D&D 5E Burning doors with firebolt

[ShadoWWW]

Hello, we are currently playing Sunless Citadel, and our wizard is burning each and every wooden door with fire bolt. The door is a flammable object so it ignites. Then he's waiting till the door burns to ashes. It is also useful for possible trap in the door. Fire bolt is a cantrip, so it is unlimited resource. However, is the procedure with the spell intended? There are no shiny moments for rogue opening the door with thieves´ tools or for barbarian breaking the door.

 

[cbwjm]

Seems fine. Whatever gets the door open. I'm not sure how long it is taking to burn down the doors but if it takes a few minutes then time pressure might make the wizard think it best for the barbarian to knock the door down of the rogue to pick the lock. You could otherwise leave it to the players. Perhaps the barbarian is getting tired of waiting at each door and having to breathe in the smoke from the fire so he pushes the wizard to the side and breaks down the door.

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[Henry]

You have to remember that the rules on pg. 185 of the PH do say that the DM is the one who sets both the AC and HP for the door to be damaged, as well as any resistances or Immunities that the object in question may have. A Medieval-style or Renaissance-style door would probably have been treated with some sort of resin or varnish (sandarac, linseed, whitewash, etc) to protect against elements. (Yes, it's kind of weird to think about dungeon doors being white, but pre-20th century buildings, doors, walls, etc. were often whitewashed to protect and sanitize.) Dungeon doors aren't exactly made of Balsa or plywood, they're built as part of some kind of fortification in most cases -- very sturdy stuff.

Therefore it's well within reason to say that something described as a "mote of fire" (not even a stream of fire) is NOT going to effortlessly burn down a treated door. You could either add AC or HP to the door, or more likely say the door is resistant or immune to the burst of fire. So if it took 10 or 20 rounds or even more to burn down the door with a cantrip, it would be far easier to just have the rogue or barbarian do their thing. Firebolt is a cantrip, not the Swiss Army knife of spells.

...and who says burning a door to bypass traps is always viable? Suppose the trap is a poison gas glass receptacle that's triggered by picking the wrong tumblers? It's pretty reasonable to assume a fire hot enough to consume a sturdy wooden door is hot enough to set off such a trap. All it takes is one such situation in a while to make incautious adventurers think twice.

...finally, would not a fire hot enough to consume a dungeon door warn everybody in the vicinity through a combination of the conflagration, the smoke, noise, and heat? Ever light a large fire in an enclosed space?

So, there's a lot to think about, even If one finds it plausible to let the cantrip set the door on fire.

 

[Stormdale]

One of the downsides of unlimited cantrips.

How long does it take to burn through a door, now though is the question. Wood is flammable, sure but a dungeon door is not paper so I'd rule a heavy dungeon type door should be flame resistant at the very least- firebolt is not like a welding torch and not likely to burn through dungeon doors that easily and while the wizard is firebolting their way though what are the dungeon denizen's doing?

Stormdale

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

The ideal place for a DM to put a locked door is when there is some kind of time pressure, whether that means "roving patrols of guards" or "you're trying to get out of the killbox but one of the bad guys locked the door on his way out." Remember that locks are only ever designed to delay entry, not prevent it. Think about why car alarms exist: they're trying to scare off a would-be intruder by summoning help before he can manage to break into the car.

Locked doors in dungeons should be similar in some way.

BTW, I don't understand what you mean about "no shiny moments for barbarians breaking the door." The barbarian can destroy doors just as easily as the wizard can, obviously.

One final comment: if you reduce a creature to 0 HP, it doesn't disappear. It just dies, leaving behind a corpse. When you reduce a door or a wall to 0 HP, I guess that means it "dies"--but it doesn't disappear. Something is left behind. Dealing with that something may or may not be inconvenient for the players. A door is probably fine to just be blasted off its hinges, but if he or the barbarian starts smashing walls into rubble, one of two things is likely to be true: either they're smashing above-ground walls, some of which will turn out to be load-bearing (i.e. "killing" a wall can result in a collapse right on top of you), or they're smashing below-ground walls like cave walls, in which case "killing" a wall is likely to just turn a solid wall into a wall of rubble which still has to be excavated before you can move through its space, and may also cause a collapse.

 

[TheNoremac42]

Depending on your DM, you could probably spend a couple turns "charging" a firebolt to blow the door down. My wizard did that while in a rage once.

Paladin: "Okay, Rogue. Go ahead and che-"
Wizard: *BOOM!*
Door: *Crash!*
Wizard: *waltzes through door crackling with arcane power*
Paladin: "... Okay then. Nevermind."

 

[The Human Target]

It does less damage than whacking the door with an axe, and would take a really​ long time to burn a door to ash.

Also it would be incredibly unstealthy due to light/heat/sound/smell.

Pretty terrible idea most of the time, all things considered.

Easier and faster to kick it in, stealthier to pick the lock.

 

[S'mon]

It does less damage than whacking the door with an axe, and would take a really​ long time to burn a door to ash.

Also it would be incredibly unstealthy due to light/heat/sound/smell.

Pretty terrible idea most of the time, all things considered.

Easier and faster to kick it in, stealthier to pick the lock.

I agree. It's potentially doable, but insanely stupid.

1. It'll take a LOT of firebolts to set a typical dungeon door alight rather than just scorch it lightly. I'd probably rule something like 50 d10s total damage.

2. A burning door is going to take a long time to burn, filling the corridor with smoke.

3. Even longer before it's so burned & burned-out you can get through it.

All that when one kick from the Barbarian would likely do the job.

 

[Leatherhead]

I don't discourage the idea of using cantrips all the time.
And I'm not against the idea of a pyromaniac character who burns things in a controlled fashion when they can get away with it.
However, I do believe in consequences for actions: You have to remind the player it isn't practical to burn the door down. Not only does it take a long time, and leave smoke and ash all over the halls and rooms, there is also the risk of the rest of the building catching on fire.

 

[hbarsquared]

Agree with what others have said about practibility.

Who said doors are flammable? Just because it's made of wood doesn't mean it's immediately flammable, especially from any old piss-mote of flame and a paltry 1d10. Without kindling, or an already roaring campfire, that solid door is not going to burn.