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

[abirdcall]

Alrighty.
So say a player tries it anyway, and says their druid decides to put on metal armor. (Just assume, for example, the player is one of those like some in this thread who interpret the rule differently than you.)
What does the GM do?

The same as anyone else who won't play the game by the rules in good faith. Show them the door.

 

[Vaalingrade]

I have hard time believing that that is actually the issue either, as it seems highly unlikely me that anyone would seriously think that a flavour text would have been accidentally placed in midst of pure rules content

No one is saying it was an accident. We're saying the rules are clumsy on purpose (they chose to use 'natural language') and this is one of the worst examples of it. The language is a hash that muddles a bunch of crap together and here is the king of why natural language should stop and go home.

 

[Maxperson]

The implication related more to the understanding part. However, at this point I have hard time believing that that is actually the issue either, as it seems highly unlikely me that anyone would seriously think that a flavour text would have been accidentally placed in midst of pure rules content, and same mistake would have been repeated for the summary chary. So I really have no idea what's even going on here anymore.

It was no accident. This particular piece of fluff was placed there due to its importance to the class. It would have been lost on huge numbers of players who don't read or only partially read the beginning of the druid class section where most of the fluff is.

 

[Oofta]

Okay... but the situation has come up after the player is already sitting at your table*. So what does GM do?
"Kick the player out" is a perfectly legitimate answer, of course.


* Unless one of the pre-game vetting questions is "When playing a druid, do you promise never to try to have your chacter wear metal armor?"

I would let them know when they decide to play a druid that I intend to follow the rules (and what my interpretation is). If they insist on wearing metal armor, they don't get invited back.

This has never been an issue in real life. While the DM is many things, he is also the one that has the final say on rules. Occasionally I've had to tell people that the rules don't work the way they want them to and we move on. It's no different than if I was a player and the DM told me something didn't work like I thought it did; even if I disagree the DM has final say.

The player decided their PC would not wear metal armor when they chose the druid class.

 

[Maxperson]

Alrighty.
So say a player tries it anyway, and says their druid decides to put on metal armor. (Just assume, for example, the player is one of those like some in this thread who interpret the rule differently than you.)
What does the GM do?

Depends on who sees him. If it's guards at the local town, nothing happens as they likely have no clue about that taboo and wouldn't have jurisdiction or reason to do anything in any case. If it's the local druid circle, then a lot of different in-fiction consequences are available and reasonable, up to and including trying to kill the offending druid for his sacrilege.

 

[J.Quondam]

People are throwing around "player agency" a lot here when we're actually just talking about making decisions and having consequences to those decisions.

The thing is that in this particular case there are no limitations or consequences indicated. It's fine to impart some, obviously, but that moves it into non-RAW.

A fighter can't cast fireball because they don't have that ability. Cool.
A PC can't multiclass because GM says no multiclassing. Cool.
A PC can't be a baker, because that's not what the group is into. Cool.
A druid puts on metal armor... but no they don't! Because they won't! But what if if they do...? Well, they just won't!

It's just nonsensical as a rule, because it not only has no justification (of ability or oath or whatever); nor does it have a consequence (lose their powers, get sick or whatever.)

(For the record, btw, I tend to play by the "no metal" rule, mainly for the sake of "tradition." But I also acknowledge that 5e RAW on this is either bad, or incomplete, or just dumb.)

 

[Vaalingrade]

I'm mad now. I didn't get a tiny crown with my DMG and I want a refund.

 

[Oofta]

Alrighty.
So say a player tries it anyway, and says their druid decides to put on metal armor. (Just assume, for example, the player is one of those like some in this thread who interpret the rule differently than you.)
What does the GM do?

Resonance cascade, followed by the druid exploding obviously.

 

[Maxperson]

I would let them know when they decide to play a druid that I intend to follow the rules (and what my interpretation is). If they insist on wearing metal armor, they don't get invited back.

This has never been an issue in real life. While the DM is many things, he is also the one that has the final say on rules. Occasionally I've had to tell people that the rules don't work the way they want them to and we move on. It's no different than if I was a player and the DM told me something didn't work like I thought it did; even if I disagree the DM has final say.

The player decided their PC would not wear metal armor when they chose the druid class.

There are exceptions to every rule. No druid is going to allow all the nature in the world to be destroyed if he could prevent it by donning metal plate mail.

 

[J.Quondam]

I would let them know when they decide to play a druid that I intend to follow the rules (and what my interpretation is). If they insist on wearing metal armor, they don't get invited back.

This has never been an issue in real life. While the DM is many things, he is also the one that has the final say on rules. Occasionally I've had to tell people that the rules don't work the way they want them to and we move on. It's no different than if I was a player and the DM told me something didn't work like I thought it did; even if I disagree the DM has final say.

The player decided their PC would not wear metal armor when they chose the druid class.

That's a fair answer. Preemptively avoiding the issue by talking it out beforehand is a great way to deal with it.
I'll still note that it doesn't really answer the question in any sort of satisfying, in-fiction way. "It's just against the rules!" is a very meta response.