Since both Warforged and Modron are robots made largely of metal, doesn't that mean they have no means of escaping the damage caused by a Heat Metal spell?
The armor can be donned and doffed. That means it does not meld into the Warforged, like an bacterium taking on genetic material, but instead much like a human putting on heavy armor, only with fewer weaknesses to the armor, right? I'm looking for clarification on this.
The armor can be donned and doffed. That means it does not meld into the Warforged, like an bacterium taking on genetic material, but instead much like a human putting on heavy armor, only with fewer weaknesses to the armor, right? I'm looking for clarification on this.
I think it is up to DM. Since warforged wear armor no differently than any other creatures, and have no different mechanics to it, I would treat it the same.
^ I'd back up what DJC said, as "incorporated" suggests to me that the armor is simply specially fitted on the warforged, using attachments specifically made for the armor that the warforged is proficient in, rather than the normal ties and straps. I don't believe the armor to be considered living any more than golden teeth would be.
To don armor, you must incorporate it into your body over the course of 1 hour, during which you remain in contact with the armor.
Right. It doesn't say it stops being treated as armor (an object) though.
If they wanted it to count as part of your living body and not an object attached to your body (like a piercing) they should have said so. They didn't say, so it doesn't.
That is how I rule it anyway. It only effects like 2 spells and 1 monster trait out of the whole game, so DMs can rule it however and change nothing.
I like that they allowed Warforged to wear armor like other characters but, it's too bad they still felt the need to make this situation special and couldn't abide by their own donning and doffing rules.
Circling back on one of the questions in the OP, heat metal specifically says it affects manufactured metal objects. Warforged, modrons, gorgons, etc are all creatures with natural metal features. On their own, all of these creatures would be exempt from the effects of the spell. A warforged with integrated armor is a bit more tricky. There is no question that a suit of chain mail is a manufactured metal object and there is no question it is a valid target for heat metal. The question is whether the armor remains a separate object when integrated or whether it becomes part of the warforged itself for the time that it is integrated. I'm looking for some guidance online and I just don't see it. People in this thread have made reasonable cases both ways.
At my table, I think I would rule that it is a part of the creature and no longer its own targetable object.
Since house ruling is the most likely way to solve the problem, I think just saying that Warforged follow all the same rules for armor takes care of it. I would agree about not being able to use the spell on a metallic creature.
Heat metal can only target an object; a creature is not an object. In addition, as written it does not damage its target, only creatures in contact with its target. It can, however, target fused armor, in which case it's about as good at killing warforged as it is at killing anyone else wearing metal armor (it takes as long to remove medium armor as the spell lasts, so no point to removing armor).
So, up to 20d8 without even upcasting after 10 rounds? Best chance is to kill the caster I guess. This spell really fell through the cracks balance wise.
Heat metal can only target an object; a creature is not an object. In addition, as written it does not damage its target, only creatures in contact with its target. It can, however, target fused armor, in which case it's about as good at killing warforged as it is at killing anyone else wearing metal armor (it takes as long to remove medium armor as the spell lasts, so no point to removing armor).
Yes, but if a Warforged is wearing metal armor, then this spell is killer on them.
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Heat metal can only target an object; a creature is not an object. In addition, as written it does not damage its target, only creatures in contact with its target. It can, however, target fused armor, in which case it's about as good at killing warforged as it is at killing anyone else wearing metal armor (it takes as long to remove medium armor as the spell lasts, so no point to removing armor).
Yes, but if a Warforged is wearing metal armor, then this spell is killer on them.
Same as it is on any other character wearing metal armor. I consider the spell problematic, though it's not really that useful for PCs (there aren't a lot of targets that wear metal armor and are worth spending a 2nd level spell slot and concentration on for a single-target attack), but on the rare class of target where it's useful it's a tad overpowered, so you sort of just have to not use that type of enemy much. I'd probably trim its duration or reduce its ongoing damage.
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Since both Warforged and Modron are robots made largely of metal, doesn't that mean they have no means of escaping the damage caused by a Heat Metal spell?
Well heat metal says “object” so that means you can’t target a creature such as a warforged or modron.
But Shocking Grasp does count.
Doesn't the incorporated armor that a Warforged puts on themselves count as an object?
It becomes part of the creature, doesn’t it?
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Yeah it does
The armor can be donned and doffed. That means it does not meld into the Warforged, like an bacterium taking on genetic material, but instead much like a human putting on heavy armor, only with fewer weaknesses to the armor, right? I'm looking for clarification on this.
I think it is up to DM. Since warforged wear armor no differently than any other creatures, and have no different mechanics to it, I would treat it the same.
^ I'd back up what DJC said, as "incorporated" suggests to me that the armor is simply specially fitted on the warforged, using attachments specifically made for the armor that the warforged is proficient in, rather than the normal ties and straps. I don't believe the armor to be considered living any more than golden teeth would be.
To don armor, you must incorporate it into your body over the course of 1 hour, during which you remain in contact with the armor.
Right. It doesn't say it stops being treated as armor (an object) though.
If they wanted it to count as part of your living body and not an object attached to your body (like a piercing) they should have said so. They didn't say, so it doesn't.
That is how I rule it anyway. It only effects like 2 spells and 1 monster trait out of the whole game, so DMs can rule it however and change nothing.
I like that they allowed Warforged to wear armor like other characters but, it's too bad they still felt the need to make this situation special and couldn't abide by their own donning and doffing rules.
Circling back on one of the questions in the OP, heat metal specifically says it affects manufactured metal objects. Warforged, modrons, gorgons, etc are all creatures with natural metal features. On their own, all of these creatures would be exempt from the effects of the spell. A warforged with integrated armor is a bit more tricky. There is no question that a suit of chain mail is a manufactured metal object and there is no question it is a valid target for heat metal. The question is whether the armor remains a separate object when integrated or whether it becomes part of the warforged itself for the time that it is integrated. I'm looking for some guidance online and I just don't see it. People in this thread have made reasonable cases both ways.
At my table, I think I would rule that it is a part of the creature and no longer its own targetable object.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Since house ruling is the most likely way to solve the problem, I think just saying that Warforged follow all the same rules for armor takes care of it. I would agree about not being able to use the spell on a metallic creature.
I guess that means there has been no official ruling on this yet.
Heat metal can only target an object; a creature is not an object. In addition, as written it does not damage its target, only creatures in contact with its target. It can, however, target fused armor, in which case it's about as good at killing warforged as it is at killing anyone else wearing metal armor (it takes as long to remove medium armor as the spell lasts, so no point to removing armor).
So, up to 20d8 without even upcasting after 10 rounds? Best chance is to kill the caster I guess. This spell really fell through the cracks balance wise.
It sure seems that way early on, but the truth is that players outgrow this spell pretty quickly.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Yes, but if a Warforged is wearing metal armor, then this spell is killer on them.
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Same as it is on any other character wearing metal armor. I consider the spell problematic, though it's not really that useful for PCs (there aren't a lot of targets that wear metal armor and are worth spending a 2nd level spell slot and concentration on for a single-target attack), but on the rare class of target where it's useful it's a tad overpowered, so you sort of just have to not use that type of enemy much. I'd probably trim its duration or reduce its ongoing damage.