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

[Chaosmancer]

I expect players to follow the rules of the game unless they clear it with the DM first. It doesn't matter if I'm DM or a player in someone else's game.

I feel sorry for any DM if a player feels otherwise. It's an uncomfortable situation not only for the DM, but in the few times I experienced it (I was not the DM), for the other players as well.

And a flavor choice based on an older edition of the game shouldn't be a rule.

 

[Vaalingrade]

As written, the Druid armor proficiency "will not" include armor made out of metal. (Including studded leather.)

That's not what it says. It says they will not wear it, not that they aren't proficient.

I 'will not' watch horror movies; doesn't mean I physically can't.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Not backing away at all.

I am making separate points.

Mechanics: The way the Druid proficiencies are as-is, is the Druid is nonproficient with metal armor.

Flavor: The prohibition against metal armor makes no sense, thematically.

Design: Should the Druid class be designed to avoid metal armor in the first place? Probably not. If the Druid is to avoid metal shields, at least avoid metal weapons, too, or explain why there is a difference. Meanwhile, there probably is no good reason. At best, the thematic dissonance seems a case of a vestigial continuation of a tradition that no longer makes sense in the current fifth edition. But this prohibition against metal armor didnt make sense in the 1e campaign that I played a Druid in either.

No, I meant your theory that they were non-proficient in metal armor because they have never worn it before. Which would logically mean that a fighter isn't proficient in Dragon Scale armor, because they have never worn it before.

I think we are at least in agreement on the flavor and thematics making no sense

 

[carkl3000]

The response to "It doesn't make sense that druids will use metal for other things but not armor" is that religious taboos don't have to make logical sense. It is, in fact, more realistic if they don't. (I'd give examples from real religions here, but that would be indelicate.)

...except that my druid isn't very religious. He's a philosophical druid, but not a pious one.

 

[Yaarel]

... but it doesn't... you're misreading the text. It wouldn't bother me if this was the text, but claiming that it is is just wrong...

Heh.

Of course, I think you guys are misreading the text. Not only that, the misreading results in extremely undesirable interpretations, like simply ignoring the no-metal armor proficiency rule, or oppositely, like making the rule impossible to modify in the context of any other rules.

Not only are your guys interpretations of text wrong, the results of your guys interpretations are HORRIBLE for the D&D game!

 

[Undrave]

I wouldn't want Druids to do any of that either personally, but since those do not have special mechanical impact, there's less to argue about.

There is no mechanical impact to wearing metal armor.

No. My issue is that wearing metal armour wouldn't fit the look and feel of the druids. Metal armour being beneficial is an incentive to wear it.

So if your issue is that metal armor looks wrong a Druid, and not that the Druid has +3 AC, then just let them get armor of exotic material and don't punish them with bad AC for your aesthetic preferences.

Imaginea party that just came out of a tough dungeon and are flush with gold. They all want to upgrade their armor bcause they kept getting hit by kobolds with arrows. The Cleric, the Fighter, the Rogue, they go into a shop, plop down some GP and BOOM! AC increase!

The Druid has to jump through hoops for the same bonus for purely aesthetic reasons or is just straight up denied the upgrade. It doesn't actually matter what the armor looks like, mechanically speaking, it's jsut an AC bonus. A Druid shouldn't be denied the full use of their proficiency just because the name of the armor doesn't match what you prefer.

 

[carkl3000]

As written, the Druid armor proficiency "will not" include armor made out of metal. (Including studded leather.)

I like your consistency and persistance, but you keep making up meanings around the fringes and acting as though that's what the text says. You really are just making stuff up. It's not stuff that I necessarily disagree with, but it's made up...

 

[Faolyn]

Heh, you keep ignoring that the Druid (and the only the Druid) makes a special exception about the material of the armor, with regard to armor proficiency.

They don't have a special exception in their proficiency.

Their proficiency literally says that they have proficiency in Light and Medium armor, but they won't wear armor that is made of metal. Not that they aren't proficient in it. Not that they suffer penalties if they wear it. But that won't wear it. The tweets on this subject literally said they can wear it, they just choose not to. It's taboo for them to wear it.

Nowhere does it say that choosing to not use something you're proficient in means you don't have the proficiency in it.

And you didn't answer my question about what happens if you start out with Medium or Heavy armor proficiency, through either class or race, and then become a druid. Because your claim is that because druids choose not to wear the armor, then they're not proficient in it. So what happens if you had been wearing it before you become a druid?

 

[Yaarel]

To the clarify

No, I meant your theory that they were non-proficient in metal armor because they have never worn it before. Which would logically mean that a fighter isn't proficient in Dragon Scale armor, because they have never worn it before.

I think we are at least in agreement on the flavor and thematics making no sense

It is a bad rule without any explanation whatsoever.

The bad rule is:

The Druid armor proficiency "will not" include metal armor.

In other words, the Druid is nonproficient with metal armor.

Why?

Who know?

It is a dumb rule.

But that is the rule.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Not only are your guys interpretations of text wrong, the results of your guys interpretations are HORRIBLE for the D&D game!

I mean, acknowledging that little snippet at all is horrible for the D&D game, but your interpretation plays super fast and loose with language. If they weren't proficient, it would say they were not proficient with metal medium armor, not that they won't wear it.