Druids and the Ironwood spell

[Zarthon]

Greetings,

Firstly, sorry if this question has already been posted, I looked but could not find anything (the search function has been disabled and it takes quite a while to read the subject of every thread)

Here is my question:

May a Druid use a weapon that is not on their weapon list if it has been created useing the Ironwood spell?

The write up on Druid Weapons and Armor says "Druids are proficient with the following weapons: club, dagger, dart, halfspear, longspear, quarterstaff, scimitar, sickle, shortspear, and sling. Their spiritual oaths prohibit them from using weapons other than these."

that is pretty straight forward now the Ironwood spell says

"Thus, wooden plate armor and wooden swords can be created that are as durable as their normal, steel counterparts. These items are freely usable by druids."

Now this is a little disconcerting, the way I interpreted it is that a Druid may use the Ironwood spell to make and use a weapon that is on their weapon list, if for instance a Druid made a shortsword and then proceeded to use it the Druid would suffer the consequences as the rules say

"A druid who wears prohibited armor or wields a prohibited weapon is unable to use any of her magical powers while doing so and for 24 hours thereafter"

Something else that was pointed out to me was

"(Note: A druid can use wooden items that have been altered by the ironwood spell so that they function as though they were steel.) "

Now the Druid's player wants to use short swords and says that according to the Ironwood spell and the paragraph above it is ok for her to do so, I as the Dm disagree, now it would be easy enough for me to rule on it and say the Druid can only use weapons that are on her list, but I have some Rules Lawyers in the group (2 of them, 1 agrees with me and the other with the Druids player)and in the sake of fairness and not arguing I post this question on the boards.

(Note: All references taken from the SRD)

 

[Greatwyrm]

If Ironwood says the druid can freely use anything they make with the spell, I don't see a conflict. Heck, make a greatsword if you want, just remember that -4 to hit for not being proficient.

Also, take a look at MotW's magic items. There is a suit of platemail in there made from Ironwood. I'd let a druid use it as long as they had the feat for that armor.

 

[Caliban]

Druids are prohibited from wearing metal armor, and are restricted to using only certain weapons.

Technically, it doesn't matter what the weapon is made of, although it does matter what material the armor is made of.

So a druid can wear Ironwood Plate (if they have the proficiency), but technically they would still lose their powers for using an ironwood longsword. (Many DM's rule-0 the druid's weapon restrictions, for them this isn't an issue.)

According to Sean K Reynolds, the text in the Ironwood spell is referring specifically to armor and scimitars. You can make as many ironwood scimitars as you want, and they are all useable by a druid.

The text about ironwood items being freely usable by druids was supposed to say "ironwood armor", not "ironwood items."

However, none of this has shown up in the official errata, so it's back in the DM call area.

 

[Zarthon]

According to Sean K Reynolds, the text in the Ironwood spell is referring specifically to armor and scimitars. You can make as many ironwood scimitars as you want, and they are all useable by a druid.

Is this posted somewhere on the net? if so please let me know where.

(Many DM's rule-0 the druid's weapon restrictions, for them this isn't an issue.)

If you take away the weapon restrictions for the Druid you would also have to do it for the other classes (Im not happy about everyone in the party including the mages using Greatswords), In my mind doing this also makes taking the Exotic weapon feats pointless.

Something else I have thought of is for the Druid to take a level in Fighter, currently the Druid in question is 12th level so I doubt that she will "waste" a level and 12000 xp on 1 level of fighter.

 

[Caliban]

If you take away the weapon restrictions for the Druid you would also have to do it for the other classes (Im not happy about everyone in the party including the mages using Greatswords), In my mind doing this also makes taking the Exotic weapon feats pointless.

No other class has the weapon restrictions that a druid does. Any cleric, rogue, or wizard can take proficiency in greatsword by spending a feat. It has no effect on their class abilities.

Something else I have thought of is for the Druid to take a level in Fighter, currently the Druid in question is 12th level so I doubt that she will "waste" a level and 12000 xp on 1 level of fighter.

By the core rules, the druid would still lose all their druid abilities if they ever use a non-sanctioned weapon, or metallic armor. If doesn't matter if they are proficient in it or not, their spiritual oaths prohibit them from using it. Elven druids can't use the longbow or longsword without losing their powers, for example.

Druid is the only class in 3e that has this outright prohibition, and that is why many DM's have rule-0'd it in one fashion or another.

 

[kreynolds]

By the core rules, the druid would still lose all their druid abilities if they ever use a non-sanctioned weapon, or metallic armor. If doesn't matter if they are proficient in it or not, their spiritual oaths prohibit them from using it. Elven druids can't use the longbow or longsword without losing their powers, for example.

Druid is the only class in 3e that has this outright prohibition, and that is why many DM's have rule-0'd it in one fashion or another.

Whoa. I never noticed that before. I'm glad someone pointed that out before it came up in one of my games.

 

[mikebr99]

Druid's of Mielikki

If I'm not mistaken... the FR Goddess Mielikki has relaxed the rules regarding the weapons that her Druids (or is it Ranger/Druids) are aloud to use.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

What level would a druid have to be to make enough Ironwood to create a suit of Ironwood breastplate? Full plate? etc. I can't quite figure it out. Is it by weight?

 

[Xahn'Tyr]

What level would a druid have to be to make enough Ironwood to create a suit of Ironwood breastplate? Full plate? etc. I can't quite figure it out. Is it by weight?

The spell description says: Target: 5 lb. of touched wood/level
This is a 6th level spell, so that is 55 lbs. when you first learn the spell. Since even full plate only weighs 50 lbs, the weight is not really a consideration. You get a full suit for 11 days it seems (not that you would be proficent with heavy armor).