Is using a Javalin in melee an improvised weapon?

[London Duke]

I am wanting to focus on the Javalin for flavor reasons but am having a hard time getting past not being able to effectively melee with it. If I were to take Catch Off Guard, would it eliminate the -4 penalty for using it in melee?

[santherus]

London Duke wrote:

I am wanting to focus on the Javalin for flavor reasons but am having a hard time getting past not being able to effectively melee with it. If I were to take Catch Off Guard, would it eliminate the -4 penalty for using it in melee?

Seems like it would...

If it's for flavour, why not just use a spear and call it a Javelin (Heavy Javelin?) in-game?

[Aydin D'Ampfer]

Catch Off Guard would probably work, though you would need to clear it with your GM first, as you are using a manufactured weapon as an improvised weapon, which is a little odd.

Personally, I see no reason you could not use the javalin as an improvized spear in combat. Or improvised club. Etc.

[Imbicatus]

I'd say Catch Off Guard lets you use it as an improvised shortspear, not as a Javelin. Any feats that you had for Javelin would not apply if you sued it that way.

[DM_Blake]

Compared to spears, javelins are lighter and flimsier. Sure, you should be able to poke a guy with one, but IRL, melee weapons are used for offense AND defense. Defending with a spear means blocking attacks, but defending with a javelin means breaking your javelin.

In Pathfinder, we don't defend ourselves with our weapons. Our AC is exactly the same regardless of whether we use a dagger or a spear or a javelin. So the abstract combat system of Pathfinder is not able to express the reason why spears can be melee and ranged while javelins are purely ranged weapons.

However, the fact that they appear on their respective weapons charts shows that the developers might have put some thought into it and (IMO) made the right call: spears for melee/ranged, javelins for ranged only.