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

[Orcslayer78]

Personally I believe that in a fantasy world, especially high fantasy like Planescape or Eberron there can be better ways to include people with disabilities than a wheel chair that would be very impractical while visiting dungeons or ancient ruins.
One can play a disabled character in a fantasy world without sticking to real life disabilities and real life solutions to help disabled people.
For example a chair with spider legs would be more efficient during dungeon crawling, or the character could just have no legs and floating with a magic object which uses a spell like Tenser's Floating Disc, or a serpent like magical exoskeleton.

 

[Northern Phoenix]

Personally I believe that in a fantasy world, especially high fantasy like Planescape or Eberron there can be better ways to include people with disabilities than a wheel chair that would be very impractical while visiting dungeons or ancient ruins.
One can play a disabled character in a fantasy world without sticking to real life disabilities and real life solutions to help disabled people.
For example a chair with spider legs would be more efficient during dungeon crawling, or the character could just have no legs and floating with a magic object which uses a spell like Tenser's Floating Disc, or a serpent like magical exoskeleton.

If you negate the disability, they stop being disabled. Again, see Daredevil, and similar characters.

 

[Orcslayer78]

If you negate the disability, they stop being disabled. Again, see Daredevil, and similar characters.

The situation is different, that's not giving them powers to "compensate" like Daredevil* but realizing that in a fantasy world where magic is real there can be better options than a wheelchair to help disabled people, especially if these people will go exploring dungeons and wilderness.

*I disagree about Daredevil tho, he was no different than many other Marvel chacracters how Lee, Kirby and Ditko created them: Iron Man was costantly on life support, the Thing was disfigured (the early version, not the modern rocky version) Doctor Strange had difficulties at using his hands, Hulk had multiple personalities.

 

[Northern Phoenix]

The situation is different, that's not giving them powers to "compensate" like Daredevil* but realizing that in a fantasy world where magic is real there can be better options than a wheelchair to help disabled people, especially if these people will go exploring dungeons and wilderness.

*I disagree about Daredevil tho, he was no different than many other Marvel chacracters how Lee, Kirby and Ditko created them: Iron Man was costantly on life support, the Thing was disfigured (the early version, not the modern rocky version) Doctor Strange had difficulties at using his hands, Hulk had multiple personalities.

Where magic is real, why are there disabilities at all? Ultimately it's a question of representation rather than setting logic. I personally don't actually feel the need to be "represented", i'd rather just play as a normal person. But some people do, and that's cool too. What i find offensive is fake representation.

And when using pop culture reference points, it's probably helpful to use the most famous and recognizable versions of those characters today, rather than comics that were old when my dad was young.

 

[Umbran]

So now dungeons will be required to have accessibility ramps together with stairs?

Mod Note:

A moderator upthread has already noted having a family history with disability.

Snarky commentary on accessibility is probably unwise.

 

[Umbran]

I appreciate you taking the time to point that out. If it's within your power, I don't mind if you change the title to "Inclusivity for People with Disabilities."

Done.

That's a valid point. But in a game of over-the-top action like D&D, how do you represent a player character with a disability that makes day-to-day life more difficult with any degree of realism while simultaneously ensuring that they're just as effective as any other character who does not possess a disability?

I don't have an answer for that. I don't think there is a good and easy way. See below.

And, to be clear - my comments were not to say that this wheelchair was badwrongfun. It is 100% okay for folks to use this chair in their D&D games! I just had personal access to other thoughts on the topic, and felt it would help the conversation some to have them presented. I just don't want them to be surprised by feedback that isn't monolithically positive.

I don't know if D&D would be the best way to accomplish that goal. In the words of The Wheelchair hero quoted in the article, "I CAN PLAY A DND CHARACTER WHO IS LIKE ME NOW!!!" I think that's what it's all about really. Whether it actually accomplishes that goal is another thing I guess.

Whether it accomplishes that goal will probably depend on the person. It isn't like folks with disabilities are monolithic in their attitudes, after all.

So, my brother had two ways of approaching gaming - when he wanted straight up power fantasy, he just went with a character that could walk. To him, that was just like one of us desk-jockeys playing a character with an 18 strength, or any other stat so far above our own. If I play a superhero that can bench press an 18-wheeler, I'm pretending my character has physical abilities I don't, after all.

When he wanted representation, he tended to play modern-era games, with characters that had abilities that didn't outright cancel their disabilities. Shadowrun riggers, superheroes with powers that didn't put them in melee, and so on. We did manage a medieval fantasy arc with him playing a character that represented him, but it was a whole lot of work.

I think playing characters with disabilities needs to be a lot like the life of a person with disabilities. If you are in a wheelchair, you adjust your life somewhat to suit - you have to pick your home, and your job, your car, and a lot of other things to suit your needs. If you're going to have a character in a wheelchair, you adjust the game to suit.

 

[Umbran]

*I disagree about Daredevil tho, he was no different than many other Marvel chacracters...

Have you considered the possibility that those characters weren't really great representations of their issues either?

All fiction is a product of its time. I will grant that these characters, when created back in the 1960s, were ahead of their times. But, by modern standards... they aren't perfect.

 

[Orcslayer78]

Where magic is real, why are there disabilities at all? Ultimately it's a question of representation rather than setting logic. I personally don't actually feel the need to be "represented", i'd rather just play as a normal person. But some people do, and that's cool too. What i find offensive is fake representation.

And when using pop culture reference points, it's probably helpful to use the most famous and recognizable versions of those characters today, rather than comics that were old when my dad was young.

Where magic is real disabilities can come from curses or magical accidents or magical diseases not curable through magic and only because healing magic is real doesn't mean it could be available to everyone.

When using pop culture references I will refer to things I know and I've read, I will not adapt them to other people's ignorance about the matter, I will rather explain them the origins of those characters like I did in my previows comment.

 

[Orcslayer78]

Have you considered the possibility that those characters weren't really great representations of their issues either?

All fiction is a product of its time. I will grant that these characters, when created back in the 1960s, were ahead of their times. But, by modern standards... they aren't perfect.

Today people still read Daredevil because is a beloved character that sells, but one is still free to look at other characters who better represent disabilites for today's standard, I personally don't know any of them but I guess there should be something like that from publishers different from Marvel and DC.

 

[Northern Phoenix]

Where magic is real disabilities can come from curses or magical accidents or magical diseases not curable through magic and only because healing magic is real doesn't mean it could be available to everyone.

When using pop culture references I will refer to things I know and I've read, I will not adapt them to other people's ignorance about the matter, I will rather explain them the origins of those characters like I did in my previows comment.

Daredevil is the main character in the seen-by-millions tv show of the same name, which discusses his "disability" and lack-thereof within the story.