A Druid Clad in Plate Mail?!

One striking feature of the fifth edition of Dungeons and Dragons is that rules prohibiting spell-casting while wearing armor are far, far less restrictive than previous editions - including those not counted among the numbering. The only requirement is that a PC must be proficient in said armor type. Then that character may cast spells while that armor type is donned.


Previous iterations of D&D forbade druids from wearing metal armor stating that metal armor interfered with the druid's magic. Not so with D&D 5E. The only limitations are proficiencies and flavor text stating that druid's disdain metal armor. So reading the Player's Handbook, a druid PC could conceivably wear Plate Mail and cast spells provided the character followed a feat progession or multi-classed with the a class that granted proficiency with Heavy Armor.


So is that right? Why, yes it is. With this week's release of the latest installment of Sage Advice, WOTC confirmed that the druid prohibition against wearing metal armor is a component of proficiencies and story. Druids don't wear metal armor because they simply don't have the training and because story/setting elements dictate that you can't. Hence, it is official that if a player builds/advances their character just right, a druid PC can wear metal armor. Even plate mail!


Astonishing isn't it? I know I am amazed! A part of me almost considers it to be on par with wizards wearing godplate. However, I don't think it'll be that common. One, the game must allow feats if no multi-classing is involved. Two, even if multi-classing is involved, either the PC started with a class that granted heavy armor proficiency or multi-classed into cleric and selected a domain that grants heavy armor proficiency. The former may hinder the character from having enough traditional druid skills. Both options mean the PC's druid level won't match character level so would experience all hindrances that that means. Three, a high Strength score is a must or else the PC will suffer other penalties. The druid class doesn't prize Strength so that's a significant investment into an ability score that does not mean as much for the class. Four, unless found, plate mail is expensive! Plus where is the druid storing all that money? Heck, there are spells that a druid could conceivably cast instead of socking it away for plate mail. Five, wild shape. While metal armor doesn't interfere with spell-casting, a DM is certainly within rights to impose some kind of penalty for wild shaping while wearing metal armor. A druid could easily lose their precious plate mail should the druid transform into small animal. Six, social barriers. In real life, people face consequences for bucking social norms such as ostracism and notoriety.


Admittedly, a metal armor wearing druid - even a plate mail-wearing one - strikes my fancy as a neat oddball character. I'd probably make a human that starts a fighter with the AC option. Since the character is already wacko, I'd select heavy armor master feat if feats are allowed. Then at second level the character would multi-class into druid for unknown duration. Would be a neat concept. I'd probably do so in a one-off game or to really mess with people.

Open Source Animation Dawns and RIP DC You, Meet DC Rebirth

Within the last couple months, two major announcements were made in the comics and animation industry. One, Studio Ghibli's animation software will become open source. The other is that DC's DC You initiative ends to be replaced by Rebirth. Just recently, DC released some teasers pertaining to its Rebirth event.


The announcement that Studio Ghibli's animation software becoming open source is major news. You can read an article discussing the news announcement here. Granted, there a premium version of Toonz will be marketed towards professionals. However, I believe an open source version of Toonz will be great for animation, animation studios, and aspiring animators. More people will be able try their hands at animation and develop their craft. Small studios can operate on lower overhead. More animators and more studios equates to more creators producing more animation. A brand new era of animation may be upon us.


Meanwhile a month ago, DC announced that it is ending its DC You publishing initiative and replaces it with the line-wide Rebirth. You can read the initial coverage here. I absolutely love that the price point will once again be $2.99. Lack of consistency in price points did cause headaches from a sticker shock point of view. Plus is a Superman comic really worth a dollar more than a Hellblazer comic?


While we don't know who the creators will be, the diverse nature of the Rebirth line pales in comparison of DC You. Heck, the New 52 line wide event blows the offerings of Rebirth out of the water. Rebirth seems confined to the Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Justice League, and Titans mythos. Earth 2, Blue Beetle, Suicide Squad and John Constantine are the only titles that break that hold. Perhaps only Justice League and Titans titles made DC's market requirements? I don't know. I am reminded of the DC Explosion and DC Implosion market occurrence. So I am saddened by that. I certainly have plenty of fodder for my Cancelled/On the Bubble feature as every title but Action Comics and Detective Comics is being restarted - and thus ending. I do like how both Action and Detective resume their original numbering. That tickles my nostalgia and historic fancy.


The Rebirth one-shot debuting in May reminds me of the Countdown one shot that pre-saged Infinite Crisis. Remains to be seen whether Rebirth will match that endeavor. Will certainly purchase that along with each of the Rebirth one-shots. I hope that the creative teams match with the creative teams of the respective on-goings. One reason I jumped on the DC You bandwagon was the 8-pages stories that provided a sample of the feel of the new offerings. Would be nice if the Rebirth one-shots matches that endeavor. Speaking of the DC You sample stories, I never got around to reviewing them as I simply couldn't match the pace. By the time I was ready to review the sample stories, the actual comics had hit the stands! So that's something I may remedy in the future.


I'm rather lukewarm to twice-a-month shipping titles. Monthly titles are almost too frequent for me to keep up with. By the time DC You ended, I had started collecting all the New 52 Justice Leaguer solo titles sans Cyborg. Since all of those titles will now ship two times a month, I may end that collecting endeavor. I will probably gravitate towards the once-a-month books. Then again, who knows? I bought much more Marvel ANAD titles than I thought I would.


Recently, DC released nine-second teaser trailers for Rebirth - go here if you want to watch them and read the explanations. Not going to lie if CBR hadn't provided stills the trailer moves too fast for me to see the characters. I am rather excited that DC found a way to incorporate the Bob Haney Super-Sons concept into mainstream continuity. Haven't kept up with Johns's Justice League so the Power Ring revelation as a GL doesn't excite me one or the other. With the upcoming Suicide Squad movie, the Harley Quinn and Killer Croc teaser seems a given. So one 'yay', a maybe, and a 'meh'.

Marvel Digitial Comics pt. 2

Years ago, I believe way back during 2009, in fact, I wrote an entry called Marvel Digital Comics pt. 1. I won't provide a link because... that's what this entry is for and I'll sum it up. After briefly sampling Marvel Digital Unlimited (MDU), neither single issue purchase nor same-day digital were available at the time, I decided that MDU would enable to cut back on all the Marvel titles and trades that I bought at the time. I figured the six month delay back in that day would still be adequate enough for me to remain in the loop while buffering myself against developments that I knew I would disdain. Furthermore, I mentioned that I would provide a follow-up describing my thoughts on my experience.


To quote a meme that occasionally circulates on social media: Never have I been so wrong in all my life.


For starters, that part two only materialized now after 5-6 years. If it posted sooner, I would have complained that the interface was clunky, the website was difficult to manage and changes weren't necessarily improvements, and the accounts were buggy at times. Fortunately those scathing comments never materialized at that time because Blogger was being buggy and difficult to use during that time. Now, I like the interface and how the digital comics are presented. I am quite sure most of the kinks have been worked out although that leads to me to my next complaint...


I rarely used MDU. If my calculations are correct, I may have read maybe twenty comics over that five or six year period. Those are some pretty expensive comics... Which is funny because one of my later reasons was that I wouldn't need trades or back issues because I had an MDU subscription. Yeah, I still bought trades. The back issues weren't Marvel though.


Anyone whose read my All-New, All-Different (ANAD) is aware that my Marvel Universe was way out-dated. So I certainly didn't remain in the loop.


A six month delay didn't faze me because my reading habits were more along the line of waiting for the trade - and that was no guarantee. Turns out a six month delay is enough to dampen my enthusiasm and interest in a product. Probably a reason why many of trades remain on my reading list too...


I decided to revisit my MDU criticism because I finally hit a wall with ANAD. My enthusiasm got the better of me as I was purchasing more titles than I could read nor track which issues I had. That reminded me that I never provided a follow-up review and check out my oft-used MDU account. Not only did I rarely visit the site but I forgot that I opted out of auto-review. Needless to say, it forced me to give a hard look an MDU subscription. To celebrate Daredevil Season Two on Netflix, Marvel is offering MDU subscriptions at a reduced rate (there's an asterisk so there is probably a catch) plus some Daredevil wallpapers for mobile devices that I could care less for. That deal ends on April 3rd. I'm tempted to resume a subscription for all the old reason (the cost and storage to be a Marvel Zombie is incredibly high). Would very much be able to provide a more accurate review of the service. However, all the cons that emerged from experience cited above remain. Hard copies are incredibly important to maintain my interest. The MDU subscription is pointless if I don't read any of those comics. There's already stacks of comics and trades awaiting my perusal. Is there time to read comics only available on the cloud. So who knows? If I resume a subscription, a third installment of my review may come soon. That'll be the only indication.