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

[Crimson Longinus]

That's exactly what I do, in fact I have a Druid PC right now in one of my games who has chosen to wear a chain shirt, and as per the RAW he does so without penalty (also as clarified by Sage Advice, although we all know that we take from Sage Advice only what we like, so that doesn't mean much).

If a druid wears metal armour then it is clear that a rule 'druids will not wear metal armour' is not being followed.

 

[Li Shenron]

If a druid wears metal armour then it is clear that a rule 'druids will not wear metal armour' is not being followed.

It is being followed as intended.

 

[Remathilis]

Unlike the druid, monk has View attachment 141591

In a game where multiclassing and feats are a thing, as are races that grant armor proficiency, I will ask again; why do my hands fall off when I equip leather armor as a monk?

I mean, a hobgoblin monk is doing 1d4+dex damage and has an AC of 10 +dex and wis, finds a suit of leather and puts it on, and suddenly he does 1+str mod and has an AC of 11 + dex? Care to explain (and cite page numbers) why that makes sense?

 

[tetrasodium]

That came from the story. The armor in question was a suit of "Mariner's Armor" in the form of a breastplate, so I did a little improv to describe it as feeling uncomfortable for the druid. I decided to keep the nautical theme, so I went with having it feel like a dead fish.

I needed an in-story way to remind the player that his character wouldn't wear the armor, and that was what I came up with. (I'm kinda proud of it, actually...improv is hard.) Then I called a break so that the player and I could discuss it, because that's what I do when there's a misunderstanding of the rules.

I know you would have done it differently, and I can tell that you want to paint me as some kind of jerk or iron-fisted DM for enforcing the rules as written. That's your prerogative. But I can't stress this enough: this was not a big deal.

huh... I don't see any of that in mariner's armor either... It's sounding a lot like there is no rule that supports the "touching the metal armor made the druid feel uncomfortable, as if she was holding the slick carcass of a rotting fish." & "it made her skin crawl, as if she were wearing something lifeless ungraved from the earth." other than the gm fiat the druid player was twice threatened with

 

[carkl3000]

Because armor proficiency in 5e is done by weight group, not individual armor. So they have a kinda kludgey workaround so that they have access to some, but not all, light and medium armor.

... but they do pick out specific weapons that druids are proficient with. hmmm....

 

[Crimson Longinus]

huh... I don't see any of that in mariner's armor either... It's sounding a lot like there is no rule that supports the "touching the metal armor made the druid feel uncomfortable, as if she was holding the slick carcass of a rotting fish." & "it made her skin crawl, as if she were wearing something lifeless ungraved from the earth." other than the gm fiat the druid player was twice threatened with

It is description in the fiction the GM made up to go with the rule 'druids will not wear armour'. Do you think the GM should not describe the result of rules in the fiction, should they just communicate in rule terms? What's your actual problem here?

 

[Chaosmancer]

I didn't read the whole thread; I only read the OP and decided to comment. With six pages of comments in 24 hours, I suspect this might have already been covered, and if so, I apologize for the repetition. But anyway.

It's a complicated answer to a simple question, but here's the short of it:

• Druids in my campaign cannot wear armor made of metal.
• Armor can be made of materials other than metal, though.
• Therefore, armor that is made of non-metal materials is just fine for druids to wear.

So in my campaign, druids cannot wear Half Plate, because it's made of 'shaped metal plates' according to the PHB. But they could wear a suit of Medium armor made from, I dunno, 'shaped plates' of chitin that were harvested from the shell of a chuul. That armor would have a base AC of 15+Dex, weigh 40 pounds, and impose Disadvantage on Stealth checks. We just won't call it Half Plate.

So if that druid is willing to put in the work (hunt down a chuul or two, harvest enough chitin, carry it back to town, and hire someone to craft it into a suit of armor), that druid can be the envy of her entire enclave. It's a pretty good hook for an adventure, to boot.

I don't know if it's the right way to do it, and I wasn't in the room when the game designers were talking about stuff like "bounded accuracy" and "rules as intended" or whatever. But my players love it, and the game didn't explode when our druid crafted a breastplate out of the shell of a giant beetle.

I hear this a lot, and I always find this a difficult question to grapple with.

Why is druid armor an adventure quest and cleric or fighter armor just hanging in a shop?

If I am a cleric and I want to get half-plate emblazoned with the holy symbol of my god.... I go to a blacksmith, buy the armor and ask them to add the details I want.

If I am a druid who wants half-plate, I need to hunt down large enough animals with high enough AC, fight and kill them, hopefully gather the materials (some of which was damaged in the fighting) then shape them myself (or hope that there is someone who can) and then I can wear the armor.


Does that make for an interesting adventure? Sure, it can.... but what if I don't want that adventure? What if, as a druid, I don't want to make my armor an adventure hook? As the player, why can't I just say "you know, I'd rather just buy some better armor and focus on other adventure hooks"?

And if I'm just buying it anyways... why can't it just be metal armor? Or if they sell multiple types of armor, why not make this a thing for all players. Have the Paladin and the fighter also go out adventuring to gather the materials to make their armors, monster hunter style.

 

[Remathilis]

... but they do pick out specific weapons that druids are proficient with. hmmm....

Correct. Weapons are not armor. Next we'll discuss how being proficinct in weapons adds you proficiency bonus to hit but proficiency in armor doesn't add your proficiency bonus to your AC.

 

[Chaosmancer]

No and I think its more fun not to - there are real world examples of laminar plate armour made of reinfirced bands of leather, baleen, bone, silk and woven fibre, In a world of magic theres no reason why a druid cant wear these kinds of armour or come up with their own variations of barkskin, stone plate, giant spider silk, crystal mail or dragon scale.

It can be, but why is it a requirement?

 

[ad_hoc]

In a game where multiclassing and feats are a thing, as are races that grant armor proficiency, I will ask again; why do my hands fall off when I equip leather armor as a monk?

I mean, a hobgoblin monk is doing 1d4+dex damage and has an AC of 10 +dex and wis, finds a suit of leather and puts it on, and suddenly he does 1+str mod and has an AC of 11 + dex? Care to explain (and cite page numbers) why that makes sense?

This is a good example.

It makes sense because the rules aren't a reality simulator. They're there to create and enforce narrative tropes from popular fiction.