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

[Oofta]

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.

Some of that just comes down to the reality of the molds and the material they're using. You can't really get too many super fine details at the price point minis target. The plastic (or metal) would either bend or break and molding in one piece would be difficult if not impossible.

 

[Frozen_Heart]

Some of that just comes down to the reality of the molds and the material they're using. You can't really get too many super fine details at the price point minis target. The plastic (or metal) would either bend or break and molding in one piece would be difficult if not impossible.

Yeah miniatures tend to have exaggerated proportions and be 'chunkier' in order to be easier to cast/print, and be more durable when handled.

 

[Incenjucar]

The more minis we have like this, the more chances we'll have of something that satisfies a given taste coming out.

 

[Clint_L]

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.

You sort of answer your own question! Metal miniatures means fewer options, and miniatures in general tend towards stereotypes for equipment as well as for body types. Your best bet to get a miniature that exact to your specifications is either modifiable minis that come with tons of options, like Wizkids Frameworks, or a custom job like Heroforge which can give you exactly what you want. But both are plastic and expensive (very expensive for the latter). Metal is lousy for customizable bits and I don’t know anyone who makes that, though you used to be able to find minis that were mostly metal with plastic customizable options (eg Games Workshop).

 

[Gradine]

To touch on a point from earlier in the thread...

I think that folks need to understand why they face so much pushback when they object to things like this. Because that pushback is completely justified, but that doesn't necessarily make it about them, personally.

Forgive me, but I need to be glib about this a bit. But if your concern for the verisimilitude of your elf magic, shadow and fairy realm game causes you to object, out loud, to additional options, which are definitionally optional, mind you, that increase the inclusivity and representation found within said game for others, then people are going to be justifiably suspect of your priorities, if not your motives.

You don't need to be personally against inclusion to say and do things that are anti-inclusive. And nobody needs to know what is your mind or your heart to know that arguing against there being wheelchairs, somewhere, anywhere in D&D, is anti-inclusive.

What exactly that says about the moral character of the person making that objection is immaterial. Simply the impact of it is.

 

[Clint_L]

Yeah miniatures tend to have exaggerated proportions and be 'chunkier' in order to be easier to cast/print, and be more durable when handled.

Eh, I agree that the miniatures could be way cooler, but it’s not a casting issue. The Wizkids wheelchair was designed to match the published art for Alanik Ray, for their Van Richtens Guide to Ravenloft PPM line, and then they just reused the mould for these unpainted variants. If you look on Etsy you can find some much cooler designs, but I don’t 3D print and they were too expensive to get shipped to Canada, last time I checked. As @MGibster points out, Wizkids aren't the best at small/medium humanoid figures. But these are what are available to me right now, so I'm glad to have 'em!

 

[Clint_L]

One thing that I noticed in the last Reaper Kickstarter was how many of us were asking, in the comments section, for greater variety in body types, in general. The issue goes way beyond wheelchairs, it's also about having different body types beyond "Muscle and Fitness cover model." It's about more gender options. For humans, more ethnicities. Just more variety and options, in general. This is great for inclusion, but for those of us who love to paint, is also more fun. I have at least a dozen variants for each of the main archetypes in The Lord of the Rings. I'm good for elvish bowmen, heavily armoured Dwarven axemen, hooded rangers, halfling rogues! I'm glad to have them, but I don't need to paint any more (unless the sculpt is exceptional; I can always find time for a truly great sculpt). So inclusion is not just good for its own sake, it's more fun!

 

[Sacrosanct]

One thing that I noticed in the last Reaper Kickstarter was how many of us were asking, in the comments section, for greater variety in body types, in general. The issue goes way beyond wheelchairs, it's also about having different body types beyond "Muscle and Fitness cover model." It's about more gender options. For humans, more ethnicities. Just more variety and options, in general. This is great for inclusion, but for those of us who love to paint, is also more fun. I have at least a dozen variants for each of the main archetypes in The Lord of the Rings. I'm good for elvish bowmen, heavily armoured Dwarven axemen, hooded rangers, halfling rogues! I'm glad to have them, but I don't need to paint any more (unless the sculpt is exceptional; I can always find time for a truly great sculpt). So inclusion is not just good for its own sake, it's more fun!

Yeah, as a fan of minis (I have way too many), I have long been asking for diversity in body types for years. Other than innkeepers or travelling monks (which show that rotund body types can easily be done).

 

[Staffan]

Yeah miniatures tend to have exaggerated proportions and be 'chunkier' in order to be easier to cast/print, and be more durable when handled.

Also because you're generally looking at a 3 cm tall figure at a distance of up to a meter. Things need to be a little exaggerated to show up at that distance. It's the same principle as theatre make-up.

Regarding the minis themselves, I don't have anything against them per se, or against disabled characters. I do think it's a bit much to expect a character in a wheelchair to have the same capabilities as one who can walk, at least not without some serious session 0 discussions, or to have fortifications that are otherwise built specifically to make it hard for invaders to maneuver to make accommodations for wheelchair users. I don't mind if they do as a sort of power fantasy/wish fulfillment, but I don't think it's something one should expect. And if your campaign does take a more realistic approach to wheelchairs and similar gear, perhaps that means disabled characters should seek out options where their disabilities are less of an issue. That doesn't mean they can't be adventurers, but perhaps more likely to be wizards than fighters. Either that or have a seriously tricked-out wheelchair that can compensate for stuff that otherwise is a problem.

Of course, this depends a whole lot on the game in question. What's reasonable in D&D is significantly different than in Star Trek. Having ramps and such for greater accessibility on a starship is a lot more reasonable than having them in a dungeon, and the range of assistive tools would also be greater (at least without delving into heavy-duty magic).

 

[Zaukrie]

It literally hurts my brain anyone has an issue with this. What an awful timeline we live in.