gp
1d6 bludgeoning damage
Returning (range 30/120), light

Returning: This weapon returns to you after being thrown (on a hit or miss). Because of the time required to catch it, you can throw it only once when you use an action, bonus action, or reaction to throw it, regardless of the number of attacks you can normally make.

This would work beautifully, thanks.