Ok, ive tried searching on this forum, didnt find a satisfactory question/answer but Im sure its there... somewhere
So the net weapon on page 149 in the PHB is listed as having a range of 5/15, I guess that means you are always* attacking with disadvantage, either because you are attacking with a ranged weapon in melee, or because you are attacking at long range instead.
* some good feats can ignore that limitation
I only get one attack with a net, does that mean a) I can only attack once with the net no matter what, but if I have a weapon in the other hand I can attack with that one say a handcrossbow or a trident?
or b) My other attacks are wasted even if Im a crossbow expert lvl 20 fighter, I only get one attack.
Could a level 5+ beastmaster attack with the net and then let his beast carry out another attack?
Feel free to redirect me to an already existing thread if one exists
Nets are thrown weapons so you can use a melee attack against adjacent creatures. I guess you could throw the net with disadvantage at an adjacent creature if you really wanted to but I have no idea why you would. 
You will need the dual wielder feat to do the net/trident thing since a net is not a light weapon. If you have the feat you can attack with a weapon and the net using two-weapon fighting.
Awakened_Gazebo wrote:
I houseruled that a trident can be used to grapple a creature without the need to have a free hand. The trident does the grappling in place of a free hand. I also allow a trident user to pin a creature to a wall or other obstacle on the other side of them which applies the restrained condition.
I have never really looked at the net since none of my players' characters use one. On paper it looks absolutely terrible... ranged weapon with a standard range of only 5 ft. And being ranged it uses dexterity instead of strength...I'd completely redesign it to be:
Martial melee weapon
Net, 1 gp, 3 lb, special, thrown (range 5/15)
Now the weapon doesn't suffer disadvantage at its normal range, and it uses strength instead of dexterity. You could always add the finesse tag to the weapon so characters can use str or dex.
I might even add the light property so a character can attack with a primary light weapon (a gladius perhaps?) and use the TWF bonus action to ensnare/trip with the net.
I might even add versatile to the weapon... with the caveat that when using two hands, the range becomes 10/30 or even 20/60.
I would also add to the special properties that if making a melee attack with the net, you can choose to wrap the net around an opponent's leg(s), tripping your opponent, knocking it prone and restraining it.
I'm inclined to add all these properties since it's the only weapon that can explicitly be destroyed, and with only 5 slashing damage.
So when all is said and done I end up with this:
Martial melee weapon
Net, 1 gp, 3 lb, special, light, versatile (special), thrown (range 5/15)
Special Weapons
Net:
When you make a melee weapon attack using a net, a large or smaller creature hit by the net is knocked prone and restrained until it is freed.
When you make a ranged weapon attack by throwing the net, A large or smaller creature hit by the net is restrained until it is freed.
This weapon can be used with one or two hands. If used with two hands, it can be thrown with a range of 20/60.
A net has no effect on creatures that are formless, or creatures that are Huge or larger.
A creature can use its action to make a DC 10 Strength check, freeing itself or another creature within its reach on a success.
Dealing 5 slashing damage to the net (AC 10) also frees the creature without harming it, ending the effect and destroying the net.
You can free a creature ensnared within a net you are wielding as a bonus action.
When you move, you can drag or carry the ensnared creature with you, but your speed is halved, unless the creature is two or more sizes smaller than you.
You can drop the net and move normally, and the creature remains affected by the net until it is freed.
Addendum: for clarity, it should also be noted that a net that is restraining a creature cannot be used to make an attack. The current victim of the net has to be freed before it can be used to make an attack.
Hmm Ooftameg Im not so sure abaout that. Its correct that the net has the thrown property, just like a handaxe. But handaxes are listed under melee martial weapons, whereas the net is listed under ranged martial weapons. Would that mean that no matter what I had to throw the net? even against adjacent opponents?
On page 148 it states that when ypu use an action, bonus action or reaction to attack with a net you can only use one attack regardless the number of attacks you can normally make.
Hence the below questions.
a) I can only attack once with the net no matter what, but if I have a weapon in the other hand I can attack with that one say a handcrossbow or a trident?
or b) My other attacks are wasted even if Im a crossbow expert lvl 20 fighter, I only get one attack
I believe that if b) is correct then I cant even use two weapon fighting or the extra attack feature etc.
@jealis yeah the trident is rather lackluster, even though is can do alot of things. Id personally also give it some bonusses fighting underwater
I'm trying to find some justification for using a net. It's kind of the red-headed step-child of weapons along with the trident.
If the net is not thrown you use the "special" attack which is not limited to ranged attacks. At the same time it's not a typical melee attack either.
Yunru wrote:
MasterNamer wrote:
MasterNamer wrote:
Macv12 wrote:
Bloodscythe wrote:
Bloodscythe wrote:
Hmm ok hadnt seen the part about the loading property.
So when throwing the net you would have these options:
1) throw the net with disadvantage within 10 to 15 feet because of long range, or throw the net with disadvantage within 5 feet because of adjacent opponent, (or use the net as an improvised melee weapon and not suffer disadvantage but instead loose proficiency bonus. nope)
1a) with the sharpshooter feat you wont suffer disadvantage at range 10/15. With the crossbow expert feat you wont suffer disadvantage at 5 feet, and can attack with a handcrossbow as a bonus action.
1b) (when attacking with the net as an improvised weapon and having the dual wielder feat, you can attack with a melee weapon as a bonus action in the other hand. nope)
1c) whatever action is used to attack with the net, it can only attack once. But it can potentially generate bonus actions as normal.
2) when a beastmaster commands his beast to attack a target the beastmaster may attack once himself. This can be with a net and having the crossbow expert feat may generate a bonus action as normal. And as you decide the order of attacks you can decide to throw a net first, have the beast attack with advantage and then finish the opponent or another opponent of with a crossbow attack.
Regarding the net as dealing dmg, I could totally see a barbed net being used. But a normal net wouldnt, at my table, deal any damage.
BTW there are some great ideas both with the net and the trident. Those would make a fine retiarius gladiator
The net must be thrown to be used properly, and it's best to use it in situations where you have advantage against an adjacent target.
MasterNamer wrote:
mrpopstar wrote:
Macv12 wrote:
Bloodscythe wrote:
ok, got it, thanks for the answers gents
My 5th-level beastmaster, Red Creek Rufus, has Sharpshooter, a net, and an ornery boar companion, Belvedere. As Rufus is a world-class fisherman (ask him and he'll tell you all about it), he rigs the nets with hooks that inflict 1 point of piercing damage on a hit. When Belvedere can be arsed to do what's he's told, Rufus takes a bonus action to throw hunter's mark on the target, then the attack action to command Belvedere to charge as he chucks the net at range. This generally means the boar attacks with advantage and knocks the enemy prone if said enemy blows the save for Charge. This combo does 16 (2d6+4 slashing damage plus 1d6+1 piercing) damage on average, plus restrained and prone. It sets up allies to attack with advantage and forces the enemy to have to make some hard choices about how to allocate actions, attacks, and movement.
It doesn't work every time (damn dice!), but it's fun.
Bloodscythe wrote:
Awakened_Gazebo wrote:
jaelis wrote:
Vulf wrote:
Awakened_Gazebo wrote:
Vulf wrote:
ObeseBoyWonder wrote:
Vulf wrote:
If the net was intended to be usable in melee without penalty, they wouldn't have made it a ranged weapon with a normal range of 5 feet.
I don't know what it would hurt if you allowed it to work, but the fact that it doesn't seems pretty deliberate.
Vulf wrote:
Bloodscythe wrote:
mrpopstar wrote:
Yunru wrote:
Yunru wrote:
Yunru wrote:
Given that an item on one list isn't also on the other list makes them mutually exclusive.
Yunru wrote:
Yunru wrote:
Well, I was just saying in a roundabout fashion that a torch retains the properties of a torch when used as an improvised club.
It is still on fire, and so when used as an improvised weapon it gains the additional property of doing 1 point of fire damage. That's what the entry for torch says, I'm not making that up. What can be surmised, and maybe I'm doing what I accused others of, is that the property of doing 1 point of fire damage on a hit, does not preclude it from also doing the 1d4 damage that an improvised club would do.
Likewise, when you attack with your shield, you still have it securely strapped to your arm. When you are wearing armor you gain the benefits.
To muddy things abit, using shield with Dual Wielder feat. If the shield is an improvised weapon, then do you get +1 ac for wielding 2 weapons? When asked the game guys on twitter only said it was never their intention for those two things to interact in such a way.
Personally, I would think the shield only acts as a weapon during the attack you use it as such, and the rest of the time is a shield. Others might say you gain either Dual Wielder +1ac or shield +2ac whichever is higher, because the source of the AC bonus comes from items in your hands and AC bonuses from the same source don't stack.
The designers have also said that shield works with the Duelist fighting style since it is not a weapon. Duelist grants you +2 damage when using a 1 hander in 1 hand and your other hand is not holding a weapon. Well what happens when you attack twice with your sword, and then attack with your shield as an improvised weapon? This would not be ideal as far as damage goes, but just as an example. If the shield only counts as a weapon for the single attack you make with it, and the rest of the time it is a shield, then everything is fine and dandy.
Now we come to another example, you have the Dual wielder feat, but what you are holding are two rolling pins you are using as improvised weapons. Do these rolling pins count as weapons for the purposes of gaining +1ac? Or are they only weapons when used during attacks?
If you think about what makes sense (DANGEROUS DO NOT ATTEMPT) a person holding a couple rollings pins and experienced enough with fighting using two weapons so well they have the Dual Wielder feat, should be able to protect themselves better than a person holding nothing.
Vulf wrote:
Bloodscythe wrote:
Yunru wrote:
Yunru wrote:
Bloodscythe wrote:
If we're talking about specific DM rulings, then I think the most sensible one is to scrap the existing net rules as being stupid and make up new rules for them. Forcing anyone using them to take either sharpshooter or crossbow expert is ridiculous, as are the rules on multiple attacks.
Make them a melee weapon with a throwing range and specify that they take an action to draw if they're not readied, and that they cannot be recovered after a successful attack until the target frees themselves. Done. That lines up with the historical reitarii (to my layman's knowledge at least) and prevents having to jump through bizarre hoops to use them.
Saeviomagy wrote:
mrpopstar wrote:
Saeviomagy wrote:
Yunru wrote:
Saeviomagy wrote:
Saeviomagy wrote:
mrpopstar wrote:
Saeviomagy wrote:
Saeviomagy wrote:
Saeviomagy wrote:
mrpopstar wrote:
Coredump00 wrote:
Coredump00 wrote:
mrpopstar wrote:
Hmm regarding nets and dealing damage.
I suppose a normal net cant deal damage under any circumstances. Even with sharpshooter and hunters mark/hex.
While a blowgun on the other hand may add dexterity/sharpshooter dmg bonus and hex/hunters mark/magical weapon bonus etc.
Awakened_Gazebo wrote: