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According to Adventurer's League rules, is it legal to have a nonmagical breastplate crafted for a character which is not made from metal? This breastplate should have the same characteristics as the breastplate in the PHB on page 145, but made from a non-metal substance. This is for a druid.

According to the Adventurer's League Guide from Season 7 on page 3:

If you want your character to engage in a downtime activity, you have a number of options available to you on page 187 of the PHB.

And on page 187 of the PHB, under Crafting, it states:

You can craft nonmagical objects, including adventuring equipment and works of art....someone proficient with smith's tools needs a forge in order to craft a sword or suit of armor.

So I take this to mean, according to RAW, that the Adventurer's League allows the crafting of a nonmagical breastplate.

So, to reiterate my question, can this nonmagical breastplate be made from a non-metal substance?

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You could craft non-metal armors

Nothing restricts the types of armor you can craft either in the Player's Handbook or the Adventurer's League resources.

However...

There are only certain armors in the Player's Handbook or Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide (121) that can be crafted without metal. Here are the ones you could craft in this way with the necessary proficiencies:

Padded: ...quilted layers of cloth and batting.

Leather: ...are made of leather ... made of softer and more flexible materials.

Studded Leather: Made from ... leather ...reinforced with ... rivets or spikes.

[...]

Hide: ...consists of thick furs and pelts...

[...]

Ring Mail: This armor is Leather Armor with heavy rings sewn into it...

From SCAG:

Spiked Armor

[...]

...consists of ... leather ... covered in spikes

Nothing specifies that the rivets and spikes in Studded Leather or the rings in Ring Mail need to be made of metal. Spiked Armor even states "usually metal" implying that they needn't necessarily be.

Here are the armors you cannot craft without metal:

Chain Shirt: Made of interlocking metal rings...

Scale Mail: ...consists of a coat and leggings of leather covered with ... pieces of metal...

Breastplate: ...consists of a fitted metal chest piece ... with supple leather...

Half Plate: ...consists of shaped metal plates ... with leather straps.

[...]

Chain Mail: Made of interlocking metal rings ... includes a layer of fabric...

Splint: ...made of ... metal riveted to a backing of leather ... worn over cloth padding...

Plate: ...consists of ... metal plates

Your specific examples

For the case of an animal shell, you could certainly make rivets for Studded Leather or rings for Ring Mail. Diamonds, or some other material, sewn into leather (as opposed to hide) would work as Spiked Armor or Studded Leather (assuming the material is cut to shape).

Unfortunately this means no breastplate.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. \$\endgroup\$
    – doppelgreener
    Commented Mar 25, 2018 at 18:16
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WotC has given the ok for non-metallic scale mail too. See Link, and Dragon Scale as well.

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    \$\begingroup\$ That link doesn't talk about crafting, just wearing. The question is about crafting. \$\endgroup\$
    – T.J.L.
    Commented Jul 24, 2018 at 14:56
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    \$\begingroup\$ The link also doesn't talk about AL rules. \$\endgroup\$
    – V2Blast
    Commented Jul 24, 2018 at 18:41
  • \$\begingroup\$ While it does not mention crafting in the article, there are plenty of other articles that cover crafting which state if you can't find something your are looking for you can attempt to craft it. Since WotC has stated that non-metallic scale mail is possible, it therefore can be crafted. \$\endgroup\$
    – Capaluchu
    Commented Jul 25, 2018 at 19:45
  • \$\begingroup\$ As for AL rules, again the examples are there. Against the Giants has scale mail made of wood. There is half-plate made of fungus. A breastplate made of crystal. If these items are already in the AL modules, one should be able to use downtime to create lesser mundane versions. \$\endgroup\$
    – Capaluchu
    Commented Jul 25, 2018 at 19:53
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    \$\begingroup\$ Unfortunately, "existence as a magic item" does not naturally or logically allow for "creation by player characters as a mundane item" in DDAL play. If there is no text passage explicitly allowing it, is not allowed. \$\endgroup\$
    – T.J.L.
    Commented Dec 27, 2018 at 13:23

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