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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Majoru Oakheart" data-source="post: 7084335" data-attributes="member: 5143">But Heat Metal is a second level spell which means you could fight an enemy with it as early as 1st level. You don't get access to Dispel Magic until you are 5th level, assuming you even take it. Your party might not have anyone who can cast Dispel Magic at all and even if you do, they might not have prepared it (given the limited number of things it works on, it's not the best choice for a 3rd level spell if you have no idea what to expect. There's at least a 50% chance, probably more, that in a day of adventuring  you don't need to cast it at all, making it a waste of a prepared spell).  Also, monsters often don't create balanced groups and don't often even have spellcasters but they might wear armor. If we are considering the spells power, we have to consider its use in both monsters and PCs. Since there's so many reasons a group might not have one particular spell, let's assume the majority of groups don't have it and it's a lucky coincidence when they are able to stop a Heat Metal with a Dispel Magic. That makes it not a reliable counter. As for doing damage to disrupt concentration...that is true of all spells. Using that as solution means you can justify any overpowered spell on the basis that if you do enough damage it'll end. You could make a first level spell that said "choose any number of creatures within 300 feet and at the beginning of each of their turns they make a saving throw or die" that lasts for concentration up to an hour and it wouldn't be overpowered because it could be dispelled or you could do damage to the caster to disrupt their concentration. In order to determine if something is overpowered you need to see if it is better than the other choices you have at the same level.</blockquote>

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