D&D 5E Why the Druid Metal Restriction is Poorly Implemented

JonnyP71 said:

Throughout D&D Druids have been leather armour clad spell casters who share a number of spells with regular clerics, who derive their power from nature, who have the shapechanger ability at some point, and who utilise simple or 'tool' inspired weapons - that IS pretty consistent. In 3 editions they had a neutral component to their alignment, but as 5E (sadly) reduced the impact of alignment mechanics that was lost. Being pedantic about the level they get to shape change proves nothing.

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And throughout D&D druids have had the ability to don metal platemail in order to sneak into a castle. Nothing you have said has so far been able to counter that fact.

JonnyP71 said:

Railroading is NOT removing choice, it is removing the impact of character actions on the events in the game. In my experience, restricting mechanical choices actually has the effect of focussing the players on creating something more compelling within the environment presented - some of the best, most compelling, most innovative roleplaying I've seen has come in Basic D&D, where mechanical options were severely limited. Also is a 1E DM 'railroading' when they choose to abide by the class restrictions regarding demi-humans, armour restrictions regarding other classes, alignment restrictions for Paladins, Monks, Rangers and Bards, or adhering to the level caps in that edition? What about Monk trying to use burning oil, a Thief trying to wield a 2-handed sword (the book says they may not), or a Cleric wanting to use an edged weapon (the PHB states they are 'forbidden'), so it's more than simply them not being able to be proficient in them in these cases. It's not railroading if a DM insists on using these restrictions as written.

By choosing to play a Druid, you will have agreed to abide by the no-metal restriction - just as a Thief player in 1E will have agreed to abide by 'no 2 handed swords'. If you then decide to break that agreement, then no, I am not railroading you by denying that choice. You (the player) is simply being difficult, and somewhat disrespectful. If you don't agree to the lore, you don't play the class. If you try to push it, you don't play full stop.

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Railroading is not removing choice in selecting mechanics, but rather removing options in the game world by stating the possible to be impossible without any reason given besides not wanting the player to do it, or "the rules". Saying a Magic User cannot effectively use a shield due to their lack of martial training is not railroading, but saying they can't pick it up and strap it to their arm and gain no benefit while accepting the normal encumbrance or any other associated penalties, is. What if that Magic User is strapping it to their arm solely because that makes it easier to carry for the purpose of running it to their Fighter? What if their Fighter died and they want to take the shield back to town with them? Will the universe implode if they equip it? What if they plan to use it for an out of combat purpose, such as using it to Indiana Jones something else of equivalent size and shape off of a pedestal? The same held true of Druids. They couldn't cast magic while wearing metal, but what if they're hiding inside a decorative suit of armor in a castle, waiting alongside their party to perform an ambush? They'll toss the armor off as soon as they perform the ambush, so there'd be no loss.

There's tons of reasons to use items outside of their intended purpose, and it's totally possible to attempt to use something that you're not proficient in using. You won't have high odds of success, because you'll inherently suck with it, but you can darn well try. A character with 8 strength may not be able to lift the rock that the 20 strength Barbarian can, but they can darn well pull their back out trying.

JonnyP71 said:

Throughout D&D Druids have been leather armour clad spell casters who share a number of spells with regular clerics, who derive their power from nature, who have the shapechanger ability at some point, and who utilise simple or 'tool' inspired weapons - that IS pretty consistent. In 3 editions they had a neutral component to their alignment, but as 5E (sadly) reduced the impact of alignment mechanics that was lost. Being pedantic about the level they get to shape change proves nothing.

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Sure, and the reasons for their limits have changed, as well as the source of their power. Druids used to gain their power solely from nature, now they can draw it from a deity or from nature. Druids lost their magic in 1E if they wore metal armor or used a metal shield, but they never stated it to be taboo; it simply had penalties for doing so, so they obviously opted not to do it. It became a taboo in 2E, but didn't give any penalties as to what happened if they wore it. This was already a major change in the design, since it went from a hindrance to a taboo. In 3E it went back to being a mechanical penalty, where if they wore it they lost access to their magic for as long as they wore it, plus 24 hours. In 4E it was neither a taboo nor did it have penalties, they simply were not proficient by default. In 5E there are again no penalties as it's still a personal choice without mechanical implications beyond proficiency, as it has been since the Druid was released in 4E during early 2009. We are literally 10 years and 2 editions of D&D into Druids having no mechanical penalty for metal armor, unlike 1E, but people will not let go of the 1E fluff. If we can't let that go, then let's start taking away the Cleric's weapons, and let's buff the Druid's spellcasting to be stronger than the Cleric's.

And if you're going to discuss alignment, they were only required to be true neutral in two editions. That's 2/5, or less than half. They've also had absolutely no such restriction for 2/5 editions, but the 2 editions they've had no limits on are the two most modern. Feel free to cling onto the 1978 restrictions, but it's 2019 and the rules have changed.

Even the ability to only have to remain neutral in one element of the character's alignment as opposed to both is actually a very significant change that was made in 3E, but either way, don't blame 5E for the reduced alignment restrictions because they also dropped those in 4E. So again, 2 editions of D&D and over a decade since that change has been made, so it's likely here to stay. In 3.5 a Druid could be good or evil, which is leaps and bounds away from what the traditional Druid's belief systems were in the past two editions before it. Druids were only allowed before to be acolytes of natural order, but that change allowed them to literally be champions of good or evil. Heck, the whole concept of having to be neutral in only one aspect of your character was silly, because that's nothing like being true neutral. Neutral evil is nothing like lawful neutral, which is nothing like neutral good. They realized that was dumb because they practically gave them absolute freedom already, so they later just removed it completely.

the reasons for their limits have changed​

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Actually, the reason for the limit in 1st edition was that druids had access to far more powerful offensive spells than clerics did. But through later editions clerics have gained access to more powerful spells (particularly self-buffing) whilst druids have slipped backwards (see the naff 5e Barkskin). In 3.5/Pathfinder druids make up for it with powerful animal companions. But in 5e non-Circle of the Moon druids are seriously underpowered in the combat pillar if the DM limits them to hide armour.

Paul Farquhar said:

But in 5e non-Circle of the Moon druids are seriously underpowered in the combat pillar if the DM limits them to hide armour.

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Not at all, unless you're talking melee combat. In which case, yes, but not really what the 5e (non-moon) druid seems designed to do.

Shadowdweller said:

Not at all, unless you're talking melee combat. In which case, yes, but not really what the 5e (non-moon) druid seems designed to do.

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5e duids don't get anything better than what clerics get, and 5e clerics can wear half plate at least.


I remember in a 1st edition game the 12th level druid defeated an army of thousands single handed. You can still see how blaster-y those early druids where in the Icewind Dale CRPG. They where pretty much the sorcerers of 1st edition.

One thing DMs who are not allowing non-metalic medium armor should consider: intelligent aquatic races (Tritons, sea elves, Sahaugan, etc) are unlikely to use metal when making armour. Not only does it negatively affect buoyancy and rust if ferrous you can't actually work it underwater as you need a fire.

Suggested alternative materials: sharkskin, coral, turtle carapace, giant saltwater crayfish carapace.

Merfolk seashell bikinis do not qualify as armour.

JonnyP71 said:

By choosing to play a Druid, you will have agreed to abide by the no-metal restriction - just as a Thief player in 1E will have agreed to abide by 'no 2 handed swords'. If you then decide to break that agreement, then no, I am not railroading you by denying that choice. You (the player) is simply being difficult, and somewhat disrespectful. If you don't agree to the lore, you don't play the class. If you try to push it, you don't play full stop.

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I'm not convinced with this argument.
In 1e Paladins could default on their ideology through their actions and paid the price for it, and yet we do not label such players as difficult or disrespectful. Why do you feel that druids cannot wear armour (full stop) without perhaps allowing them to wear the armour, in trying circumstances, and limiting their druidic class features because of it - similar to the Paladin?

Ohmyn said:

The point I was making is that the PHB specifies that belief and worship vary between the Druids, so Druids are inherently already not all in agreement. There is no taboo or faith system that remains uncontested indefinitely, and when the idea is full of holes, that is when it is at highest risk of being contested. Even the wording in the Sage Advice continues to use words like "typically", "choose" and "choice", when it refers to metal armor and Druids. Yes, that's a typical belief system of Druids, but player characters are not typical members of their class and/or race, and even if they were, people's beliefs and choices can change over time. If players were just a paragon of their race and class and their actions must follow that at all times, there'd be no reason for them to play the characters because the choices and actions would be predetermined. Monks say in their description that as a rule they will not be murder hobos, but no DM stops them from being murder hobos because that's just fluff without any RAW penalty.

Just because a Druid believes something may be wrong, or has been taught that it is wrong, does not mean that they will believe it forever. Even in 1E Paladins would irrevocably lose their Paladin status forever if they performed certain actions, but they were still allowed to do it, because nothing stops someone from going against taboo. The only thing to stop player characters from going against fluff in modern Dungeons and Dragons is mechanical penalties that inhibit their ability to perform certain actions, making the choice unsound. They can still do it, but the risks deter the choice.

Druids do not have such risks anymore, so even though it's a taboo, in terms of a player character, that is only fluff so long as there is no mechanical limitation stopping them. Anything beyond that is full discretion of the DM and not a rule as written into the game. Saying they "can't" wear metal armor, when nothing says they can't, is literally the DM imposing their own RAI as opposed to RAW.

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I've said as much myself about the RAW multiple times in this thread.

That said, it doesn't really matter if a belief system has holes in it so long as people believe in it. Sure, the PC can be the blasphemer who believes the taboo is pointless. Odds are, he's going to get a lot of push back from the world around him because it doesn't really matter if he's right or not. At least not to those who believe him to be a taboo breaker. People's beliefs almost never change overnight. Heck, you can look all over these boards and find people who have stubbornly dug their heels in on an argument and refuse to change their stance regardless of the evidence presented. These little debates of ours impact a hobby we all enjoy, but I expect for most of us they aren't the equivalent of religious faith.

So, sure, the PC can try to change the taboo on metal armor but that belief isn't going to change overnight. Maybe not even within the scope of a single campaign. And that character is likely to go through a fair helping of hell for their beliefs. If they endure, they might succeed in changing some minds. If they're lucky, it won't lead to an internal schism and strife. And hopefully the DM doesn't decide that the metal armor thing was a long forgotten pact from millennia ago that was holding back a devastating horde of demons.

The point is that of course the character has the freedom to do so. I've said that a great many times in the course of this discussion. But the fact that the PHB says that druids won't wear metal armor (as opposed to generally prefer not to) indicates that it is what those of the druidic faith believe, despite the variety in those beliefs.

just as a Thief player in 1E will have agreed to abide by 'no 2 handed swords'. ​

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I hadn't actually noticed this categorically false remark before. A 1st edition thief could use a two handed sword - they had a non-proficiency penalty and couldn't backstab with it, but they could use it.

Ohmyn said:

What? You've never had a situation where a party has had to infiltrate by disguising themselves as the enemy? ...? Never had someone take reference from Legend of Zelda and have something ....

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Now now Ms Fitzgerald was a great lady but I would NOT call her a legend. Wait a minute. Strike that. She does have a museum
https://www.thefitzgeraldmuseum.org/