Javelin
A javelin is a slender throwing spear: useful for a short opening volley, a retreating skirmish or a warrior who wants a ranged attack without carrying a bow. Its long shaft is awkward to hide, and throwing your last one leaves you without it until you recover or replace it.
At a Glance
| Form | A slender shaft with a pointed head, balanced for throwing |
|---|---|
| Battlefield role | Short-range skirmishing; carry several if repeated throws matter |
| Close combat | A usable melee weapon in fifth edition; a −4 penalty applies in Pathfinder 1e and 3.5e |
| Supply | Replaceable shafts and ordinary metal heads; prices depend on the edition below |
Rules by Edition
Javelin — 5.5e / 2024
Published Javelin rules. A simple melee weapon that can also be thrown.
| Damage | 1d6 Piercing |
|---|---|
| Ability / hands | Strength for melee and thrown attacks; one hand |
| Properties | Thrown (normal range 30 ft.; long range 120 ft.); no Reach or Versatile property |
| Mastery | Slow, if a feature lets you use this weapon’s mastery |
| Cost / weight | 5 sp / 2 lb. each |
Slow: after a hit that deals damage, reduce the target’s Speed by 10 feet until the start of your next turn. Repeated Slow hits do not increase that reduction beyond 10 feet. You can draw a Thrown weapon as part of its attack. Beyond 30 feet, attacks have Disadvantage; beyond 120 feet, they cannot reach.
Source: 2024 equipment and weapon properties.
Javelin — 5e / 2014
Published Javelin rules. It works in melee without the Pathfinder penalty below.
| Damage | 1d6 piercing |
|---|---|
| Category / hands | Simple melee weapon; one hand |
| Ability | Strength for melee and thrown attack and damage rolls |
| Properties / range | Thrown (30/120 ft.); no Finesse, Reach or Versatile |
| Cost / weight | 5 sp / 2 lb. each |
| Mastery | No Weapon Mastery property in these rules |
Attacks beyond 30 feet have disadvantage, and 120 feet is the maximum range. The 2014 Thrown property does not itself include drawing a weapon; the normal object-interaction rules or a specific feature determine how many javelins you can draw.
Source: 2014 Basic Rules equipment.
Javelin — Pathfinder 1e
A simple ranged weapon. Use Dexterity for the thrown attack roll and add Strength to damage.
Since a javelin is not designed for melee, you are treated as non-proficient with it and take a –4 penalty on attack rolls if you use a javelin as a melee weapon.
Weapon Groups spears, thrown
Range penalties increase by −2 for each extra 30-foot increment, to a maximum of five increments. Drawing another javelin normally takes a move action; an appropriate feature such as Quick Draw can change that.
Javelin — D&D 3.5e
Published 3.5e weapon. The similar Pathfinder numbers do not make this a fifth-edition melee weapon.
| Category / proficiency | Simple ranged weapon |
|---|---|
| Damage / type | Small: 1d4; Medium: 1d6; piercing |
| Critical | 20/×2 |
| Range increment | 30 ft.; five increments maximum; −2 per extra increment |
| Ability | Dexterity to attack; Strength to damage |
| Cost / weight | 1 gp; 2 lb. for a Medium weapon |
Using a javelin in melee incurs the stated −4 nonproficiency penalty. Drawing one normally uses a move action; Quick Draw can reduce drawing to a free action. This is a thrown weapon, with no bow-style ammunition or reload rule.
Handling and Counterplay
Throw from a clear approach, then move before an enemy closes. Cover still matters, and a javelin does not pin a target, ignore a shield or gain extra reach just because it has a long shaft. Carry a separate hand weapon if you expect a prolonged fight.
The normal and long ranges in fifth edition are not range increments. In Pathfinder and 3.5e, track the increment penalties and the action needed to draw another weapon. Neither system’s rules give a plain javelin a returning effect.
Historical Forms and Availability
Throwing spears have taken many forms. The Metropolitan Museum’s New Kingdom javelins, dated about 1473–1458 BCE, combine wooden handles, reed shafts and metal tips. They are one documented example, rather than a pattern for every culture’s javelin.
In a campaign, a village smith and woodworker can supply plain versions; fine or unusual heads may need a better-equipped workshop. A broken shaft and an expensive magical head need not have the same replacement cost. Apply the chosen edition’s crafting and magic-item rules.
Related Equipment
Browse weapons, equipment and shuriken for a smaller thrown weapon.
Sources and Licences
Rules summaries use the named editions. The Pathfinder and 3.5e weapon-rule sections are Open Game Content under the Open Game License 1.0a. Artwork has its own stated licence.
Fifth-edition source documents and attribution
2024 rules: SRD 5.2.1. 2014 rules: SRD 5.1. Rule summaries and examples have been reworded; no weapon profile has been merged across editions.
This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 (“SRD 5.2.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.
This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.
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