How would you stat a boomerang in 5e

[Spacehamster]

STR or DEX?
1d4 +STR/DEX
Range 20/60
Returning
Martial or simple?

Just thought boomerang would be a unique fun weapon so might have a magic boomerang drop in some adventure. :)

[Naanomi]

A martial club or light warhammer, returns with a performance/sleight of hand check but not in combat; but common magic property of returning

[N810]

Probably Dex,
and it would be interesting if it only returned
if you had martial skill or it was magical. :smallamused:

[kaoskonfety]

STR or DEX?
1d4 +STR/DEX
Range 20/60
Returning
Martial or simple?

Just thought boomerang would be a unique fun weapon so might have a magic boomerang drop in some adventure. :)

Martial - those buggers are tricky, even the toys, I assume the weapons would be hard to manage "untrained" - if you want it to be a simple weapon - that can be part of what the magic does
I'd argue them as a melee ranged weapon, so Strength (you can just hit a guy with it), I can see an argument for finesse if you are so inclined though

20/60 seems ok at a glance - I don't have any first hand experience with the "upper effective range"

I'd push for a 1d6 on the damage, they've got some heft on them (and the martial weapon thing...)

[DanyBallon]

I'd say;
1d4 bludgeoning ranged weapon
range 20/60
returning to owner's hand on a miss

[HammeredWharf]

I don't see a need to give it a short range. Boomerangs fly just fine. In fact, the world record of javelin throwing is around 100m, while the one for boomerangs is over 400m. So, I'd give it the following:

D6 bludgeoning + dex
60/240
Returns on a miss
Martial

[Yorrin]

D6 bludgeoning + dex
60/240
Returns on a miss
Martial

This. I gave one of my players a magical returning chakram with almost identical stats and it worked out great. Of course the magic made it return even on a hit, allowing for multiple attacks with it.

[Citan]

Hi!

I actually had to think about this case, I decided to go as such.

Dice: 1d4 bludgeoning
Properties: finesse, light, thrown (30/120), special*.
Special*: this weapon comes back to your space wether it hits or misses. You can knock out enemies with ranged attacks made with this weapon.

Reasons behind this choice?
- Finesse: efficiency of a boomerang throw actually depends on both, and I thought it had no impact on game balance, only being more useful for most classes.

- Light: because I don't think it would be (much) heavier than a Handaxe, which is light, so seemed fair.

- Thrown: as it's designed to be a thrown weapon, it's supposed to go reasonably far before losing potency, so having the same range as a javelin seemed balanced (dagger= really too short, shortbow = a bit far).

- Special: well, "coming back" is obvious, and since damage is bludgeoning and boomerang is often used as non-lethal weapon, seemed natural to me to precise that you can knock out.

- Dice damage: because it's a light weapon, and the two benefits that you can NOT kill and that it comes back automatically (making it strictly better than all other light thrown weapons) were far enough to me without adding increased die.

Fared well for me. :)

I don't see a need to give it a short range. Boomerangs fly just fine. In fact, the world record of javelin throwing is around 100m, while the one for boomerangs is over 400m. So, I'd give it the following:

Well, sure. Except that it was a record made with the exclusive objective of throwing it the farthest possible, not hitting and hurting things. Also, it was made with a very specifically crafted model.

The actual average distance for throws "for the throw" are more between 100 and 200 meters, with boomerangs weighting no more than a few dozen grams. A boomerang designed to hurt should weight at least 1 pound imo, meaning you cannot expect it to travel as far.

So, it would be totally "unrealistic" (well, it's a game not a physics engine but you get what I mean) and totally balance-breaking to make it like this. (d6, large range) imo.

[Person_Man]

Boomerangs that return towards you generally aren't used as weapons. They're generally too light, the upward bending flight path it needs to take to curve back towards you would make it really difficult to aim at a target on the ground (though they can be useful against some birds), they move more slowly the a weapon thrown in a strait line and thus would be easy for a humanoid to dodge or deflect, and you need a large amount of open space to use them (making them useless in dungeons).

Boomerangs used as weapons are thrown in a strait line and don't return towards you. They were used for hunting small game because they have a longer range then a spear or dart (they can float like a frisbee), could also be used as a club, and are a lot easier to make and used compared to a bow. don't require the technical proficiency of a bow.

Though for fantasy game purposes, I have no problem with a boomerang or Captain America-like shield. I'd go with Martial, 1d4 Blunt, Finesse, Light, Thrown (range 20/80), Special (returns on anything but a 1 on your attack roll).

As points of comparison, the Trident is Martial, 1d6 Piercing, Thrown (range 20/60), versatile (1d8). The Shortsword is 1d6 Finesse and Light. If you want the Boomerang to do 1d6 damage, then it should drop Light or Finesse.

[Hudsonian]

Next up: Boomy Warrior Princess

I really want this to have some sort of a hidden level up stat where it turns into the chakram from Xena Warrior Princess! I'd say require a 2nd attack roll to see if you "hit" your hand on the return, disadvantage on a hit. Bonus action attack on a critical for the return.

Remember, this is a fantasy game. I'd say start with it being "non-magical" and let the PC find a weaponsmith that will add blades to both ends to upgrade the hit die, then a caster to give it some sort of bounce effect, or element damage.

I'd probably call it a monk weapon, because it is just going to be that rare. Most smiths would be like, "that's a weapon? Why did you bend your cane?"

[Malifice]

As an Australian I approve of this thread :)

They do curve a bit in flight which you have to account for with your throw (and are pretty heavy suckers too) about a kilo (2.5lbs) or two.

I'd make them a 1d6 damage strength based B thrown (so melee) weapon with a 20/60 range. Simple weapon accounts for the fact they're not as good as tridents, and while there is a bit of technique involved, you can pick it up pretty quick. nothing more challenging than pegging a spear or blattting a crossbow. You could make them martial weapons for balance I suppose (a slightly less damage but capable of being thrown mace).

They work just fine as clubs too.

[Grey Watcher]

...

Special*: this weapon comes back to your space wether it hits or misses.

...

I can't make up my mind whether returning on a hit breaks verisimilitude too much for me or not. On the one hand, a real boomerang would have its flight path interrupted by the whatever it hit and thus wouldn't come back (above-mentioned distinctions between stunt boomerangs and weapon boomerangs notwithstanding). On the other hand, things like The Legend of Zelda have primed us with the idea that the boomerang does always come back, even if it bounces off the target to do so.

I dunno, I started this post off thinking I was going to recommend scaling it back to "returns only on a miss", but now I'm not so sure. :smallconfused:

[Spacehamster]

I can't make up my mind whether returning on a hit breaks verisimilitude too much for me or not. On the one hand, a real boomerang would have its flight path interrupted by the whatever it hit and thus wouldn't come back (above-mentioned distinctions between stunt boomerangs and weapon boomerangs notwithstanding). On the other hand, things like The Legend of Zelda have primed us with the idea that the boomerang does always come back, even if it bounces off the target to do so.

I dunno, I started this post off thinking I was going to recommend scaling it back to "returns only on a miss", but now I'm not so sure. :smallconfused:

A mundane boomerang could return only on a miss and all magical ones would return regardless is probably the best way to go about it. :)

[Knaight]

I don't see a need to give it a short range. Boomerangs fly just fine. In fact, the world record of javelin throwing is around 100m, while the one for boomerangs is over 400m. So, I'd give it the following:

D6 bludgeoning + dex
60/240
Returns on a miss
Martial

There's a few types of boomerangs, and the really light ones optimized for flight behave differently than the heavier ones meant to actually hit something. I'd probably shorten that range, keep "Returns on a miss", and maybe note that for magical boomerangs returning regardless is common.