I could not find this asked anywhere so sorry if I missed it.
Druid pets and barding. By default Druids refuse to wear metal armor we know that they will not wear it themselves.
If I wanted barding for the pet though how would that work since I do not see any materials listed for what each barding is made of. I would assume light/medium could be non metallic but heavy would be.
Thematically I could see how you could even say that the Druid would not place metal armor on a pet given his proclivities but technically HE would not be wearing it. I could see how that would be like helping a fighter don his armor triggering your anathema, it seems silly.
I feel like at least Light/Medium non-metallic barding could/should be a thing. Maybe I missed something in the rules?
What do you guys think?
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There are some heavy armors that can be not made of metal. Dragon scale or plate armor are the first to come to mind. If a spell/ritual makes glassteel a thing in 2nd back in D&D there was anknekeg plate armor. It all depends on your GM and the release of further. Light and Med armors no problem as there is already Hide/leather/studded leather and even scail if the GM is feeling generous. Or you could have some types of bone armors.
Looking into it a bit I've found currently there are rules for Darkwood and dragonhide armors both are lvl 12 for standard, lvl 19 for high grade with no low grade options. So depending on your GM you might be able to convince him to allow you to get darkwood or dragonhide armor for your druid or companion of nearly any type including heavy armor like half or full plate though its gonna be very costly unless you have a generous GM and you can get someone to make it from materials you acquire during your adventures. (As a GM myself I'd likely be fairly lenient in cases like this but your mileage may vary).
One thing to bear in mind for Barding with Companions that many people miss out on is that the Maximum ItemBonus that you Companion can get to AC caps out at +2, so there is really not much benefit in ever giving them Heavy Barding of any type as you'll be simply trading +1 AC for a -5 Speed Penalty which is FAR more impactful to Animal Companions than it ever would be on a PC since they only ever get 2 Actions per turn in Combat.
Just something to keep in mind if you're looking to give your AC Barding.
This exactly which means leather or studded leather (bone studs) should be the heaviest armor you are gonna want anyway.
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One thing to bear in mind for Barding with Companions that many people miss out on is that the Maximum ItemBonus that you Companion can get to AC caps out at +2, so there is really not much benefit in ever giving them Heavy Barding of any type as you'll be simply trading +1 AC for a -5 Speed Penalty which is FAR more impactful to Animal Companions than it ever would be on a PC since they only ever get 2 Actions per turn in Combat.
Just something to keep in mind if you're looking to give your AC Barding.
This was changed to +3 in the Errata.
All great responses, Thank folks! This gives me some ammo if necessary for making my case if pressured to justify it. I do not foresee any issues now though.