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

[Maxperson]

But after ... woah, 2200 posts now, has anyone changed their minds?

I'm beginning to want druids to just explode. Never mind the metal armor. Just blow em all up.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I'm beginning to want druids to just explode. Never mind the metal armor. Just blow em all up.

Naw. That's the BARD rule.

Druids might suck, but Bards blow.

 

[Maxperson]

Also, in this thread: wanting your character to be harder to hit and thus more likely to survive is being a power gamer...

As I've pointed out, though. 19=19 so it doesn't even make the druid class harder to hit.

 

[Undrave]

Naw. That's the BARD rule.

Druids might suck, but Bards blow.

"You can't play the flute by sucking! Well... not THAT kinda flute anyway." -Bard

 

[Maxperson]

"You can't play the flute by sucking! Well... not THAT kinda flute anyway." -Bard

Champagne flute? Every Bard I've known has been a drunkard.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Champagne flute? Every Bard I've known has been a drunkard.

Hey- don't give drunkards a bad name by sullying them with an association to Bards.

I have known those who abstain from strong drink; sometimes totally, and sometimes tolerably totally.

 

[tetrasodium]

The equipment has a tag and there is a restriction on a class based on that tag. What you're trying to do would be like playing a halfling, who have restriction on heavy weapons, and just deciding that you can get a greatsword without the heavy tag but otherwise identical. You seem to think that the writers just put in rules that do nothing. I don't. And my reading is backed by Crawford correctly identifying the armours druids are expected to wear under the rules; no half-plate included.

No it does not, 5e does not have equipment tags in the name of simplicity. 4e's armor & weapon properties or 3.5e's material types & enchantment types could be a tag, but 5e did away with all of those things in the name of simplicity. What you may have meant to say is that your houserule adds equipment tags but that is both a houserule outside RAW as well as an entirely undefined houserule, do you share the houserule itself with your players or jut let them discover it?

 

[Crimson Longinus]

No it does not, 5e does not have equipment tags in the name of simplicity. 4e's armor & weapon properties or 3.5e's material types & enchantment types could be a tag, but 5e did away with all of those things in the name of simplicity. What you may have meant to say is that your houserule adds equipment tags but that is both a houserule outside RAW as well as an entirely undefined houserule, do you share the houserule itself with your players or jut let them discover it?

That the information is in the item description doesn't stop it being tag for rules purposes. It is a thing other rules interact with. And this is perfectly clear to most people; they're not confused about what armours druids are allowed to wear or on which armours heat metal works on. Because the rules clearly tell you that.

 

[Undrave]

That the information is in the item description doesn't stop it being tag for rules purposes. It is a thing other rules interact with. And this is perfectly clear to most people; they're not confused about what armours druids are allowed to wear or on which armours heat metal works on. Because the rules clearly tell you that.

People know because people make assumption based on their own knowledge, NOT because the rules 'clearly tell you'. They tell you something alright and it's easy to understand what it means but I wouldn't consider it 'rule text' in a proper sense. Descriptions aren't tags!

Heat Metal is more of a case by case basis "Is X wearing metal armor?" "Yes/No" and not "Is X wearing Half-Plate?"

 

[Chaosmancer]

From what I can tell, 4e does allow for it but they don't start with anything over cloth, leather, or hide. If they pick it up with a feat though, there doesn't seem to be any penalty. Instead, they have a bonus if they don't wear heavy armour, something that they should have done with 5e. Limit druid powers, like wildshape, or provide a bonus for not wearing metal armour. If they'd led with something like that, there wouldn't be a single thread asking about druid armour.

Honestly, I'm really jazzed with the idea of offering bonuses. The spirits of the plants and animals rallying to defend you and improving the leather and hides to make it something more? That is an amazing concept.

I also feel like providing a bonus is more effective than a penalty, but that is just some psychology talking,