Hey, Multiclassed 5E Druids Could You Please Not Wear Metal Armor?

When I was new to Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition, I spotted a potential loophole regarding druids. Back in the old days, druids were prohibited from wearing metal armor such as plate mail. D&D 5E had a curious note regarding armor. Merely, druids choose not to wear metal armor.

One could surmise the taboo would extend to single-classes druids and those from races without armor proficiencies. What about Fighters or Paladins with heavy armor proficiency who later multiclass into druid? After all, they all ready are proficient in plate mail. A fighter-druid clad in plate mail! While in previous editions armor hindered spell-casting, Fifth edition (5E) ties unimpeded spell-casting to proficiency. If the caster is proficient in the donned armor, the caster suffers no ill effects casting spells. Ergo, there really is nothing in the rules mechanically forbidding a druid from wearing plate mail if proficient.


Wait, multi-classing is an optional rule. Must every core class account for character multi-classing into it from another class?


Okay, you've got a point there.


What about dwarven druids wearing metal armor? Mountain dwarves have a history of crafting exquisite metal items, armor among them. Not only do they craft metal armor, they wear it as well. In fact, mountain dwarves are proficient in medium so they can don quite a number of metallic armor. Granted, not plate but you get the gist.




However, someone posed the question to WotC's Jeremy Crawford, the de facto rules guru for 5E, Twitter. His answer is an emphatic no.


Neither multi-classed nor dwarven druids can wear any sort of metal armor; because of the setting of D&D. Should a druid with requisite training buck the taboo, the DM is encouraged to take DM action.


I'm old timey gamer so saying my Fighter-Druid can't wear plate mail; because druids just don't do it is enough of an excuse for me. Furthermore, enough of the DMs I play will enforce the taboo either by fiat or by imposing some form of penalty.


Still, even Paladins suffer a mechanical consequence for violating their oaths significantly enough. Why only an honor system approach to the druid?


I guess I am just grumpy that cunning rules exploit, a druid wearing plate mail, is foiled by fluff without a 'this is what happens if you break taboo'. Fifth edition expands Dungeons & Dragons in  many ways.


Just don't break any of the role-play assumptions.


Happy Gaming!


Next time.

Halloween '18 Edition of Official D&D 5E Rulings By Tweet

Months have passed since I last compiled official rulings on D&D 5E rules via Crawford's Twitter. Lack of rulings hasn't been an issue. I just haven't blogged about them. Instead of random rulings, I plan on lumping them according to a theme. Since Halloween is days away, the theme for the latest installment is Halloween.


Anyone who's glanced at Appendix N knows the works of H.P. Lovecraft inspired Gygax. As did the works of A. Merritt. Horror is an entrenched element of D&D. What separates D&D from those sources of inspiration is the protagonist have a chance, eventually, maybe, to defeat the horrors. The downside is some of those horrors... become mundane... as a result. Another thing is Dungeons & Dragons has evolved to the point where PCs could become the source of the horror as well, ie Necromancer & Warlock.


As such, I ignored anything from a PC perspective. If the ruling pertains to warlocks or necromantic powers, not included here. Furthermore, as much as I like Lovecraft, his influences aren't used along their original horror roots. Ergo, only mainstream Halloween monsters will be referenced here. Like vampires, werewolves, zombies, and the like.


So here ya go:


Levels don't influence stats of Animated Dead - The dreaded Necromancer casts Animate Dead on the corpses of a level 0 peasant and a level 20 fighter? They both rise and use the stats of a normal zombie. So no worrying over the 20 hit die zombie!


Vampire bite is unlikely to tranform during combat - Here's clarification stating hit point max must be reduced to zero before transformation occurs. Combat must really be proceeding poorly in an unorthodox manner for the victim here...


Reincarnate can't be used on undead - You encounter an undead creature. Hey, wouldn't it be cool if I cast Reincarnate on the undead creature? What will it come back as? DM: Spell fails. Undeath changes creature type. Depending on how other bring-back-from-the-dead spells work, this ruling may nullify them as well.

What if you really want to bring a zombie back to life? True Resurrection is the solution. Normally, I am used to Crawford referencing the books themselves. This particular answer is found within the errata.


Is tracking a vampire in mistform to its lair and staking it the only way of dispatching it once it becomes mist? - Many times Crawford will say 'read the text' but by using jargon.


What comes first? The vampire's bite or the grapple? - No, a vampire doesn't automatically hit if their grappling their target. However, the bite comes after the grapple.


What happens to Vampire Spawn when the Master is Destroyed - We destroyed the Master Vampire? All the Vampire Spawn go poof, right? No. They become free-willed, full-fledged vampires now. An instance where targeting the Big Bad right away may not be the best strategy...


Dead and Undead Attuning Items - Dead is a condition. Undeath is a creature type. So yeah, the vampire can attune magic items.


There ends the Halloween edition of Official D&D 5E Rulings By Tweet.


Happy Gaming and Halloween is four days away!

Monk Way-Granted Abilities to Cast Spells Are Weakened By Ruling

In a recent blog entry and second installment of my "Official 5E Rulings by Tweet", one of the rulings clarified by WotC employee/rules guru Jeremy Crawford concerned monks following the Way of the Open Hand. When I read these rulings, I don't verify and tend to treat them as gospel. However, I will probably verify as best as I can in the future because there's a problem with Crawford's ruling...


You can read said ruling by either scrolling down on this blog or clicking here and then clicking on the relevant link.


Okay? Read it?


Crawford references spell casting rules specifically how spell DC's are determined and that if no spell-casting modifier is given it is zero.


Therefore, Open Hand monks don't receive any bonus to their trip and push abilities, correct?


Not quite.


See, when I originally read the tweet, upon reading the spell-casting section my mind conjured the Way of Four Elements monk. They cast spells. Hence, why I said they were pretty much hosed.


Monks following the Way of the Open Hand do not cast spells. If you read the language, their abilities that mimic spells omit the phrase "cast the spell".


Heck, virtually every Way ability that mimics spells employ language implying such - except when they state 'cast spells'.


So what are the Open Hand DCs? Well, if you turn a page or two within Player's Handbook where Ki abilities are mentioned there is section detailing how a DC is calculated. So most monk abilities using Ki would use Ki Save DC.


Note: I said most. I think Crawford's saying the Ki Save DC calculation doesn't apply to when monks use their ki or a Way ability to cast spells. Alas, the poor monk doesn't receive an ability bonus to the save DCs they impose in such a case.


Based on my Adventurers League mind-set, no ability bonus added to a Save DC is HUGE. However, a zero spell-casting modifier for monk Way abilities granting spell-casting isn't weak within the scope of a home campaign. While monks can't use their Ki Save DC, the spell-casting granted by the tradition is powered by spending Ki points. Unlike spell slots, all Ki points refresh after a short rest. If the players can control the pace, they can take a substantial number of short rests. The monk spending Ki to cast spells could conceivably cast a spell more than any spell-caster spending spell slots can.


So the ruling stating that monks don't have a spell-casting modifier is a game balancing issue. Unfortunately, the original question regarding Way of the Open Hand monks trip or push effects isn't addressed. Unless of course, the Ki Save DC table doesn't apply to them as well. In which case why include the calculation and section?


However, I do stand by original quip. Way of the Four Elements are nerfed within the confines of a module such as an Adventurers League mod. Their spell-casting DCs simply aren't up to par with equivalent level characters.


Happy Gaming!


Next time.

Official 5E Rulings By Tweet 2nd installment: Five-in-One

Recently, I started my new blogging "column" Official 5E Rulings by Tweet with three such compiled on a site called Sage Advice. If I included only three such rulings, I'd have to do this twice a week to catch up! With that in mind, here's five different rulings courtesy of Jeremy Crawford's Twitter.


So how do I calculate Way of the Open Hand DCs? - As I've only created a Way of the Shadow monk, it hasn't really dawned on me that the Way of the Open Hand doesn't include a spell DC calculation. I'm so used to the class description including them that the notion the magic section contains the rules doesn't ring any bells. No spellcasting modifier? Oofta! Not sure I would want to play an Open Hand monk in Adventurers League in light of that...


Do you pick before or after regarding Chaos Bolt? - Considering prior editions required the player to pick the die before rolling, the question needs asking. We've always played assuming the pick occurs after in 5E. Good to know, we're on the same wavelength here.


You can ignore a Ready actions trigger - Okay, now this is a big deal. We've argued over whether or not this was the case and it's always caused consternation. In many ways, Readied action triggers had to be crafted like Wishes to avoid unforeseen nasty complications. Whether you lose the action is another matter though...


RAW No leading with a shield bash - Not a fan of this ruling. Can't initiate a combat by bashing with a shield first after engaging the enemy? Kind of takes away from the flavor of the combat. So Shield Master feat users in AL must ask a DM if it's okay to do so. Sigh...


Not all magical darkness is equal - Just because a spell creates darkness does not necessarily render darkvision useless. So read the spell description carefully such as regarding the example of the Shadows of Moil spell.


That's all for this installment.


Happy Gaming!


Next time.

Official D&D 5E Rulings By Tweet: The Inaugural Three

Years ago, one of my fondest message board threads was one in which D&D co-creator Gary Gygax would explains the origin and meaning of various rules of D&D. Flash-forward to today and social media such as Twitter enables the creators of D&D to answer gamers questions like never before. When it comes to general rules questions for the current iteration of the game (5th), Jeremy Crawford is the go to for official rulings. I don't follow his twitter but I do follow a page on Facebook called Sage Advice that collects Tweets involving D&D creators.


Which brings us to the topic of today's entry and the hopeful start of a semi-regular 'column' on this blog "Official D&D 5E Rulings By Tweet". In which I will provide a link to a given official ruling while providing my own two cents. This inaugural edition will only three such.


Can a centaur become a werewolf? - Short answer for those whom don't want to read the 'tweet thread' for is yes for PCs, no for NPCs. DMs will probably enjoy describing the new werewolf?
Players are like "What do you mean the vertically standing wolf-like creature has four legs?!" Can easily predict players confusing their fellow PC as a demon if meta-gaming is curtailed.


It's all in the language... - Don't believe I've ever sat at a table with another PC with the Shield Mastery feat. As such, I've never had cause to consider when during action order a shield bash occurs. On the other hand, two-weapon fighting is quite common! Reading this ruling, it's good to know proper order matters regarding shield bash but not two-weapon fighting.


Read the chart... - While some rulings are needed as the rules are nuanced, others can be surmised as 'read the book' as the answer to this particular question as whether hand axes and spears can be used in a rogue's sneak attack. Suppose Crawford could have provided a yes or no answer but still sometimes you just have to read the book! Hmm, so can they used? *Cough* *cough* Should take Crawford's advice... Answer: No and no as neither counts as either ranged or finesse.


There you have it. My first installment of Official D&D 5E Rulings by Tweet!


Happy Gaming!


Next time.