Can you make a Melee Weapon Attack with a Net?

A thrown melee weapon is considered a ranged attack.

However, the Net has a throwing range, is listed as a Martial Ranged Weapon, but doesn’t inherently state that it requires you to throw the net in order to use its effects, only that it hits.

Additionally, the Thrown feature refers to using the same attribute that you would use for the weapon if you were to use it for a melee weapon attack.

This implies that a melee weapon attack is possible with the net, but doesn’t express how. If a melee weapon attack wasn’t possible, then that would, RAW, indicate that no attribute is used for the Net to throw it.

What would happen if I tried to make a melee weapon attack with a net?

  • Would the net be treated as an improvised weapon?
  • Would it still be able to capture a target?
    • If it was an improvised melee weapon, but couldn’t capture anything, would it still inflict standard improvised weapon damage?

What is the most damaging one handed melee weapon?

I’m looking for the most damaging weapon (meaning does the most damage to HP on a successful hit) that can be wielded in one hand. I am looking for an answer for both magical and mundane weapons. The only stipulations I have are that it must lack the two-handed property and must be found in one of the sourcebooks on D&D Beyond that isn’t listed as an adventure. The ability modifier doesn’t matter because I will be overriding that with my CHA mod anyway.

For mundane weapons the best I’ve found is a rapier or other weapon with equivalent damage (1d8) but I’m not sure if there’s another, more damaging one. Also, the lance does not count because the only way to wield it one handed is to be mounted.

My intent is to have a character (hexblade warlock / two weapon fighter) wielding the weapons. The mundane weapon is for the levels before I can easily get magic items and so I can conjure at least one to be my pact weapon for Pact of the Blade.

Is Levitate supposed to basically disable a melee based enemy?

We are a group of new players and I feel that I miss some important properties of the levitate spell as it proved extremely powerful in the last encounter in Cragmaw Castle in The Lost Mine of Phandelver.

The party caused a alarm to ring which caused the entire final group, with bodyguards, to prepare an ambush when they stormed the last room.

managed to immediately down a player in the surprise round and after the rest of the enemies chucked away quite a bit of health as well it almost looked like it would become a full party wipe.

The wizard cast levitate on

(and it failed the saving throw) which effectively disabled it. Thanks to the 10 minute duration and the wizard carefully saying that it “should float riiiiiight in the middle of the room” (so it couldn’t grab any wall object to pull itself down) it wasn’t able to do anything during the entire rest of the fight. From my understanding it was not allowed to re-try the saving throw on its next turn. The other enemies were not able to break the wizards concentration either as she was hiding behind the rest of the party in a small doorway which blocked the enemies from reaching her.

I’m happy the party managed to survive the encounter, but feel that casting levitate on any melee-based enemy could quickly become a effective, but boring, strategy. Is there anything in the rules I missed?

When affected by the Crown of Madness spell can I choose what type of melee attack to make?

Inspired by this question. The spell states

The charmed target must use its action before moving on each of its turns to make a melee attack against a creature other than itself that you mentally choose.

So as I see it, the spell only states that I have to make the attack. If I have multiple possible melee attacks I could make, do I have the choice as to which I use?

Consider this hypothetical situation:

  • I’m wielding a shortsword in one hand
  • Evil Warlock casts Crown of Madness on me
  • I fail my save
  • He commands me to attack my party member standing beside me

It’s now my turn and I have to attack that party member. Do I have to attack with the sword? Can I make an unarmed attack instead to try to deal less damage to my party member?

Does anything change if Opportunity Attacks only allow you to make melee weapon attacks?

Inspired from discussions regarding Whirlwind Attack and also this answer to this Q/A (“Can I use the War Caster feat to cast Vampiric Touch as a reaction?”) which mentions using a previously cast (currently concentrated on) vampiric touch to make opportunity attacks without the War Caster feat.

The “Opportunity Attack” section states:


Would changing the bolded text to instead read “melee weapon attack” have any affects whatsoever?

Can you use a melee spell attack with the Hunter Ranger’s Whirlwind Attack?

The Hunter Ranger’s Whirlwind Attack feature states:

You can use your action to make a melee attack against any number of creatures within 5 feet of you, with a separate attack roll for each target.

It does not specify that the attack needs to me a melee weapon attack but only that it must be a melee attack. Does this mean that you would be able to cast a spell such as inflict wounds or shocking grasp if you multi-classed into a class with this spell?

I would like answers to assume that the following ruling made in the Sage Advice Compendium is correct:

Whirlwind Attack is unusual, in that it’s a single attack with multiple attack rolls…

Using a ranged weapon with the Ammunition property for a melee attack

Under the section on Improvised Weapons, this rule shows up:


Does this allow for melee attacks with ranged weapons, rather than simply treating the ranged weapon as an object for the purposes of this line:

An improvised weapon includes any object you can wield in one or two hands.

If I attack with a ranged weapon that has the Ammunition property, can I use it as a ranged weapon (and keep its properties) or must it be an improvised weapon?

Can I make a melee attack with a ranged weapon?

Are there any rules that preclude this action?

I know weapons with the Ammunition property are treated as improvised weapons per this line and this question:


… but what about darts and nets? Am I forced to use them as an improvised weapon to make this melee attack or can I simply make an attack with the ranged weapon (including any properties therein)?

Keep in mind, I am almost certain this isn’t the intended result, but what is RAW?

Does a Barbarian in rage get advantage on attacks with melee weapons [duplicate]

This question already has an answer here:

  • Is an attack a check, or only similar to a check? 6 answers

The Barbarian rage ability in 5e says that the character gets advantage on all strength checks. Does this mean that a Barbarian in rage gets advantage on melee attack rolls and melee thrown ranged rolls?