Unexplored Druid Weak Point

[oslecamo]

First the key phrase.

A druid who wears prohibited armor or carries a prohibited shield is unable to cast druid spells or use any of her supernatural or spell-like class abilities while doing so and for 24 hours thereafter.

Now of course no druid will be idiot enough to willingly wear a prohibited armor or shield, but...

... or carries a prohibited shield...

carries

The rule doesn't say anything about the druid actually needing to have the shield worn/donned/equiped, or willingly carrying it. The shield being carried, aka in your person somehow, is more than enough to make you lose most of your druid powers, including spellcasting and wildshape.

So how do we acomplish that?

1-Soreveign glue. Kinda expensive at low levels, and the druid can pull it apart on his turn, but one moment is all we need.
2-Challenge the druid to a grappling contest. Have a metal buckler hidden under your shirt. When druid picks you up, he is carrying you, aka carrying the shield.
3-Wrapping shield from Arms and Equipment guide attaches itself to anyone striking you in melee.
4-Dancing Shield from Arms and Equipment guide is an animated shield that can be ordered to float around somebody else protecting them. It could be said that they're carrying it.


So any other ideas on how to make a druid carry a shield?

[Mixster]

If your DM ever tries this on you, it's time to find a new DM.

[Amoren]

Eeeeh...  I think RAI means that when the Druid 'willingly' and 'knowingly' carries/equips a prohibited armor or shield he loses his powers.  Unless of course it's a kryptonite thing where metal momentarily strips them of their powers.  Then the wrapping shield has a case.

[Solo]

So any other ideas on how to make a druid carry a shield?

Ask him to go sledding with you. Make a shield into his sled.

Invite him to act in your production of Julius Cesar. Specifically, as one of the soldiers. Who holds a prop shield.

Challenge him to play Nerf with you. Give him a Nerf Stonewall dart shield.

Construct a space shuttle with him. Guess what happens when you have the druid carry the ceramic heat shield to the construction site.

[KellKheraptis]

And Mileiki's ranks swelled in response to the other nature deities being petty and ganking druidic powers from beswindled druids...

[oslecamo]

If your DM ever tries this on you, it's time to find a new DM.

Well of course this is theoretical optimization. I'm in no way sugesting DMs to try to perform this on druid players.

Amoren: Again theoretical optimization, wich is based on RAW and not RAI. D&D is a quite diferent game if you use RAI and common sense.

[awaken DM golem]

Very Niice.

There were a few old tricks involving Cursed Items , used in this fashion.
Both Monster on PC, and PC on Monster.
This trick is in that ballpark.
NPC Druids could use this rather easily, on PC Druids.
At metagame level, this explains the Druidic hierarchy, and how it maintains itself.

Diplomance or Dominate = "Pick up that shield."



Are Druids still Tier 1 ... 

[Lycanthromancer]

Isn't there a Summon Armor spell? Can you use it offensively?

((Protip: this works on monks, too.))

[Rejakor]

Can't you reverse pickpocket things onto people with Sleight of Hand?  I assume just tossing it at a surprised druid and saying 'catch!' wouldn't work as all druids would be trained to never catch anything thrown at them in case it's a metal shield.

[Lycanthromancer]

Can't you reverse pickpocket things onto people with Sleight of Hand?  I assume just tossing it at a surprised druid and saying 'catch!' wouldn't work as all druids would be trained to never catch anything thrown at them in case it's a metal shield.

Or an STD. That's why they get immunity, cuz druids never catch.

They fetch, instead.

[Mixster]

If your DM ever tries this on you, it's time to find a new DM.

Well of course this is theoretical optimization. I'm in no way sugesting DMs to try to perform this on druid players.

Amoren: Again theoretical optimization, wich is based on RAW and not RAI. D&D is a quite diferent game if you use RAI and common sense.

Well if we are being bitches:
http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=shield
A shield can also be defined as carapace, shell, cuticle, shield (hard outer covering or case of certain organisms such as arthropods and turtles).
So the next time a druid turns into a land turtle through wild shape, he'll lose his powers for 24 hours since it has a shield on its back.

[Rejakor]

Prohibited shield.  Druids can totally have wooden or hide shields.  Or dragonhide shields, if they REALLY MUST.

[Lycanthromancer]

Skin shields you from the outside world. Clothes shield you from the element.

If you haven't flayed yourself as a druid and walk around naked, you lose your nature powers.

[Solo]

Those aren't prohibited shields.

[Lycanthromancer]

Those aren't prohibited shields.

They are if you're warforged. The skin part, anyway.

[oslecamo]

Can't you reverse pickpocket things onto people with Sleight of Hand?  I assume just tossing it at a surprised druid and saying 'catch!' wouldn't work as all druids would be trained to never catch anything thrown at them in case it's a metal shield.

Hmm...

Grinding weapon from BoVD. Tie up a shield to the weapon. Grinding weapon latches into the druid in a sucessfull hit, meaning he's carrying the grinding weapon and the shield. Add bloodstorm blade to do it at range.

[The_Mad_Linguist]

Can't you reverse pickpocket things onto people with Sleight of Hand?  I assume just tossing it at a surprised druid and saying 'catch!' wouldn't work as all druids would be trained to never catch anything thrown at them in case it's a metal shield.

Hmm...

Grinding weapon from BoVD. Tie up a shield to the weapon. Grinding weapon latches into the druid in a sucessfull hit, meaning he's carrying the grinding weapon and the shield. Add bloodstorm blade to do it at range.

If he were carrying it he'd be the one controlling it, and it wouldn't be attacking him, so he would never touch it.


Carrying isn't transitive, either.

Worst case scenario, druids take heretic of the faith and laugh from their full plate metal gear.

[Drull]

Not to be a party pooper, but i'm pretty sure carry in this situation means "hold in your hands for the granted armor class". At least that seems RAI.

RAW... I may be wrong, but I actually think D&D doesnt actually have the phrase "equipped", so carry would still mean exactly that, carry in your hands, not keep it around in your backpack.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Can't you reverse pickpocket things onto people with Sleight of Hand?  I assume just tossing it at a surprised druid and saying 'catch!' wouldn't work as all druids would be trained to never catch anything thrown at them in case it's a metal shield.

Hmm...

Grinding weapon from BoVD. Tie up a shield to the weapon. Grinding weapon latches into the druid in a sucessfull hit, meaning he's carrying the grinding weapon and the shield. Add bloodstorm blade to do it at range.

Isn't there a mundane modification for shields that make them do slashing damage when used in a shield bash? that would qualify the shield for grinding right?

[Solo]

You mean sharpening the edges ala Captain America?