D&D 5E Can your Druids wear metal armor?

[PsyzhranV2]

The Druid class is able to learn to become proficient with metal armor, but chose not to.


Someone can learn to drive a car, but chooses not to.

Etcetera.

English isn't your first language then, got it.

 

[abirdcall]

Some Hindus eat meat.

How many vegetarians eat meat?

 

[Yaarel]

English isn't your first language then, got it.

Somewhat offensive comment. Maybe you should see my testing scores.


"Will not" wear ≈ doesnt want to wear it.

Never wearing it means never becoming proficient with it.

 

[PsyzhranV2]

@Yaarel

Won't implies either a pledge, as in your example (I promise), or a confident prediction, or a refusal:

Abduction by Martians has dropped off since the 70s. I'm pretty sure it won't happen to you again.
No matter how much you offer I won't sell you my daughter.

Can't implies either an impossibility or a directive:

I'm sorry Bobby made that rude gesture. It can't happen again, because we've cut off his hands.
Yesterday Cathy sold one customer another customer's umbrella. This can't happen again.

What's the difference between can't and won't?

This won't happen again. I promise. Vs It can't happen. What does the change of the auxiliary verb mean?

ell.stackexchange.com

Can’t implies that you do not have the ability to do something.

Won’t implies that you are choosing not to do something, whether or not you have the ability.

Therefore, the first relates to your skill, capacity or talent; the second is the expression of a personal choice or decision.

What is the difference between can't and won't?

Answer (1 of 16): Q: What is the difference between I can't and I won’t? "I won't" usually implies a choice or preference not to do something. "I can't" usually implies some kind of obstacle to doing something. It may be a physical obstacle, like you are physically unable to climb a wall, or it...

www.quora.com

As a rule, when somebody "can't" do something, it's because he or she lacks the skill to do it; when somebody "won't" do something, it's because he or she lacks the will to do it.

Here's a basic example:

• "I can't do this job." This means you currently lack the skills to accomplish this task.
• "I won't do this job." This means you've decided not to accomplish this task, even though you could if you wanted to.

Can't vs. Won't: Know the Difference

How often do you find yourself saying you <em>can't</em> do something? The words you choose can determine your success.

www.inc.com

 

[Crimson Longinus]

But each of those can choose to break their vows, suffer consequences, atone, etc.

And what are the rules for that? We've had long threads about people arguing about what should happen if a cleric breaks the tenets of their religion etc. And ultimately it boils down to 'whatever the GM think is appropriate.'

The druid armor issue stands alone. Hell, it's apparently the only thing druids DO care about, as it's the only thing called out in such a fashion, and no other tenants of their faith are specified.

Because it is very simple matter to state and relates to commonly used equipment in the game. Other tenets are far more nebulous and situational.

I mean, we could listen to the designers who don't seem to think its a big deal, or we could double down on a literal interpretation.

I mean they say it is part of their tradition. So that's the reason Crawford gives. But of course they always say that if you want to change things for your game go ahead. And no one here has disagreed with that.

 

[carkl3000]

Most people agree, the Druid does not gain proficiency with metal armors from the Druid class proficiencies.

I don't think that's true at all. The book clearly says that druids have proficiency with medium armor. They could have said that druids have proficiency with light armor and all medium armor not made of metal, but they didn't. When they later gave a clarification, the clarification was essentially that there is no reason not to allow druids to wear metal armor.

There were many opportunities during the writing and the revising and reprints and errata to state this lack of proficiency explicitly, but instead they explicitly decided to resolve it the other way.

The debate (because of the poor wording) is whether a Druid character can get proficiency with metal armors by some other means.

The answer is obviously, yes, a Druid can take a feat, or so on, just like a Wizard can get armor proficiencies this way.

 

[Yaarel]

@Yaarel

Won't implies either a pledge, as in your example (I promise), or a confident prediction, or a refusal:

Can't implies either an impossibility or a directive:

What's the difference between can't and won't?

This won't happen again. I promise. Vs It can't happen. What does the change of the auxiliary verb mean?

ell.stackexchange.com

Can’t implies that you do not have the ability to do something.

Won’t implies that you are choosing not to do something, whether or not you have the ability.

Therefore, the first relates to your skill, capacity or talent; the second is the expression of a personal choice or decision.

What is the difference between can't and won't?

Answer (1 of 16): Q: What is the difference between I can't and I won’t? "I won't" usually implies a choice or preference not to do something. "I can't" usually implies some kind of obstacle to doing something. It may be a physical obstacle, like you are physically unable to climb a wall, or it...

www.quora.com

As a rule, when somebody "can't" do something, it's because he or she lacks the skill to do it; when somebody "won't" do something, it's because he or she lacks the will to do it.

Here's a basic example:

• "I can't do this job." This means you currently lack the skills to accomplish this task.
• "I won't do this job." This means you've decided not to accomplish this task, even though you could if you wanted to.

Can't vs. Won't: Know the Difference

How often do you find yourself saying you <em>can't</em> do something? The words you choose can determine your success.

www.inc.com

To be clear, I have never said a Druid "cant" wear metal armor.

A Druid absolutely can wear metal armor, just like a Wizard absolutely can wear metal armor.

It is a question of proficiency. The Wizard class normally doesnt grant armor proficiency. The Druid class does grant armor proficiency but not metal. But they can gain the proficiency from elsewhere.

 

[Undrave]

Sure, it probably would be better. Though in practice only minimally. I suspect most people simply accept the restriction and move on. This is again a typical ENworld debate about a marginal issue that will not actually come up in 98.5% of games being played.

Hah, that's probably true. Doesn't mean it's not worth discussing.

 

[Faolyn]

so in other words there is no rule supporting the GM fiat you threatened the player with two or three times and you decided to make one up to ensure the player does not say "well actually, yes I will"?

I wouldn't call what the OP did as a threat. They described the metal as creepy-feeling, which is perfectly valid. After all, a DM should describe things texturally as well as audio-visually.

Now, saying that the armor would have been retconned into hide if the druid chose to wear it after all is a bit less-cool, IMO. I would have simply said that the armor continues to feel bad, and feels worse the longer the druid wears it--and then provide some non-metal armor of equal AC sooner rather than later, and describe wearing that as an enormous relief.

 

[Northern Phoenix]

Hah, that's probably true. Doesn't mean it's not worth discussing.

In the context of 5e, how and why you choose to rule things is always worth discussing. Having rules-lawyer fights over "RAW" never is.