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

[Maxperson]

What is this I don't even...

I just pick 2d12, roll them and add that to my attack roll. What you gonna do, mate?

Point out that you CAN'T do that per the rules. Your attempt is cheating. Unlike the Druid putting on metal armor. Druid's are not prevented by anything in the PHB from putting on the metal armor, so no rule was broken and no cheating done.

Your example is a False Equivalence. You're trying to equate cheating by breaking an actual rule with opting to break a piece of optional fluff.

 

[Oofta]

That's the DM's choice. Some people would in fact go do that. And eat babies. And all the other hyperbolic and failed attempts at examples of why the druid "rule" is a rule. Those are all indeed choices than you can choose to do and nothing is really stopping you.

Druids will not wear armor or use shields made of metal is a clear and concise rule.

The DM is always free to house rule or come up with alternative materials.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Point out that you CAN'T do that per the rules. Your attempt is cheating. Unlike the Druid putting on metal armor. Druid's are not prevented by anything in the PHB from putting on the metal armor, so no rule was broken and no cheating done.

Your example is a False Equivalence. You're trying to equate cheating by breaking an actual rule with opting to break a piece of optional fluff.

"druids will not wear armor or use shields made of metal"​

Can you read?

 

[Chaosmancer]

Yes, this is an explanation why they won't wear metal armour, it in no way or form make that 'won't' into 'will.'


It is a choice. You made that choice when you decided to become a druid. Druids won't wear metal armour. That is the rule. The Sage Advice also explicitly tells that allowing to ignore this limitation is for the GM to decide, not something the player can unilaterally do.

The explanation is that they choose not to. My character chooses to do so. Unless you are saying that my character is incapable of choice, then that would be the end of it. Druids also can't cast magic missile, and yet there are a good dozen ways I can have my druid do so via other rules. There is no such nuance in this "rule" simply a refusal of my character making a choice.

Yes, Sage advice wants the player to talk to the GM, but considering we have posters who are saying "players who don't follow this rule will be removed from my table" and others who will do everything to prevent a player from doing this, all because of their personal aesthetics, then I think we have an issue. Becuase this is not the case for any other class in the game. No where in the game is the player's choice removed like this.

That is an option that exists currently in the rules without the GM homebrewing anything. And I don't think it is particularly unreasonable. Low level magic items tend not to be that hard to get.

That is very campaign dependent. Magic items are also completely optional.

No.

So, the druid has a harder time getting armor than anyone else in the game, because you feel that they shouldn't wear metal, because you can't accept that metal is as natural as chemically treated beholder hide.

 

[Swarmkeeper]

Clearly it does, because the actual rule on page 65 says something different.

No. All the rules are real. The druid metal armor thing just isn't a rule. It's a fluff option as stated by the language in the PHB and Sage Advice. It's just a strong fluff piece and one which the DM might decide to house rule in consequences for breaking(also per the Sage Advice).

You mean this Sage Advice?
Don't you think it somewhat conflicts with your interpretation (especially the bolded part)?

Druid
What happens if a druid wears metal armor? The druid explodes.
Well, not actually. Druids have a taboo against wearing metal armor and wielding a metal shield. The taboo has been part of the class’s story since the class first appeared in Eldritch Wizardry (1976) and the original Player’s Handbook (1978). The idea is that druids prefer to be protected by animal skins, wood, and other natural materials that aren’t the worked metal that is associated with civilization. Druids don’t lack the ability to wear metal armor. They choose not to wear it. This choice is part of their identity as a mystical order. Think of it in these terms: a vegetarian can eat meat, but chooses not to.
A druid typically wears leather, studded leather, or hide armor, and if a druid comes across scale mail made of a material other than metal, the druid might wear it. If you feel strongly about your druid breaking the taboo and donning metal, talk to your DM. Each class has story elements mixed with its game features; the two types of design go hand in hand in D&D, and the story parts are stronger in some classes than in others. Druids and paladins have an especially strong dose of story in their design. If you want to depart from your class’s story, your DM has the final say on how far you can go and still be considered a member of the class. As long as you abide by your character’s proficiencies, you’re not going to break anything in the game system, but you might undermine the story and the world being created in your campaign

 

[mrpopstar]

"Druids will not wear armor or use shields made of metal" is a rule.
"Unless you say otherwise" is also a rule.

 

[Maxperson]

Druids will not wear armor or use shields made of metal is a clear and concise rule.

The DM is always free to house rule or come up with alternative materials.

You keep repeating that, but the language in the PHB fails to back you up. No matter how often you repeat it, "will not" will never become "cannot." The former is a choice and the latter is not.

 

[Maxperson]

"druids will not wear armor or use shields made of metal"​

Can you read?

I can read the optional fluff just fine.

 

[Oofta]

You keep repeating that, but the language in the PHB fails to back you up. No matter how often you repeat it, "will not" will never become "cannot." The former is a choice and the latter is not.

This is going nowhere. My answer is the same. Druids will not wear metal armor. No matter how much you repeat your assertion the rule stays the same unless the DM decides to make a house rule.

 

[Maxperson]

You mean this Sage Advice?
Don't you think it somewhat conflicts with your interpretation (especially the bolded part)?

Druid
What happens if a druid wears metal armor? The druid explodes.
Well, not actually. Druids have a taboo against wearing metal armor and wielding a metal shield. The taboo has been part of the class’s story since the class first appeared in Eldritch Wizardry (1976) and the original Player’s Handbook (1978). The idea is that druids prefer to be protected by animal skins, wood, and other natural materials that aren’t the worked metal that is associated with civilization. Druids don’t lack the ability to wear metal armor. They choose not to wear it. This choice is part of their identity as a mystical order. Think of it in these terms: a vegetarian can eat meat, but chooses not to.
A druid typically wears leather, studded leather, or hide armor, and if a druid comes across scale mail made of a material other than metal, the druid might wear it. If you feel strongly about your druid breaking the taboo and donning metal, talk to your DM. Each class has story elements mixed with its game features; the two types of design go hand in hand in D&D, and the story parts are stronger in some classes than in others. Druids and paladins have an especially strong dose of story in their design. If you want to depart from your class’s story, your DM has the final say on how far you can go and still be considered a member of the class. As long as you abide by your character’s proficiencies, you’re not going to break anything in the game system, but you might undermine the story and the world being created in your campaign

Sure. The DM might want to enact house rules on the matter. The key word in that bolded portion is taboo. A taboo is a choice, not something that in any way prevents you from doing it. People break taboos in real life all the time. They don't explode or cease to be whatever they are.