CapnZapp
Legend
Let me just point out you're saying someone is wrong, and ending your conversation, in the same post. That could come across as impolite, if you deny that person the chance to reply.This is incorrect -- what makes a weapon a ranged weapon is being classified as a ranged weapon. ("Every weapon is classified as either melee or ranged." Basic Rules, p.45) Since the rules for combat specify what you do with a ranged weapon, a ranged weapon without the thrown or ammunition property would not be considered an improvised weapon; it would be a ranged weapon.
The way I read the 'thrown' tag is that you need a separate weapon for each attack you make unless you recover the weapon during combat. (Note the 'thrown' tag on the javelin and spear, which represent this quality.) This also explains why the dart, a different ranged weapon, also has the 'thrown' tag. From that perspective, my original assertion of the function of the 'thrown' tag (to allow a melee weapon to be used at range) is incorrect -- it also represents a weapon that is 'expended' when used to make a ranged attack (as opposed to expending ammunition).
It would be theoretically possible to have a ranged weapon with neither the thrown or ammunition traits; it would be a ranged weapon that is not expended when thrown, but also does not require ammunition to use. While I can't imagine any 'realistic' weapons that would fall into this category, I could imagine a number of fantasy weapons from literature and TV/film that would. (One made-up example -- a flamethrower powered by a bound fire elemental in a backpack. The weapon is clearly not 'thrown', but the elemental also doesn't count as 'ammunition'. Of course, it would be just as likely that such a weapon would be modeled as a magical item allowing the use of a spell (like Burning Hands) rather than using the weapon table.)
And with that, we're getting a bit far off the AL focus of this forum, so I'll stop there. Bottom line, though, is that if the net didn't have the 'thrown' property, the most reasonable interpretation would be that it is a 'reusable' ranged weapon (and given that most combat nets are reusable, via cords or ropes attached to the net that allow it to be recovered during combat -- see 'Retarius' -- that wouldn't be an outlandish assumption), not that it would be an improvised weapon.
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Pauper
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