[RPG] My DM’s ruled that all spells cast in armor are subject to Arcane Spell Failure. Can you change his mind

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My Fighter wants to multiclass into Bard, and continue wearing heavy armor; I'd just avoid spells with somatic components, since only spells with somatic Components worry about an armor's Arcane Spell Failure.

However, my DM believes that all arcane spells always suffer from Arcane Spell Failure, even those without somatic components.

What is the best way to convince him that he's mistaken about the rules, and that this would be a bad houserule to make once he understands that?

He has expressed personal dislike for the Bard class, and also seems to be clinging to this line:

A multiclass bard still incurs the normal arcane spell failure chance for arcane spells received from other classes.

As his defense for his ruling.

Best Answer

The SRD is very much on your side as a Fighter/Bard if you're wearing light armour:

Bards can wear light armor without incurring any arcane spell failure chance for their bard spells.

And with heavier armour it's got your back too – it's explicit that you only suffer an Arcane Spell Failure chance with spells that have somatic components:

If the spell lacks a somatic component, however, it can be cast with no chance of arcane spell failure.

However, if this DM has been playing since before 3rd edition, they may have carried forward the "physics" of magic from earlier editions. As the DM this is their prerogative, but if that's the case then they didn't communicate this to you when it was important; if they had, you might have made different equipment choices, or even not chosen to multiclass in the first place.

However, telling the DM they're wrong will likely get you nowhere quickly – if the DM is using a "but my world works this way" house rule, discuss the mismatch of expectations and find out what would be an acceptable solution that would leave you with a character you still want to play while keeping the DM's world consistent. (Consider that the world is their character, and you do want your DM to still want to play it!) If you approach this conversation with self-assurance (but without self-righteousness!) and without putting your DM on the defensive, you'll have a much better chance at a constructive conversation with an outcome that you both find agreeable.

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