Rules of the Game - Ranged Attacks

Players can experience an undeniable excitement when player characters come to grips with a foe in melee combat. Many regard the exchange of blows at close range as the ultimate test of a character's mettle. Sometimes, however, you may find it best to keep your foes at a distance, and sometimes a foe remains stubbornly out of melee reach.

Fighting at range usually isn't too difficult; all you need is the right equipment and a clear field of fire. If your foe is rude enough to hide behind something solid, however, such as a rock, tree, or one of your allies, things can get complicated. This series examines ranged combat in general and looks at those times when fighting at a distance proves more difficult than just pointing and shooting.



Let's start off with a few terms that you'll encounter in this article.

Ammunition: Projectiles propelled from a device, such as a sling or bow. Ammunition often breaks when fired, so you can't count on reusing it.

Concealment: Anything that keeps an attacker from clearly seeing the defender, such as fog, darkness, or a magical effect. Concealment doesn't improve a defender's Armor Class, but it can make an attack miss.

Cover: A barrier between an attacker and defender. The barrier could be an object, creature, or magical effect. A defender behind cover gains a bonus to Armor Class.

Iterative Attack: One or more extra attacks a character gains when using the full attack action by virtue of a high base attack bonus; see pages 22 and 143 in the Player's Handbook.

From page 22 of the Player's Handbook: 

Base Attack Bonus: On an attack roll, apply the bonus from the appropriate column on Table 3-1 according to the class to which the character belongs. Whether a character uses the first (good) base attack bonus, the second (average) base attack bonus, or the third (poor) base attack bonus depends on his or her class. Barbarians, fighters, paladins, and rangers have a good base attack bonus, so they use the first Base Attack Bonus column. Clerics, druids, monks, and rogues have an average base attack bonus, so they use the second column. Sorcerers and wizards have a poor base attack bonus, so they use the third column. Numbers after a slash indicate additional attacks at reduced bonuses: "+12/+7/+2" means three attacks per round, with an attack bonus of +12 for the first attack, +7 for the second, and +2 for the third. Any modifiers on attack rolls apply to all these attacks normally, but bonuses do not grant extra attacks. For example, when Lidda the halfling rogue is 2nd level, she has a base attack bonus of +1. With a thrown weapon, she adds her Dexterity bonus (+3), her size bonus (+1), and a racial bonus (+1) for a total of +6. Even though a +6 base attack bonus would grant an additional attack at +1, raising that number to +6 via ability, racial, size, weapon, or other bonuses doesn't grant Lidda an additional attack. If a character has more than one class (see Multiclass Characters, page 59), the base attack bonuses for each class are cumulative.

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From page 143 of the Player's Handbook: 

Full Attack
If you get more than one attack per round because your base attack bonus is high enough, because you fight with two weapons or a double weapon (see Two-Weapon Fighting under Special Attacks, page 160), or for some special reason (such as a feat or a magic item), you must use a full-round action to get your additional attacks. You do not need to specify the targets of your attacks ahead of time. You can see how the earlier attacks turn out before assigning the later ones.

The only movement you can take during a full attack is a 5-foot step. You may take the step before, after, or between your attacks.

If you get multiple attacks because your base attack bonus is high enough, you must make the attacks in order from highest bonus to lowest. If you are using two weapons, you can strike with either weapon first. If you are using a double weapon, you can strike with either part of the weapon first.


You can use iterative attacks with a ranged weapon only if don't need to use an action to reload or otherwise recharge your ranged weapon.

Line of Effect: A straight, unblocked line between two locations on the battlefield. To aim a ranged attack at a target, you must have line of effect to that target.

In general, it takes a solid object to block line of effect. Magical effects that function just like solid objects, such as walls of force, also block line of effect.

Creatures usually do not block line of effect, except for very odd creatures, such as gelatinous cubes, that can completely fill a space.

Miss Chance: A d% roll to determine if an attack misses when a miss chance applies (such as when a defender has concealment). A miss chance roll is made separately from the attack roll. If the d% roll indicates a miss, the attack fails even if the attack roll is successful.

Projectile Weapon: A ranged weapon that propels the missile for you, such as a bow or crossbow.

Ranged Attack: An attack you make at a distance. Your target for a ranged attack usually lies beyond your melee reach, but it doesn't have to.

Range Increment: A fraction of the maximum distance a ranged weapon can reach and a measure of the projectile's loss of accuracy over that distance.

Thrown Weapon: A ranged weapon you use without a device for propelling the missile -- you just toss the weapon from your hand.



A full understanding of ranged attacks requires quite a tour through the rulebooks. The first stop is the attack entry on pages 139-140 of the Player's Handbook. Other essential stops include the discussion of ranged weapons on page 112, the range increment entry on page 114, the weapon descriptions on pages 114-122, the discussion of range penalties on page 134, and the sections on cover and concealment starting on page 150.

Selected excerpts from pages 139-140 of the Player's Handbook: 

Ranged Attacks: With a ranged weapon, you can shoot or throw at any target that is within the weapon's maximum range and in line of sight. The maximum range for a thrown weapon is five range increments. For projectile weapons, it is ten range increments. Some ranged weapons have shorter maximum ranges, as specified in their descriptions.

Multiple Attacks: A character who can make more than one attack per round must use the full attack action (see Full-Round Actions, below) in order to get more than one attack.

Shooting or Throwing into a Melee: If you shoot or throw a ranged weapon at a target engaged in melee with a friendly character, you take a -4 penalty on your attack roll because you have to aim carefully to avoid hitting your friend. Two characters are engaged in melee if they are enemies of each other and either threatens the other. (An unconscious or otherwise immobilized character is not considered engaged unless he is actually being attacked.)

If your target (or the part of your target you're aiming at, if it's a big target) is at least 10 feet away from the nearest friendly character, you can avoid the -4 penalty, even if the creature you're aiming at is engaged in melee with a friendly character.

Precise Shot: If you have the Precise Shot feat (page 98), you don't take this penalty.

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Selected excerpts from pages 112-114 of the Player's Handbook: 

Melee and Ranged Weapons: Melee weapons are used for making melee attacks, though some of them can be thrown as well. Ranged weapons are thrown weapons or projectile weapons that are not effective in melee.

Thrown Weapons: Daggers, clubs, shortspears, spears, darts, javelins, throwing axes, light hammers, tridents, shuriken, and nets are thrown weapons. The wielder applies his or her Strength modifier to damage dealt by thrown weapons (except for splash weapons, such as a vial of acid; see Throw Splash Weapon, page 158). It is possible to throw a weapon that isn't designed to be thrown (that is, a melee weapon that doesn't have a numeric entry in the Range Increment column on Table 7-5), but a character who does so takes a -4 penalty on the attack roll. Throwing a light or one-handed weapon is a standard action, while throwing a two-handed weapon is a full-round action. Regardless of the type of weapon, such an attack scores a threat (a possible critical hit) only on a natural roll of 20 and deals double damage on a critical hit. Such a weapon has a range increment of 10 feet.

Projectile Weapons: Light crossbows, slings, heavy crossbows, shortbows, composite shortbows, longbows, composite longbows, hand crossbows, and repeating crossbows are projectile weapons. Most projectile weapons require two hands to use (see specific weapon descriptions later in this chapter). A character gets no Strength bonus on damage rolls with a projectile weapon unless it's a specially built composite shortbow, specially built composite longbow, or sling. If the character has a penalty for low Strength, apply it to damage rolls when he or she uses a bow or a sling.

Ammunition: Projectile weapons use ammunition: arrows (for bows), bolts (for crossbows), or sling bullets (for slings). When using a bow, a character can draw ammunition as a free action; crossbows and slings require an action for reloading. Generally speaking, ammunition that hits its target is destroyed or rendered useless, while normal ammunition that misses has a 50% chance of being destroyed or lost. Although they are thrown weapons, shuriken are treated as ammunition for the purposes of drawing them, crafting masterwork or otherwise special versions of them (see Masterwork Weapons, below), and what happens to them after they are thrown.

Range Increment: Any attack at less than this distance is not penalized for range, so an arrow from a shortbow (range increment 60 feet) can strike at an enemy 59 feet away or closer with no penalty. However, each full range increment imposes a cumulative -2 penalty on the attack roll. A shortbow archer firing at a target 200 feet away takes a -6 penalty on the attack roll (-2 x 3, because 200 feet is at least three range increments but not four). A thrown weapon, such as a throwing axe, has a maximum range of five range increments. A projectile weapon, such as a bow, can shoot out to ten range increments.

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Selected excerpts from page 134 of the Player's Handbook: 

Range Penalty: The range penalty for a ranged weapon depends on the weapon and the distance to the target. All ranged weapons have a range increment, such as 10 feet for a thrown dart or 100 feet for a longbow (see Table 7-5: Weapons, page 116). Any attack from a distance of less than one range increment is not penalized for range, so an arrow from a shortbow (range increment 60 feet) can strike at enemies up to 59 feet away with no penalty. However, each full range increment causes a cumulative -2 penalty on the attack roll. A shortbow archer firing at a target 200 feet away takes a -6 penalty on his attack roll (because 200 feet is at least three range increments but not four increments).

Thrown weapons, such as throwing axes, have a maximum range of five range increments. Projectile weapons, such as bows, can shoot up to ten increments.

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Selected excerpts from pages 150-152 of the Player's Handbook: 

COVER
One of the best defenses available is cover. By taking cover behind a tree, a wall, the side of a wagon, or the battlements of a castle, you can protect yourself from attacks, especially ranged attacks, and also from being spotted. To determine whether your target has cover from your ranged attack, choose a corner of your square. If any line from this corner to any corner of the target's square passes through a square or border that blocks line of effect or provides cover, or through a square occupied by a creature, the target has cover (+4 to AC).

When making a melee attack against an adjacent target, your target has cover if any line from your square to the target's square goes through a wall (including a low wall). When making a melee attack against a target that isn't adjacent to you (such as with a reach weapon), use the rules for determining cover from ranged attacks.

CONCEALMENT

Besides cover, another way to avoid attacks is to make it hard for opponents to know where you are. Concealment encompasses all circumstances where nothing physically blocks a blow or shot but where something interferes with an attacker's accuracy. Concealment gives the subject of a successful attack a chance that the attacker missed because of the concealment.

Typically, concealment is provided by fog, smoke, a shadowy area, darkness, tall grass, foliage, or magical effects that make it difficult to pinpoint a target's location.

To determine whether your target has concealment from your ranged attack, choose a corner of your square. If any line from this corner to any corner of the target's square passes through a square or border that provides concealment, the target has concealment. When making a melee attack against an adjacent target, your target has concealment if his space is entirely within an effect that grants concealment (such as a cloud of smoke). When making a melee attack against a target that isn't adjacent to you (for instance, with a reach weapon), use the rules for determining concealment from ranged attacks.

In addition, some magical effects (such as the blur and displacement spells) provide concealment against all attacks, regardless of whether any intervening concealment exists.

Concealment Miss Chance: Concealment gives the subject of a successful attack a 20% chance that the attacker missed because of the concealment. If the attacker hits, the defender must make a miss chance percentile roll to avoid being struck. (To expedite play, make both rolls at the same time.) Multiple concealment conditions (such as a defender in a fog and under the effect of a blur spell) do not stack.

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Here's a summary, along with a few additional notes.

• You make a ranged attack with a projectile or thrown weapon.

To determine if a weapon is suitable for ranged attacks, check the weapon's description and Table 7-5 in the Player's Handbook (or the equivalent in the rulebook where you found the weapon). Most ranged weapons are clearly labeled as such. Melee weapons suitable for throwing have range increments in their entries.

You need the proper ammunition when firing a projectile weapon. For example, you can't fire a crossbow bolt from a bow or an arrow from a crossbow.

If you want to throw something that's not a ranged weapon, you might have to use it as an improvised weapon; see page 113 in the Player's Handbook and also see Part Two.


Improvised Weapons: Sometimes objects not crafted to be weapons nonetheless see use in combat -- people fight with anything from broken bottles to chair legs to thrown mugs. Because such objects are not designed for this use, any creature that uses one in combat is considered to be non-proficient with it and takes a -4 penalty on attack rolls made with that object. To determine the size category and appropriate damage for an improvised weapon, the DM should compare its relative size and damage potential to the weapon list to find a reasonable match. For instance, a table leg is similar to a club, while a broken bottle is similar to a dagger. An improvised weapon scores a threat (a possible critical hit) on a natural roll of 20 and deals double damage on a critical hit. An improvised thrown weapon has a range increment of 10 feet.


• Every ranged weapon has a range increment.

A ranged weapon's range increment is shown on Table 7-5 in the Player's Handbook (or the equivalent in the rulebook where you found the weapon).

As noted earlier, a range increment is a both a fraction of the maximum distance a ranged weapon can shoot and a measure of the accuracy the shot looses over that distance.

A projectile weapon can fire a distance equal to 10 range increments. For example, a shortbow, with a range increment of 60 feet, can fire a maximum of 600 feet. A thrown weapon can reach a maximum distance of five range increments. A dagger, with a range increment of 10 feet, can be thrown a maximum of 50 feet.

For every full range increment of distance between you and your target, you take a cumulative -2 penalty on the attack roll. For example, if you fire a shortbow at a target 50 feet away, you have no attack penalty from range (because the distance is less than a full range increment). If the target is exactly 60 feet away, your attack penalty for range would be -2 (for one range increment). A target 90 feet away would still have an attack penalty for range of -2 (one full range increment, but not two). A target 600 feet away would have an attack penalty of - 20 (for 10 full range increments).

Some ranged weapons have different maximum ranges than the general rule specifies. If so, the weapon's description will note the exception.

• Ranged attacks provoke attacks of opportunity.

You drop your guard when you prepare for your shot and take aim. This provokes attacks of opportunity from every foe who threatens you at the time you make your ranged attack.

You can avoid the attack of opportunity in several ways, such as taking a 5-foot step to leave the threatened space or standing behind cover when you shoot (see page 151 in the Player's Handbook).

• Dexterity governs ranged attacks.

Your Dexterity bonus (or penalty) applies to your attack roll when you make a ranged attack. Your Strength bonus might or might not apply to the damage you deal with a successful ranged attack. Your Strength bonus (or penalty) applies to the damage you deal with most thrown weapons and to some projectile weapons (such as slings and composite bows), as noted in the weapon's description. See Part Two for details.

• It's difficult to fire into a melee.

When your target is engaged in melee with one or more of your allies, you take a -4 penalty on your attack roll because you must be careful where you shoot. The Precise Shot feat allows you to ignore this penalty, and you can get around it in other ways; see Part Four.

The penalty you take for firing into a melee stacks with any other penalties that apply to the shot, such as range or the target's cover. See Rules of the Game: Does It Stack? for more on stacking penalties.

• Cover often affects ranged attacks.

Because you often have a great deal of distance between you and the target you've chosen for your ranged attack, cover frequently intervenes. Usually, a target with cover gains a +4 bonus to its Armor Class when it has cover. See Part Four for details.

• A variety of things qualify as ranged attacks.

The rules for ranged attacks, including feats that affect ranged attacks, can apply to many spells and other effects; see Part Four for details.

Using Thrown Weapons 

As noted in Part One, a thrown weapon is something that you launch at a target yourself. Also as noted in Part One, your Dexterity modifier affects your attack roll with a thrown weapon and your Strength modifier affects your damage roll if your attack hits (except for splash weapons; see below).

Because you're throwing the weapon itself, you must draw it before you can attack with it. Drawing a weapon requires a move action, leaving you with only a standard action for the attack. Because you're attacking with a standard action, you can make only a single attack. If you have a base attack bonus of at least +1 you can draw a weapon as part of a regular move (see page 141 in the Player's Handbook). See Rules of the Game: All About Movement for a discussion of exactly what a regular move is. In this case, you're still using a move action for the regular move, and you're still limited to attacking as a standard action.

If you can draw your thrown weapon without using an action, or as a free action, you can throw as a full-round action and make iterative attacks with several thrown weapons (one per attack) if your base attack bonus allows. One easy way to manage this trick is by taking the Quick Draw feat, which lets you draw weapons as free action.

Thrown weapons tend to be fairly sturdy and usually aren't destroyed when you throw them. Splash weapons, however, are expended when you use them.



You can throw any melee weapon whose statistics don't include a range increment, provided you can wield it in one or two hands. You can hurl such a weapon up to 50 feet; it effectively has a range increment of 10 feet.

You always take a -4 penalty for non-proficiency when you throw a weapon that's not meant to be thrown -- it just doesn't work well in that role. Throwing a melee weapon that's not suitable for ranged attacks requires a standard action if you can wield it in one hand. If you must use two hands to wield the weapon, throwing it requires a full-round action. Because you need a standard or full-round action to throw such a weapon once, you cannot make iterative attacks when doing so.


Here are a few thrown weapons worth discussing, either because they're a little strange or just because doing so will allow us to cover a few points we haven't examined yet.

Dagger: A dagger is one of several thrown weapons that you can use in melee or at range. It works just like a melee weapon when you use it in a melee attack. When you chuck the dagger at a target, you treat it as a thrown weapon. Use your Dexterity modifier for the attack roll when you throw it, and then use your Strength modifier for the damage roll if your attack hits. When you make a ranged attack by throwing a dagger, the act provokes attacks of opportunity, as noted in Part One, even though you can make melee attacks with the dagger that do not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Because a dagger has a range increment of only 10 feet, you almost always take a range penalty when throwing it.

Javelin: These lightweight spears are cheap and have a fairly decent range increment of 30 feet, which makes their maximum range 150 feet.

A javelin is one of several ranged weapons that you can use in melee even though they're not really suited for the job. When you make a melee attack with a javelin, you resolve the action just like any other melee attack, except that you always have a non-proficiency penalty (-4) on your attack roll.

Shuriken: These little throwing stars work just like ammunition (see Part Three). On the plus side, you don't need to use an action to draw a shuriken, which means you can throw more than one of them if you use the full attack action and if your base attack bonus allows multiple attacks. On the negative side, you tend to use up shuriken as you throw them.

Shuriken are on the list of special monk weapons, so a monk character can use the flurry of blows class feature to throw extra shuriken when using the full attack action.




THROW SPLASH WEAPON
A splash weapon is a ranged weapon that breaks on impact, splashing or scattering its contents over its target and nearby creatures or objects. Most splash weapons consist of liquids, such as acid or holy water, in breakable vials such as glass flasks. (See Special Substances and Items, page 128, for particulars about several different splash weapons.)

To attack with a splash weapon, make a ranged touch attack against the target. Thrown weapons require no weapon proficiency, so you don't take the -4 non-proficiency penalty. A hit deals direct hit damage to the target, and splash damage to all creatures within 5 feet of the target.

You can instead target a specific grid intersection. Treat this as a ranged attack against AC 5. However, if you target a grid intersection, creatures in all adjacent squares are dealt the splash damage, and the direct hit damage is not dealt to any creature. (You can't target a grid intersection occupied by a creature, such as a Large or larger creature; in this case, you're aiming at the creature.)

If you miss the target (whether aiming at a creature or a grid intersection), roll 1d8. This determines the misdirection of the throw, with 1 being straight back at you and 2 through 8 counting clockwise around the grid intersection or target creature. Then, count a number of squares in the indicated direction equal to the range increment of the throw. So, if you miss on a throw out to two range increments and roll a 1 to determine the misdirection of the throw, the splash weapon lands on the intersection that is 2 squares away from the target in the direction toward you. See the accompanying diagram.

After you determine where the weapon landed, it deals splash damage to all creatures in adjacent squares.


Because most splash weapons' damage is derived from the properties inherent in their contents (for example fire damage from a flask of alchemist's fire), your Strength modifier usually doesn't apply to a splash weapon's damage.

When you throw a splash weapon, you either aim the weapon directly at a target or at a grid intersection. In the former case, you make a ranged touch attack against your target. In the latter case, you make a ranged attack against Armor Class 5. A splash weapon has a range increment of 10 feet unless another is specified in the weapon description.

When you hit a target with a splash weapon, the contents sprays out over the target and everything within 5 feet of that target. The target struck takes damage for a direct hit; other targets take splash damage. The splash weapon's direct and splash damage ratings are given in the weapon's description.

Though the rules aren't entirely clear on the matter, I suggest that you apply splash damage to all adjacent targets only when the primary target fills one 5-foot space or less -- that is, Medium or smaller targets. Against a Large or bigger target, apply splash damage only against secondary targets that are within 5 feet of the point of impact. To determine the point of impact, just have the attacker choose one of the squares the target occupies. The attacker must have line of effect to the square chosen.

If an attacker hits a grid intersection with a splash weapon, everything in the squares adjacent to the intersection takes splash damage from the weapon.

If the attacker using a splash weapon misses (either against a target attacked directly or against a grid intersection), use the procedure on page 158 in the Player's Handbook to determine where the weapon lands. Creatures and objects within 5 feet of the place where the weapon lands take splash damage.



Lidda (L) and Tordek (T) face two wights (W) at an intersection of corridors in a dungeon. While Tordek attacks one wight with his battleaxe, Lidda tosses a vial of holy water at the second wight, which is 20 feet away. Lidda makes a ranged touch attack against the wight. Lidda has a -8 penalty on the attack: -4 nonproficiency (which applies to all splash weapon attacks) and another -4 for attacking a target two range increments away (a splash weapon has a range increment of 10 feet). Lidda's attack misses, and Lidda's player must roll 1d8 to determine where the flask actually lands. The roll is a 3, indicating a miss to the left. The vial lands 10 feet to the left (5 feet per range increment; see page 158 in the Player's Handbook).

Lidda, however, could not toss anything into the indicated space from where she stands, thanks to the wall on her left. To determine where the vial really lands, the DM traces a line from one corner of Lidda's space to a corner of the indicated landing space. The flask strikes where the line intersects the wall, splashing Tordek and the first wight with holy water (because they're both within 5 feet of the square where the vial actually landed).

Using Projectile Weapons 

You hold a projectile weapon in your hands and use it to propel a missile that travels to your target. In general, projectile weapons have much bigger range increments than thrown weapons, and their maximum range is 10 range increments rather than 5. Check your projectile weapon's description for exceptions, however.

Projectile weapons use ammunition, which must be the correct kind for the weapon. For example, a bow fires arrows, a crossbow fires bolts, and a sling fires stones or bullets.

Drawing ammunition is a free action -- but you might need to use a standard or full-round action to load it into your projectile weapon. If your projectile weapon doesn't require an action to reload, you can make iterative attacks with it if you use the full attack action and your base attack bonus is high enough to allow more than one attack. Of course, you also must have enough ammunition on hand to make all those attacks.

Ammunition usually breaks when you fire it. As a general rule, ammunition breaks or otherwise becomes unusable if your attack hits your target (even if the target's hardness or damage reduction negates all the damage the missile deals). If your attack misses, there's a 50% chance that the piece of ammunition you used remains unbroken and suitable for use. You still must spend some time picking up the fired ammunition, however. Exceptions are possible, so check your weapon's description to make sure the general rule applies.


Ranged Weapons and Ammunition: The enhancement bonus from a ranged weapon does not stack with the enhancement bonus from ammunition. Only the higher of the two enhancement bonuses applies.

Ammunition fired from a projectile weapon with an enhancement bonus of +1 or higher is treated as a magic weapon for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. For example, a sling stone hurled from a +1 sling is treated as a magic weapon. Similarly, ammunition fired from a projectile weapon with an alignment (such as a +1 holy longbow or a masterwork crossbow under the effect of the align weapon spell) gains the alignment of that projectile weapon (in addition to any alignment it may already have). For example, a +1 unholy arrow fired from a +2 anarchic shortbow would be both evil-aligned and chaos aligned (the former from its own unholy special ability, the latter from the shortbow).


If your projectile weapon is magical, it usually imbues its magical properties to any ammunition it fires. For example, arrows fired from a +1 shortbow are treated as magical weapons for purposes of overcoming damage reduction. An aligned projectile weapon confers its alignment property on ammunition fired from it. Likewise, a projectile weapon with some special magical property, such as a flaming weapon or a thundering weapon, usually confers those properties on ammunition fired from it. Check the property's description to be sure. When a projectile weapon confers its magical properties on its ammunition, the effect lasts only for an instant -- as long as it takes to resolve the ranged attack. Even if the ammunition isn't destroyed in the attack, the property fades away immediately afterward. You or another character cannot pick up the ammunition and get the benefit of the magical property for another attack.

Your Dexterity modifier applies to ranged attacks you make with a projectile weapon. Your Strength modifier does not apply to the damage you deal with the weapon unless the weapon's description says otherwise. Quite a few projectile weapons use your Strength modifier, so it always pays to check the weapon description.



Here are a few projectile weapons worth discussing, either because they're a little strange or just because doing so will allow us to explore a few key issues more fully.

Arrows: You can fire an arrow from a bow or composite bow, long or short. You cannot fire an arrow from any kind of crossbow.

You can stab with an arrow in melee, but you can't throw it. An arrow used as a melee weapon is treated as a light improvised weapon (-4 penalty on attack rolls) and deals damage as a dagger of its size (1d4 for a Medium character). You threaten a critical hit on an attack roll of 20 and the critical multiplier is x2.

Bolts: You can fire a bolt from a hand, light, or heavy crossbow, repeating or not. You cannot fire a bolt from a bow. You can use a bolt as a melee weapon just as you can with an arrow.

Bows: All bows require two hands to use; you hold the bow in one hand and draw back the bowstring with the other. A bow does not require an action to load, so you can make iterative attacks with the full attack action if your base attack bonus allows.

You can fire a short bow almost anywhere. A longbow, however, is too big to use when mounted.

When you use a normal bow (that is not a composite bow), you don't gain a Strength bonus to damage when an arrow you fire with the bow hits. If you have a Strength penalty, however, that penalty applies to the damage you deal with arrows you fire from the bow. Essentially, your low Strength keeps you from drawing the bow properly and that affects your damage.

A composite bow, long or short, can be made with extra stiffness so that it can deliver arrows with more force. A composite bow allows you to use some or all of your Strength bonus to damage with arrows you fire from the bow; see page 119 in the Player's Handbook for details.

A bow isn't suitable for melee combat, but you can use it as improvised weapon (use damage numbers for the club). You take a -4 penalty on your attack roll.

Crossbows: Crossbows, except hand crossbows, require two hands to use. If a crossbow is already loaded, you can fire it one-handed at a penalty as noted in the weapon description.

A hand or light crossbow requires a move action to reload, so you cannot make iterative attacks with these weapons. The Rapid Reload feat allows you to reload a hand or light crossbow as a free action, which allows you to make iterative attacks if your base attack bonus allows.

A heavy crossbow requires a full-round action to reload, so you usually can fire it only once every 2 rounds. If you have the Rapid Reload feat, you can reload a heavy crossbow as a move action.

Even with the Rapid Reload feat, loading a crossbow (even a hand crossbow) provokes an attack of opportunity.

A repeating crossbow includes a magazine loaded with five bolts that drop down into firing position, one at a time, when you work the loading lever. Cocking a repeating crossbow requires two hands and is a free action. This allows you to make iterative attacks with the crossbow if you have a sufficiently high base attack bonus and if there are sufficient bolts in the magazine. Loading a new magazine into a repeating crossbow is a full-round action that provokes an attack of opportunity. It takes two hands to load a new magazine.

You can whack a foe with a crossbow, but you use it as an improvised weapon if you do (use damage numbers for the club). You take a -4 penalty on your attack roll.




You can gain cover from anything that can block a ranged attack, such as a low wall, the corner of a building, a bush, or even another character.

Sometimes something that provides cover seems to fill a whole square (or side of a square), but really doesn't. Such things might include low walls that cover a target's lower half only, creatures (which tend to move around within their squares), or a bush (which might have plenty of gaps that could allow a projectile to pass through). In these cases, the barrier provides cover that a projectile must pass through to reach the target.

Low barriers (those that cover only the lower half of the target) provide cover only when the target is within 30 feet of the low barrier and the attacker is not closer to the barrier than the defender; see page 151 in the Player's Handbook and the diagram provided here.

When a solid barrier can cover a target's full height, it blocks all ranged attacks unless it blocks only part of the target. To determine if the target has cover in a case of partial blocking, trace lines from any of corner of the attacker's space to all corner of the defender's space. If at least one of these lines intersects the barrier, but not all of them do, the target has cover against the attack and gains a +4 bonus to Armor Class.

If the target occupies more than one space, the target gets the benefit of cover against a ranged attack if any square it occupies is protected by cover, even if some squares it occupies aren't. This helps offset the defender's size penalty to Armor Class and it reflects some of the inherent difficulties a ranged attacker faces.

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From pages 150-152 of the Player's Handbook: 

COVER
One of the best defenses available is cover. By taking cover behind a tree, a wall, the side of a wagon, or the battlements of a castle, you can protect yourself from attacks, especially ranged attacks, and also from being spotted. To determine whether your target has cover from your ranged attack, choose a corner of your square. If any line from this corner to any corner of the target's square passes through a square or border that blocks line of effect or provides cover, or through a square occupied by a creature, the target has cover (+4 to AC).

When making a melee attack against an adjacent target, your target has cover if any line from your square to the target's square goes through a wall (including a low wall). When making a melee attack against a target that isn't adjacent to you (such as with a reach weapon), use the rules for determining cover from ranged attacks.

Low Obstacles and Cover: A low obstacle (such as a wall no higher than half your height) provides cover, but only to creatures within 30 feet (6 squares) of it. The attacker can ignore the cover if he's closer to the obstacle than his target.

Cover and Attacks of Opportunity: You can't execute an attack of opportunity against an opponent with cover relative to you.

Cover and Reflex Saves: Cover grants you a +2 bonus on Reflex saves against attacks that originate or burst out from a point on the other side of the cover from you, such as a red dragon's breath weapon or a lightning bolt. Note that spread effects (see page 175), such as a fireball, can extend around corners and thus negate this cover bonus.

Cover and Hide Checks: You can use cover to make a Hide check. Without cover, you usually need concealment (see below) to make a Hide check.

Soft Cover: Creatures, even your enemies, can provide you with cover against melee attacks, giving you a +4 bonus to AC. However, such soft cover provides no bonus on Reflex saves, nor does soft cover allow you to make a Hide check.

Big Creatures and Cover: Any creature with a space larger than 5 feet (1 square) determines cover against melee attacks slightly differently than smaller creatures do. Such a creature can choose any square that it occupies to determine if an opponent has cover against its melee attacks. Similarly, when making a melee attack against such a creature, you can pick any of the squares it occupies to determine if it has cover against you.

Total Cover: If you don't have line of effect to your target (for instance, if he is completely behind a high wall), he is considered to have total cover from you. You can't make an attack against a target that has total cover.

Varying Degrees of Cover: In some cases, cover may provide a greater bonus to AC and Reflex saves. For instance, a character peering around a corner or through an arrow slit has even better cover than a character standing behind a low wall or an obstacle. In such situations, the DM can double the normal cover bonuses to AC and Reflex saves (to +8 and +4, respectively). A creature with this improved cover effectively gains improved evasion against any attack to which the Reflex save bonus applies (see the improved evasion ability in the rogue class description, page 51). Furthermore, improved cover provides a +10 bonus on Hide checks.

The DM may impose other penalties or restrictions to attacks depending on the details of the cover. For example, to strike effectively through a narrow opening, you need to use a long piercing weapon, such as an arrow or a spear. A battleaxe or a pick just isn't going to get through an arrow slit.



Firing into a melee is a difficult proposition because melee combatants do a great deal of bobbing and weaving. When you shoot into a melee, you take a -4 penalty on your attack roll because you must be very careful where you shoot to avoid hitting an ally.

From page 140 of the Player's Handbook: 

Shooting or Throwing into a Melee: If you shoot or throw a ranged weapon at a target engaged in melee with a friendly character, you take a -4 penalty on your attack roll because you have to aim carefully to avoid hitting your friend. Two characters are engaged in melee if they are enemies of each other and either threatens the other. (An unconscious or otherwise immobilized character is not considered engaged unless he is actually being attacked.)

If your target (or the part of your target you're aiming at, if it's a big target) is at least 10 feet away from the nearest friendly character, you can avoid the -4 penalty, even if the creature you're aiming at is engaged in melee with a friendly character.

Precise Shot: If you have the Precise Shot feat (page 98), you don't take this penalty.


As noted on page 140 of the Player's Handbook, creatures are in melee when they're enemies and either creature threatens the other. An unconscious or immobilized creature isn't considered to be in melee unless it's actually being attacked.

If your target is at least 10 feet from your allies (as it might be if it has more than 5 feet of melee reach), you don't take the penalty. If your target occupies more than one space, you can avoid the penalty by aiming your ranged attack at a part of your target that is at least 10 feet from your nearest ally -- it's easier to find a safe shot when shooting into a melee than to shoot around cover.

If you must shoot through an ally's (or enemy's) space to hit your target, your target gains cover from the intervening creature (+4 bonus to Armor Class). The target's Armor Class improvement applies in addition to the penalty you take for shooting into a melee.

The Precise Shot feat allows you to fire into melee without penalty.



Rules and feats that apply to ranged attacks can apply to things other than projectile or thrown weapons, as noted here.

Spells: Any spell that requires you to make a ranged attack roll to aim the spell is subject to all the rules that govern ranged attacks, including most feats that improve ranged attacks.

All spells that produce rays fall into this category. Other spells that have effect entries and produce effects that you throw or otherwise propel away from you also count as ranged attacks, provided that you actually use the effect at range. (See Rules of the Game: Reading Spell Descriptions) and page 175 in the Player's Handbook for a discussion of effect spells.) Other spells might also work as ranged attacks; check the spell's description to be sure.

From page 175 of the Player's Handbook: 

Effect: Some spells, such as summon monster spells, create or summon things rather than affecting things that are already present. You must designate the location where these things are to appear, either by seeing it or defining it (for example, "The insect plague will appear 20 feet into the area of darkness that the nagas are hiding in"). Range determines how far away an effect can appear, but if the effect is mobile (a summoned monster, for instance), it can move regardless of the spell's range.

Ray: Some effects are rays (for example, ray of enfeeblement). You aim a ray as if using a ranged weapon, though typically you make a ranged touch attack rather than a normal ranged attack. As with a ranged weapon, you can fire into the dark or at an invisible creature and hope you hit something. You don't have to see the creature you're trying to hit, as you do with a targeted spell. Intervening creatures and obstacles, however, can block your line of sight or provide cover for the creature you're aiming at.

If a ray spell has a duration, it's the duration of the effect that the ray causes, not the length of time the ray itself persists. If a ray spell deals damage, you can score a critical hit just as if it were a weapon. A ray spell threatens a critical hit on a natural roll of 20 and deals double damage on a successful critical hit.

Spread: Some effects, notably clouds and fogs, spread out from a point of origin, which must be a grid intersection. The effect can extend around corners and into areas that you can't see. Figure distance by actual distance traveled, taking into account turns the spell effect takes. When determining distance for spread effects, count around walls, not through them. As with movement, do not trace diagonals across corners. You must designate the point of origin for such an effect, but you need not have line of effect (see below) to all portions of the effect. Example: obscuring mist.


Spells with area entries never function as ranged attacks, nor do most spells that have target entries (unless you must make a ranged attack to hit the target).

Sometimes a spell works as a ranged attack, and sometimes it doesn't, depending on how you use the spell. For example, the produce flame spell is an effect spell that you can use for either melee or ranged combat. Produce flame counts as a ranged attack only when you're hurling flames.

Other Magical Effects: Any magical effect that you aim at a single target and that requires you to make a ranged attack roll to hit your target also counts as a ranged attack. For example, the warlock's eldritch blast power from Complete Arcane functions as a ranged attack. If you use a blast shape invocation to change your eldritch blast so that it covers an area (such as eldritch cone), it no longer functions as a ranged attack – the modification makes the blast work more like an area spell.



That wraps up our look at ranged attacks. Hopefully we've tackled a few questions that you had, but if you have further questions, stop by our website and feel free to ask it in one of our venues online.



Skip Williams keeps busy with freelance projects for several different game companies and was the Sage of Dragon Magazine for many years. Skip is a co-designer of the D&D 3rd Edition game and the chief architect of the Monster Manual. When not devising swift and cruel deaths for player characters, Skip putters in his kitchen or garden (rabbits and deer are not Skip's friends) or works on repairing and improving the century-old farmhouse that he shares with his wife, Penny, and a growing menagerie of pets.