Roleplaying RAW

[JNAProductions]

Tangent from this thread (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?660430-Will-Owlbears-be-Beasts-When-will-Owlbears-Be-Beasts).

In the Druid's Armor Proficiency section, it says they "Will not wear metal armor."
A lot of people treat this with the weight of an ironclad rule, much to my dismay, but part of the reason for my dismay is that it is, to my knowledge, the only such Roleplaying Rule in the game.

Now, I've not done a deep dive of the books looking for more-does anyone else have examples of similar restrictions or such on roleplay found within the rules themselves?

[kazaryu]

i mean, paladin oaths are pretty hardcoded roleplay rules. but they're just not ones that affect mechanics the same way as druids.

[Sigreid]

Tangent from this thread (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?660430-Will-Owlbears-be-Beasts-When-will-Owlbears-Be-Beasts).

In the Druid's Armor Proficiency section, it says they "Will not wear metal armor."
A lot of people treat this with the weight of an ironclad rule, much to my dismay, but part of the reason for my dismay is that it is, to my knowledge, the only such Roleplaying Rule in the game.

Now, I've not done a deep dive of the books looking for more-does anyone else have examples of similar restrictions or such on roleplay found within the rules themselves?

I think the Paladin oaths qualify.

[JNAProductions]

They do not to me-they don't have any mechanical restrictions/benefits. I get why others would class them as such, though.

[Sigreid]

Well, this isn't book, but if your at my table and you're playing any of the holy rollers and want to keep your divine powers, you're going to keep a reasonable semblance of your religious tenants. Only real difference is in this case they set in print and left consequences to the DM.

[kazaryu]

They do not to me-they don't have any mechanical restrictions/benefits. I get why others would class them as such, though.

to be fair, i could have sworn there was some mention of losing their powers if they fail to uphold their oath. with mention of needing to seek atonement. but i couldn't find it via a brief search.

but overall i do think you're right that rules like that are rare

[Willowhelm]

Tangent from this thread (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?660430-Will-Owlbears-be-Beasts-When-will-Owlbears-Be-Beasts).

In the Druid's Armor Proficiency section, it says they "Will not wear metal armor."
A lot of people treat this with the weight of an ironclad rule, much to my dismay, but part of the reason for my dismay is that it is, to my knowledge, the only such Roleplaying Rule in the game.

Now, I've not done a deep dive of the books looking for more-does anyone else have examples of similar restrictions or such on roleplay found within the rules themselves?

There are still some items which require a specific alignment. Eg robe(s) of the archmagi.

[Sigreid]

Every time this comes up for discussion my impulse reaction is basically that various groups choose to do or not do things all the time because it's just part of being in that group and if you don't follow the restriction, you're not really part of that group.

[Unoriginal]

Tangent from this thread (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?660430-Will-Owlbears-be-Beasts-When-will-Owlbears-Be-Beasts).

In the Druid's Armor Proficiency section, it says they "Will not wear metal armor."
A lot of people treat this with the weight of an ironclad rule, much to my dismay, but part of the reason for my dismay is that it is, to my knowledge, the only such Roleplaying Rule in the game.

Now, I've not done a deep dive of the books looking for more-does anyone else have examples of similar restrictions or such on roleplay found within the rules themselves?

NPCs can only take Sidekick levels if they're friends with the PCs.

[JNAProductions]

NPCs can only take Sidekick levels if they're friends with the PCs.

Which book were Sidekicks from? I've not really done anything with that subsystem.

[Tanarii]

The PHB has a number of roleplaying rules.

Examples off the top of my head:
Druid Armor limitations
Paladin Oaths
Personality, including Alignment and Inspiration
Use of Necromancy spells that create undead


They do not to me-they don't have any mechanical restrictions/benefits. I get why others would class them as such, though.5e doesn't distinguish between mechanical and non-mechanical.

If that's how you're analyzing it, you're doing it with some line of division you've personally created. That means you can't expect others to hew to the same decision when it comes to analyzing the rules.

[JNAProductions]

Ah, undead-creating spells! That's closer to the Druid bit, yee.

[Rukelnikov]

Paladin Oath's are a pretty clear cut roleplay restriction.

"If a paladin willfully violates his or her oath and shows no sign of repentance, the consequences can be more serious. At the DM's discretion, an impenitent paladin might be forced to abandon this class and adopt another, or perhaps to take the Oathbreaker paladin option that appears in the Dungeon Master's Guide."

[Theodoxus]

Ah, undead-creating spells! That's closer to the Druid bit, yee.

You mean like Create Undead's rule that you can only cast the spell at night? Without any additional explanation; like, you simply can't cast it during the day? That doing so wastes a spell slot with no effect? What is defined as night? Absence of the sun, so too bad, so sad if you're traveling in the arctic in summer?

[Unoriginal]

Which book were Sidekicks from?

The Tasha's. The Van Richten's has some stuff too, IIRC.