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

[EzekielRaiden]

Does your DM not use humanoid spellcasters? No human wizard NPCs in your games for instance? Red Wizards just...not a threat?

I haven't had a 5e DM in a fair while, so I can't properly answer the question. However, wizards don't get access to heat metal normally. It's a bard/druid(/artificer) spell. Now, obviously, DMs are free to do as they like, but they'd still have to be intentionally creating this effect.

If the DM is creating it and thinks this is unfair...why are they doing it? And if they don't think it's unfair, they have no reason not to do it...so there's no argument.

I don't, personally, think your analysis is accurate to the situation. I find heavy armor is used quite often, though not universally, due to how powerful and generically-useful Dexterity is. I haven't, personally, found that DMs intentionally include very many outright casters at all, but that may be because humanoids weren't common among the enemies my 5e DMs liked to use. Even if they are, though, my point was that the DM must intentionally create antagonists who have heat metal, because casters who know it are quite rare in the official material. Further, it's not enough to just pick up a "Red Wizard" or the like, they must not only draft up their own Red Wizard, but must intentionally add non-Wizard spells to that Red Wizard's spell list.

 

[Maxperson]

Heat Metal is a 1 action casting 2nd level concentration spell which damages someone holding or wearing a manufactured metal object.

It has a range of 60 feet. Which will be relevant to this conversation.

It does 2d8 fire damage each round the caster uses a bonus action to cause that damage. It lasts for up to 1 minute. So over 10 rounds that's about 90 HP damage.

The spell is frequently cast on PCs wearing heavy armor. Heavy armor cannot be removed within the 10 rounds, even with help. There is no save to avoid this damage for armor you're wearing (there is only a save to hold onto a weapon rather than drop it.)

Here's the key: The spell does not specify you need line of sight, or need to stay within range, during the duration. And the rule for that kind of spell in the Player's Handbook is, "Once a spell is cast, its effects aren't limited by its range, unless the spell's description says otherwise." There are some spells which do include in the description that it ends if you move out of range, such as Witch Bolt which says, "The spell also ends if the target is ever outside the spell’s range or if it has total cover from you." But spells like Heat Metal don't include that kind of description and are similar to the Sleep spell where, once cast, you just stay asleep even if the caster leaves line of sight or range.

Which means a caster can just cast this spell on someone in heavy armor and just run away. As long as they expend a bonus action every turn while they flee, the target will eventually take 90 HP damage from this second level spell. They could even teleport away. I think they could even go to another plane of existence and the still would continue to do the damage for the full minute?

The reason I think the spell might be unfair is because it's particularly damaging to PCs in heavy armor. Yes, of course it could be used by a PC on a foe, but the odds of running into a foe in heavy armor is typically pretty low. Most casters who can prepare the spell, choose not to because they go too many days without being able to use the spell as effectively as other second level spells.

Which means this spell is more often used by enemy spellcasters. And it's most often used by them against PCs with heavy armor, if they're around, because they cannot remove that armor in time to avoid any damage.

It's already not particularly optimal for a PC to wear heavy armor given its cost, strength requirement, speed reduction, stealth reduction, fact that you can't easily wear it while long resting, etc. Players who make PCs with heavy armor are often already doing it for aesthetics and could have possibly made a slightly more effective PC focused on Dex instead (even if it's just a 14 Dex and medium armor). This spell is often, by the circumstances of actual play, likely punishing those heavy armor Strength based PCs further for being a Str based PC in heavy armor. And I don't like that.

How do others find this spell to be in their games?

Cook 'N Book!

As for my answer, I haven't had it come up in game yet. The players, despite having seen the animated Cook 'N Book explanation of this haven't memorized it, and I haven't had an NPC with it at the same time as a player was wearing heavy armor.

 

[FireLance]

Heat metal is the reason I hesitated to add a magma mephit to the solo adventure for a 3rd-level paladin that I'm working on. It's one of those game elements like stun and paralysis that may be balanced for a party of 4 or more PCs but are devastating against a single PC.

Taking reference from Monsters of the Multiverse, I may still decide to convert it from a spell to a non-spell magma attack that the PC can use an action to scrape off, or something similar to Melf's acid arrow that deals fire damage.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

If you're really so concerned about this problem, @Mistwell, then there's a relatively simple fix:

Let a creature wearing heavy armor "vent" heat, at the cost of being Incapacitated until the start of their next turn (possibly having them pass a save to do so?) Should they fail the save, they can then choose whether to take the damage, or take one level of exhaustion; any exhaustion caused by this spell can be removed by recuperating during a short or long rest and using up one use of a Healer's Kit (two uses if no one has Healer's Kit proficiency.) TL;DR: You can spend your turn cooling off (and doing nothing else) if you pass a save; if you fail it, you can take the damage or take some exhaustion, which can be removed by rubbing on some aloe vera.

That way, the spell still has a sting, but people with heavy armor have a chance to do something about it. It becomes very effective crowd control against armored targets, or damage if . If you still feel that's "unfair" to creatures in metal armor, adding a range or sight requirement

 

[Horwath]

If someone takes 90hp damage in their plate just assume that plates resale goes down a bit due to what is sticking to it!!!!

not if that someone or their buddy takes out smith tools and start banging out any accumulated damage plate took over campaign.
Heat makes it pliable and it just might be like brand new after the spell fades out.

 

[John R Davis]

not if that someone or their buddy takes out smith tools and start banging out any accumulated damage plate took over campaign.
Heat makes it pliable and it just might be like brand new after the spell fades out.

I meant the scorched flesh not dents and bumps!

 

[jgsugden]

It's from actual play experience. Multiple times. You just need to ask though.

Generally it's a group using good ambush and run tactics. They all do something for a surprise round or first round, often coordinated with each other, and run. They then engage again later. Common hit and run tactics for assassins with at least one (but often more than one) caster, often in crowded conditions with lots of cover. Super pain in the butt but makes for meaningful lasting foes. Sometimes it's a set ambush which comes after a certain period of time, or after the PCs have kicked up a hornets nest in the wrong place.

Yes, that's what I've seen too. Assassination spells. So you've had actual play experience with it too!

Yes - and our experiences have been somewhat similar ... but do not match with the majority of what people are raising as their concerns on this thread which are how it works and is overpowered in combat. Thus my comment about doubting whether people are speaking from experience. Note that I explicitly addressed " a lot of the arguments I see in threads like this" rather than going after the OP - you.

There is a heavy focus on how it works in combat, and in combat it is generally fine.

Now, there are exceptions to that as well ... such as a DM throwing 17 Magma Mephits at a 6th level party - indistinguishable from the magma around them - that pop up and hit the heavy armor PCs with heat metal on a surprise round / early in combat. That may not even be a deadly encounter, but it can be an autokill if the area of effect inflicting spellcasters either go too early (before they realize how many are there or where they are), or too late. That can autokill 2 or 3 PCs. However, I consider things like that more of a flaw in the combat design suggestions that do not do enough to guide DMs away from these traps.

 

[Voadam]

I'm still waiting to find out if fireball is unfair to characters not proficient in Dex saves.

Do you mean primarily fighters, paladins, and clerics who dump dex and wear heavy armor and are also particularly hurt by heat metal?

Well first it is one round of damage so concentration spells can be cast the round after it without being at continuing risk, second it gives a saving throw, and third there is no ongoing disadvantage.

Pretty reasonable for a big boom attack on PCs.

A number of medium or heavy armor wearers could conceivably prefer taking a fireball even given the increased damage and multiple targets.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

so thinking this over I came to the conclusion yes... all spells are (by our out of game modern standards) unfair. they are doing things well beyond the norm and targeting to enhance or incapacitate in a way that we just can't do in the real world.

 

[Horwath]

so thinking this over I came to the conclusion yes... all spells are (by our out of game modern standards) unfair. they are doing things well beyond the norm and targeting to enhance or incapacitate in a way that we just can't do in the real world.

there is a difference between unreal and unbalanced.