Can you use Magic Weapon spell on an Improvised weapon?

Question

Tavern Brawler feat states that:

You are proficient with improvised weapons and unarmed strikes.

And the rules for improvised weapons are:

In many cases, an improvised weapon is similar to an actual weapon and can be treated as such. For example, a table leg is akin to a club. At the DM’s option, a character proficient with a weapon can use a similar object as if it were that weapon and use his or her proficiency bonus. An object that bears no resemblance to a weapon deals 1d4 damage.

So can you use Magic Weapon spell on an Improvised weapon?

Related, but not duplicate: https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/69668/can-you-make-a-weapon-bond-with-an-improvised-weapon — DuckTapeAl, Apr 18 '17 at 00:48

DuckTapeAl · Accepted Answer · 2017-04-18T01:47:40.077

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This depends on DM ruling.

The rules don't explicitly cover this case, so there are two, equally-valid ways to rule this.

The first is that improvised weapons don't count as weapons. This ruling is supported mainly by a few parts of the Improvised Weapons description (page 147, PHB). It says:

Sometimes characters don't have their weapons and have to attack with whatever is dose at hand... In many cases, an improvised weapon is similar to an actual weapon...

These line heavily imply that, while improvised weapons often act like weapons, they actually aren't. Since magic weapon specifies that it can only target weapons, by this ruling improvised weapons can't be made magic.

This interpretation is supported by Jeremy Crawford, who tweets:

Weapon Bond works with a bona fide weapon ("Behold, my sword!"), not an improvised weapon ("Look, a stool!").

The second interpretation is that, since the phrase "improvised weapons" contains the word "weapon", then improvised weapons must be weapons. With this interpretation, anything that can be done to a weapon can also be done with an improvised weapon.

Both of these interpretations are valid, and based on valid rules reasoning, so this is going to be dependent on your DM.

edited Apr 18 '17 at 01:47

answered Apr 18 '17 at 00:47

DuckTapeAl

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Crawford supports the first ruling. The fact that only something on a weapon table is a weapon is consistent with other rulings, too; for example only something in the ranged weapon tables counts as a ranged weapon, even though many melee weapons can make ranged attacks. – Doval Apr 18 '17 at 01:08
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I think the DM's discretion could also depend on the continued feasibility of the improvised weapon - a 'use once' beer bottle is firmly in the 'improvised' category, but a hefty table leg could be kept, and is effectively a sturdy club in all but name... – SeanR Apr 18 '17 at 09:06
@Doval I'd agree more with your point if the feat (in this question) didn't grant proficiency for improvised weapons. That leaves me scratching my head on the "for one proficient" versus "anyone with improvised" and I thus find "Rules as Fun" per Al's answer to be the best way to answer this. – KorvinStarmast Apr 18 '17 at 13:14
@KorvinStarmast I don't see why it matters that the feat grants proficiency. A longsword doesn't stop being a weapon in the hands of someone who's not proficient. If nothing else, Crawford has been consistent about this: "An improvised weapon is, indeed, a weapon, but only the moment it's used as such. A chair/shield/etc isn't a weapon otherwise." "Dual Wielder is intended to work with actual weapons. Using the feat with improvised weapons is up to the DM." – Doval Apr 18 '17 at 23:43
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Note that the first quote is taken out of context, the full paragraph reads: "Often, an improvised weapon is similar to an actual weapon and can be treated as such. For example, a table leg is akin to a club. At the DM's option, a character proficient with a weapon can use a similar object as if it were that weapon and use his or her proficiency bonus." This saying that a leg of ham may be close enough to a club to be wielded like one, not that a leg of ham is kind of like a weapon. – user-781943 Dec 20 '19 at 00:49

nonymous · Answer 2 · 2022-09-24T20:24:02.063

-5

RAW, yes

Magic weapon only stipulates that the target is

A nonmagical weapon

Improvised Weapons is a category of weapon properties and only weapons can have weapon properties. Therefore, RAW, an improvised weapon qualifies.

By definition,

An Improvised Weapon includes any object you can wield in one or two hands

So, RAW, any object that you can so wield may be the target of Magic Weapon.

You can read through some more of the nuances in @NautArch's explanation here on why Improvised Weapons are weapons. For comparison, check @EddyMage's rationale about Natural Weapons as weapons.

edited Sep 24 '22 at 20:24

answered Sep 24 '22 at 17:47

nonymous

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To give some feedback on the downvote, you don’t actually explain the reasoning in your answer. You just link to other answers and expect me to work it out from there. Your answer should provide the relevant reasons right here, even if you just quote other answers. – Thomas Markov Sep 24 '22 at 19:18
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Naut's answer states: "An improvised weapon is, indeed, a weapon, but only the moment it's used as such. A chair/shield/etc isn't a weapon otherwise." So, yes, improvised weapons are weapons, but only briefly. The answer doesn't really say anything about whether the magic weapon spell can be used on them and I think fleshing that out would greatly improve this answer (as well as the changes ThomasMarkov suggested). Basically, you can't just cast magic weapon on a shield or table because, at the time of the casting, it isn't a weapon – Exempt-Medic Sep 24 '22 at 19:50
@ThomasMarkov I've explicated the logic. Does it make sense to you? – nonymous Sep 24 '22 at 20:25
@Exempt-Medic, those are nuances irrelevant to a RAW argument. – nonymous Sep 24 '22 at 20:28
Maybe you wanted to link this one, instead if this? – Eddymage Sep 25 '22 at 10:17
@Eddymage, I hadn't seen the first one. Thanks. – nonymous Sep 25 '22 at 13:55

Can you use Magic Weapon spell on an Improvised weapon?

2 Answers2

This depends on DM ruling.

RAW, yes

So, RAW, any object that you can so wield may be the target of Magic Weapon.

Linked