this post was submitted on 31 Aug 2023
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I once argued with my DM that burning hands should allow me to melt the lock of a door, or burn a hole in the door where the lock and handle used to be at least. Think I ended up just blasting the front off the shop lol
Well wrought iron melts at 1500C, brass and bronze around 1700C. And it would take considerable time at those temps so probably not just 1 cast of the spell. Also Burning Hands is a cone, so at those temps anyways it'd assuredly melt stone walls and floors, set fire to the door, roof, and anything else.
Some Object properties: Iron/steel has an AC of 19, irrelevant since it's a Dex save, and a lock has 5hp. But since it's probably immune to fire damage of this temp, the lock may very well be the only thing that remains after Burning Hands sets everything else ablaze. And the door probably has ~18hp, so 1 burning hands won't obliterate it, but the ongoing fire damage after it's set aflame likely would. Though the roof would probably go first.
So, punch the lock?
Technically I guess? 5e rules don't make much sense and the actually useful rules are mere suggestions.
I'd probably give it a damage threshold of 10 for iron.
I mean a door has HP. Burning hands would definitely damage it
If you burned a sorcery point with shape spell, I could see turning it into a temporary blow torch, but it still only lasts the one action. Even heat metal doesn’t melt things (except lead or aluminum which melt before they get “red hot”), but it would probably burn the wood around it or weaken the lock enough that it would bust if the door was rammed.