D&D 5E D&D Inclusivity for People with Disabilities

[Hussar]

Can’t say I’ve ever seen a treatise in halfling musculoskeletal anatomy, sooooo...

But here’s the thing: halflings aren’t brachiators, for sure. If anything, they’re descended from burrowers. And borrowers are very strong per pound. You wouldn’t want to tangle with a 35lb badger*, even if it didn’t have claws.

* roughly honey badger sized.

Let's be honest though. If I wanted to, I could crush a badger. It wouldn't stand a chance. Not without claws and teeth.

It's not like badgers are known for their strength. Nor are they bipedal. I mean, a 35 pound dog is a pretty small dog, incapable of much in the way of strength feats.

 

[Cadence]

Among others. Probably 85% of my D&D characters across all editions are multi classes in some way.

Tangent alert: How much of the desire to multi-class is lack of good hybrids (say splits of all non-caster/caster combinations), and how much is just liking to go beyond whatever the rules offer as default?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Let's be honest though. If I wanted to, I could crush a badger. It wouldn't stand a chance. Not without claws and teeth.

It's not like badgers are known for their strength. Nor are they bipedal. I mean, a 35 pound dog is a pretty small dog, incapable of much in the way of strength feats.

They’re not bipedal, but they are strong, tough and dangerous. There’s at least one case of a honey badger killing a human, another having mauled a Cape buffalo to the point that it bled out and have even been known to drive lions off of kills. In the link below, a ranger notes how rarely leopards and lions actually manage to kill the mean little SOBs.

Wolverine vs. Honey Badger: Who Would Win?

This question originally appeared on Quora. Answer by Rory Young, professional guide, ranger, and tracker with 23 years in wildlife and forest...

slate.com

FWIW, dogs are also stronger than comparably sized humans, though not so much so as simians. I asked a vet how my two (then fat) Border Collies were able to literally yank me off of my feet when I was walking them and they took umbrage at someone else’s mouthy pooch. I was told that an average human can drag appropriately twice their body weight, but dogs can pull 3x their body weight.

 

[MGibster]

But here’s the thing: halflings aren’t brachiators, for sure. If anything, they’re descended from burrowers. And borrowers are very strong per pound. You wouldn’t want to tangle with a 35lb badger*, even if it didn’t have claws.

Why would you say halflings were descended from burrowers? Humans managed to build the underground city of Derinkuyu and other earth sheltering homes have been constructed by various cultures including Native Americans and ancient Scots in Skara Brae and we're not descended from burrowers. Now it's true, I've never dissected a halfling (yet), but judging from most illustrations in D&D products their anatomy is remarkably human. Really, all the short races should be at a disadvantage when dealing with a world designed for humans and for fighting human sized opponents.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Tangent alert: How much of the desire to multi-class is lack of good hybrids (say splits of all non-caster/caster combinations), and how much is just liking to go beyond whatever the rules offer as default?

Yes.

By which I mean, I’m not so much analyzing my reasoning the way you break it down. I’ve merely found that- in order to model the characters in my head, D&D often demands I multiclass. Sometimes it’s because of the story/background I’ve come up with (who I want the PC to be), sometimes I have a mechanical goal I want to reach (something I want the PC to be able to do).

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Why would you say halflings were descended from burrowers? Humans managed to build the underground city of Derinkuyu and other earth sheltering homes have been constructed by various cultures including Native Americans and ancient Scots in Skara Brae and we're not descended from burrowers. Now it's true, I've never dissected a halfling (yet), but judging from most illustrations in D&D products their anatomy is remarkably human. Really, all the short races should be at a disadvantage when dealing with a world designed for humans and for fighting human sized opponents.

I played off of your assumptions. Why did you assume halflings aren’t brachiators? There’s nothing in the game that says they aren’t.

We’ve got ART describing their builds, but sometimes they’re pudgy barrels, sometimes they’re slender mini-elves.

The one certainty is that- despite their smaller size & mass- they are modeled in the game to have the same strength and dexterity as humans several times their mass. That means they’re not just short humans, analogous to toddlers.

 

[Northern Phoenix]

That page+ of that kind of discussion is why i think just skipping trying to "justify" whatever by twisting the setting and/or its details into knots is the better option.

I mean, in most settings the halfling god(s) made halflings work the way they do, if you must have an "in universe" explanation. Boom, done.

 

[Cadence]

The one certainty is that- despite their smaller size & mass- they are modeled in the game to have the same strength and dexterity as humans several times their mass. That means they’re not just short humans, analogous to toddlers.

The modeling of Halflings seems to have changed quite a bit from 3.5 to 5e; no more -2 relative strength difference from humans and no 3/4 multiplier for carrying capacity. But they weren't just straight up toddlers before in any case.

 

[MGibster]

I played off of your assumptions. Why did you assume halflings aren’t brachiators? There’s nothing in the game that says they aren’t.

I minored in anthropology at university which included some physical anthropology courses where we went over the anatomy of various humans, our ancestors, and existing relatives. And while I'm certainly no expert, even an amateur like me can look at a halfling and figure out that it isn't a brachiator. The biggest clues are the halfling's short stubby little arms. One characteristic of the brachiator is that their arms are longer than their legs which you'll see in chimps and gibbons. And, come on, if brachiation was a typical means of traversing a forest for the halfling I think the rules would have mentioned it.

The one certainty is that- despite their smaller size & mass- they are modeled in the game to have the same strength and dexterity as humans several times their mass. That means they’re not just short humans, analogous to toddlers.

I conceded this already. It's one of those D&Dism I just accept for the sake of the game. It's certainly not any sillier than many other parts of the game.

 

[Weiley31]

Somebody made a combat wheel chair.

D&D: Combat Wheelchair Makes Splash With WotC Staff, Critical Role's DM, But Not All Agree

D&D has a combat wheelchair now, much to the delight disabled gamers, WotC Staff, and Matt Mercer--but not everyone is on board.

www.belloflostsouls.net