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

[ad_hoc]

No you can't say "the exact same thing" because a Wizard can actually get plate through another class or a race and a feat or multiple feats. RAW a Druid can't at all.

A Shield Dwarf Wizard can wear half-plate on day 1. A shield Dwarf Druid never can wear half plate even though he has proficiency from both his race and his class.

Class __ should get __ buff because it would be stronger and the player wants it.

The point is that it is just not a statement that can be discussed. People wanting the Druid to wear metal armour because it is stronger is a non-starter.

Players can want all sorts of things, it doesn't mean they should happen.

We just started a new game and the Moon Druid player talked to me about how they felt they were too constrained on their prepared spells per day and wanted a way to change them up more often. I said if that is a concern play a Land Druid. It's not good for the game to just have all the things.

 

[carkl3000]

No one needs a certain amount of armor to play the game, especially not any of the spell casting classes. With a little less armor, you get hit a few more times. It's not a big deal, and the idea that it absolutely is is a toxic attitude in a very "competitive DnD" way. If the player doesn't want to ask, the conversion instead goes like this: "Oh, Druids can't use metal armor, just so you know" "why" "It doesn't fit the game" "OK".

I was just going to bite my tongue, but it's funny that I read your post here:

All that crap is incredibly obnoxious if your intent is to wield it against your DM as a weapon. I care about this slightly more since I'm online debating, but I'd never let my players know that in an argument. The lines in the book are helpful to me only so far as they don't create the assumption in new players that Druids should have a certain AC, but if someone asked me about it, the extent of my response would be "nah bro, you're a druid, you're all about nature and stuff so you ain't about that". And since i don't play with people that play against me, that'd be the end of it.

...and the first thing I thought was that I'm glad I don't have to play with a DM as toxic as this guy... but whatevs...

 

[Chaosmancer]

The Fighter is proficient with "ALL" armor. An Eldritch Knight can spellcast in "ALL" armor.

The situation is different from the Druid.

The Druid lacks proficiency in metal armor therefore cannot spellcast in it.

But you say that they lack proficiency because they have never worn it.

So a fighter lacks proficiency in Dragonscale armor unless they have worn it, you specifically said "Never wearing it means never becoming proficient with it."

So, your position would be that fighters have worn every single type of armor, made out of every single material in existence, by 1st level. Or, you are applying a special standard to druids to try and justify you preference, with no internal consistency.

 

[ECMO3]

Bladesingers can have high AC a few times a day, at most, and the rest of the time are still a wizard that can't use a shield. They still don't have any more HP than any other wizard, and have to split their spell prep and spells learned between melee and ranged spells.

In a melee combat fight, the Mood Druid is going to eat the Bladesinger.

To clarify a bladesinger has better AC than a Druid in every fight and can have the highest AC in the game multiple times a day (to be specific twice at levels 2-4, 3 times at levels 5-10, 4 times at 9-12, 5 at 13-16, 6 at 17-20). Further they can give their opponent disadvantage for most fights with a second level spell (or a first level spell if fighting a fey, fiend, celestial or undead) meaning not only do you have to roll high to hit, you have to roll high with disadvantage.

Even out of bladesong and with no magic items a 4th level bladesinger can push AC to 22 using point buy (13+4dex+5shield spell). Go in bladesong and it is 25, and you are rolling against that 22/25 with disadvantage most of the time. With their unique extra attack feature, a bladesinger after level 6 will do a lot of damage also outrunning most classes in the game in terms of melee damage with one-handed weapons. A few heavy weapon builds will outdamage bladesingers and high-level fighters with 3+ attacks will as well but not with a comparable AC.

At any level a Bladesinger is more than a match for a Druid in melee and after level 6 a bladesinger would more often than not beat 2 Druids simultaneously.

 

[Northern Phoenix]

So, the issue is entirely your own taste, and the fact that it has a mechanical impact giving you a reason to enforce your own taste on your players.

It's opposite really; the fact that it has mechanical impact is the reason people seem to care so much about what would otherwise just be a flavor thing. Now, i could be wrong, i admit, but i am guessing that there are far less people willing to fight over their character looking like they are wearing metal than there are people willing to fight over that precious +2 AC.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I don't see it. Is there a reason that False Life stacks with other THP when other sources generally don't? (The other problem being that False Life isn't a druid spell?)

False life doesn’t stack, your THP total would become the amount given by False Life.

And it was suggested as part of the point that Druids can take feats too, and gain useful spells. Magic Initiate or Shadowtouched would get you False Life, with MI also getting you Mage Armor, but ST getting you +1 wisdom.

 

[Yaarel]

But you say that they lack proficiency because they have never worn it.

So a fighter lacks proficiency in Dragonscale armor unless they have worn it, you specifically said "Never wearing it means never becoming proficient with it."

So, your position would be that fighters have worn every single type of armor, made out of every single material in existence, by 1st level. Or, you are applying a special standard to druids to try and justify you preference, with no internal consistency.

The concept of the Fighter class is they become proficient with many different kinds of weapons, so as to adapt to any kind of weapon at hand. Similarly armors. Obviously, materials dont matter for the Fighter proficiencies. Whether the Fighter wears armor made out of wood or dense fur or dragon scales, is irrelevant to proficiency.

But, for the Druid, the material does matter. The Druid doesnt use metal armor. Exactly why the Druid wont is unexplained, and actually, is conflictive with the other themes and features of the Druid class that do use metal.

There is no special "standard" for the Druid, because the no-metal rule seems to contradict the rest of the features and themes of the Druid class.

There is only a special "rule" for the Druid: no metal. Why not? I dont think the designers thought carefully about why not in 5e.

Why yes to metal weapons and metal magic, but no to metal armor?

The prohibition is a less sensible rule. It seems to be interfering with the character concepts of players. For me, this disruptiveness is a significant problem. As a DM, it interferes with other settings. Altho a player at the time, I mentioned a situation where the Druid was permanently in the Underdark regional setting, where the earth magic − including metal − became a prevailing Druid theme. The no-metal armor became increasingly nonsensical while advancing many levels underground.

 

[TiwazTyrsfist]

My Adventurer's League Druid is wearing magic full plate, because I got a certed magic item (back when they still did certs) that specified it was actually made from slabs of petrified mushroom.

In a game with magic, existing rules (at least from previous editions if not already brought into 5e) for Woods as hard as metal, Cured Leaf armor that approximates leather or chain, the Iron Wood spell that would allow you to actually smith wood and create any sort of "metal weapon and armor" out of wood and have it function exactly as if made of steal, and specific magic items like Full Plate made from Mushrooms, I consider the Druid Metal Armor restriction to be increadibly minor or just outright fluff.

 

[Chaosmancer]

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.

The look and feel of druids that I prefer. That's a big difference.

Imagine a bunch of people are creating characters. And lets say this armour restriction doesn't exist. What are the chances that a druid player chooses their character to have a metal armour and what are the chances that they want to have an iron staff? Because it they understand the rules, they will get the metal armour. It simply is better. Or if they feel it doesn't suit the themes of their character and are super committed to that, they might intentionally nerf their own character for looks, but this is unlikely. They would have absolutely zero incentive to ask for an iron staff.

So, the theme only matters if enforcing it has a mechanical penalty. Because even if you tried to enforce that a druid can't use a metal staff, there is no rules for this. You say they wouldn't because there is no reason, but they could come up with a reason that they want a metal staff, and it in no way is a rules question.

You seem to think that just because there is no mechanical incentive that no one would ever do it, but that doesn't have to be true. They could have many reasons to do so. Maybe they are a dwarven star druid who made their armor and weapons out of metoeric iron, because they think that sounds cool. Why would you feel the need to step in and say "I'm sorry, that doesn't match the themes of a star druid or a dwarf to use iron from the stars to make your gear. I have to veto this to maintain the themes of the class."?

The themes and looks of archetypes should matter, and the rules should not incentivise choices that are contrary to those themes.

Themes matter huh? So, question. Do you think that Druids should hate the undead because they are unnatural?

 

[Chaosmancer]

Depends on the deity and the setting.

So, every single druid in every single setting in every single world in the DnD multiverse, no matter their race, creed, or anything else, has the exact same religious belief regarding metal armor and shields....

And no other class has these sort of restrictions. In fact, the class that is literally meant to be a religious figure, has no restricitions on what their beliefs can be. Seems like being open to people making up their own beliefs is considered fine in every way.... except for druids. We need to specifically spell out their one partial religious belief, even if it makes no sense.