Javelin of lightning (1 or 2e) question??

[garhkal]

Under the write up for this item it says

A javelin of lightning is considered equal to a +2 magical weapon, although it has neither attack nor damage bonuses. It has a range of 90 yards and whenever it strikes, the javelin becomes the head of a 5-foot wide, 30-foot long stroke of lightning. Any creature hit by the javelin suffers 1d6 points of damage, plus 20 points of electrical damage

Now.. Since it gives +2 to hit, does that mean someone needs to actually have a proficiency with the weapon to use it successfully, and if not, the +2 offsets some of the non-prof penalty they would generally get.?

Does it have the standard range penalties a Javelin gets (meaning 30/60/90, 0/-2/-5)?

Since it says "when ever it strikes it becomes the head of a bolt of lightning' does that mean if the person hurling it, MISSES, the javelin doesn't discharge its lighting?? And if it can be found, it can be re-used?

[Cole]

Under the write up for this item it says

A javelin of lightning is considered equal to a +2 magical weapon, although it has neither attack nor damage bonuses. It has a range of 90 yards and whenever it strikes, the javelin becomes the head of a 5-foot wide, 30-foot long stroke of lightning. Any creature hit by the javelin suffers 1d6 points of damage, plus 20 points of electrical damage

Now.. Since it gives +2 to hit, does that mean someone needs to actually have a proficiency with the weapon to use it successfully, and if not, the +2 offsets some of the non-prof penalty they would generally get.?

Does it have the standard range penalties a Javelin gets (meaning 30/60/90, 0/-2/-5)?

Since it says "when ever it strikes it becomes the head of a bolt of lightning' does that mean if the person hurling it, MISSES, the javelin doesn't discharge its lighting?? And if it can be found, it can be re-used?

it has neither attack nor damage bonuses

It doesn't provide +2 to hit first off. It ONLY acts as a +2 magic item for reasonings such as (an undead that may require a +2 magical item to strike it etc).

Yes, range penalties to me, stay the same.

And the last question, I would RP it as you see it. It DOES NOT discharge unless it hits a target. The word "strikes" clearly defines that. If it misses, it might hit something else though and discharge. It's almost a guarantee that it strikes something. A wooden wall, the side of a building etc. Javelins are designed to plunge down too. It will in almost all instances punch down into the ground. It does show the damage it creates ONLY when it hits a creature though... so you may want to tone it down some if it hits another object, or totally nullify it unless it's strikes flesh. I'd leave that up to the DM

[Halaster-Blackcloak]

You answered your own question in your quote, but I think you overlooked it.

A javelin of lightning is considered equal to a +2 magical weapon, although it has neither attack nor damage bonuses.

So it doesn't give a +2 to hit or to damage. It's just considered a +2 weapon for determining what it can hit (monsters requiring a +2 weapon), as Cole pointed out.

I'd not use the penalty for someone not being proficient with javelins, just because I like seeing the damned thing ignite on the bad guys, and I'd hate to impede that effort. Same range and all that, though.

Since it says "when ever it strikes it becomes the head of a bolt of lightning' does that mean if the person hurling it, MISSES, the javelin doesn't discharge its lighting?? And if it can be found, it can be re-used?

I'm gonna go the opposite from Cole on this. The way I read it, it says that if it strikes it discharges. So if it misses, it doesn't strike per se. "Strike" implies a successful hit on an enemy. Plus, it kinda sucks to have a cool magic item miss and then discharge itself into the ground. Better still, think about how much fun it is if the PC throws one at the enemy and misses, only to have the enemy pluck it from the ground, throw it back at the PC, and HIT!

I'd hate to deny my players such fun drama.