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

[FrozenNorth]

But hey, if it is not about powergaming, then certainly you would be fine with you druid getting to wear a metal armour that has rules of hide armour? Good compromise?

It’s definitely a good compromise in that I’m pretty sure it will leave everyone unhappy…

 

[DnD Warlord]

What would you think if I just picked a random rule written in the book and started to argue it is not a rule? Wouldn't you think it is weird? "No Pact of the Blade is just fluff, not a rule and doesn't actually do anything!" Like, what?

This discussion is so long and frustrating because instead of simply discussing how the intent of the rule could be implemented better (and pretty much everyone agrees it could be better) it gets bogged down arguing about whether there is a rule in the first place.

Except there are plenty of people here (and enough asking to get a sage advice answer) that DONT read it as a rule but as a bit of flavor text.

if it was meant to be a rule I WILL say it was badly written, but I’m still not sold that it was ever meant to be a rule.

 

[FrozenNorth]

Honestly, I really feel that a druid would rather rip their own arms off than wear something unnatural like metal limbs. Now, if those prosthetic limbs were made of wood, or even bone or horn, yeah, sure they wear them.

Since as I recall, the prosthetic limbs are explicitly magical, I don’t think there is any need for them to have metal at all.

And yes, a druid could be borged or something thanks to Ravenloftian horrors (see: Ahmi Vanjuko from the second Ravenloft MC appendix), but that's something done to the druid, not the druid's choice. And no DM who is also a decent person worth playing with is going to force something like that on a PC in order to make them lose abilities.

Now I want to create a druid who became a Darklord because they wore a metal breastplate.

 

[DnD Warlord]

But that choice is in the past. No, according the rules druids cannot change their mind on this. This is why a lot of people don't like this rule; I get that, it is weird. But that still is the rule. Not a good rule, but still a rule..

Except no where does it say you (or your character) can not change your mind it doesn’t even say the character CAN’T wear the armor if they get prof from somewhere else…

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Except there are plenty of people here (and enough asking to get a sage advice answer) that DONT read it as a rule but as a bit of flavor text.

if it was meant to be a rule I WILL say it was badly written, but I’m still not sold that it was ever meant to be a rule.

Sure. While we are at it, let's say whole druid proficiency section is just fluff. Mechanically they don't get any armour, weapon or skill proficiencies. Wildshape, also fluff. Mechanically nothing happens.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

In the same way than the existence of the Flat Earth society show that there is no consensus on the shape of the Earth. There is not any sensible argument for it not being a rule. It is printed among other rules in several places in the rule book, giving clear and explicit instruction. We might just as easily claim that dwarven armour training is just fluff and mountain dwarves do not actually gain mechanical armour proficiencies.

There HAS to be a better way to say this without using a loaded simile.

Howabout…”It’s in the RAW.” for starters. Or just not leading in with the Flat Earther comparison?

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Except no where does it say you (or your character) can not change your mind it doesn’t even say the character CAN’T wear the armor if they get prof from somewhere else…

"Druids will not wear armour or use shields made of metal." If your druid wears armour made of metal armour, was this rule followed?

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Since as I recall, the prosthetic limbs are explicitly magical, I don’t think there is any need for them to have metal at all.

Druid with an artificial limb made of animated tree branch sounds pretty cool. Like having one treant arm.

 

[DnD Warlord]

"Druids will not wear armour or use shields made of metal." If your druid wears armour made of metal armour, was this rule followed?

If you read it as a rule (I and many others do not) then it breaks the rule. If you read it as flavor text no rule was broken. If you read it as an in game rule/taboo then in game your character broke the rule/taboo but you the player did not.

It is either an oddly placed bit of flavor text or an oddly worded rule but anyway you look at it, the text is not clear

 

[Crimson Longinus]

If you read it as a rule (I and many others do not) then it breaks the rule. If you read it as flavor text no rule was broken. If you read it as an in game rule/taboo then in game your character broke the rule/taboo but you the player did not.

It is either an oddly placed bit of flavor text or an oddly worded rule but anyway you look at it, the text is not clear

It is perfectly clear if you dispense with the completely unfounded notion that a piece of text giving explicit instruction in the middle of other rules somehow might not be a rule.