Jaheira and her armour
TethorilofLathander
Member Posts: 427
Can Jaheira actually wear much/any armour?
Metal armour is mined from the ground therefore it may be an invasion of nature (though Harpers protect the balance so she might JUST be okay with it).
Leather/Ankheg/Hide/Scale armour comes from animals and I sincerely doubt she'd like that. Unless if she wears leather armour made out of orc skin?
Thoughts?
Metal armour is mined from the ground therefore it may be an invasion of nature (though Harpers protect the balance so she might JUST be okay with it).
Leather/Ankheg/Hide/Scale armour comes from animals and I sincerely doubt she'd like that. Unless if she wears leather armour made out of orc skin?
Thoughts?
1
Comments
Shadow Druids are an exception to this rule, because they are bugnuts insane and even attack other druids for not being fanatical enough about nature. They wouldn't be happy unless we were all living in caves, eating roots or something. Basically, they're PETA on steroids.
Merely want to know about druids within Faerun, but thanks, you have answered my query
As far as I'm aware this is a bit of a breach from P&P, where armour limitations are as per single-classed druids.
On Forgotten Realms wiki it says about Mielikki: "Generally, druids of Mielikki took on the abilities of rangers and unlike other druids, who were not allowed to wear metal armor, could use all kinds of armor usable by rangers"
This fits for Jaheira, as she is more of a warrior-druid. Kind of like a ranger but more spell-oriented I guess. She is a Harper and clearly travels far from the forest to serve the greater good, so she could easily fit into this category a-wha?
edit: apparently in the books that do not actually exist, Jaheira was indeed a worshiper of Mielikki... though this might actually prove that my theory is completely wrong rather than right. http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Jaheira
In the game she mentiones Silvanus a few times - the prime god of the druids. Most likely her patron as well.
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Silvanus
As for the armor - as I recall, multicalss characters retain weapons restrictions of the caster classes, but not armor. And really, with all the stuff going on in the game you gotta be really stubborn and stupid not to wear the best armor you can get to survive.
Soon enough you're gonna meet dragons. Until then, there's plenty leather and studded leather armors with decent bonuses laying around. Oh, and shields too.
In game, however, she can. Why? Why can the ranger/cleric cast druid spells. She just can. She's special like that.
Just to say the comment towards OneStep was not intentionally threatening, ugly was used in the sense of this debate becoming heated if everyone voiced their opinions on life outside of Faerun. I'm personally a vegetarian for ethical reasons and I know how heated these sort of subjects can get on the slightest incling.
Ultimately, the important thing to remember is that Druids are all individuals, and have relatively lenient codes of conduct to which they must abide. There's a lot of variation in lifestyle and personal beliefs, even among Druids of the same God.
Jaheira, by basic P&P rules, would have no problems wearing leather armour. And it's not impossible for her to get an exemption to wearing metal armour either, if Sylvanus decided to allow it. D&D is quite flexible, rule-wise.
Silvanus has no speciality priests- he only has druids. In D&D AD&D, Mielikki can have druids in her servace, but they can only wear padded, leather, bone, and other unmetallic forms of armor. Her ranger/druids (a forbidden multiclass in Baldur's Gate, but an allowed one for half-elves in AD&D) can wear any armor, noting that wearing elven chainmail allows all ranger skills (such as stealth) that are prohibited by heavy armor.
So, technically, even if Jaheria served Mielikki (which seems unlikely, considering her constant references to Silvanus), she still couldn't wear heavy armor, as she's just a druid, not a druid/ranger. But... Baldur's Gate does allow her full heavy armor. So the answer to that? Go with what you feel like. If you think Silvanus would have allowed his worshipper heavy armor, then allow her to go stomping around in plate. If you think he would have kept her to leather, then keep her in studded. It's not a huge deal, when you get down to it. All D&D has had the golden rule- what the DM says goes. If the DM says she can wear heavy armor, then she can wear heavy armor. Tis that simple, I think. Truly.
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Mielikki
Thought the evidence that she would worship Mielikki is slim at best (and by slim I mean I completely made it up based off the fact that she is a Druid who can actually wear plate mail)
You gotta go with the flow man! Imagination takes you a long way
That is a rule in Forgotten Realms, but not in AD&D edition (though it is for third edition and beyond). I have Faiths and Avatars (the AD&D book on faiths in general, save for demihuman pantheons and demigods) open in front of me- the exact wording for druid armor as a worshiper of Mielikki is, 'padded, leather, or hide and wooden, bone, shell, or other nonmetallic shield'. So in AD&D, even if she's a druid of Mielikki, she can't use plate armor. Silvanus's druids have the exact same restrictions.
We could, as @kryptix notes, pretend she's a Ranger/Druid of Mielikki, which can wear heavy armor. But she never mentions Mielikki once, while she mentions Silvanus half a dozen or so times. It's a bit of a stretch.
Or we could just say "Screw it, the DM said she could wear plate, and the DM's word goes". That's generally the safest route, in D&D.
Though the fact that the "novels" say so leaves a sour taste in my mouth
In the multiclass section there's no mention of armor restrictions for priest multiclasses, only weapon restrictions, and that warrior multiclasses can use all their warrior abilities without restriction. That is probably the reason why fighter multiclasses in the game can use any armor, even mages (although arcane spellcasting failure still applies).
I have every AD&D book ever published, though (save for some Birthright books that I could never find, grr!), so I'll take a look. I thought it was a Realms specific rule that fighter/druids had to follow druid rules, though, but if I can't find it, I'll gladly admit to your point.
...Having said that, Silvanus doesn't allow fighter/druids in his care. Neither does Mielikki. So apparently Jaheria is another illegal class combination, as now that I'm looking, in AD&D Forgotten Realms I can't find a single deity that allows druids that allows the fighter/druid multiclass. I'll have to check the demihuman deities.
I personally see Druids as having a similar view to the Native American Indians in that they coexist with nature. They hunt to survive and therefore make use of all of the bounty from their kills. Ankheg armor is nothing more than making full use of the shells in much the same was as cured leather is making full use of animal hide.
Given that she is a Fighter/Druid, I'd think she bridging the gap between both worlds. She appreciates the value and need of metal armor and, even though her Druid upbringing isn't thrilled with it, she does what is best to survive.
"The Clergy: Silvanus has a strong base among both priests in urban areas and druids in the wilder territories. Like Chauntea he answers both, but in his case the druids are the favored children of
the two. Silvanuss priests are are spread throughout the North, favoring small communities over large cities, though there are several large communities of Silvanus worshippers in major cities such
as Waterdeep. Silvanus clergy is best noted for their leather or metallic scale mail, which mimics the leaf pattern of their god. Adventuring priests may choose to wear less flashy outfits to travel in dangerous areas."
So, metallic armor is not out of the question with him.
Compare this to Shaundakul, where it notes under his speciality priest heading, 'Half-elf windwalkers are allowed to multiclass as ranger/clerics', or in Demihuman Dieties for Clangeddin (Yeslick's God) where it notes 'Alaghor may multiclass as alaghar/fighters'.
You're using a third edition source, it sounds like. Second edition notes, 'The ceremonial dress for both clerics and druids of Silvanus is a suit of armor made of overlapping leaves. For clerics, the leaves are made of metal plates and the suit functions as a set of scale mail. For druids, the leaves are made of green-tinted leather and the suit functions as leather armor.'
No, I'm quoting Faiths & Avatar. If you're going to debate the point with me, please read the book we're debating the points from. See, here?
As far as it goes, 2E lists Druids as their own separate class and not as a specialty priest. Therefore any 'Special' considerations for that designation is probably loosely observed at best. In either case, Fighter/Druid is a valid class combination according to the 2E PHB and failing anything else, I'd say go with core rules over any supplements.
Finally, "it's a game. Don't sweat the small inconsistencies." and lord knows there are enough of them.
But anyway, stop shoving me pure class descriptions, as I've said before multiclasses and their restrictions are mentioned separately, in 2nd edition Player's Handbook, for example, which I mentioned earlier. Warrior multiclasses can use any armor. Are you going to argue that fighter\mages should also not be allowed to wear any armor? But they can, because same rules apply.
And also, did we clear that fighter\druid is a legitimate class for half-elves and that Silvanus allows metal armor?