D&D 5E Heat Metal Spell. Unfair to Heavy Armor Wearers?

[Reynard]

What tactics do you suggest?

I mean we don't have a lot of context but if that 3rd level druid manages to survive a single round of the fighter's attacks, I bet they won't keep concentration. I assume that fighter is carrying at least one melee weapon and at least one ranged weapon, so the druid isn't going to get away in one round.

 

[Mistwell]

The key issue you didn't mention there is that it's Concentration-based.

I mention it in the first sentence, which you quoted.
It's why running away is more potent - it means you cannot break their concentration. Or at least not easily.

 

[Oofta]

I kind of despise heat metal. Depending on how you read it, not only is it ongoing damage it's the disadvantage. It's not like a fighter can drop their armor.

So instead of the BBEG being a credible threat, the bard casts heat metal, runs away, nerfs BBEG for the rest of the fight. It's so detrimental that I never use it on PCs.

There's also other issues I have with it. If you're wearing metal armor you are not in direct contact with it, you are wearing a gambeson underneath. It's also not like armor is one solid chunk of metal.

So I grant a con save every round, if you make the save you take no damage an don't have disadvantage.

 

[Reynard]

I mention it in the first sentence, which you quoted.
I then mention the problem is you can cast the spell and then run away. Which means you cannot break their concentration.

It's a weird world with no ranged attacks that ca go 90 feet (max).

 

[darjr]

I kind of despise heat metal. Depending on how you read it, not only is it ongoing damage it's the disadvantage. It's not like a fighter can drop their armor.

So instead of the BBEG being a credible threat, the bard casts heat metal, runs away, nerfs BBEG for the rest of the fight. It's so detrimental that I never use it on PCs.

There's also other issues I have with it. If you're wearing metal armor you are not in direct contact with it, you are wearing a gambeson underneath. It's also not like armor is one solid chunk of metal.

Yea. There are reasonable things to do if it’s abusive.

For instance the time it takes to remove armor is the time it takes to remove all
If it intact. If the wearer is willing to break the armor they can remove the hot piece. I’d you so judge.

 

[Zubatcarteira]

I mean we don't have a lot of context but if that 3rd level druid manages to survive a single round of the fighter's attacks, I bet they won't keep concentration. I assume that fighter is carrying at least one melee weapon and at least one ranged weapon, so the druid isn't going to get away in one round.

With 60 feet range, melee is unlikely and ranged attacks have the issue that full cover negates them pretty much. Just a tree or wall in the middle and he's in for a hard time, and druids are the class that can turn into creatures that can burrow underground or have normal movement faster than the Fighter dashing.

There's obviously situations where he can handle it, but, say, a Moon Druid casting it from 60 feet away, then turning into a Giant Badger and burrowing 10 feet underground immediately, there's pretty much nothing the Fighter can do, unless he has the right magic items.

 

[Reynard]

I kind of despise heat metal. Depending on how you read it, not only is it ongoing damage it's the disadvantage. It's not like a fighter can drop their armor.

So instead of the BBEG being a credible threat, the bard casts heat metal, runs away, nerfs BBEG for the rest of the fight. It's so detrimental that I never use it on PCs.

There's also other issues I have with it. If you're wearing metal armor you are not in direct contact with it, you are wearing a gambeson underneath. It's also not like armor is one solid chunk of metal.

So I grant a con save every round, if you make the save you take no damage an don't have disadvantage.

If I designed a BBEG that can get nerfed by one casting of heat metal, that's on me.

 

[Mistwell]

It's a weird world with no ranged attacks that ca go 90 feet (max).

No reason for the snark. You know it's easier to run away if you're starting from 60 feet away with a spell that will likely kill the fighter type with one casting. It's a spell built for ambush. You can hit someone from a rooftop, move away from sight, and probably just killed the fighter.

 

[Voadam]

This is definitely not my experience at all. Your clerics all have a 15 or higher strength for instance? Almost zero PCs in our games wear heavy armor when they have proficiency in it. Almost all wear light armor with a high Dex, or medium armor with a 14 dex, or no armor with a class feature to increase AC. Heavy armor, with its high strength requirement, reduced speed and reduced stealth checks and high cost, is virtually absent from our games.

Anecdotal but every PC cleric I have seen in 5e games I have played in or run who took the domains that allow heavy armor had sufficient strength to wear heavy armor without the extra penalty and have worn heavy armor.

My dwarven life cleric dump statted dex and used heavy armor. It seemed an obvious archetypal mechanical build for a cleric that works even better in 5e than in prior editions.

 

[overgeeked]

I am having some difficulty mustering up sympathy for the 20th level fighter in this case. I don't know how someone so devoid of guile or tactical acumen could have achieved 20th level.

That’s the game now. You need neither to reach 20th. Only showing up regularly, and sometimes not even that.