D&D 5E What armor can druids wear? Is there a way to get a decent AC?

[schnee]

It's a balance rule.

The flavor to justify it isn't written to pass the Bar Exam, it's made to be plausible when you overhear it at a poker game because you're focused on your hand and not analyzing stuff to death.

oh, yeah

THE WHOLE GAME IS LIKE THAT.

"Oh, really? They just choose not to wear it?"
*rolls dice*
"Sure, cool. 12 points of damage."

Just... roll with it.

 

[epithet]

I agree with [MENTION=6787650]Hemlock[/MENTION]'s post above, it makes no sense at all for a druid to be cool with metal weapons but against metal armor.

I think the real opposition should be iron and steel, like it was back in AD&D (unless I'm misremembering it.) Gold, silver, and even bronze would be just fine.

 

[CapnZapp]

Barkskin is extremely poorly written.

Not because there's anything wrong with "you gain AC 16"

But because of the total disconnect between description and mechanics.

Either change the mechanics (so cover etc work normally) or change description to something like "lazy fey spirits protect you, but they only work as hard as they have to in order to grant you AC 16."

The thing is that a "static" AC 16 is really VARIABLE if we're going to explain why shield and cover bonuses don't help. And so the description needs to explain this.

Sent from my C6603 using EN World mobile app

 

[schnee]

Nah, shedding yourself in steel completely removes you from feeling like you belong in the natural world. It's a completely industrial thing. You're a tank.

Hide armor? Pretty damn close. It has some flexibility. It 'breathes' like having fur when it comes to ventilation and temperature. You move and sound like a natural animal that way.

Now, tools? We're tool using creatures, always have been. The steel being on the blade isn't *on* you, it isn't pressing down on your flesh, restricting your body, it's in your hand, it's our version of a claw. No issue there.

This is subjective, but having done a lot of hiking, and also wearing some armor in SCA, I can *totally* agree with the limitation. It doesn't have to be a mechanically punishing thing. They just don't wear it.

 

[David Semmens]

If your Druid wants AC some badly, play as a TORTLE. Base AC is 17 and when you add a shield it brings it to 19. Go a Coastal Land Druid, cast Mitror image and Shillelegh and Hey Presto, a Viable Melee Druid

 

[Ancalagon]

Scale armor.

The scales don't *have* to be made of metal... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_armour#/media/File:Coat_of_Pangolin_scales.JPG

 

[Seramus]

Nah, shedding yourself in steel completely removes you from feeling like you belong in the natural world. It's a completely industrial thing. You're a tank.

Hide armor? Pretty damn close. It has some flexibility. It 'breathes' like having fur when it comes to ventilation and temperature. You move and sound like a natural animal that way.

Many metals are far more natural than some of the 'processes' that go into making leather and hide armors. Heck, you can technically mine Mithral straight out of the ground. The whole natural materials thematic kind of ignores the fact that the majority of the world is not on the surface.

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

Nothing to say that your scimitar is metal. It could be a wooden weapon comprised of shark/bear/killer rabbit/whatever teeth along its edge. Or obsidian. Or a razor sharp leaf from an obscure and secret tree. Or stone. Or, for the colourful out there, a weapon made from the sharpened flakes of a frost giant’s tears.
It’s your starting weapon so make up something cool and unique.
Sure, subsequent weapons may be harder to find (or a DM may decide to have the weapon imbued with power by someone/thing, making it a +1/vorpal/flametongue/whatever - but, really, with Primal Savagery and good old shape changing, a Druid doesn’t need a metal weapon anyway.

 

[Afrodactyl]

Scale armor.

The scales don't *have* to be made of metal... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_armour#/media/File:Coat_of_Pangolin_scales.JPG

In that vein, plate and half plate don't specify that it's metal plates. We have a druid/nature cleric in our games who is using bone and magic wood for his armour.

 

[CapnZapp]

It is perfectly reasonable to say plate mail is metal.

In this, the common case, the best armor is only scale, and only if you somehow find dragonscale et al.

Druids have horrible AC in these campaigns.