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Javelin of Lightning 5e: The Bolt, the Damage Math and What 2024 Changed
A Javelin of Lightning is an uncommon magic javelin, no attunement required, that once per day turns into a 5-foot-wide line of lightning when you throw it at a target up to 120 feet away. Creatures caught in the line make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw against 4d6 lightning damage (half on a success). The two editions handle the target differently: in 2014 the target takes an attack roll for the javelin's damage plus 4d6 lightning, and in 2024 the target simply saves like everyone else and the javelin reappears in your hand. The verdict: a strong low-level opener for any Strength-based character, and a fine backup weapon once the bolt is spent.
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Javelin of Lightning Rules Text
The 2014 version (SRD 5.1) is first, the 2024 version (SRD 5.2.1) second.
Javelin of Lightning
2014 rules
Weapon (javelin), uncommon
UncommonNo attunement
This javelin is a magic weapon. When you hurl it and speak its command word, it transforms into a bolt of lightning, forming a line 5 feet wide that extends out from you to a target within 120 feet. Each creature in the line excluding you and the target must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw, taking 4d6 lightning damage on a failed save, and half as much damage on a successful one. The lightning bolt turns back into a javelin when it reaches the target. Make a ranged weapon attack against the target. On a hit, the target takes damage from the javelin plus 4d6 lightning damage.
The javelin's property can't be used again until the next dawn. In the meantime, the javelin can still be used as a magic weapon.
Each time you make an attack roll with this magic weapon and hit, you can have it deal Lightning damage instead of Piercing damage.
Lightning Bolt. When you throw this weapon at a target no farther than 120 feet from you, you can forgo making a ranged attack roll and instead turn the weapon into a bolt of lightning. This bolt forms a 5-foot-wide Line between you and the target. The target and each other creature in the Line (excluding you) makes a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw, taking 4d6 Lightning damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one. Immediately after dealing this damage, the weapon reappears in your hand. This property can't be used again until the next dawn.
Read them side by side and the 2024 card is a rewrite, not a touch-up. The bolt keeps its size, damage and DC, but who rolls what changed completely.
How the Javelin of Lightning Works
The base weapon
Under the magic, it's a javelin: 1d6 piercing damage, thrown range 30/120 feet, 2 pounds. Javelins are melee weapons with the thrown property, so a thrown javelin uses your Strength modifier for attack and damage. In 2024 the javelin's mastery property is Slow. The item gives no bonus to attack or damage rolls in either edition, unlike a +1 weapon.
Using the bolt in 2014
You throw the javelin and speak its command word. It becomes a 5-foot-wide line running from you to a target within 120 feet. Then two things happen:
•Everyone in the line except you and the target makes a DC 13 Dexterity save, taking 4d6 lightning damage on a failure and half on a success.
•The target doesn't save. The bolt turns back into a javelin when it reaches the target, and you make a ranged weapon attack. On a hit, the target takes the javelin's normal damage plus 4d6 lightning. On a miss, it takes nothing.
That attack is an ordinary thrown-weapon attack, so the normal range rules apply. The item lets you pick a target 120 feet away, but the javelin's normal range is 30 feet, and an attack beyond normal range has disadvantage. A ranged attack also has disadvantage when a hostile creature that can see you is within 5 feet of you.
The command word matters too. The 2014 SRD says an item that needs a command word can't be activated where sound is prevented, as in the area of Silence. Inside that area you can still throw it as a magic javelin, but no bolt.
After the attack the javelin is a javelin again, lying wherever a thrown javelin would end up near the target. Someone has to go pick it up.
Using the bolt in 2024
You throw the javelin at a target no farther than 120 feet away and choose to skip the attack roll. The bolt forms a 5-foot-wide Line between you and the target, and the target and every other creature in the Line (not you) make the DC 13 Dexterity save: 4d6 lightning on a failure, half on a success. Immediately after dealing the damage, the javelin reappears in your hand.
Because there's no attack roll, range penalties and nearby enemies don't matter, and the bolt can't miss outright. It also can't score a critical hit, and the Slow mastery doesn't trigger, since Slow needs you to hit a creature with the weapon. The 2024 text doesn't mention a command word, so Silence doesn't stop it.
Is it an action of its own?
No. In both editions the bolt starts with a throw, and throwing a thrown weapon is how you make a ranged attack with it. That's one attack from your Attack action, so a character with Extra Attack still gets their other attacks that turn. In 2014 you could throw the javelin first and keep fighting with a melee weapon; in 2024 the javelin is back in your hand to swing or throw again.
The everyday property in 2024
The 2024 javelin has a second power with no daily limit: every time you hit with an attack roll, you can switch the damage from piercing to lightning. That's useful against a creature that resists piercing but not lightning, and it's the reason to keep throwing the javelin after the bolt is used. Thrown normally, it doesn't come back on its own; only the Lightning Bolt property returns it to your hand.
Recharge
The bolt recharges at dawn in both editions. Between uses, the 2014 text spells out that it still works as a magic weapon, which matters against monsters that resist damage from nonmagical attacks.
Watch the line
The Line hits every creature in it except you, allies included. Line up the shot from the side, or step so your friends aren't between you and the target. The Line ends at the target, so nothing behind the target is affected.
Javelin of Lightning: 2014 vs 2024
2014 (SRD 5.1)
2024 (SRD 5.2.1)
Rarity / attunement
Uncommon, none
Uncommon, none
Activation
Throw and speak a command word
Throw and forgo the attack roll
The target
Ranged attack: javelin damage + 4d6 lightning on a hit
DC 13 Dex save: 4d6 lightning, half on a success
Others in the line
DC 13 Dex save, 4d6 lightning, half on a success
Same
Afterward
Javelin lands near the target
Javelin reappears in your hand
Normal attacks
A magic javelin
A magic javelin that can deal Lightning instead of Piercing on a hit
Uses
Once, recharges at dawn
Same
Value
No price in the SRD
400 GP plus the javelin's 5 SP
What this means at the table:
•2014 rewards accuracy, 2024 rewards reliability. The 2014 version is a bigger hit on the target if you're close and accurate. The 2024 version always does something, even to a target you'd struggle to hit.
•The 2024 javelin comes back. No more running across the battlefield to retrieve it, and it stays useful as a lightning weapon for the rest of the day.
•Silence no longer stops it. The 2024 text has no command word.
Damage math
Assume a level 5 fighter with Strength 16 (+3) and proficiency (+3), so +6 to hit, throwing at a target with AC 15 and a Dexterity save of +1.
•2014, target within 30 feet: hits on a 9 or higher, 60%. A hit deals 1d6 + 3 + 4d6, an average of 20.5. Expected damage about 12.3.
•2014, target beyond 30 feet: disadvantage drops the hit chance to 36% (0.6 × 0.6). Expected damage about 7.4.
•2024, any range up to 120 feet: the target fails the DC 13 save on 1 to 11, 55%. Expected damage 0.55 × 14 + 0.45 × 7, about 10.9, with no miss.
•Anyone else in the line, either edition: the same 10.9 for a +1 Dexterity save.
Compare the Lightning Bolt spell: a 100-foot line for 8d6 against the caster's save DC. The javelin is a short, half-strength version that anyone can use, which is good value for an uncommon item and loses ground as save DCs and hit points rise.
Is the Javelin of Lightning Worth It?
Yes for Strength-based characters at levels 1 to 8, where 4d6 to several enemies is a real swing. It costs no attunement slot, so there's nothing to give up.
Best users:
•Fighters and paladins who would otherwise spend their first turn closing distance. Throw the bolt, then draw a melee weapon.
•2024 barbarians. The 2024 Rage Damage bonus applies to any attack using Strength, including a thrown javelin, so the everyday lightning throws get the rage bonus too. The 2014 rage bonus only applies to melee weapon attacks.
•Anyone fighting in corridors, where enemies line up for the Line.
The DC 13 is fixed. It's a solid DC at level 3 and an easy save for monsters with good Dexterity at level 11, so the javelin fades as the campaign goes on.
When it's a trap: against creatures that ignore or drink lightning. An adult blue dragon is immune to lightning in both editions. A flesh golem is worse: its Lightning Absorption heals it by the lightning damage dealt. In 2014 the javelin's piercing damage still hurts the golem, because the golem's immunity covers only nonmagical weapons and this one is magic, but the 4d6 lightning heals it.
Javelin of Lightning for DMs
Where it turns up. In the gear of a bandit captain, a guard captain or a scout who never got to throw it. As an uncommon weapon with no attunement, it fits an early treasure hoard.
What it changes. One big area attack per day for a character who usually has none. Groups of weak enemies in tight spaces take the most from it. It doesn't threaten anything that resists lightning, so it won't trivialize a campaign.
Pricing. Under the 2024 SRD an uncommon item is worth 400 GP, and a magic weapon adds the base weapon's price, so 400 GP 5 SP. The 2014 SRD gives no magic item prices. The shop price calculator and magic item rarity calculator help set a shop's markup.
Edge cases at the table. In 2014, track where the javelin landed; the player who forgets to retrieve it has lost a magic item. In 2024, remind the player that allies in the line take damage too.
Hooks.
•A guard tower's armory holds one Javelin of Lightning, mounted over the door. The garrison captain uses it once each dawn to clear the road of whatever's camped on it.
•A storm-scorched battlefield is littered with ordinary javelins and a single magic one. Finding it means walking through what's still living there.
•A rival adventurer keeps throwing the same javelin at the party and leaving it behind. Under the 2014 rules the javelin stays where it lands, so whoever picks it up gets a daily bolt and a furious owner.
Who's carrying the javelin, and whether its bolt is spent today, is easy to lose track of between sessions. Loreify records the game and writes it into the recap.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much damage does a Javelin of Lightning do?
The bolt deals 4d6 lightning damage (average 14) to each creature in a 5-foot-wide line, halved on a successful DC 13 Dexterity save. In 2014 the target instead takes an attack roll: on a hit, 1d6 plus your Strength modifier plus 4d6 lightning.
Does the Javelin of Lightning return to your hand?
In 2024, yes, but only after using its Lightning Bolt property; normal throws don't return. In 2014, no: it turns back into a javelin at the target and has to be retrieved.
Does the Javelin of Lightning require attunement?
No. It's an uncommon magic weapon with no attunement in either edition.
Can you use the Javelin of Lightning with Extra Attack?
Yes. The bolt is delivered by throwing the javelin, which is one attack of your Attack action, so your other attacks that turn are still available.
How much is a Javelin of Lightning worth?
400 GP plus the price of a javelin (5 SP) under the 2024 SRD. The 2014 SRD doesn't price magic items.
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.
This page includes material from the System Reference Document 5.1 and 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Loreify is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast.