Quote Originally Posted by Tetrasodium View Post
If the gm dismisses you out of hand or insists on punishing you by saying that nonmetal options exist but are harder to find & that most magic armor will be denied to you for being metal (No I'm not making things up, someone actually said that in #217 is if it was completely reasonable & benevolent stance) I'd suggest finding a different GM.y
I feel it is rather reasonable. My campaign isn't high magic, and I am very glad to move away from the 3e/4e 'every item slot must be filled' mentality for magic equipment; no one is 'due' any magic equipment because it isn't a system assumption anymore. My current party (level 15ish) has found maybe three magical medium armors total, and all three were metal... not because I was plotting against the party druid, but because it made sense where they found them and who owned them before. I'll gladly provide access if you want to work it out with me, but not as a default state... my setting consistency is at least as important as your unique character concept; just like I'll turn down a character who says their noble character is king of the necromancer kingdom (there isn't such a place on the map, I can work something out perhaps but don't assume you can plunk one down in the middle of the map and call it good); or that their tiefling is a beloved local scamp (I will tell you before you start that social prejudice against all planar races is enormous in my setting).

Non-metal armor would be *exotic* in most settings. It isn't to say it is non-existent, as I could easily say as a GM, but rather that it isn't the norm. Metal armor is the norm for a reason, if for nothing else than for classical aesthetics... anything else is exotic enough to incur rarity and extra cost (though money doesn't matter much in most 5e games outside of low level play). The local blacksmith of the pseudo-medieval village doesn't know how to make or repair your stone plate, that is setting consistency not 'punishing' anyone or 'denying' you something you are due. It is, to me, an equivalent of asking for an exotic asian weapon or firearm in most settings... sure they may exist, sure your character can use one, I'll even be super flexible about your character starting with one if you can afford it (your background pre-game is flexible)... but don't expect every dragon's horde to have a +1 Pistol or flaming Kusari-gama. This of course varies per setting... in Darksun, for example, *metal* is the exotic item that I wouldn't expect anyone to have or no how to work in most places; and some places every corner tinker knows how to put together a rifle; but this isn't the standard assumption and not the state in most published campaigns at the very least.