so l know that druids will not use armor or shields made of metal,so does that mean they can only use the light armor called leather armor,or can a breastplate be made of non metal materials? They have med armor proficiency,so l think they should be able to use med armor,but all the ones l see are made with metal.
Edit:I just realized something! it says "druids will not wear armor or use shields made of metal". MADE OF METAL. It's up to the dm,but a reasonable DM would rule that a druid can still use armor with metal in it,as long as it's not completely metal (like full plate). Meaning stuff like studded leather,and maybe even breast plate or chain,could be on the table! (That said,if you are a druid,unless you have some rollplay reason,dex should be one of your highest stats,so studded leather,with a dex score of 16 (+3) means the only armor that's better at level 1 and useable by a druid, would be breast plate and half plate! Add a shield,and your level 1 druid has a AC of 17!)
Druids are proficient with medium armour and there is Hide armour. This is 12 + Dex (Max 2). You can get the Medium Armor Master feat to make the Dex max +3.
With a +3 Dex and the feat plus a wooden shield you will have an AC of 17.
If you have really good Dex, consider Studded Leather (the studs don't have to be made of metal : wood and bone will do fine, studding in armour isn't to add protection but rather to hold things in place or to add style, and is otherwise made of leather, there's nothing to say the studs must be metal). Studded leather is 12 + Dex, no maximum, so you could save yourself a feat if you have 18 or more Dex. With Max Dex, stud armour and shield you will have AC 19, which is actually superior to full plate and shield.
If you rolled stats and got high enough you could max Dex and get a feat by Level 4. If so, I recommend Magic Initiate feat, Sorc or Wizard, to get the Mage Armor spell. It's AC 13 + Dex, which is basically the equivalent to +1 stud leather, so AC 20. If you're a Mark of Warding Dwarf you get to cast this once a day for free. If you are Lizardfolk you get a race feature that is basically the same as Mage Armour, except its permanent and not a spell.
If you have low dex you can ditch the shield and rely on the Barkskin spell. You'll have an AC of 16. This is 2nd Level, lasts an hour and requires concentration - but it'll help if your AC sucks, especially if you're Moon Druid and relying on Beast Shape forms (since it will carry over, unlike armour/shield).
You can also see if the DM is willing to let you take other armours and reflavour them as non-metal but still sturdy materials like Bone - which actually has been used for armour-pieces in real life before, so why not in D&D? Hell, get the heavily armoured feat, go full Bone Plate armour. You'd be a badass-looking Druid. This won't unbalance anything so why not?
There are of course more ways to increase AC without multiclassing, like the UA feat to get defensive fighting style for +1 to your armour or other feats, magic items, etc.
As a DM, I allow players to use non-metal armor of any type with which they are proficient as long as they have a good explanation. Like a tortoise shell for a breastplate as an example. Or even Bulette armor.
As a DM, I allow players to use non-metal armor of any type with which they are proficient as long as they have a good explanation. Like a tortoise shell for a breastplate as an example. Or even Bulette armor.
I do the same thing. My groups artificer crafted a very nice set of Non-magical Dragon Scale Mail for the party Druid (non-magical as they didn’t think there would be enough downtime to make the very rare magical version)
There's actually no rule in 5e requiring Druids to use non-metal gear, nor is there any penalty for doing so. You can wear any medium armor by RAW.
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You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
Some people are vegan. There are many products made to meet their desires, though usually they are more expensive than a non-vegan equivalent.
In a world where there are people who regularly wear armor but choose for personal reasons to not use metal, there would be a resultant supply of armor of various types made without metal. It is safe to assume that it would be more expensive due to rarer materials or more complex construction methods, but it would exist. Including magic in that world makes it a certainty. Simple supply and demand.
Personally, I would make a Druid-friendly version of any type of armor available from specialty suppliers for something like 3 times the cost of a metal version. Don't care what anyone claims it is made from.
There's actually no rule in 5e requiring Druids to use non-metal gear, nor is there any penalty for doing so. You can wear any medium armor by RAW.
How do you square that with the line in the Druid class description under Proficiencies which says "druids will not wear armor or use shields made of metal", though? So when is "as written" not really "as written"?
There's actually no rule in 5e requiring Druids to use non-metal gear, nor is there any penalty for doing so. You can wear any medium armor by RAW.
How do you square that with the line in the Druid class description under Proficiencies which says "druids will not wear armor or use shields made of metal", though? So when is "as written" not really "as written"?
In older editions it was a hard and fast rule with quantifiable penalties that the DM should impose on PCs who broke it.
In 5e it is more of a flavor text which many tables actively ignore as a houserule.
There's actually no rule in 5e requiring Druids to use non-metal gear, nor is there any penalty for doing so. You can wear any medium armor by RAW.
How do you square that with the line in the Druid class description under Proficiencies which says "druids will not wear armor or use shields made of metal", though? So when is "as written" not really "as written"?
"Will not" =/= "Cannot"
There is no rule saying they cannot wield/wear metal items, nor is there a rule stating a penalty if they do.
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You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
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 the vegetarian 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.
This is just the official version of what has already been said, and others have already provided good alternatives.
That said, the 5e Druid has new sub-classes that would work really well with a pro-metal philosophy.
The Circle of Stars is all about cosmic forces, and there are few events more compelling to such a being than the fall of a meteor. Weapons, armor, and accessories formed from grounded space rocks make too much sense not to use.
The Circle of Wildfire is less obvious, but a pyromaniac isn't going to have much use for equipment that can't handle a little heat.
The most important part of the Druid legacy is their aversion to civilization. They might refuse to buy any suit of armor that was made a smith (whether metal or not), but could have their own methods of Druidic manufacturing that might include non-traditional metal armor. Maybe they commune with Earth Elementals, who extract minerals from deep within the earth and can be coaxed into using their connection with the earth to form armor studded with exotic gems and minerals that are inaccessible by traditional mining. It's metal, but it's not "metal" metal.
One option that particularly appeals to me is fossilization of Petrified Wood. A druid could craft armor out of some organic material, bury it beneath the earth, and then use ritualistic magic to replace all of the organic material with metals and minerals until it is as beautiful as it is durable. By "seeding" their armor in this way, it becomes a kind of "living" metal, rather than the cold "dead" metal used by other adventurers.
Druidic, as a feature, is pretty heavily neglected. Having a communal language implies a community worth communicating with and a network to explore. Finding compatible armor would be a great plot hook.
If you have really good Dex, consider Studded Leather (the studs don't have to be made of metal : wood and bone will do fine, studding in armour isn't to add protection but rather to hold things in place or to add style, and is otherwise made of leather, there's nothing to say the studs must be metal). Studded leather is 12 + Dex, no maximum, so you could save yourself a feat if you have 18 or more Dex. With Max Dex, stud armour and shield you will have AC 19, which is actually superior to full plate and shield.
Full plate is 18 AC plus a shield (+2) is 20. The only way studded leather is superior to full plate is if you are maxed on dex and not having disadvantage on stealth rolls is worth the +1 AC. That said, Half Plate maxed without the feat is equal to studded leather maxed for AC and none of the best versions are significantly better for builds that want one over the other unless stealth is a factor.
If you have really good Dex, consider Studded Leather (the studs don't have to be made of metal : wood and bone will do fine, studding in armour isn't to add protection but rather to hold things in place or to add style, and is otherwise made of leather, there's nothing to say the studs must be metal). Studded leather is 12 + Dex, no maximum, so you could save yourself a feat if you have 18 or more Dex. With Max Dex, stud armour and shield you will have AC 19, which is actually superior to full plate and shield.
Full plate is 18 AC plus a shield (+2) is 20. The only way studded leather is superior to full plate is if you are maxed on dex and not having disadvantage on stealth rolls is worth the +1 AC. That said, Half Plate maxed without the feat is equal to studded leather maxed for AC and none of the best versions are significantly better for builds that want one over the other unless stealth is a factor.
Which Druids have heavy armor proficiency without multiclassing (into a subclass which gains it such as Life/Forge Domain Cleric), or taking a feat?
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You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
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so l know that druids will not use armor or shields made of metal,so does that mean they can only use the light armor called leather armor,or can a breastplate be made of non metal materials? They have med armor proficiency,so l think they should be able to use med armor,but all the ones l see are made with metal.
Edit:I just realized something! it says "druids will not wear armor or use shields made of metal". MADE OF METAL. It's up to the dm,but a reasonable DM would rule that a druid can still use armor with metal in it,as long as it's not completely metal (like full plate). Meaning stuff like studded leather,and maybe even breast plate or chain,could be on the table! (That said,if you are a druid,unless you have some rollplay reason,dex should be one of your highest stats,so studded leather,with a dex score of 16 (+3) means the only armor that's better at level 1 and useable by a druid, would be breast plate and half plate! Add a shield,and your level 1 druid has a AC of 17!)
Druids are proficient with medium armour and there is Hide armour. This is 12 + Dex (Max 2). You can get the Medium Armor Master feat to make the Dex max +3.
With a +3 Dex and the feat plus a wooden shield you will have an AC of 17.
If you have really good Dex, consider Studded Leather (the studs don't have to be made of metal : wood and bone will do fine, studding in armour isn't to add protection but rather to hold things in place or to add style, and is otherwise made of leather, there's nothing to say the studs must be metal). Studded leather is 12 + Dex, no maximum, so you could save yourself a feat if you have 18 or more Dex. With Max Dex, stud armour and shield you will have AC 19, which is actually superior to full plate and shield.
If you rolled stats and got high enough you could max Dex and get a feat by Level 4. If so, I recommend Magic Initiate feat, Sorc or Wizard, to get the Mage Armor spell. It's AC 13 + Dex, which is basically the equivalent to +1 stud leather, so AC 20. If you're a Mark of Warding Dwarf you get to cast this once a day for free. If you are Lizardfolk you get a race feature that is basically the same as Mage Armour, except its permanent and not a spell.
If you have low dex you can ditch the shield and rely on the Barkskin spell. You'll have an AC of 16. This is 2nd Level, lasts an hour and requires concentration - but it'll help if your AC sucks, especially if you're Moon Druid and relying on Beast Shape forms (since it will carry over, unlike armour/shield).
You can also see if the DM is willing to let you take other armours and reflavour them as non-metal but still sturdy materials like Bone - which actually has been used for armour-pieces in real life before, so why not in D&D? Hell, get the heavily armoured feat, go full Bone Plate armour. You'd be a badass-looking Druid. This won't unbalance anything so why not?
There are of course more ways to increase AC without multiclassing, like the UA feat to get defensive fighting style for +1 to your armour or other feats, magic items, etc.
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It’s up to your DM if they want to allow non-standard materials.
Or you can hope you find a suit of dragon scale mail.
Another option is to take a level in Monk for their Unarmored Defense, which should be decent for you as a Druid with ostensibly a good Wisdom score.
As a DM, I allow players to use non-metal armor of any type with which they are proficient as long as they have a good explanation. Like a tortoise shell for a breastplate as an example. Or even Bulette armor.
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I do the same thing. My groups artificer crafted a very nice set of Non-magical Dragon Scale Mail for the party Druid (non-magical as they didn’t think there would be enough downtime to make the very rare magical version)
There's actually no rule in 5e requiring Druids to use non-metal gear, nor is there any penalty for doing so. You can wear any medium armor by RAW.
You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
Some people are vegan. There are many products made to meet their desires, though usually they are more expensive than a non-vegan equivalent.
In a world where there are people who regularly wear armor but choose for personal reasons to not use metal, there would be a resultant supply of armor of various types made without metal. It is safe to assume that it would be more expensive due to rarer materials or more complex construction methods, but it would exist. Including magic in that world makes it a certainty. Simple supply and demand.
Personally, I would make a Druid-friendly version of any type of armor available from specialty suppliers for something like 3 times the cost of a metal version. Don't care what anyone claims it is made from.
How do you square that with the line in the Druid class description under Proficiencies which says "druids will not wear armor or use shields made of metal", though? So when is "as written" not really "as written"?
In older editions it was a hard and fast rule with quantifiable penalties that the DM should impose on PCs who broke it.
In 5e it is more of a flavor text which many tables actively ignore as a houserule.
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Epic Boons on DDB
"Will not" =/= "Cannot"
There is no rule saying they cannot wield/wear metal items, nor is there a rule stating a penalty if they do.
You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
Rule Answers: March 2016
This is just the official version of what has already been said, and others have already provided good alternatives.
That said, the 5e Druid has new sub-classes that would work really well with a pro-metal philosophy.
The Circle of Stars is all about cosmic forces, and there are few events more compelling to such a being than the fall of a meteor. Weapons, armor, and accessories formed from grounded space rocks make too much sense not to use.
The Circle of Wildfire is less obvious, but a pyromaniac isn't going to have much use for equipment that can't handle a little heat.
The most important part of the Druid legacy is their aversion to civilization. They might refuse to buy any suit of armor that was made a smith (whether metal or not), but could have their own methods of Druidic manufacturing that might include non-traditional metal armor. Maybe they commune with Earth Elementals, who extract minerals from deep within the earth and can be coaxed into using their connection with the earth to form armor studded with exotic gems and minerals that are inaccessible by traditional mining. It's metal, but it's not "metal" metal.
One option that particularly appeals to me is fossilization of Petrified Wood. A druid could craft armor out of some organic material, bury it beneath the earth, and then use ritualistic magic to replace all of the organic material with metals and minerals until it is as beautiful as it is durable. By "seeding" their armor in this way, it becomes a kind of "living" metal, rather than the cold "dead" metal used by other adventurers.
Druidic, as a feature, is pretty heavily neglected. Having a communal language implies a community worth communicating with and a network to explore. Finding compatible armor would be a great plot hook.
Full plate is 18 AC plus a shield (+2) is 20. The only way studded leather is superior to full plate is if you are maxed on dex and not having disadvantage on stealth rolls is worth the +1 AC. That said, Half Plate maxed without the feat is equal to studded leather maxed for AC and none of the best versions are significantly better for builds that want one over the other unless stealth is a factor.
Which Druids have heavy armor proficiency without multiclassing (into a subclass which gains it such as Life/Forge Domain Cleric), or taking a feat?
You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.