D&D 5E Druid Armor Restrictions

[abirdcall]

It's all cosmetics..."window dressing," like you said.

Oh then we are on the same page.

I suppose it is a preference thing.

If I made a choice like that for my character I wouldn't want it to just be cosmetic.

 

[Oofta]

Maybe it makes me a grinch, but I don't allow druids to wear metal armor. The rules are quite clear: druids will not wear armor or use shields made of metal. I don't think we need any more explanation of it ... after all why can't barbarians add their con modifier to AC when wearing plate armor? Are other barbarians going to call him a wuss? Does his con no longer matter? For that matter, people that wear heavy armor for cos-play claim that it doesn't really hinder movement all that much, so why not add dex mod when wearing plate?

In any case, wooden shields? Sure. But turtle armor just isn't happening in my world - I like a little more realism. Well, realism assuming magic, dragons and things that go bump in the night. It hardly seems like a huge burden to bear, most druids I've played with only get into melee when they're in wildshape anyway.

Other than a handful of tweaks here and there, I run the game more-or-less by the rules. I just don't see a need to ignore this one.

 

[abirdcall]

But turtle armor just isn't happening in my world

They do make good druids.

 

[Azzy]

I had planned for a druid character in 2e to commision a suit of plate armor made from glass with each of the plates affected by the glassteel spell. Never got around to playing high enough level, though.

 

[Oofta]

View attachment 104439

They do make good druids.

In my campaign world, tortles are magically transformed turtles that eschew all but the simplest of weapons. So quarterstaves, throwing knives, perhaps a sling or a short sword. To compensate, they do get the ability to channel mystic energy and most are quite good with a their preferred melee combat style. This has been quite a recent development, so any PC will be quite young.

So, of course, all of them are teenage mutant ninja tortles.

 

[Xeviat]

Maybe it makes me a grinch, but I don't allow druids to wear metal armor. The rules are quite clear: druids will not wear armor or use shields made of metal. I don't think we need any more explanation of it ... after all why can't barbarians add their con modifier to AC when wearing plate armor? Are other barbarians going to call him a wuss? Does his con no longer matter? For that matter, people that wear heavy armor for cos-play claim that it doesn't really hinder movement all that much, so why not add dex mod when wearing plate?

In any case, wooden shields? Sure. But turtle armor just isn't happening in my world - I like a little more realism. Well, realism assuming magic, dragons and things that go bump in the night. It hardly seems like a huge burden to bear, most druids I've played with only get into melee when they're in wildshape anyway.

Other than a handful of tweaks here and there, I run the game more-or-less by the rules. I just don't see a need to ignore this one.

You know, the things you point out have easily interpreted game balance reasons the restrictions exist. Part of my question was "is there game balance reasons for druids to have lower AC than Clerics, a class with whom they largely share a role with. Not the heavy armor clerics, but the medium armor clerics.

 

[abirdcall]

You know, the things you point out have easily interpreted game balance reasons the restrictions exist. Part of my question was "is there game balance reasons for druids to have lower AC than Clerics, a class with whom they largely share a role with. Not the heavy armor clerics, but the medium armor clerics.

Nature Cleric is a thing if that is what you want.

 

[Xeviat]

Nature Cleric is a thing if that is what you want.

Is there a game balance reason that the Nature Cleric should have higher AC than the Druid?

 

[abirdcall]

Is there a game balance reason that the Nature Cleric should have higher AC than the Druid?

Well now we're getting into power comparisons which are both very complicated and cannot be resolved as it is not a competitive game (so no one can prove they are right).

The question of whether one class should have higher AC than another can be asked of every class in the game.

To answer your question:

I don't think the Druid is under powered. I don't think it needs an AC boost.

Also, magic items are a thing. They aren't assumed but the game is also built to handle them. If the Druid were to get a magic AC item that increased their AC the game wouldn't break. This applies to other classes as well. Just call it what it is. Both Adamantine and Mithral armour are, for all intents and purposes, magical. There is even Dragon Scale Mail! (which is medium...)

 

[Li Shenron]

Not convinced by the "balance" topic... so here's my provocative question:

Is there a balance reason why Druids should have limited AC even when multiclassing or taking feats?

Think about it: even Wizards and Sorcerers can wear heavy armor eventually (technically they can even wear it on day 1, if they accept the penalties) by taking feats or a level in another class, or just by being of an appropriate race.

And by the way, has anyone thought of the fact that a Fighter or Paladin will have a huge penalty if she ever takes a level of Druid?