What Jeremy Crawford said wasn't just his ruling. It is in the PHB. That being said, your DM doesn't have to follow all of the rules RAW.
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DM: Are you sure?
Wizard: Yes. I cast the Wish spell and I wish that everybody loves me!
DM: You transform into an irresistible, magnificent feast. It was so great, all who participated in devouring you tell of the joy they felt with tears in their eyes and all who hear the tale only feel sorrow that they weren't there to eat.
Jeremy Crawford’s rulings are considered “official”...
Official. No quotation marks necessary. They are the official rulings. If you don't care then good for you and your game, but it doesn't change the stance of WotC that what Jeremy says is the official ruling.
If you prefer, I will change the quotes to italics. Perhaps that better confers the meaning I intended.
If you are in an official WotC event, then Crawford’s rulings are official. But if you aren’t in an official event, then the final arbiter of any ruling is the DM.
I certainly take Crawford’s rulings into consideration when deciding how to rule. I often wish that he would offer a more in-depth explanation for his rulings.
Crawford’s ruling on this is based the sentence in the PHB “Once a spell is cast, effects aren’t limited by its range, unless the spell’s description says otherwise.”
This makes sense for spells that are cast and forget or cast and maintain with concentration. For example the spell Aid doesn’t require the creatures you choose to remain within 30’ for the next 8 hours. Likewise, you don’t have to keep touching the creature you cast Invisibility on. I’m fine with it up to this point.
Heat Metal is a little different. You have to use a bonus action on your turn to cause the damage again. Since Crawford’s answer is to this question, the inference is that the bonus action can be made without regard to the range of the spell when originally cast. Case closed.
Well maybe not. The spell description for Heat Metal specifies that the object be metal that you can see. The sentence that Crawford quotes doesn’t say anything about other requirements. Do you have to have light of sight to use a bonus action to cause the damage? He really didn’t answer that question.
An answer for the OP question. If the caster can’t see your armor, they can’t target it. Make sure your armor is completely hidden under cloth.
If the caster can’t see your armor, they can’t target it. Make sure your armor is completely hidden under cloth.
Jolly good luck rolling stealth rolls with disadvantage every turn you're moving, not to mention throwing that plan out the window once you get to fighting. And shall we see how many windy spells a druid has access to while we're at it?
Heat Metal is designed to be a pain in the ass for platewearers, but you don't need to get into an unwinnable match of "but what if" when the game already provides several answers to this one single spell, mainly in the form of other spells that offer healing, resistance or straight up counterspell.
You just have to cover the armor, you don’t have to actually hide. A chain shirt should be easy to cover up. Chain mail is a little tougher. Spiked armor, now there’s a problem.
...can't you just paint your armor to look like normal clothes? No one will EVER be the wiser.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM: Are you sure?
Wizard: Yes. I cast the Wish spell and I wish that everybody loves me!
DM: You transform into an irresistible, magnificent feast. It was so great, all who participated in devouring you tell of the joy they felt with tears in their eyes and all who hear the tale only feel sorrow that they weren't there to eat.
Be thankful there aren't low cr monster statted druids with moon bonus action wildshapes - or this happens back to the party:
I cast heatmetal, its an action
DM- ok, anything else, the Commander is already turning his attention to you and arm straying to that crossbow!
Sure, I wildshape as a bonus action, giant badger, burrow down 5' at an angle then turn a corner and burrow myself a nesting space. I'm fine with waiting him out whilst he cooks to death.
DM- Huh. This is another cheap kill like the owl lift and drop or the Spike growth death field isnt it?
Yup. but better! Why roll to hit or ask for a save when I can just auto kill.
That's a pretty tough scenario. The paladin in that situation had better hope he has access to dispel magic. Or at least some fire resistance to minimize the damage while he heals himself.
Yup and for even more terror, the heat metal spell does more damage if cast in a higher level spell slot. Its amusing as heck when DM's become fixated on older edition styles 'big bad humanoid in plate mail final boss' now allowing a druid to deal half their level in damage and grant disadvantage on all attacks, whilst licking themselves clean in a burrow below the onesided fight overhead.
Some other sub / class and 'odd' options grant access to heat metal. Its a brutal anti armoured spell. Similarly in a corridor fight wall of fire along one side of a 10' corridor and blocking the route out (big defensive fighter or the old stoneshape a door closed off by 5' of stone and waiting for the bbq is done isnt exactly heroic but its these sort of automatic victories that when deployed may cheapen your game, ultimately as long as everyone enjoys themselves then go for it, otherwise you may want to let the fight play out so everyones involved.
For paladins however, if there is no dispel magic available, you might be able to stay in the fight and keep dealing damage if you have an ally who can polymorph you, no armour, no damage and when you polymorph the armour is 'somewhere else'.
Give the boss some nice non-metal magic armor. The druid can’t use Heat Metal but gets some nice armor after the battle. Sort of a win-win.
...unless it's mage armor.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM: Are you sure?
Wizard: Yes. I cast the Wish spell and I wish that everybody loves me!
DM: You transform into an irresistible, magnificent feast. It was so great, all who participated in devouring you tell of the joy they felt with tears in their eyes and all who hear the tale only feel sorrow that they weren't there to eat.
My brain is full of too-many rules from too many editions from too many systems but somewhere there's rules for how to put on and take off armor in a hurry. But, there is one possibility that you might be able to discuss with your DM if you get plagued by Heat Metal (or the DM might use for enemies if you use too many Heat Metal spells on them):
Remove your Plate Armor with a dagger or knife. If you know your own armor, you might be able to take an action to cut a few straps to "remove" the armor in case of a Heat Metal spell or heavy damage to the armor. It might take a short rest and a tinkers kit or armorers kit or whatever to replace the straps and make the armor wearable again but it might be preferable to cooking alive. At the very least, the miscellaneous armored people wearing heavy armor other than expensive plate mail might be willing to cut a few straps.
If Heat Metal is commonly used against armored opponents in the world, a mundane solution of quick-release armor might be invented where a few toggles and buckles can be manipulated to make the armor fall off and no damage is done. (Then again this might just be Cast-Off Armor...I get the impression common magic items are meant to be mass-produced and maybe overlapping with advanced engineering/alchemy)
And also, it Heat Metal is abused, there is the idea that armor quickly removed could become different armor. If Heat Metal is targeting the breastplate of the armor, removing the breastplate and a few other heavy plates could leave you with the equivalent of medium armor like a chain shirt or light armor like leather/padded. Or maybe taking the action to remove pieces of armor gives you half the bonus to AC (AC14 instead of AC18 while still being heavy armor and no DEX bonus). That way you're not completely undefended.
If I were ruling on how this spell should be handled; I would say in order to use the bonus action for damage you must both be within range and able to see the target. The spell would last the duration or until concentration is broken.
The reason for my ruling is simply that the alternative (no 2nd round range or visible requirements) just doesn't produce an interesting collaborative story of adventure.
A Vengeance Paladin has Hold Person at level 5 which, if successful, will render the Druid incapacitated provided that they're still in Druid form and not Wild Shaped into a different creature type. Yes, they have proficiency in Wis saves, but there is still a chance of paralyzing them and rendering them incapacitated, thus breaking the concentration.
What Jeremy Crawford said wasn't just his ruling. It is in the PHB. That being said, your DM doesn't have to follow all of the rules RAW.
DM: Are you sure?
Wizard: Yes. I cast the Wish spell and I wish that everybody loves me!
DM: You transform into an irresistible, magnificent feast. It was so great, all who participated in devouring you tell of the joy they felt with tears in their eyes and all who hear the tale only feel sorrow that they weren't there to eat.
Official. No quotation marks necessary. They are the official rulings. If you don't care then good for you and your game, but it doesn't change the stance of WotC that what Jeremy says is the official ruling.
I am one with the Force. The Force is with me.
If you prefer, I will change the quotes to italics. Perhaps that better confers the meaning I intended.
If you are in an official WotC event, then Crawford’s rulings are official. But if you aren’t in an official event, then the final arbiter of any ruling is the DM.
I certainly take Crawford’s rulings into consideration when deciding how to rule. I often wish that he would offer a more in-depth explanation for his rulings.
Crawford’s ruling on this is based the sentence in the PHB “Once a spell is cast, effects aren’t limited by its range, unless the spell’s description says otherwise.”
This makes sense for spells that are cast and forget or cast and maintain with concentration. For example the spell Aid doesn’t require the creatures you choose to remain within 30’ for the next 8 hours. Likewise, you don’t have to keep touching the creature you cast Invisibility on. I’m fine with it up to this point.
Heat Metal is a little different. You have to use a bonus action on your turn to cause the damage again. Since Crawford’s answer is to this question, the inference is that the bonus action can be made without regard to the range of the spell when originally cast. Case closed.
Well maybe not. The spell description for Heat Metal specifies that the object be metal that you can see. The sentence that Crawford quotes doesn’t say anything about other requirements. Do you have to have light of sight to use a bonus action to cause the damage? He really didn’t answer that question.
An answer for the OP question. If the caster can’t see your armor, they can’t target it. Make sure your armor is completely hidden under cloth.
Jolly good luck rolling stealth rolls with disadvantage every turn you're moving, not to mention throwing that plan out the window once you get to fighting. And shall we see how many windy spells a druid has access to while we're at it?
Heat Metal is designed to be a pain in the ass for platewearers, but you don't need to get into an unwinnable match of "but what if" when the game already provides several answers to this one single spell, mainly in the form of other spells that offer healing, resistance or straight up counterspell.
I am one with the Force. The Force is with me.
You just have to cover the armor, you don’t have to actually hide. A chain shirt should be easy to cover up. Chain mail is a little tougher. Spiked armor, now there’s a problem.
...can't you just paint your armor to look like normal clothes? No one will EVER be the wiser.
DM: Are you sure?
Wizard: Yes. I cast the Wish spell and I wish that everybody loves me!
DM: You transform into an irresistible, magnificent feast. It was so great, all who participated in devouring you tell of the joy they felt with tears in their eyes and all who hear the tale only feel sorrow that they weren't there to eat.
you mean you dont have a lake in your pocket? tsk tsk.
Be thankful there aren't low cr monster statted druids with moon bonus action wildshapes - or this happens back to the party:
I cast heatmetal, its an action
DM- ok, anything else, the Commander is already turning his attention to you and arm straying to that crossbow!
Sure, I wildshape as a bonus action, giant badger, burrow down 5' at an angle then turn a corner and burrow myself a nesting space. I'm fine with waiting him out whilst he cooks to death.
DM- Huh. This is another cheap kill like the owl lift and drop or the Spike growth death field isnt it?
Yup. but better! Why roll to hit or ask for a save when I can just auto kill.
DM- please play any other class.
That's a pretty tough scenario. The paladin in that situation had better hope he has access to dispel magic. Or at least some fire resistance to minimize the damage while he heals himself.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Yup and for even more terror, the heat metal spell does more damage if cast in a higher level spell slot. Its amusing as heck when DM's become fixated on older edition styles 'big bad humanoid in plate mail final boss' now allowing a druid to deal half their level in damage and grant disadvantage on all attacks, whilst licking themselves clean in a burrow below the onesided fight overhead.
Some other sub / class and 'odd' options grant access to heat metal. Its a brutal anti armoured spell. Similarly in a corridor fight wall of fire along one side of a 10' corridor and blocking the route out (big defensive fighter or the old stoneshape a door closed off by 5' of stone and waiting for the bbq is done isnt exactly heroic but its these sort of automatic victories that when deployed may cheapen your game, ultimately as long as everyone enjoys themselves then go for it, otherwise you may want to let the fight play out so everyones involved.
For paladins however, if there is no dispel magic available, you might be able to stay in the fight and keep dealing damage if you have an ally who can polymorph you, no armour, no damage and when you polymorph the armour is 'somewhere else'.
Give the boss some nice non-metal magic armor. The druid can’t use Heat Metal but gets some nice armor after the battle. Sort of a win-win.
...unless it's mage armor.
DM: Are you sure?
Wizard: Yes. I cast the Wish spell and I wish that everybody loves me!
DM: You transform into an irresistible, magnificent feast. It was so great, all who participated in devouring you tell of the joy they felt with tears in their eyes and all who hear the tale only feel sorrow that they weren't there to eat.
Can you refer me to the item in question?
I assume they mean the cast-off armor from Xanathar's
Cast-Off Armor sounds like a good solution.
My brain is full of too-many rules from too many editions from too many systems but somewhere there's rules for how to put on and take off armor in a hurry. But, there is one possibility that you might be able to discuss with your DM if you get plagued by Heat Metal (or the DM might use for enemies if you use too many Heat Metal spells on them):
Remove your Plate Armor with a dagger or knife. If you know your own armor, you might be able to take an action to cut a few straps to "remove" the armor in case of a Heat Metal spell or heavy damage to the armor. It might take a short rest and a tinkers kit or armorers kit or whatever to replace the straps and make the armor wearable again but it might be preferable to cooking alive. At the very least, the miscellaneous armored people wearing heavy armor other than expensive plate mail might be willing to cut a few straps.
If Heat Metal is commonly used against armored opponents in the world, a mundane solution of quick-release armor might be invented where a few toggles and buckles can be manipulated to make the armor fall off and no damage is done. (Then again this might just be Cast-Off Armor...I get the impression common magic items are meant to be mass-produced and maybe overlapping with advanced engineering/alchemy)
And also, it Heat Metal is abused, there is the idea that armor quickly removed could become different armor. If Heat Metal is targeting the breastplate of the armor, removing the breastplate and a few other heavy plates could leave you with the equivalent of medium armor like a chain shirt or light armor like leather/padded. Or maybe taking the action to remove pieces of armor gives you half the bonus to AC (AC14 instead of AC18 while still being heavy armor and no DEX bonus). That way you're not completely undefended.
I think gaseous form deserves a mention here.
If I were ruling on how this spell should be handled; I would say in order to use the bonus action for damage you must both be within range and able to see the target. The spell would last the duration or until concentration is broken.
The reason for my ruling is simply that the alternative (no 2nd round range or visible requirements) just doesn't produce an interesting collaborative story of adventure.
Jesus Saves!... Everyone else takes damage.
As far as AL games go, at least where I'm at we generally follow the official rules.
A Vengeance Paladin has Hold Person at level 5 which, if successful, will render the Druid incapacitated provided that they're still in Druid form and not Wild Shaped into a different creature type. Yes, they have proficiency in Wis saves, but there is still a chance of paralyzing them and rendering them incapacitated, thus breaking the concentration.
I mean, it's fire damage. Aren't items for resisting fire damage fairly common in published adventures? Asking for a friend.
Or, ummm, Decanter of Endless Water.