Heat Metal
Heat Metal turns manufactured metal into a weapon against whoever is touching, carrying or wearing it. The modern spell is a focused concentration effect; Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e use the older seven-round heating progression.
At a Glance
| Modern level | 2nd-level Transmutation |
|---|---|
| 2024 classes | Bard, Druid |
| 2014 classes | Bard, Druid |
| PF1e | Druid 2 |
| D&D 3.5e | Druid 2, Sun 2 |
| Core use | Punish creatures relying on metal weapons, shields or armour |
Choose Your Edition
Use the panel for the ruleset at the table. The two fifth-edition versions share the same basic damage engine, but the 2024 wording adds an important range requirement for repeat damage. Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e use a different seven-round spell.
Heat Metal — 5.5e / 2024
| Level | 2nd |
|---|---|
| School | Transmutation |
| Casting Time | Action |
| Range | 60 feet |
| Components | V, S, M (a piece of iron and a flame) |
| Duration | Concentration, up to 1 minute |
| Classes | Bard, Druid |
Choose a manufactured metal object you can see within range, such as a weapon or a suit of medium or heavy metal armour. A creature touching the object takes 2d8 fire damage when the spell is cast.
On later turns, you can use a Bonus Action to deal the damage again, provided the heated object is still within the spell’s 60-foot range.
If a creature is holding or wearing the object when it takes this damage, it makes a Constitution saving throw. On a failure it drops the object if it can. If it cannot or does not drop it, it has Disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the start of your next turn.
Higher-level slots: the damage increases by 1d8 for each slot level above 2nd.
Heat Metal — 5e / 2014
| Level | 2nd |
|---|---|
| School | Transmutation |
| Casting Time | 1 action |
| Range | 60 feet |
| Components | V, S, M (a piece of iron and a flame) |
| Duration | Concentration, up to 1 minute |
| Classes | Bard, Druid |
Choose a manufactured metal object you can see within range. A creature in physical contact with it takes 2d8 fire damage when the spell is cast. While concentration continues, you can use a bonus action on later turns to cause that damage again.
A creature holding or wearing the object that takes the damage makes a Constitution saving throw or drops the object if it can. If it keeps hold of the object, or cannot remove it, it has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the start of your next turn.
Higher levels: the damage increases by 1d8 for each slot level above 2nd.
Edition note: unlike the 2024 wording, the 2014 repeat-damage sentence does not require the object to remain within 60 feet after the initial casting.
Heat Metal — Pathfinder 1e
| School | Transmutation [fire] |
|---|---|
| Level | Druid 2 |
| Casting Time | 1 standard action |
| Components | V, S, DF |
| Range | Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels) |
| Target | Metal equipment of one creature per two levels, or up to 25 lb. of metal per level within a 30-foot circle |
| Duration | 7 rounds |
| Saving Throw | Will negates (object) |
| Spell Resistance | Yes (object) |
The affected metal heats over seven rounds. Unattended nonmagical metal receives no saving throw; magical metal can save, and attended items use the wielder’s save unless the item’s own is better.
| Round | Temperature | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warm | None |
| 2 | Hot | 1d4 fire |
| 3–5 | Searing | 2d4 fire |
| 6 | Hot | 1d4 fire |
| 7 | Warm | None |
Armour, shields and weapons can inflict full damage on their wearer or wielder. Lesser contact can produce only the spell’s minimum damage. Intense cold offsets the fire damage point for point. Underwater, the spell deals half damage and heats the surrounding water.
Heat Metal counters and dispels Chill Metal.
Heat Metal — D&D 3.5e
| School | Transmutation [Fire] |
|---|---|
| Level | Druid 2, Sun 2 |
| Casting Time | 1 standard action |
| Components | V, S, DF |
| Range | Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels) |
| Target | Metal equipment of one creature per two levels, or up to 25 lb. of metal per level within a 30-foot circle |
| Duration | 7 rounds |
| Saving Throw | Will negates (object) |
| Spell Resistance | Yes (object) |
The 3.5e version uses the same seven-round temperature curve: no damage on rounds 1 and 7, 1d4 fire on rounds 2 and 6, and 2d4 fire on rounds 3–5.
A creature takes full damage when heated armour is affected or when it is holding, touching, wearing or carrying a substantial amount of affected metal. Smaller amounts can deal only the minimum damage specified by the spell. Magical and attended objects use the legacy object-saving-throw procedure.
Strong cold offsets this fire damage point for point. Underwater, damage is halved and the nearby water boils. Heat Metal counters and dispels Chill Metal.
What Changed?
- 2024 versus 2014: repeat damage now explicitly requires the heated object to remain within range.
- Modern versus legacy d20: fifth edition targets one manufactured object and uses concentration plus repeat bonus-action damage; PF1e and 3.5e affect larger quantities of metal over a fixed seven-round cycle.
- Class access: the modern core spell belongs to Bard and Druid lists; PF1e core lists it for Druid, while 3.5e also grants it through the Sun domain.
Using Heat Metal in Play
Armour is the obvious target. A creature can usually drop a weapon, but removing medium or heavy armour takes far longer than the spell’s combat duration. That makes the spell particularly dangerous against armoured foes.
Disarming is often as valuable as damage. Against a creature relying on a metal weapon, repeated damage can force a drop or impose a serious combat penalty.
Watch edition boundaries. The modern spell’s Constitution save, concentration and repeat-damage action economy do not belong in PF1e or 3.5e. Likewise, the seven-round temperature table is not part of the fifth-edition spell.
Related Magic
- Chill Metal — the legacy cold counterpart.
- Bard Spells — modern Bard spell access.
- Druid Spells — the spell’s core class home across editions.
- Cleric Domains — includes the 3.5e Sun-domain tradition.
Further Viewing
Sources and Licensing
- D&D 2024 Basic Rules — Heat Metal. SRD 5.2 material is available under CC BY 4.0.
- D&D 2014 Basic Rules — Heat Metal. SRD 5.1 material is available under CC BY 4.0.
- Pathfinder 1e Core Rulebook — Heat Metal. Open Game Content under OGL v1.0a.
- D&D 3.5 SRD — Heat Metal. Open Game Content under OGL v1.0a.
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