D&D 5E Is adamantine a metal?

Ezequielramone said:

Hi all,
I'm running OotA and one of my players wants to multiclass his fighter to druid. So I'm checking the options we have to have a non-metal heavy armor since he have the feat.
As far as I know adamantine is not a thing in the real world and can't find WTF it is. I just want to know if it is a metal and is forbidden for druids.

Click to expand...

Short answer: yes, in D&D, it's always been a metal before.

Long answer... 'adamant' is taken from classical Greek, from which it is usually translated either 'diamond' or 'steel.' In English, adamant means resolute or stubborn and does not usually refer to a material and damantine can refer to a material, meaning unbreakable. Adamantite appends a suffix suggesting a mineral, and adamantium a suffix suggesting an element or metal, and have been used in science-fiction starting in the mid-20th century. FWIW.

I think they can't use metal armours because metal is extracted from rocks and hippie things like that. I can change that.

Click to expand...

There's really little rhyme or reason behind the Druid weapon & armor strictures, it's just how classes tended to be design back in the day. The historical/legendary druids they were based on had no such concerns, for instance.

Is there any other option for him to have a heavy armor?

Click to expand...

Dark Sun had all kinds of non-metalic heavy armors. Maybe plates from a bulette could be used to make something, for instance.

Mad_Jack said:

Wasn't adamantine in 1st Ed originally fluffed to be meteorite iron or something like that?

Click to expand...

It was mentioned along side mithril and meteorite iron...

Which reminds me, in my old AD&D campaign, I decided that the adamant('-tine,' '-tite,' '-ium' I forget) alloy mentioned in passing in the 1e DMG discussion of magical armor involved a rare earth something like greenish-grey coal (not remotely something you'd make a weapon or armor out of, by itself), and was used in forging the special steel called adamantium (the problem was getting the forge hot enough for it to burn), but that it was a secret known only to the odd legendary smith or wizard.

In *some* cases Adamantine = "sky iron", but not always - I've seen instances where they were described as separate material, with Adamantine usually coming form deep in the earth.

I think meteorite iron is special enough to be its own thing really. I mean we know in real life it's just iron, but in a fantasy sense it is probably imbued with all sorts of mystical properties.

By the rules adamantine is a metel and druids cannot wear metal armors. In the PHB, no specific reason is given why druids don't wear metal armor and no specific consequence is given for a druid that does wear metal armor. It just flatly says druids don't wear metal.

I'd say that if your player wants to have a druid wearing heavy armor and there are no "natural" alternatives to be found (like Ankheg plate or Bullette plate) then it seems like a reasonable compromise is that the druid could wear the metal armor, but not be able to use the Shapeshifting power while the metal armor is on. Take the metal armor off and he would be able to use Shapeshifting.

Ancalagon said:

In *some* cases Adamantine = "sky iron", but not always - I've seen instances where they were described as separate material, with Adamantine usually coming form deep in the earth.

I think meteorite iron is special enough to be its own thing really. I mean we know in real life it's just iron, but in a fantasy sense it is probably imbued with all sorts of mystical properties.

Click to expand...

The big on with meteoric iron is that its a particularly pure source of iron, since it is entirely possible to get asteroids, and by extension meteors that are made of nearly pure iron. With is particularly useful if you want to forge something and not have to take out impurities, depending on what the goal is.

"Don't drink don't smoke - what do you do?
You don't drink don't smoke - what do you do?
Subtle innuendoes follow
There must be something inside."

- Gudie Tushoos, Dwarven weaponsmith said to be the first to work with AdamAntine

Ezequielramone said:

Hi all,
I'm running OotA and one of my players wants to multiclass his fighter to druid. So I'm checking the options we have to have a non-metal heavy armor since he have the feat.
As far as I know adamantine is not a thing in the real world and can't find WTF it is. I just want to know if it is a metal and is forbidden for druids.
Is there any other option for him to have a heavy armor?
I don't have problem in saying he just can use a metal armor, but I want to check all the options first.

I think they can't use metal armours because metal is extracted from rocks and hippie things like that. I can change that.

Click to expand...

In Eberron there was a material known as densewood. It came from special trees native to Aerenal, the continent of elves and the Undying Court. The wood is said to be as strong as steel.

In addition to the other suggestions made (dragonscale, chitin (ankheg, giant spider), and bullette plate), you could also go with live wood armor. It probably wouldn't offer the same protection as most heavy armors, but the wood remains alive and green even after being cut. Meaning it could support a dryad living within your armor. That would be pretty cool.

As for the general lore behind the restriction of metal armor, my understanding is the metal armor represented civilization and man's attempt to seek mastery over nature by perverting and concentrating resources in ways alien to nature. But that line is total BS, as we recently discovered spiders that coat their fangs in metal to make them super hard.

Hawk Diesel said:

As for the general lore behind the restriction of metal armor, my understanding is the metal armor represented civilization and man's attempt to seek mastery over nature by perverting and concentrating resources in ways alien to nature. But that line is total BS, as we recently discovered spiders that coat their fangs in metal to make them super hard.

Click to expand...

Are you sure those spiders aren't attempting to seek mastery over nature by perverting and concentrating resources in ways alien to nature? I wouldn't put it past them.

Also, I'm totally borrowing this the next time I stat up a Drow outpost. The players are going to be seriously surprised when they're set upon by guard-spiders with adamantine-coated fangs.

Hriston said:

While adamantine is used in D&D to refer to an extremely hard metal of meteoric origin, adamant is traditionally the hardest crystal and is basically synonymous with diamond.

Click to expand...

So to answer the OP, the fighter/druid could use armor and weapons made of diamond.

Tell him to keep an eye on his pixelation, though, and go find a cleric if it starts getting too severe.

phantomK9 said:

By the rules adamantine is a metel and druids cannot wear metal armors. In the PHB, no specific reason is given why druids don't wear metal armor and no specific consequence is given for a druid that does wear metal armor. It just flatly says druids don't wear metal.

Click to expand...

There was a Sage Advice on this. Druids blow up if they wear metal armor. (Just kidding.)

Per Sage Advice, it's an entirely in game philosophical/moral/tradition restriction. Vegans don't eat meat, Druids don't wear armor. You made the oath not to as part of your druid training.

(I had a weird flash of an idea - a setting where druids accept a "heat metal" curse as part of their final vows, anytime they put on metal armor it starts to heat up. Druids have been driven into hiding as they are hunted by the ruling Alchemist guild as a cheap way of powering their steam engines....)

Regarding your original conundrum of getting heavy armor for your druid:

Remember that the Druid's limitation on wearing non-metallic armor is a fluff restriction and not necessarily a game balance restriction. If your druid player managed to get himself some heavy armor proficiency, you could always just allow him to use metallic heavy armor that was suitably anointed with nature's blessing (maybe plate mail festooned with living vines and mosses.