D&D General Nolzur creates inclusive miniatures, people can't handle it.

[cbwjm]

As much as I think it's kinda stupid to have people rolling around in wheelchairs adventuring in the wilderness or dungeons, I don't think these are particularly bad. I wouldn't complain about these because I'm not a total f'n loser, even if it's something I wouldn't use in my games. People seem to want to find stuff to complain about when they should just ignore it and move on.

 

[MGibster]

Why criticize the "wheelchair concept" at all?!?!?!

If you're going to post on a forum you're going to run into people with different opinions. It's not like I went off on a rant complaining about "wokism," verisimilitude, or how the wheelchairs would work with spells, magic items, or other rules. I expressed a preference for something a bit more fantastical for player characters to use in a FANTASY role playing game. I'm not trying to poke a Bare with a short stick here, it's obvious you have strong feelings about this and that's cool, but you're going to have to accept that people might have different opinions.

Some folks who IRL use wheelchairs LOVE having this option available in D&D. That really should be the freakin' beginning and end of it right there.

And that's great. I didn't pooh pooh the idea of this being an available option. You're tilting at windmills here.

Wheelchairs BELONG in D&D so that folks with disabilities can have more representation, so that they can be more seen. Folks IRL don't have chairs with tentacles or legs . . . having that in your game ALSO is fine, but NOT as a replacement for the simple existence of a fantasy wheelchair.

You're telling me that a paraplegic character in a wheelchair that allows them to operate exactly the same as someone with working legs is representation? I'm not entirely sure I agree, but okay. If that's something you want then feel free. Like I said, it's not as if I've gone off on a rant complaining about the existance of wheelchairs in D&D.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

I don't particularly like these minis, the wheelchairs look far too big and heavy, basically fancy leather armchairs with wheels. If they're nonmagical then it's going to be hard for the user to move around even on flat ground. More suitable for a noble or merchant who gets pushed around by a servant than an adventurer.

Anyway, a good explanation for why some dungeons are wheelchair accessible could be that whoever originally build the dungeon intended to use wheeled carts to move goods around, so they made sure those carts could reach everywhere.

 

[Autumnal]

Since Game of Thrones came up…I’ve got an acknowledgment in the first book for being one of George’s advisors when it came to Bran. He started off asking those of us with significant wheelchair experience if there were anything distinctive about our dreams during wheelchair use times, and then branched out to ask about other things, particularly ones that had become obvious to us but but to others.

This is a good way to do it. Talk to people you may know for ideas based on their experience. Or ask in a place like this with a bunch of folks. And if you’re not one of those with the experience of a particular limitation, make sure not to talk over those who are. That’s about it. Get practice saying “oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to make anything worse, can I try again?”, because every decent human being does that a bunch in a diverse society. I do it a lot when it comes to situations my experience doesn’t cover, too.

 

[Lanefan]

I will say that as a rabid miniatures collector, I am delighted when someone puts out miniatures with different body shapes and appearances. Trust me, when you've been collecting for awhile you have no shortage of miniatures that look like the classic fantasy archetypes.

Then why is it that despite having hundreds of character minis here, half the time I still can't find what I want even though it's something fairly basic?

 

[cbwjm]

Then why is it that despite having hundreds of character minis here, half the time I still can't find what I want even though it's something fairly basic?

You need to start with the mini first. I say this more as someone that trawls through artwork that doesn't quite fit the character concept, start with the look first and build from there... or use hero forge, my friend got a great mini of his character by building it on hero forge.

 

[Lanefan]

You need to start with the mini first. I say this more as someone that trawls through artwork that doesn't quite fit the character concept, start with the look first and build from there... or use hero forge, my friend got a great mini of his character by building it on hero forge.

I generally go the other way around: roll the character up, figure out what makes it tick, and then see what mini I've got that'll suit it. So if the character's a plate-clad dude wielding a longsword I've got 20+ options here but if he's wielding a flail I'm SOL.

I'm idiosyncratic in that I'll only use/accept metal minis for party members, while plastic is reserved for opponents or very temporary party tag-alongs e.g. rescuees or captives, meaning the 3d-print option doesn't really work for me.

 

[AnotherGuy]

Does anyone know if the Monopoly game has a wheelchair game piece?
Maybe they made a X-Men version with Professor X's chair. Genuinely curious.

As for D&D, I'd personally dislike a plain old magical chair unless it was used by a villain, but those are usually powerful thrones with awesome powers. SKT has such a throne - can't recall now if it has the ability to fly.

For players or allied NPCs, I'd much more be in favour of a team that assisted their disabled companion in areas of difficult terrain or to mount riding beasts. They could even have a retainer or loved one specific for this duty, ideally like how Bran was treated in GoT. I see this playing out in similar vain to how halflings sometimes need assistance from their adventuring colleagues in water-clogged areas that are 4-5 feet deep. It is grittier style of play which is a personal preference and increases the difficulty by adding an extra layer of complication for both the exploration and combat pillar.
I also like some of the ideas expressed upthread of the exotic modes of transportation (tentacled contraptions, spider-legs or biological rides such as giant snails etc).

EDIT: Specific tools, materials and artificer services could also play an important role with such a character in a group. And perhaps a spare Floating Disk spell in situations of emergency. Overland travel by carriage or wagon could feature more. There are something interesting things one could incorporate with such a character.

 

[jdrakeh]

There are, perhaps unsurprisingly, people against the representation of marginalized groups in D&D, up to and including the disabled, LGBTQ+ folks, women, etc. I get to block at least one such person every month on social media.

 

[Autumnal]

A bit of random observation: I became disabled with an autoimmune disorder and its complications when I was 15. In a few days I turn 58. So I’ve been living with this stuff, up and down, a long time, including the last two years with an autonomic nervous failure sticking me back in a wheelchair full time. When I was younger, I always wanted characters who had been cured by magic, tech, super powers, whatever. Now I’m fascinated by the possibilities in things that help mitigate disabilities but do not remove them. So somewhat magical wheelchairs sound and look awesome to me.

I couldn’t tell you just why my perspective has shifted so much. Some of it is ornery reaction to people saying they such things obviously don’t belong. I tend to take on “cannot” and “should/must not” views as challenges. Beyond that? Beats me. But it’s a very real shift, whyever it happened.