D&D 5E Druid Armor Restrictions
BacchusNL
Explorer
I dunno about that dude...I can think of quite a few builds where a finesse greatsword would be beyond broken. A set of natural plate armor? Not so much.
ad_hoc
(they/them)
I think we are playing different games.
If you want another example then making a suit of plate armour which counts as light.
Same thing.
CleverNickName
Limit Break Dancing
I chatted with the player about it first and we came to an understanding.
The player wanted to be a "one with Nature" type, and didn't have a problem with the no-metal restriction so long as there were other options in the game world that she could use instead. So I squint, and allow things like plate armor made from giant beetle shells, daggers made from bone, chainmail replaced with woven spider-silk, shields made from a rare hardwood, leather armor studded with shark teeth, etc. We just changed any references to metal into something else and called it good. We have an understanding that plate armor will always be heavy, chainmail will always be medium, Strength requirements and AC bonuses always remain as-written, etc., regardless of what these things are actually made of.
So far, no complaints on either side of the table.
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Xeviat
Hero
See, that's kind of what I figure. I don't see anything when comparing the Cleric and the Druid to suggest the druid should be permanently saddled with lower AC than the cleric.
ad_hoc
(they/them)
Why does she get to decide if she is okay with it?
What if a player is a wizard and is not okay with not wearing armour so they want to find plate armour which is light?
Do players just choose what weapons and armour they will use?
ad_hoc
(they/them)
Why should other classes have lower AC?
If this is the reasoning you should just make all characters have the same AC so it's fair.
CleverNickName
Limit Break Dancing
(shrug) It's her character. Maybe she has a certain "look" she's going for?
That's not what I'm getting at. No matter what it's made from, it's still going to be considered Heavy armor and it will still have the same weight, strength requirement, cost, AC bonus, etc. that its steel counterpart will have. I'm not changing any stats or rules, I just don't have a problem with the player changing the word "steel" to, I dunno, "beetle shells" or whatever.
If the hypothetical wizard wants to wear plate armor made out of beetle shell, he's still going to need a Str of 15 and proficiency in Heavy armor to wear it. It's still going to cost 1,500gp, it's still going to weigh 65lbs., and it will still give him disadvantage on Stealth.
CleverNickName
Limit Break Dancing
It's not going to work for every gaming table. A lot of DMs will tell you that the druid being "permanently saddled with lower AC than the cleric" is important for game balance, and they might be right. This is more of an understanding between me and the player...an understanding that includes the possibility of revision later on if certain issues crop up.
But so far, it's working just fine for us.
My advice? Talk to the player about it. Find out if they are trying to do something cool with their character image or backstory, or if they are just trying to milk the rules for one more point of armor class. As our druid would say: you want to cultivate the former, but weed out the latter.
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ad_hoc
(they/them)
What if she were not okay with her 14 Constitution and decided that her character is actually really tough so she puts down 20 Constitution.
It's her character right?
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