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

[CleverNickName]

Steel and Bronze are both alloys, technically niether of these is a metal.

I mean...you do you, but the dictionary doesn't agree.

 

[Oofta]

So the more I think about it; the "rule" says specifically "metal". Steel and Bronze are both alloys, technically neither of these is a metal. So steel half plate and bronze half plate should be fine and relatively common..

I think Druids can comply with the letter of the law, and appease mother nature and others in their order by ensuring they select armor made of alloys off the rack instead of those made of pure iron or pure tin or any other pure metal element. I would imagine most armors fall into this category already.

I don't know where mithril or adamantine armor would fall in this as neither of these is actually on the periodic table IRL. If they are actual elements and are in the metal portion of the table then they would logically be banned, but if they are alloys like steel and not elements they would presumably be allowed.

No. Seriously. If you don't like the rule don't use it and don't try to weasel out of it based on a chemical purist's definition. Embrace ignoring the rule.

 

[ECMO3]

I mean...you do you, but the dictionary doesn't agree.

Well it depends which dictionary you are using, but technically there are four types of metals: alkli, alkaline earth metals, transition metals and rare earth metals (which can be subdivided further into lanthinides and actinides). This is defined by their location on the periodic table. Here is the chemical defiitions:

Metal: Metal is any of the elements with a positive electrical charge, typically with a shiny surface and a good conductor of heat.

Metsl: This is a chemical element made up of various opaque, fusible, ductile and lustrous substances, with some of the most commonly used metals being titanium, copper and nickel.

Here is an engineering webpage pointing out why steel is in fact not a metal (this site completely unrelated to Druids):

Complete Tools Kits | Custom Tool Kits | Tool Storage

Specialists in complete tool kits for the aviation, automotive, marine industry and more. Shop hand tools & custom tool storage solutions.

www.redboxengineering.com

Here is a list of all the metals. Druids will not wear armor made of any of these:

NUMBER	SYMBOL	ELEMENT
3	Li	Lithium
4	Be	Beryllium
11	Na	Sodium
12	Mg	Magnesium
13	Al	Aluminum
19	K	Potassium
20	Ca	Calcium
21	Sc	Scandium
22	Ti	Titanium
23	V	Vanadium
24	Cr	Chromium
25	Mn	Manganese
26	Fe	Iron
27	Co	Cobalt
28	Ni	Nickel
29	Cu	Copper
30	Zn	Zinc
31	Ga	Gallium
37	Rb	Rubidium
38	Sr	Strontium
39	Y	Yttrium
40	Zr	Zirconium
41	Nb	Niobium
42	Mo	Molybdenum
43	Tc	Technetium
44	Ru	Ruthenium
45	Rh	Rhodium
46	Pd	Palladium
47	Ag	Silver
48	Cd	Cadmium
49	In	Indium
50	Sn	Tin
55	Cs	Cesium
56	Ba	Barium
57	La	Lanthanum
58	Ce	Cerium
59	Pr	Praseodymium
60	Nd	Neodymium
61	Pm	Promethium
62	Sm	Samarium
63	Eu	Europium
64	Gd	Gadolinium
65	Tb	Terbium
66	Dy	Dysprosium
67	Ho	Holmium
68	Er	Erbium
69	Tm	Thulium
70	Yb	Ytterbium
71	Lu	Lutetium
72	Hf	Hafnium
73	Ta	Tantalum
74	W	Tungsten
75	Re	Rhenium
76	Os	Osmium
77	Ir	Iridium
78	Pt	Platinum
79	Au	Gold
80	Hg	Mercury
81	Tl	Thallium
82	Pb	Lead
83	Bi	Bismuth
84	Po	Polonium
87	Fr	Francium
88	Ra	Radium
89	Ac	Actinium
90	Th	Thorium
91	Pa	Protactinium
92	U	Uranium
93	Np	Neptunium
94	Pu	Plutonium
95	Am	Americium
96	Cm	Curium
97	Bk	Berkelium
98	Cf	Californium
99	Es	Einsteinium
100	Fm	Fermium
101	Md	Mendelevium
102	No	Nobelium
103	Lr	Lawrencium
104	Rf	Rutherfordium
105	Db	Dubnium
106	Sg	Seaborgium
107	Bh	Bohrium
108	Hs	Hassium
109	Mt	Meitnerium
110	Ds	Darmstadtium
111	Rg	Roentgenium
112	Cn	Copernicium
113	Nh	Nihonium
114	Fl	Flerovium
115	Mc	Moscovium
116	Lv	Livermorium

 

[Faolyn]

So the more I think about it; the "rule" says specifically "metal". Steel and Bronze are both alloys, technically neither of these is a metal. So steel half plate and bronze half plate should be fine and relatively common..

They're metal alloys.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

And here I though this thread couldn't get any stupider. Truly impressive!

 

[ECMO3]

No. Seriously. If you don't like the rule don't use it and don't try to weasel out of it based on a chemical purist's definition. Embrace ignoring the rule.

Or embrace the actual meaning of the rule.

Alloys are not technically metal. That is a fact. If you are going by what the PHB actually says Druids can wear steel armor (or Bronze or if they can find it armor made from T6060).

They can not wear Iron or Titanium or tin armor. If you are a rule purist, that is what the rule actually says.

 

[ECMO3]

They're metal alloys.

They are alloys made of metal and non-metal elements, but they are not metals themselves. Steel (any steel) is a combination of Iron (metal) and Carbon (non-metal) and potentially other elements (both metal and non-metal). Read the link above I provided.

Also leather likewise includes Chromium, Calcium and Sodium - all of these are metal elements and leather (any leather) is a compound that includes all of these metals (just like alloys include metal elements). To be clear I am talking about the leather itself here, not the buckles.

There is literally no armor on the entire table that a Druid can wear if the chemical composition of its protective components has to be completely devoid of any metal elements.

 

[J.Quondam]

I don't know about druids, but my next paladin is wearing liquid gallium armor!

 

[Maxperson]

Then I guess I'm objectively wrong? for enforcing the rules, that everyone agreed to follow?

Not what I said. You said the DM's job is to enforce stupid rules. That's against RAW. RAW says that the primary purpose of the game is to have fun. And it says that the rules are secondary as they serve the DM, not the other way around.

If you are enforcing a stupid rule, you are doing it at the expense of fun(or it wouldn't be a stupid rule) and that's an example of bad DMing, in addition to being against the rules.

This is a tempest in a teapot. can't or shouldn't be changed. We didn't like the rule at my table either, so I collaborated with the player and changed it. (shrug) We change rules all the time, for lots of reasons. What I'm trying to say is that there is a proper way to change the rules...and changing/ignoring them on the fly without consulting the other players first might not be it.

That's fine. On the fly works for a lot of groups, but not all.

 

[Maxperson]

The DM makes the final decision on whether or not the rules of the book are followed even if you personally do not like the rule. Sage advice clearly states that it is, indeed, a rule and if you feel strongly to talk to your DM. A DM can always change the rule.

Quote me the portion of sage advice that says explicitly that it's a rule. I can you multiple spots in the sage advice that says it's story.