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

[lowkey13]

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[Oofta]

Most people assume a druid wouldn't put on metal armor because it is explicitly stated in the class that it is against the druid's ethos to do so. In all my experiences (I know, anecdotal, the horror), I have never come across a no-win situation for a druid and metal armor, unlike the myriad of such situations for a paladin. Because for some idiotic reason, forcing a paladin to make a decision that no matter what, would make him fall, was all the rage during the 3rd edition (and Pathfinder) years. The whole orc baby situation. I never came across any sort of discussion about how to force a druid to wear metal armor, mainly because the penalties weren't as severe (the entire time worn + 24 hours, as opposed to "permanent" until attoned as a paladin).

Yeah, I remember games in previous public play where you literally had to choose between a devil and a demon. We decided to tell them both to go to hell (maybe we should have told one to go to the Abyss?). In another game you had to make a deal that would have violated the paladins oath to continue with the mod. We didn't so the mod was over in 15 minutes.

Never understood why people think "moral dilemma" means "set up no win scenarios". Might work for some groups (and if it does more power to you), but just not my cup of tea. I always want an option, even if that option means there's a good chance my PC will die.

 

[WaterRabbit]

Things change during gameplay, though. A druid might be willing to put on metal armor in order to save a forest or something else important to the character. When choosing druid, the player does not agree to let the character's character die in order to maintain no armor. If the only option to stay true to the character is to don metal armor briefly, the player can have his druid do that. A DM who says no doesn't deserve the job.

You may not like false equivalencies but you love your strawmen.

 

[WaterRabbit]

It's not your job as DM to prevent a paladin's fall. It's your job as DM to adjudicate the actions the PC takes, such as lying, cheating and stealing as a paladin.

Actually in AD&D the character would have received an alignment warning from the DM if the paladin was straying from LG. It was more than simple adjudication but less than telling the player they could not continue.

 

[WaterRabbit]

I've been playing since 1983 and never have I heard a DM at the outset iron out an agreement not to wear metal under any circumstances. I mean, I suppose the corner case has happened somewhere, but I haven't seen it.

I have been playing since 1979 and I have never seen a case where a player wanted to use metal armor as a druid or was ever in a situation where they were required to. This discussion is the ultimate corner case -- it probably has come up once at one table in all of the years of people playing the game.

The gaslighting going on between you and the guy that created the account just to argue this one issue is amazing. Your argument style is just one step short of his calling everyone who played old school D&D stupid.

This is such a non-issue. The only time this would ever come up is if someone was seriously trying to antagonize the rest of the players at their table. This is the hallmark behavior of a disruptive player.

What is even more silly is that most GMs recognize the metal armor restriction and actually provide non-metal armor alternatives to druid players that are generally the same or superior to the metal equivalents. Even in D&D computer games Ankheg plate was a thing.

Seriously this is the most silly argument I have seen.

 

[lowkey13]

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[Oofta]

I have been playing since 1979 and I have never seen a case where a player wanted to use metal armor as a druid or was ever in a situation where they were required to. This discussion is the ultimate corner case -- it probably has come up once at one table in all of the years of people playing the game.

The gaslighting going on between you and the guy that created the account just to argue this one issue is amazing. Your argument style is just one step short of his calling everyone who played old school D&D stupid.

This is such a non-issue. The only time this would ever come up is if someone was seriously trying to antagonize the rest of the players at their table. This is the hallmark behavior of a disruptive player.

What is even more silly is that most GMs recognize the metal armor restriction and actually provide non-metal armor alternatives to druid players that are generally the same or superior to the metal equivalents. Even in D&D computer games Ankheg plate was a thing.

Seriously this is the most silly argument I have seen.

Same here. This has never, ever come up over thousands of hours of gaming with dozens of different DMs over the years. We need to stop feeding the trolls.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Same here. This has never, ever come up over thousands of hours of gaming with dozens of different DMs over the years. We need to stop feeding the trolls.

Me three. And as I mentioned earlier, and WaterRabbit also mentioned, some of the arguments here are red flags to me of a disruptive player.

 

[JonnyP71]

Same here. This has never, ever come up over thousands of hours of gaming with dozens of different DMs over the years. We need to stop feeding the trolls.

"But they keep regenerating m'lord, and the flames we are using seem ineffective. I fear this is a new more terrible breed...."

 

[lowkey13]

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