A ranged weapon is a weapon which requires the character wielding it to be within a certain distance of the enemy he is attacking, but does not require him to be adjacent.
There are two main categories within ranged weapons:
- Thrown weapons: darts; throwing axes; shuriken and sling (while technically a projectile weapon because of its need for ammunition, the sling is considered a thrown weapon in game mechanics).
- Projectile weapons: longbow; shortbow; longbow, composite; shortbow, composite; crossbow, light; and crossbow, heavy
Ranged weapons use the character's dexterity modifier on their attack roll. All thrown weapons (except the shuriken) are automatically mighty, with no limit on the strength modifier. Projectile weapons with the the mighty property add their strength modifier to their damage up to the mighty bonus; projectile weapons without the mighty attribute still take a strength penalty to damage with a negative modifier. Projectile weapons require a supply of ammunition to be used, and thrown weapons are not recoverable after being thrown unless they are magically enchanted to do so. If a ranged weapon is used in melee, the attacker suffers a -4 penalty to the attack roll and provokes an attack of opportunity