D&D 5E RAW: Can druids wear studded leather?

[MGibster]

More relevantly, it's not like Druids only use 100% non-metallic gear. Their magic isn't made out of anti-metallic particles that annihilate on contact. They can carry metal objects, they can wear clothing and gear that employs iron buckles just fine, and half their weapon options are made of steel. It's just a legacy flavor rule that they can't wrap themselves in primarily metal armor. So there's plenty of leeway for metal as a secondary component.

You're absolutely right and I'd be totally fine with a druid in any game I'm running wearing studded leather. Even with traditional rivets I wouldn't think of it as metal armor any more than I'd think of my leather jacket as being metal.

 

[Hussar]

Just cast Barkskin on yourself and you never have to worry what any DM might decide.

Which is the standard answer for dealing with DM's who insist that they can never be wrong.

 

[Li Shenron]

A rivet by definition is metal. The PHB doesn't specifically mention the rivets are metal because it's understood that this is the case. But this is D&D so it's always possible to use some sort of exotic material in place of rivets.

Is it? The wiktionary definition and wikipedia page for "rivet" don't include a single instance of the word "metal".

But even if they did, an armor isn't "made of metal" just because it includes some of it. In the same way you are not wearing a "metal belt" or "metal shoes" because of their metallic parts. Try go to a shoo and ask for metal boots and see how they look at you...

 

[Li Shenron]

It sounds like you aren't looking for RAW, but AL-legal.

RAW and RAI, this matter is entirely up the DM's discretion. There is no one, true answer which is RAW at all tables. It's supposed to vary between tables.

As far as the AL is concerned, I don't believe they've addressed this particular question yet, which means it's still up to each individual DM. My best guess is that, if you invest the resources and get it past the first DM, then subsequent DMs will just go with it. That's just a guess, though.

Druids are supposed to wear hide armor, and they're supposed to keep their Dexterity below 16. Whenever you stray from those assumptions, you risk something going wrong. Continue forward at your own discretion.

It doesn't matter what they are "supposed". That's the RAI, but the OP is asking for RAW.

We should give OPs more respect, and comments like "in my games", "ask your DM" or "it doesn’t matter because you can then do this other thing" don't really help the OP figure out a RAW starting point, which is what he's explicitly asking for.

 

[Shiroiken]

The sage advice answer is about as official as you can get. Which was, "A druid typically wears leather, studded leather, or hide armor, and if a druid comes across scale mail made of a material other than metal, the druid might wear it."

As I've heard, since I don't actually play AL, Sage Advice is NOT official for AL, even JC's twitter and other stuff, only errata. This makes a level of sense, because DM's don't have to keep up with the latest "ruling," especially if/when JC changes his mind on twitter. However, I believe that it would be wise for AL to make their own interpretation of common issues, and institute them league wide.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

RAW a druid can wear metal armour, but chooses not to. It's a matter for the player to decide how far they are willing to compromise their code.

 

[Kurotowa]

We should give OPs more respect, and comments like "in my games", "ask your DM" or "it doesn’t matter because you can then do this other thing" don't really help the OP figure out a RAW starting point, which is what he's explicitly asking for.

Most times, sure, I'd be all for that. But for this specific situation? The RAW say very little on the topic, and what they do say is imprecise and open to interpretation. It's like trying to dissect the ethical framework of a fast food slogan. There's just not enough material to sustain a real discussion. At best we could do a deep history dive into how previous editions defined the Druid metal armor restriction, and even that's only informational context for RAI, not RAW.

That's why most of the replies are variations of "ask the DM you're playing with" with a side order of anecdotal "in previous games I've played in". There's very little else substantive to say.

 

[S'mon]

The actual RAW says (druids will not wear armor or use shields made of metal)

Since Druids will not wear metal armour, if you are wearing metal armour you're not a Druid. I guess you're an unclassed character with d8 hit dice.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

You're absolutely right and I'd be totally fine with a druid in any game I'm running wearing studded leather. Even with traditional rivets I wouldn't think of it as metal armor any more than I'd think of my leather jacket as being metal.

Could depend on what rock band you have on the back.

 

[Tallifer]

If I want to have a dungeon master go to all the trouble of running a game for me, I tend to talk things over with him and accept his final ruling.
If I want to play RAW only, I may as well play a computer game.