Flame Tongue 5e: Fire Damage, Which Weapons Qualify and What Fire Can't Burn

A Flame Tongue in 5e is a rare magic weapon that requires attunement. Take a Bonus Action and speak its command word, and flames cover the weapon: every hit deals an extra 2d6 fire damage (7 on average), and the fire sheds bright light in a 40-foot radius with dim light 40 feet beyond. In the 2014 rules it can be any sword; in 2024 it can be any melee weapon, so a Flame Tongue greataxe or warhammer is now possible. It has no bonus to attack or damage rolls. The verdict: a big damage boost on every hit, held back by its lack of an attack bonus and by how many monsters shrug off fire.

Table of Contents

• •Flame Tongue Rules Text
• •How the Flame Tongue Works
• •Flame Tongue: 2014 vs 2024
• •Is the Flame Tongue Worth It?
• •Flame Tongue for DMs
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Flame Tongue Rules Text

How the Flame Tongue Works

Lighting it, and keeping it lit

Lighting the weapon costs a Bonus Action and a command word in both editions. The flames then last until you take another Bonus Action to put them out, or until you drop or sheathe the weapon (2024 adds "stow"). There's no time limit. A fighter who lights the blade before kicking in the door starts the fight with it burning and keeps the Bonus Action for something else.

The command word matters in one situation: Silence. Both SRDs say a spoken command word fails where sound is suppressed. The 2024 rules add that a command word can be spoken or signed, and only the spoken kind fails. A Flame Tongue that was already burning before the Silence went up keeps burning, because nothing in its text ends the flames there.

The damage

The extra 2d6 fire applies to any hit while the weapon is ablaze. On a critical hit it becomes 4d6, because a critical doubles every damage die the attack rolls, extra dice included. With +4 Strength:

The 2d6 nearly doubles a one-handed weapon's damage. That's much more than a +2 weapon adds (2 damage and +2 to hit), and more than a Sun Blade's 1d8 radiant against undead. What it doesn't give is accuracy: a Flame Tongue hits exactly as often as a plain weapon.

Fire against the monster list

Plenty of SRD monsters resist or ignore fire, so check the target before you count on the 2d6:

• •Stops regeneration: a Troll that takes fire damage doesn't regenerate at the start of its next turn (10 hit points in 2014, 15 in 2024). A burning weapon is a clean way to finish one at 0.
• •Vulnerable: a Mummy takes double fire damage in both editions, so the 2d6 averages 14.
• •Immune: the Fire Elemental, red dragons, and every devil in the SRD, from the Imp to the Pit Fiend.
• •Healed by it: an Iron Golem regains hit points equal to the fire damage dealt. A Flame Tongue longsword hit deals 8.5 slashing and heals 7, a net of 1.5. Put the flames out first (a Bonus Action).
• •Resistant: ghosts, specters, wraiths and shadows halve it.

In a fire-themed dungeon, the Flame Tongue is a light source and little else.

Which weapon is it?

The 2014 card says any sword: shortsword, longsword, greatsword, rapier or scimitar. The 2024 card says any melee weapon, which includes daggers, handaxes, spears and polearms. The DM decides the base weapon when placing the item, and it doesn't change later.

Thrown Flame Tongues (2024)

No SRD sword has the Thrown property, so in 2014 a thrown Flame Tongue is an improvised weapon (1d4). Some 2024 options are thrown melee weapons, like a dagger, handaxe or spear. The flames end when you "drop" the weapon, and the text doesn't say whether a throw counts. DM ruling: the thrown weapon is ablaze when it hits and deals the 2d6, then goes out when it lands. Lighting it again takes picking it up and another Bonus Action.

Setting things on fire

The text describes the flames as light and extra damage on a hit. It doesn't say they ignite anything. DM ruling: a hit doesn't set a creature alight, but holding the burning weapon to a torch, a curtain or a pile of oil-soaked straw lights it like any open flame.

The light

Forty feet of bright light and another 40 of dim is double a torch's 20 and 20. It's a fine light source for a party without darkvision and terrible for stealth. Every creature in a dark cave sees you coming from far outside your own sight range.

Flame Tongue: 2014 vs 2024

The base weapon is the change that matters. A 2024 barbarian can have a Flame Tongue greataxe (1d12 + 2d6), and a monk can have a Flame Tongue spear or quarterstaff. The damage, light and action cost are unchanged.

Is the Flame Tongue Worth It?

For a Strength fighter, barbarian or paladin who attacks two or more times a turn, yes: two hits add 14 damage a turn, where a +2 weapon adds 4. It's worse for a character who only attacks once, and much worse for one whose Bonus Action is busy on the first turn of every fight (lighting it costs that).

The Sun Blade is the main rival at the same rarity: +2 to attack and damage, radiant damage that's rarely resisted, and sunlight against vampires. In a campaign heavy on fiends, dragons and elementals, take the Sun Blade. In a campaign of trolls, beasts and humanoids, take the Flame Tongue.

You can't attune to two Flame Tongues at once, since a creature can't attune to more than one copy of an item. An unattuned Flame Tongue gives only its nonmagical benefits, so a dual-wielder's second copy can't even be lit.

Flame Tongue for DMs

Where it turns up. In a fire giant's forge, a salamander-guarded vault, or the hands of a troll hunter. Since the 2024 version can be any melee weapon, give it in the form your party's main melee character already uses.

What it changes. Damage output, a lot. Two hits a round for 14 extra damage shortens fights against anything without fire resistance. It also makes trolls straightforward. Balance it by using more fire-resistant or fire-immune monsters, not by adding hit points across the board.

Pricing. The 2024 SRD sets a rare item at 4,000 GP and adds the base weapon's price: 4,015 GP for a Flame Tongue longsword, 4,050 GP for a greatsword. The 2014 SRD has no magic item prices. For shop stock, the shop price calculator and magic item generator help.

Hooks.

• •A blacksmith's guild says the command word is lost. It isn't; the guildmaster just won't share it until the party does a favor.
• •Trolls have overrun a mountain pass. The only Flame Tongue in the valley belongs to a retired guard who refuses to lend it.
• •A frost giant keeps a Flame Tongue warhammer chained to its throne, unlit. It has no use for fire; it keeps the hammer so no giant-hunter can have it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What weapons can be a Flame Tongue in 5e?

In the 2014 rules, any sword: shortsword, longsword, greatsword, rapier or scimitar. In the 2024 rules, any melee weapon, including axes, hammers, daggers and polearms.

Does a Flame Tongue require attunement?

Yes. It's a rare magic weapon that requires attunement in both editions.

Does Flame Tongue damage double on a critical hit?

Yes. A critical hit rolls all of the attack's damage dice twice, so the 2d6 fire becomes 4d6 along with the weapon's own dice.

Does a Flame Tongue get a +1 bonus?

No. Neither version gives a bonus to attack or damage rolls. It counts as a magic weapon, and its only extra damage is the 2d6 fire while ablaze.

How much is a Flame Tongue worth?

4,000 GP plus the base weapon's price under the 2024 SRD, so 4,015 GP for a longsword. The 2014 SRD doesn't list magic item prices.

Item text: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Analysis, rulings and ideas are Loreify's own.