The Player's Handbook for the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons offers a number of awesome weapons for players to use, but there is one that sits at the bottom of the barrel. The lowly sling has fallen from grace in the fifth edition of D&D, but it's possible to bring it up to spec, with a few improvements.
In the older editions of Dungeons & Dragons, the sling had an important role for spellcasters. Wizards used to be restricted to five different types of weapons: daggers, knives, staves, darts, and slings. D&D's darts were incredibly powerful in the hands of Fighters, but not so much when thrown by a wizard. Back then, there were no unlimited Cantrips for spellcasters to use, which meant they were forced to rely on weapons more often than they'd like. Darts and slings were the weapon of choice for most mages, as they couldn't risk entering melee range. Clerics' bizarre weapons restrictions also steered them towards slings, as they were prevented from using bows.
As time went on, the developers of D&D wanted characters to be able to use their abilities as much as possible in combat. This extended to Wizards via Cantrips, leaving the sling as one of the worst weapons in the game.
The Problem With Dungeons & Dragons' Sling Weapon
According to the current-edition Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook, a sling is a simple ranged weapon that deals 1d4 bludgeoning damage and that has an effective range of 30ft (but can reach 120 feet with disadvantage). By comparison, a shortbow can deal 1d6 piercing damage at an effective range of 80 feet, and a light crossbow deals 1d8 piercing damage at an effective range of 80 feet. Both can fire up to 320 feet at disadvantage. Darts are another simple ranged weapon type that deals 1d4 piercing damage at an effective range of 20 feet, but these also have the Finesse trait, which allows the user to substitute their Dexterity or Strength stat for attack and damage rolls.
These stats make sling is a terrible D&D weapon for a number of reasons. The low effective range makes it practically useless at range, especially when coupled with its pitiful damage output. The shortbow and light crossbow might require two hands to use, but their extra damage and longer range make them more effective. The only benefit the sling has is its price, as it only costs a single silver piece, and its ammunition can be found on the ground.
The real reason slings are so bad, though, is their lack of viable users. The fact that all primary spellcasters now have access to unlimited Cantrips means any zero-level spell is going to be a better choice, as they generally deal more damage and can inflict different types of elemental damage. The warrior classes, on the other hand, have access to far better weaponry through their proficiencies, so there is no need for them to use a sling.
How D&D's Sling Weapon Can Be Improved
There are a few ways for D&D players to homebrew rules for improved slings. The most simple way is to bump up their damage to 1d6 and give them the Finesse trait, making them more useful to a wider variety of characters. Slings could also be given the unique ability to knock out foes from a distance. In D&D, players can only knock out an enemy by dropping them to zero hit points with a melee attack. Giving slings the ability to knock out foes from afar would let them fill a unique role in the player's arsenal.
Another way to make slings viable is to give them a trait found on the Two-Birds Sling, a magic item from D&D's Mythic Odysseys of Theros. The Two-Birds Sling lets players ricochet a projectile off their enemy and into another target within 10 feet, but the second hit has disadvantage on its attack roll. Giving this ricochet ability to slings would make them a great crowd-control weapon, especially when dealing with groups of weaker Dungeons & Dragons enemies.