Heat Metal logo

Heat Metal

Community
Hmbown
heat-metal

In D&D, Heat Metal makes a metal object painfully hot — the creature holding it must either endure the pain or drop it. The real-world version is deliberate friction injection: making a deprecated API progressively slower, adding escalating CAPTCHAs to suspicious traffic, increasing the cost of a bad behavior path until the actor self-selects out. Heat Metal does not break the tool. It makes continuing to use it more painful than switching to the alternative. This is the spell behind deprecation-by-discomfort, progressive rate limiting, and sunset friction curves.

Overview

PublisherHmbown
RepositoryWizards-of-the-Ghosts
Skill nameheat-metal
Stars
106
Forks
10
Bundled files
Instructions only
LicenseCC0-1.0
Links
Skill sourceRepository
  • Markdown instructions

    A SKILL.md file the model loads on demand, so it only costs tokens when a request actually matches.

  • Works with any LLM

    AI skills are plain Markdown, not provider-specific code, so this works with GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model.

  • Self-contained

    Everything the model needs lives in the instructions — no extra files to sync.

  • Open source

    Published by Hmbown on GitHub. Read the source before you install it.

Installation

Install the Heat Metal AI skill in TypingMind to use it with any LLM, or drop it into another agent that reads SKILL.md.

1

Install in TypingMind

TypingMind installs a skill straight from its GitHub folder — it reads SKILL.md, bundles the resource files, and stores the result locally.

  1. Open the app and go to Plugins → Skills.
  2. Choose "Install from GitHub".
  3. Paste the skill folder URL below and confirm.
  4. Enable the skill in any chat where you want it available.
Plugins → Skills → Add skill → From GitHub URL, then paste the folder URL and press Continue.
2

Install in another agent

Any agent that reads the Agent Skills format can use this skill — copy the folder into that agent's skills directory.

Claude Code — .claude/skills
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Hmbown/Wizards-of-the-Ghosts.git /tmp/Wizards-of-the-Ghosts
mkdir -p .claude/skills
cp -r /tmp/Wizards-of-the-Ghosts/generated/hermes/containment-and-intervention/heat-metal .claude/skills/heat-metal
Restart Claude Code after copying so it picks up the new skill.

Use it in TypingMind

Enable Heat Metal in any TypingMind chat and the model takes it from there. Its name and description sit in the system prompt, and the moment a request matches, the model loads the full instructions itself — you never invoke it by hand, and it costs no tokens until it is actually used.

The model loads Heat Metal on its own as soon as a request matches it.

Works with any AI model

AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so Heat Metal is not tied to the model it was written for. Install it once in TypingMind and use it with GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama, or a local model you run yourself — all on your own API keys.

  • Loaded only when it is needed

    The system prompt carries just the name and description. The instructions are fetched on the first matching request, so an idle skill costs nothing.

  • Switch models mid-chat

    Because the skill is instructions rather than code, changing model does not break it — the next model reads the same SKILL.md.

Skill instructions

This is the SKILL.md content the model loads. Read it before installing — a skill is instructions your model will follow.

Heat Metal

Make a tool or process increasingly uncomfortable to use until it is abandoned.

What This Skill Does

In D&D, Heat Metal makes a metal object painfully hot — the creature holding it must either endure the pain or drop it. The real-world version is deliberate friction injection: making a deprecated API progressively slower, adding escalating CAPTCHAs to suspicious traffic, increasing the cost of a bad behavior path until the actor self-selects out. Heat Metal does not break the tool. It makes continuing to use it more painful than switching to the alternative. This is the spell behind deprecation-by-discomfort, progressive rate limiting, and sunset friction curves. In this grimoire, Heat Metal is treated as a hybrid spell with a prototype delivery profile. Canonical reference input: Heat Metal (spell).

When To Use

  • You want to drive migration away from a deprecated tool, API, or workflow without hard-cutting access.
  • Suspicious or abusive behavior should be progressively penalized without outright blocking.
  • A gradual escalation of friction is more appropriate than an immediate ban or shutdown.

Prerequisites

  • No extra runtime dependencies beyond Hermes Agent and the normal toolset for this session.

Procedure

  1. Restate the target, the success condition, and any no-touch boundaries before taking action.
  2. Identify the tool, path, or behavior you want to discourage.
  3. Design the friction curve: what discomfort increases over time and at what rate.
  4. Implement the progressive friction: latency injection, CAPTCHA escalation, cost increases, warning banners.
  5. Monitor adoption of the preferred alternative to confirm the friction is driving the intended migration.
  6. Set a sunset date: Heat Metal should eventually end in either full migration or hard deprecation.
  7. Package the result as the deliverables below, with confidence, assumptions, and unresolved risk called out explicitly.

Deliverables

  • A friction curve specification: what changes, how fast, and what the escalation stages are.
  • Migration metrics: how many users/systems have moved to the preferred alternative.
  • A sunset timeline with hard cutoff criteria.

Pitfalls / Guardrails

  • Call out the glue, permissions, or missing infrastructure before you imply this is fully operational.
  • Friction injection must be disclosed. Secretly making tools worse without explanation is a dark pattern.
  • Heat Metal targets behavior, not people. Progressive friction applied to specific users as punishment crosses into harassment.
  • Always provide a visible alternative. Making something painful to use without offering a better path is cruelty, not engineering.

Verification

  • Check that the result includes every deliverable promised above.
  • Check that confirmed facts, assumptions, and inferences are visibly separated.
  • Check which parts are concrete actions versus framing, so the user can tell what is real now.
  • Check that any missing glue code, permissions, or future work is labeled before the skill is treated as ready.

Example Invocation

text
/heat-metal design a progressive friction strategy that makes a deprecated tool, abusive pattern, or unwanted behavior increasingly uncomfortable until users migrate to the better alternative

Frequently asked questions

What does the Heat Metal AI skill do?

In D&D, Heat Metal makes a metal object painfully hot — the creature holding it must either endure the pain or drop it. The real-world version is deliberate friction injection: making a deprecated API progressively slower, adding escalating CAPTCHAs to suspicious traffic, increasing the cost of a bad behavior path until the actor self-selects out. Heat Metal does not break the tool. It makes continuing to use it more painful than switching to the alternative. This is the spell behind deprecation-by-discomfort, progressive rate limiting, and sunset friction curves.

Why use Heat Metal on TypingMind?

Because you install it once and use it with any model. Heat Metal is plain Markdown rather than provider-specific code, so the same skill runs on GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model — and you can switch model mid-chat without it breaking. TypingMind runs on your own API keys, so you pay providers directly instead of a per-seat subscription, and your skills and chats stay in your own storage.

How do I install Heat Metal in TypingMind?

Open Plugins → Skills → Install from GitHub in TypingMind and paste https://github.com/Hmbown/Wizards-of-the-Ghosts/tree/main/generated/hermes/containment-and-intervention/heat-metal. TypingMind reads its SKILL.md and installs it as a skill you can enable per chat.

Which AI models can use Heat Metal?

Any model you connect in TypingMind. AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and local models can all load this skill when a request matches it.

How many AI models can I use with Heat Metal?

As many as you like. As long as a model supports skills, you can use Heat Metal with it — GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama and more — all on TypingMind with your own API keys.

Is the Heat Metal AI skill free?

Yes. It is published on GitHub by Hmbown under the CC0-1.0 license. You only pay your own AI provider for the tokens you use.

What are AI skills?

An AI skill is a reusable instruction bundle that teaches an AI model how to do one specific task. It follows the open Agent Skills format: a SKILL.md file with a name and description, plus any scripts, templates or reference files the model may need. The model reads the instructions only when your request matches the skill, so an installed skill costs nothing until it is used.

How are AI skills different from plugins or MCP servers?

A plugin or MCP server gives a model new tools to call — code that runs somewhere and returns a result. An AI skill gives the model knowledge and process instead: how to approach a task, which steps to follow, what good output looks like. Skills are plain Markdown, so they need no server, no API key and no runtime, and they work with any model.

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