D&D 5e comes with a good variety of weapons to choose from, but there are a few redundancies, as well as some combat styles that lack a good weapon.
Your DM may be fond of some, all, or none of these weapon options. Feel free to use this document in whichever way is beneficial to your table.
* Items with an asterisk indicate a weapon that has been altered in a way visible in the table.
+ Items with a plus indicate a weapon that does not appear in published 5e material or has been given the special property. More details on these weapons are included below.
Shields that inflict damage qualify both as martial weapons and as shields in reference to other game mechanics.
Your Armor Class cannot benefit from more than one shield at a time. If heavy weapons impose disadvantage on your attacks, you cannot wield a heavy shield.
Knives are great for cooking, throwing, and stabbing.
Finesse, thrown (range 20/60)
When you would normally gain a dagger with your starting equipment, you can choose to instead gain a knife.
A sickle is a small weapon, most often used to harvest crops.
Light
Special. You can add your ability modifier to the sickle's damage even if you don't have the Two-Weapon Fighting Style.
A wakizashi is a sword typically used by young monks and samurai fighters. It has a design similar to the katana but is shorter and easier to wield effectively.
Finesse, versatile (1d6)
The design of the war scythe is based on an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass or gleaning crops. Many adventurers have grown accustomed to operating scythes and find it easy to use this weapon.
Reach, two-handed
A blowgun is a weapon consisting of a long narrow tube for shooting light projectiles.
Ammunition (range 25/100), loading
Special. When you are hiding, missing with an attack roll does not reveal your location.
There isn't anything special about this rock, aside from how it's a bit heavier than you'd expect.
Thrown (range 10/30)
Unlike most ranged weapons, you add your Strength modifier to a rock's attack and damage rolls.
This variation of the hand crossbow was designed to be less expensive to create and easier to use.
Ammunition (range 30/120), loading
When you would normally gain a light crossbow as a weapon proficiency or piece of starting equipment, you can choose to instead gain a simple hand crossbow.
Brass knuckles are pieces of metal shaped to fit around the knuckles for hand-to-hand combat.
Special. If you have the Unarmed Fighting Style or belong to a race with natural weapons, this weapon's damage die increases to 2d4.
Attacks made using brass knuckles are weapon attacks, not unarmed strikes.
A dagger is a knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, designed for both stabbing and throwing.
Finesse, light, thrown (range 30/90)
Special. You can dual wield with a dagger, even if the other weapon isn't light.
A tool used for felling the largest trees, and the largest foes.
Heavy, thrown (range 10/20)
Special. You must use two hands when you make a melee attack with this weapon.
A katana is a sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a long grip to accommodate two hands.
Finesse, two-handed
The katana qualifies as a monk weapon.
A poniard is a long knife with a continuously tapering, acutely pointed blade and crossguard.
A maul is a long-handled hammer with a heavy head of wood, lead, or iron. It can be wielded with both hands for greater leverage.
Heavy, versatile (1d12)
As a heavy weapon, the maul qualifies for the Great Weapon Master feat, even when held in one hand.
A warhammer is a long-handled weapon, often used to defend fortified walls and against mounted opponents.
Special. Before you make an attack with a warhammer, you can choose to attack using the hammer's maximum leverage, provided you are proficient with the weapon.
You take a -2 penalty to the attack roll, and if the attack hits, the damage die is increased to 1d12.
A bardiche is a long, thin pole with an axeblade at the end. It looks similar to a halberd but weighs a bit less.
Light, reach
The bardiche qualifies for the Polearm Master feat.
A bullwhip is a single-tailed whip, usually made of braided leather, designed as a tool for working with livestock.
Finesse, reach
This weapon is a long rope with a metal dart attached at one end. The rope dart is able to be thrown and then pulled back to its user.
Finesse, reach, two-handed
A stockwhip is a type of whip made of a long, tapered length of flexible, plaited leather with a stiff handle and thong able to pivot along the handle easily.
Finesse, light, reach
An atlatl is a tool that uses leverage to achieve greater velocity in spear or javelin-throwing, and includes a bearing surface which allows the user to store energy during the throw.
Ammunition (range 60/180), finesse, loading
The atlatl uses spears and javelins as ammunition.
A discus is a heavy disc that can be thrown a great distance using the proper technique.
Finesse, heavy, thrown (range 80/160)
A shot put is a heavy spherical ball designed to be thrown with great force.
Heavy, thrown (range 20/40)
Unlike most ranged weapons, you add your Strength modifier to a shot put's attack and damage rolls.
A shuriken is a concealed weapon often used to distract or misdirect. With the right technique, it can inflict deadly force.
The buckler is a small, round shield, gripped in the fist with a central handle behind the boss. Its lightweight design allows its wielder to bash opponents while still using it defensively.
Heavy shields are designed to have great defensive and offensive power.
Heavy, two-handed
This weapon has a design similar to an ordinary shield, but sharp spikes made of wood, metal, or bone protrude from it.
This shield was built to be massive and maximally protective.
Heavy
Special. Using the tower shield blocks more than ordinary attacks. You receive a +2 bonus to Dexterity saving throws when you wield it.
If you are wielding this shield, you cannot cast spells that require somatic or material components unless you have the War Caster feat.
Versatile. If you hold this shield in one hand, you can wield a weapon in your other hand, but that weapon must have the light property. If you hold it in two hands, the shield's AC bonus increases to +3.
You can gain the benefit of holding the shield with two hands whenever both of your hands are free. (For instance, you could throw a handaxe on your turn and still receive this benefit, or you could repeatedly draw and stow a war pick to receive the benefit every other turn.)
Archery. This fighting style only applies to weapons with the ammunition property.
Dedicated Weapon. This is an optional feature found in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything that improves a monk's viability. Don't use this feature, as it would make the monk class too powerful.
Heavy Weapons. Instead of imposing disadvantage on small races, they impose disadvantage unless your Strength score is 13 or higher. This helps to improve balance, specifically with shields and high-damage ranged weapons.
Hex Warrior. In order to mitigate abuse of the Hexblade Warlock multiclass, implement one of the following rules:
Knives. Druids, sorcerers, and wizards start with proficiency in knives instead of daggers.
Lunge. before making an attack with a shield, you can choose to lunge. Doing so causes your shield's damage die to increase by 2 (1d4→1d6, 1d6→1d8, 1d8→1d10), and it causes the shield's AC bonus to drop to 0.
These effects last until the start of your next turn.
Club. Damage increased to 1d6.
Greatclub. Damage increased to 2d4.
Handaxe. Moved to martial melee weapons.
Mace. Damage increased to 2d4-1.
Sickle. Receives the two-weapon fighting style bonus damage, regardless of whether you have that feature.
Spear. Moved to martial melee weapons, added reach property, two-handed damage increased to 1d10.
Battleaxe. Removed versatile property, added thrown property.
Flail. Added versatile (2d4-1/3d4-1) properties.
Greataxe. Added thrown property (only needs to be held in one hand when thrown).
Halberd. Removed heavy and two-handed properties, damage reduced to 1d8.
Longsword. Two-handed damage increased to 1d12.
Maul. Removed two-handed property, added versatile (1d6/1d12) property.
Morningstar. Damage increased to 2d4.
Shortsword. Moved to simple melee weapons, damage reduced to 1d4.
Trident. Added finesse property.
Pike. Added thrown property, damage reduced to 2d4.
War Pick. Added light property.
Whip. Moved to simple melee weapons.
Blowgun. Moved to simple ranged weapons, does not reveal position on a miss.
Multiple small changes to the range of weapons with the thrown property.