Yeah, it would probably actually be quicker to set a mundane fire beside the door, light the kindling with a firebolt, then watch it burn (from a safe distance).
D&D 5E Burning doors with firebolt
Yeah, it would probably actually be quicker to set a mundane fire beside the door, light the kindling with a firebolt, then watch it burn (from a safe distance).
MarkB
Legend
Have you ever lived or visited somewhere with a real log fire, or been camping and had a campfire? Have a think about how many hours' worth of fuel an entire sturdy door's worth of logs would provide. Then consider that it's going to burn more slowly than that if it's one lump rather than chopped into logs.
Now consider how important chimneys are when setting a fire in any enclosed environment. Without the right ventilation, all the smoke from that fire is going to end up in the corridor the PCs are standing in, and there's going to be a lot of it - enough to fill whole rooms and passageways. Anyone who needs to breathe isn't going to be able to stand there and monitor how well the fire is burning, they're going to have to be well back, a few corridors away on the other side of a closed doo- oh, wait, they burned those doors too, didn't they? So, no way to close off the encroaching smoke.
If there's enough ventilation, the fire may be able to draw more oxygen and keep burning. If not, it'll stifle in its own smoke.
And what's on the other side of that door? The PCs don't know, there's a door in the way. If the next room contains a lot of flammable materials, anything or anyone valuable in there is going to be destroyed by the time they get through. If the decorating style beyond that door is no longer bare stone, there's every chance that the fire could grow and spread out of control through much of the rest of the complex before the PCs even see the other side of that door.
Now consider how important chimneys are when setting a fire in any enclosed environment. Without the right ventilation, all the smoke from that fire is going to end up in the corridor the PCs are standing in, and there's going to be a lot of it - enough to fill whole rooms and passageways. Anyone who needs to breathe isn't going to be able to stand there and monitor how well the fire is burning, they're going to have to be well back, a few corridors away on the other side of a closed doo- oh, wait, they burned those doors too, didn't they? So, no way to close off the encroaching smoke.
If there's enough ventilation, the fire may be able to draw more oxygen and keep burning. If not, it'll stifle in its own smoke.
And what's on the other side of that door? The PCs don't know, there's a door in the way. If the next room contains a lot of flammable materials, anything or anyone valuable in there is going to be destroyed by the time they get through. If the decorating style beyond that door is no longer bare stone, there's every chance that the fire could grow and spread out of control through much of the rest of the complex before the PCs even see the other side of that door.
Fanaelialae
Legend
This doesn't seem like a firebolt issue. If you hold a lit torch against the door for long enough, it should start to burn after all.
The bigger issue, as others have mentioned, is that it will probably take hours to burn down (this is a solid wood door, not the flimsy modern junk) and during that time it will be creating plenty of smoke which is likely to draw the denizens of the dungeon (who may be a tad miffed that you've set their home on fire). So you can stand around waiting for hours while getting attacked by irate wandering (and possibly non-wandering) monsters, or you can take a more practical approach to door breaching (have someone kick the door open, or pick the lock). There are reasons why burning the door down is not a time honored D&D tradition.
The bigger issue, as others have mentioned, is that it will probably take hours to burn down (this is a solid wood door, not the flimsy modern junk) and during that time it will be creating plenty of smoke which is likely to draw the denizens of the dungeon (who may be a tad miffed that you've set their home on fire). So you can stand around waiting for hours while getting attacked by irate wandering (and possibly non-wandering) monsters, or you can take a more practical approach to door breaching (have someone kick the door open, or pick the lock). There are reasons why burning the door down is not a time honored D&D tradition.
ccs
41st lv DM
Yeah, you'll probably just destroy via rolling damage long before you'll burn it up. Even if the door is negating some of it through DR.
ccs
41st lv DM
Or the denizens go "OMG! My house is on fire!" Grab thier valuables & flee out the back door (or deeper into the dungeon at least).
And like others have said, the fire might also spread. So when the door finally burns through? The party finds an all ready burnt & looted beyond. No treasure, no monsters, no xp.
Just a LOT of smoke.Soul Stigma
First Post
If you hold a Zippo lighter against a modern, untreated wooden door (actually less sturdy but faster to construct than something you'd find in a dungeon), it will not burst into flames. The area affected will take a long time to start burning on its own without forced combustion air. A fire bolt is a small mote of flame that isn't held to the door. It flashes against it and extinguishes. So, not at all practical or even reasonable.
Adding an accelerant, such as a flask of oil, on the other hand, would be enough to turn a mote of fire into a credible fire source for burning a door. Still, takes a long time and the resulting smoke in a corridor or room would soon get deadly for the PCs.
Long story short, explain these things to the group. It makes more sense for a strong character to break through or a rogue to pick the lock. If the caster's player wonders why the sudden change in adjudication, remind them you're a DM and you constantly research ways to make your game better and you realized the current way of handling things is impractical and makes no sense in the environment.
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Adding an accelerant, such as a flask of oil, on the other hand, would be enough to turn a mote of fire into a credible fire source for burning a door. Still, takes a long time and the resulting smoke in a corridor or room would soon get deadly for the PCs.
Long story short, explain these things to the group. It makes more sense for a strong character to break through or a rogue to pick the lock. If the caster's player wonders why the sudden change in adjudication, remind them you're a DM and you constantly research ways to make your game better and you realized the current way of handling things is impractical and makes no sense in the environment.
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Warmaster Horus
Explorer
Sounds like fun. Not sure why you'd be concerned about the rogue, et al. People play their characters and can interject as they wish. This whole thing about stepping on 'role' toes is a bit overwrought, IMHO. If the wizard likes burning doors down and everyone else is happy with it (not the most covert method or conducive to air quality), then fine.
Jester David
Hero
Anyone who has been camping will tell you that burning down a single log to ash takes a long time. You might deal enough damage to knock down the door while it smolders, but likely not going to be ash in under an hour
jaelis
Oh this is where the title goes?
To be fair, you couldn't kill a person by holding a lighter up to them either. So I guess firebolt is a bit more than that.
