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

[Orcslayer78]

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.

Yes, and when I can I educate people about the origins of the character.

 

[Umbran]

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.

And, I think there's an argument that they did a better job of using him for representation in the show than the comic books typically do. But, there's still criticism to be made there, too.

 

[Wishbone]

I really think Sara Thompson makes a much stronger inclusion argument for the Combat Wheelchair in the document than the linked article ever does. Very strange the writer chose to not link to her finished product until midway through. As an option for players who are people with disabilities it seems like a good option to have on the table if they'd like to use it.

On Daredevil, I did have a friend play as a blind martial artist once in our Deadlands Reloaded game that never got off the ground after the first session because it was the first concept that came to his mind. He took the Blind Fighting edge to try to offset the Blind hindrance since the mechanics expressly supported it. No harm was intended, but I don't think either of us would do the same thing over again if given the opportunity due to the potential for insensitivity.

 

[Northern Phoenix]

And, I think there's an argument that they did a better job of using him for representation in the show than the comic books typically do. But, there's still criticism to be made there, too.

The scene where his long-time friend, aid, and partner Foggy learns that he can, in fact, "see" (The world on fire scene) is very powerful and well done. It does also however, represent an example of "non-disability-disability".

 

[The Glen]

The issue is balancing the want of the player and how it affects the campaign. Wheelchairs have drawbacks, giving somebody a magical wheelchair at first level to get around those drawbacks is going to rub some players the wrong way.

But just thinking of the adventures that a wheelchair is going to be very tough to use in, that makes it a problem for the dungeon master.

White Plume Mountain literally opens with a small revolving door. Then you've got the free hanging disks that you have to jump from one to another.

Isle of Dread is miles and miles of open Terrain. Wheelchairs normally don't do off-road very well. Especially since you got large swaths of jungle and swamp.

Going up the towers of ravenloft are tough for characters that can walk because of the circular staircases that just keep going. I wouldn't want to be someone in a wheelchair getting pushed up those stairs or down them for that matter.

Then you've got the desert in pharaoh and it's follow up modules. That's going to be difficult at best. If the party have to go the Master Blaster routine then who has to carry the wheelchair?

Then what are you do with the wheelchair if it's an aquatic module like ghosts of salt marsh? You can't just leave it but you can't take it with you.

If you build the campaign to accommodate the character in the chair that's one thing, but if it disrupts the campaign for the sake of a single player the dungeon master may have to draw the line.

 

[Mistwell]

In another thread, one of our illustrious posters asked about making D&D more inclusive for differently abled people. i.e. Can someone play a character in D&D like them? Well Sara Thompson released the Combat Wheelchair for 5th edition D&D that some people might like. You can read about it at Bell of Lost Souls. It works for me. I'm going to have one of the villains in my Acquisitions, Inc. campaign using one of these bad boys.

I think this is pretty cool.

My daughter goes to one of the only full-inclusion elementary and middle schools in the U.S. where all kids, of all abilities (special, typical, and honors), are taught in the same classrooms with the same daily themes but often with differing detailed work particularized to their abilities, and a pool of aids. They are one of the models for this type of inclusion to other schools, with representatives from other schools often coming to observe how it works. It's funded by former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, among others.

A lot of her friends have a disability of some sort, and I can see that some day she is likely to want to play D&D with them. I think including examples in the game is a wise idea.

I also think D&D will be a particularly attractive activity for some kids with disabilities. So anything which makes that easier or more comfortable seems like a good idea to me. I plan to some day volunteer to DM an after school D&D game there.

Also, the pictures are pretty rad.

 

[Mistwell]

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.

I think this is a good opportunity for a bigger list of mundane and magical items which address all kinds. It can range from inexpensive mundane solutions to complicated rare magical ones. I don't see an issue with the more mundane wheelchair at lower levels, much like PCs who don't wear plate mail at level one due to cost. Sure, some PCs might have to lift the chair over some barriers, much like the chair might be able to roll across an area with ball bearings easier than a standing PC could walk it. I don't think these are un-fun issues for a game, do you? I see a lot of cool exploration and role playing opportunities in this topic.

 

[Oofta]

I think this is pretty cool.

My daughter goes to one of the only full-inclusion elementary and middle schools in the U.S. where all kids, of all abilities (special, typical, and honors), are taught in the same classrooms with the same daily themes but often with differing detailed work particularized to their abilities, and a pool of aids. They are one of the models for this type of inclusion to other schools, with representatives from other schools often coming to observe how it works. It's funded by former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, among others.

A lot of her friends have a disability of some sort, and I can see that some day she is likely to want to play D&D with them. I think including examples in the game is a wise idea.

I also think D&D will be a particularly attractive activity for some kids with disabilities. So anything which makes that easier or more comfortable seems like a good idea to me. I plan to some day volunteer to DM an after school D&D game there.

Also, the pictures are pretty rad.

But don't you think there's a difference between someone who is disabled wanting to play a disabled PC than someone who is not? Because in the former we'd talk about it and how they wanted to handle it and we'd figure something out. But it's not like one answer is going to work for every individual. If it's the latter I'd be really hesitant because my personal experience and understanding is limited.

I'm all for inclusiveness but it is all to easy to go from inclusive to inconsiderate if you don't understand the perspective of the person being portrayed.

 

[Mistwell]

But don't you think there's a difference between someone who is disabled wanting to play a disabled PC than someone who is not? Because in the former we'd talk about it and how they wanted to handle it and we'd figure something out. But it's not like one answer is going to work for every individual. If it's the latter I'd be really hesitant because my personal experience and understanding is limited.

I'm all for inclusiveness but it is all to easy to go from inclusive to inconsiderate if you don't understand the perspective of the person being portrayed.

I agree it's a task which requires some care, but I am not sure it's drawing on all that different a source of role playing skills than a human playing a non-human PC, much less a weak nerd like me playing a super strong fighter type character. It's not the same of course, because no half-orc barbarians will take offense at my playing a PC like that in prejudicial way. But, I do think it's the same kind of skills, and could be done without being disrespectful.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

As a DM one thing I try to be conscious of is the use of ableist language as signifying shorthand for villainy. That's been a part of fantasy tropes for ages and having a player with disabilities has made me particularly conscious of it.

For the character concept part of this, I'd mostly let the player set the tone and follow their lead, game balance permitting.