If everyone roleplayed a druid's OOC mechanical feats and IC choices based off of the "I hate anything made from stuff below the topsoil" reason they would never leave the forest, never learn how to write, never wear ANY of the jewelry that spawns in loot, never take Craft Wand or Scribe Scroll, and never use coin for trade so ultimately, they don't even make sense as an adventuring class unless all druid characters are expected to roleplay their asses off to get wooden and leather necklaces made for them. If a druid hates metal so much, why ever enter a city at all? Wouldn't that break the oath as well? Amia loot tables are full of metal weapons and armor, is it breaking my faith to pick these up and sell them to stores?


From the Amia Wiki Silvanus page:


and


So if you're a multiclassed druid, are you expected to automatically adhere to the druid faiths only and still not use a feat or a weapon given to you by another class?




This would be nice but I don't want to take that chance if views are so conflicting that there's a high possibility that a DM WILL slap me with a Fall or whatever else. And I don't even want to imagine JUST HOW MUCH time and hard roleplay effort would be required to get my hands on non-metal jewelry, bracers, helmets and armor of a decent quality that otherwise spawns freely in loot and stores for every other class, as a given. That just does NOT seem fair or worth it, to work for the basic things that all other classes get with full ease, for a class that is most certainly not the strongest. All because of the idea that druids would not accept "too many things" mined from the ground.

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Lemme toss an arguement on why some of the other items other then metal armour are reasonable to be used:

Native Americans whenever they killed a buffalo, used, the whole.. effing, Buffalo.. same with any other animal but Buffalo were especially valuable to them.

How does this relate?

Simple. In the case of coins, and similar things like that either in the process of taking them if they are something made by the druid themselves (Clay, Chalk perhaps or similar) the Druid could simply offer thanks to the spirit of the earth giving them their bounty, not unlike when in a traditional family meal Grace is said and a prayer thanking God is made for the food. Admittedly, by the same token they probably seek to put such items to use and not hoard (in the case of Gold).

Metal armour is a bit of a harder thing to justify for a Druid, when magic exists to allow them alternatives, and also mundane alternatives exist.

Also: Here's another thought..

While Metal is indeed of the earth, to get into it's state it is quite heavily refined, reshaped and in general, tainted by the touch of man.

Armours of Leather and Hide are closer to nature , and require less refinement in comparison. I'm saying it simpler because I know I'm going to be counter argued but that's my thought.

Blue Moon, druids can use metal. That's not in question. They cannot use metal armor, generally. And some weapon types, regardless of their material, are prohibited by their traditions. You won't get into any trouble for using the loot you find in Amia, except perhaps forbidden weapon types and metallic armor. Some druids might go further to stay "natural", but I don't think anyone is arguing it's the default canon position. And it certainly isn't enforced.

The attempt to make sense of druidic traditions and oaths is ultimately misguided, because there's no reason they have to make sense. Of course, there's some rationale the druids themselves have. But that doesn't mean we should consider it particularly convincing or coherent. Hell, the whole concept of "nature" as somehow fundamentally separate from civilization and human activity is incoherent, because anything material in space and time is by definition natural.

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So it's ok for my druid to buy and wear mass-produced leather armor that required lots of slaying of animals and dipping their skins in chemicals, but not ok for my druid to wear mass produced metal plate even if just 3 non-slave-laborers mined it out of the ground, refined and made it for me.

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Thank you. This is what I wanted to hear, although it would still be nice to have a team ruling. From my above post though, it does say that clerics of Silvanus use metal plates shaped like leaves for armor, and it also says that druids multiclass as clerics. So in that case which armor should one use?

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Generally speaking restrictions trump allowances. A multiclassed Paladin for instance isn't exempt from following the Paladin code as related to their deity.

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I play: Gage le Gris
Socially and recently politically Inept Knight of Xymor

If people are stuck on keeping the restriction, I'd suggest a more magical reason than a reason based on tradition or religion. My druid, for example, is pretty much coated in man-made materials. Manufactured linen dresses, enough forged silver and mithril jewelry to sink a galleon, and a pair of expensive metal scimitars. That's all culturally and religiously fine for Mulhorandi druids. It just doesn't make sense that Isis finally gets pissy the moment she pulls a chain shirt over her head.

Now, if it was a lore-point that coating yourself in too much metal numbs interferes with your connection to nature and makes spellcasting difficult, I could swallow that more readily than a much of internally inconsistent traditions and an irritated deity being the reason the magic dries up.

I find it so wierd when playing a creative game folk need to have things explained away in minutae. I'd rather it just be ruling that can be left to interpretation that creates in game discussion.

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I play: Gage le Gris
Socially and recently politically Inept Knight of Xymor

Druids do use metal. It's just that they don't use it in large quantities. Yes, they have long standing traditions about not wearing metal armor and it does mean that you will fall if you do (unless you're a Druid of Mielikki).

I mirror Mosh and Irons points here. I don't see why everything needs to be explained away OOCly. Take the lore, put yourself in the role of your Druid (you are roleplaying, after all) and find ways to make sense of it from their perspective. Traditions don't always make total logical sense, they just are what they are.

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My Characters:
Yuilith Kethil Menaiivan Garadeth

Guns is the teams position on this point. Wear metal armour, get a fall. Even if you craft it to look like leather.

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There are both medium and heavy Ironwood armours available from the Job System. The entire discussion is moot.

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Aly'dra Zau'ana: Priestessish Of Eilistraee
Danika Nefzen: Druid of the Earthmother
Delia Am'Anodel: Paladin of Torm