the first time I saw this topic I thought "oh neat", now I find out it has such controversy, why get angry over a free, home-brewed idea, being shared for others to have the option to use
Dude it’s a nine page look at me feature And it’s not even actually interesting if you can be defeated by stairs you’re not an adventurer have a necromancer glue your top have to a horse for gods sake’s
@@charlottewalnut3118The latest version has a flight speed of 30 so stairs are not a problem or any pressure plate trap is now a non issue. And it is compact so the person can fit into narrow gaps as well.
It's easier for people to maintain suspension of disbelief with Dragons and Mimics because they aren't in our world. Dragons aren't something that people see and deal with, so we have no refrence on what they can and can't do. There's no solid real world basis for how a fire breathing sky Lizard the size of a Whale breeds, hunts, or anything like that, so it's easy to accept anything shown about them in media. Wheelchairs however are a real thing, so we know what their limits are. My mum's in a wheelchair, so I know how easy it is for them to get stuck, and that's why I - and likely anyone else who spends a lot of time around wheelchairs - will struggle with accepting the idea that somebody in one will have no problem going down a muddy road. There's also the fact that the Combat Wheelchair grants benefits that make playing a legless or paralyzed character better than an able bodied one. It grants the character proficency with tinkers tools - even if their class, background, and backstory would say nothing about them such a skill - and no penalty to movement in rough terrain, while able bodied PCs get slowed down.
That last part is what gets me. The whole point of role playing a character with a disability is to intentionally give yourself a handicap. It give the character a physical flaw they need to overcome, it can lead to interesting scenarios and character development that way. But the combat wheelchair takes that concept and tests it out the window. It makes playing as a disabled too advantageous which is not how it is in real life. I know this because I myself am disabled. It isn’t a fun experience and I’m a little offended someone would try to make it that way.
You say that the only reason a DM would have the characters climb a mountain, is to make it hard for a combat wheelchair. What about the DM that took mouths to plan a online quest, set in a desert, fill with deadly sand taps and underwater tunnels? Or plan to have the team go to a icy island, with have non-stop 70 mph winds? Then find out that one of the team want to used a combat wheelchair. What if it is a new player joining a quest that is a year into the campaign? Dose the DM just trash all their work? Do they risk making the combat wheelchair feel bad or getting mad, for getting special treatment? Or dose the DM keep everything as plan? And risk making the other team members mad. As some that was In Special Need Class, I would just leave the sand taps, icy lakes, and everything else. I hated all the special treatment I got. Others did not. SIDE NOTE: I think Pathfinder have rules for combat wheels. I know they have rules for crutches, even say that "this tool is used by merfolk and other folk to help with moving on land."
The issues you’ve presented are issues deriving from communication about expectations with players, not with the wheelchair itself. If you mess up and are in any of those positions, I would recommend attempting to compromise with your players and square those with your expectations for your game (which could of course mean not allowing wheel chair use in the game). You seem to concede though that with “special treatment” (I.e narrative justification) you could make it work to allow that player in. This is all to say that none of these are reasons why the wheelchair couldn’t be played.
Well in the case of the underwater tunnels, I'd suggest keeping the wheelchair in a bag of holding or something similar because the disabled won't need it when swimming... Sand would of course be difficult terrain for the wheelchair.... As for Stairs, I'd consider it similar to a cliff encountered a party where some players can fly and some can't....
Realism isn't ableism and it isn't added specifically to hinder disabled characters. As a DM, you try to apply the logic of what would naturally happen to a given situation. And while I agree that you shouldn't be giving a wheelchair-bound character flack over fitting through a door unless you did the same for the goliath, there are some circumstances, such as trekking through a dense rainforest, where a wheelchair can and should be an impediment that affects the wheelchair-bound character more than able-bodied characters. I'm not going to make the forest floor as smooth as polished marble just so the wheelchair character can keep up - that would be dumb. Everyone, including the player of the wheelchair-bound character, knows that rainforests aren't like that and that making them like that is unrealistic pandering. And since I plan the prominent locations and dungeons of a campaign long before I have players, it's not 'added in'. So what are we to do? Are rainforests off-limits for campaigns? Should DMs be expected to give up on / redesign the environments they spent weeks creating just for one character, even when it feels forced and super unrealistic? I think the combat wheelchair module is very poorly done. Instead, I would suggest a magical sphere-like chair that floats at all times and is telepathically connected to the rider, or perhaps a magical pair of prosthetic legs. It gets around all the annoying justifications you need to make for a wheelchair to work and uses the far more easily justifiable "it flies" or "they're just legs" defense. Then all you have to do is come up with a backstory reason of how the character got the item since they likely wouldn't be widely available. So much easier than doing all the mental gymnastics necessary to make a wheelchair-bound character able to traverse the game world just as easily as an able-bodied character.
Where I'm at as a DM, the example used is way too OP and is far better than normal legs. I would not allow a chair with wheels, but I would allow spider legs on a chair and have it skitter around.
TLDR; the wheel chair would not work for reasons that are purely logical and extremely dark based on thousands of years of human nature on our own world and how it has always functioned. So I want to point out a few things from a logical perspective based on my off hand knowledge of 3.5. 1. Let’s look at income disparities. It is ironed out that 1 gp is a year wage for a commoner who gets paid a few coppers every pay. An expert would get around 10 gp a year as they earn a few silver per pay. Warriors, I believe earn around the same as experts and adepts are treated as lower end aristocrats. It is described that the 1gp a commoner makes is just enough to keep it alive assuming it makes its own clothes, grows own food, etc. commoners in d&d are as severely impoverished as they were a thousand years ago. An expert would have a higher income but also has a larger overhead. Warriors are only paid as long as they can do their duties. The only ones who could reasonably afford a wheel chair, something that would need to be specially crafted and made to order, would pretty much be just aristocrats, adepts, and those with advanced training (player characters). Considering that adepts and aristocrats only make 0.5 % of the population and all pc classes in total only make up 0.1%at most, there is, at most, only 2% of the populace that could potentially afford one. Some experts, depending on field, could potentially afford a basic one but nothing ever combat ready. 2. We also need to remind ourselves that until about two centuries ago, unless you were able bodied enough to work, or had the resources to supports you, you didn’t last. Life was exceptionally hard, people died young, and disease was rampant. Unless you were from the upper class, life was short, brutal and dangerous. It only gets worse the further back you go. While magic is a thing in d&d, it is still a very class divided system. Unless you have plenty of money laying around, your chances or dying from some disease, accident, or run in is pretty high. This is without bring into the fact that d&d is full of species that just murder bone us. The 98% just does not have access to any of the magical or mundane benefits the average d&d player sees. 3. Now that we brought up those two key points, now we need to look at the remaining 2%. Assuming you were not born into the 98% and didn’t die at an early age from predators, raids, disease, famine, or being abandoned by your parents (who were barely able to feed themselves, let alone a disabled child), you could potentially survive being disabled and grow old enough to navigate the next hurdle. This is navigating a world where the vast majority are not wheel chair bound. Unless you live somewhere with a large enough population of disabled people, and the authorities over the city decided it was worth the costs to accommodate an exceptionally small percentage of beings, navigating will just be a different time. Even worse outside population centers. 4. While I agree inclusivity is important, and a DM should build a story around their characters, we can’t fully remove reason. It is a magical world so there is differences. That works both ways though. Since it is magical, unless you were born with a defect and/or couldn’t afford the treatment, you are magically cured. So the portion of wheelchair bound people will further diminish. We also need to consider the game is based on a society from a thousand years ago with a power structure reminiscent of ones that have existed for thousands of years. Finally, humans are always going to be humans. Even other species are still modeled based on a human perspective. You can only assume so much about how we would be without being reminded we are still a greedy, dangerous, and highly intelligent species that is only as nice as our resource abundance allows us to be. The second that gets taken away, our real nature comes out and the disabled, old, and infirm, historically, tend to be weeded out first. Then as the resources dwindle, we just just splitting into tribes and murdering each other. That behavior sadly lurks in every human and most of our decisions are made from a very short sighted approach that aims for instant gratification. Can’t model a world without that nihilistic humanistic understanding of what we are and how we treat each other.
My 2 cents. I haven't really followed the controversy, but i do have a problem with this homebrew. I think having a wheelchair character is interesting BECAUSE of the limitations. Saying "you can rule the hallway is wide enough" is avoiding the point. If a disable character has to behave, on the map, exactly like a non disabled one you can put magical iron legs on it instead of a chair. The only reason to use the chair is limits. Working around problems. Having to be brought on shoulders sometimes, and so on. In the end it's boring and useless to create a character with an interesting limit, say not being able to use his legs, only to make up stuff to make the limit go away in all situations. A dnd character isn't a lol champion to be skinned with no actual change. Embrace the limit.
but at the same time, D&D has magic. very common magic. wheel chairs either have to be fundamentally amazing, and they aren't, or they are insanely stupid for an adventurer to have. the only exception i could think of is an artificer, in which case, why the hell would anyone use a wheelchair? i guess there are a very select few scenarios involving creatures without legs to begin with, but i wouldn't let a player play a mermaid if the campaign wasn't heavily water based.
Honestly, I'm still shocked this was a controversy. It's one of the most harmless things I've ever heard of, it's a cool supplement! Also even if it isnt for a disabled character, it could be part of an adventures story that in the campaign they get injured badly and cant walk, so they have to adapt to a new form of movement so they can still travel with their friends!
I think this is a good idea but I think ram damage by a wheel chair can only give about 1 hp damage. And the same for crush damage. Maybe give a ram bonus +1 for initial attack while rolling into combat more than 10 feet distance. Maybe crush damage you can use when facing opposite to the opponent. You can back into them while taking a movement to turn the wheel chair around.
The problem with this suplement isnt the suspension of disbelief already required for dragons and fireballs. There are two main problems with this suplement. 1. In the default setting of forgotten realms and most other official DnD settings magic is fairly common, and even powerfull magic effects are not relegated to long forgotten myths about gods, but rather something that is quite easy to seek out. Visit any major city with a couple of temples and each of them will have several clerics able resurrect the dead, and fixing a limb or two is really no biggie. (would also cost way less than the base price of a combat wheelchair). Given how the established world works the combat wheelchair simply isnt a believable sollution to the problem. Even if we for a moment imagine a DnD world without cleric spells and healing magic but still had the magic needed to invent the combat wheelchair, why would artificers invent the combat wheelchair instead of golem legs? Animated magical legs would not need the amount of workarounds and special effects that the combat wheelchair does just to function. The second and bigger problem with the wheelchair is that it doesnt just allow a crippled character to adventure like any able bodied adventurer. It goes far and above with all the easily acessible bonuses. It is quite possible to have an enjoyable campaign set in a world where magic items can be bought at the magic item wallmart of which every small village has one. THat is however not how magic items work in most settings. The combat wheelchair and its upgrades however is something you can ask any blacksmith in any village to whip up stuff for. If I wanted a ring of [advantage to stealth checks] for my character I could not expect to always find one in any village/town I visit always for sale at a set (and very low) price, but that is how the combat wheelchair suplement works. The wheelchair suplement isnt about just allowing a disabled character to play on equal footing as an able bodied character because introducing a magic item wallmart element to every campaign regardless of setting is something entierly different.
My criticism of the combat wheel chair from a creative stand point is that I find it to be unimaginative. There are several games that circumvent the physical disabilities of characters or units. Lucio from Overwatch, the Protoss Dragoon from StarCraft, and the Imperium Dreadnought from Warhammer 40k are a few I can think of. All of these examples are in keeping with the aesthetic and technology of the world they are in. If you were to give Lucio a wheel chair instead of cybernetic legs it would look silly. A space marine wheeling down a hill firing at a squad of Orks looks silly. In the world of dungeons and dragons a wheel chair looks fine for a former adventurer in retirement in his/her mansion. But within the confines of an ancient crypt it looks silly. You have a world of magic, artificers, lost dwarven technology and the best this creator could come up with for allowing a paraplegic to go adventuring was a wheelchair that can do magic? It's at this point that I believe it's more about the wheelchair itself than about being inclusive toward the physically disabled. The creator like many people from this generation want to play characters who are exactly like them, in a world that caters to them instead of playing characters in a world that reacts to their decisions. Gh0stMan0nThird on Reddit says it beautifully: "Let's replace "wheelchair" with "breastplate," and I don't think anyone would be singing this items' praises. This is the epitome of overpowered, Mary Sue homebrew that nobody should take seriously. Coming from a disabled veteran, regardless of how you feel about the idea of a combat wheelchair, this ain't it."
This part of this comment is not directed at the homebrew directly: I'd rather DM/play a game that (baring magical effects) don't ignore physics/chemistry/etc. Simple example is while there are no 5e Rules for penalties to be swimming while carrying 50lbs or gear and being fully armoured. And even with magical effects in play, then bend the laws but there has to be some point where it's stupid over magical. You example with the goliath having trouble fitting through a door? You can bet you bottom dollar I'm considering that as a DM. Encumbrance? I track that. etc etc. We try to follow RaW/RaI as much as possible, with realistic physical effects. most importantly, we try to stay consistent in these areas and I'd encourage my players to point out if I wasn't (sometimes I'd forget something to me was trivial but for their plan is important). About the chair: I like the idea, and I'm happy to see something like this made. I work with accessibility testing and quality assurance so I'm happy with this direction. I just find the chair as is OP for its value and since I've yet to play with someone that wanted to have PC in one I can't comment on the mechanics in-game. I just don't see the viability of a balanced version of this wonder item working (in conjunction with the first part of my comment above). Particularly if I was running an intelligent BBEG (and friends) versus the party w/ a PC in the chair... I'd definitely be interested in running a session+ to actually see for myself though.
3 critical hits though is excessive. I'd prefer it to be somewhat like a separate set of it's own temporary hitpoints. Once it's gone, it's gone and you can repair it.
My dm casted heat metal on my wheel chair and I roasted to death. I didn’t mind it because flaws are normal no one is perfect Also it should be consider a magic item
Yes. Absolutely. This is just the “doorways aren’t going to be wide enough” argument and the laziest of all strawmen. If you choose to make it difficult for disabled characters then of course it will be difficult for them. But you are choosing to make it difficult. No one is making you.
@@Felthelebwasn’t one of the points of dnd to have the party problem solve? When was it the DMs job to make every encounter Easy? If the player decides to go to the swamp land in a wheel chair there will be consequences if they are not prepared. It’s not my job to always prepare the party the party should be asking “what challenges will we face down the road? What can we do differently to tackle these issues?” If you took a wheel chair to a swamp or marsh you would find that it’s pretty hard to move around. That’s called realism. Just because the dm doesn’t give an easy out doesn’t mean the dm is being mean or bad some times he/she wants the party to figure out what the best course of action is. I can tell that by your answer you haven’t dmed a lot.
I think it’s Important to note that he’s asking about if things that were always there in the world become the object of DM critique: not just things made up as obstacles or “gotchas” for the party. There have always been swamps in D&D worlds. The way I read his question, This isn’t an objection to the wheelchair or using it per se, (in which case it would be a straw man) it’s a question about what the culture of play looks like now that we welcome the combat wheelchair.
@@The_CGA thank you. I purely ask cause my world has a fairly large swamp land that is commonly traversed by small boats. Players could walk but there would be leeches and nagas in the water and traps. It’s about 4-5 feet high in some parts. A wheel chair would get stuck. Did I have wheel chairs in mind when making this part of the map? Nope because who would try and make that trip on food Would I allow players to put the wheel chair on the boat? Yeah I would.
Automatic proficiency in tinkers tools, ignore penalties in moving through mountains, forests, coasts, and grasslands, AND you can't be knocked out of it? Wait, there's more advantages? OK, maybe when you hit level 7, wait, you want this at first level? What about the other characters? No, just no. You don't get an armored assault vehicle at first level, get out of here with that shit.
@@hayseshouhda5730 I am gonna go out on a limb here and say that he meant something along the lines of the fact that centaurs also need to have the game designed around them a bit, like for example cave width, both the wheelchairbound person and the centaur need the cavern to be a certain width otherwise they wont get through, or like climbing ropes, centaurs struggling with that aswell ofcouse I do not know the original commentor so I could be wrong in this assumption
Now that I’ve seen a good review of this supplement it seems really interesting! I think my biggest issue was that some big news company made an article about it and got really political about it that really kinda muttered creation itself.
We had a player who was a siren and used the wheelchair to get around in land. One of our missions required her to drink a potion she had made to give her legs temporarily and that is where my favorite thing ever said in a dungeons and dragons game came from: “roll for legs”
I think your point about disability being part of a character's story is important. Especially in such an intense RP game as D&D, players want to see themselves in characters. If they want to play a character whose disability is a big part of their story and arc, that's awesome! If they want to play a character who uses accessibility tools and that has absolutely no bearing on what they can and cannot do, that's great, too. It's all about the player's choices and, most importantly, what they want to get out of the game. From my perspective, I think a lot of it has to do with being empowered. It can be empowering for one person to recognize their own or their character's disability affecting their daily life but NOT stopping them from being an adventurer, and it can be empowering for another to be disabled but not hindered (as in, they use a wheelchair but are not inherently disabled by it in game as they likely are IRL, such as having to take circuitous routes to get anywhere cuz of stairs). I think the way the players want to take it and how they work that out with the DM should remove any troubles regarding gameplay.
@@YourFavoriteDerp I didn’t end up running with this expansion, instead what we worked out was to turn my wheel chair into my steel defender having it change between a wheelchair or an arachnid form depending on the situation. I haven’t had any problems yet and I’m still using said character.
This a great video and your opinion on the matter is super good. That's so stupid that it's a controversy. The door thing is the worst. People in real life exist with wheel chairs and still manage to get through doors. Honestly doors in real life are like half the size of doors in DnD.
Literally the entire thing was put together for the sake of saying "We're inclusive! Look, you cripples can play the games now because we have imaginary wheelchairs for you! What do you mean you want to fantasize walking?"
I found it to be patronizing, honestly. I don't identify with any of my disabilities to the point that I feel the need to project that onto my characters, in fact, on my worst days I can barely walk and just.. I would never play a character like that. Why, when I suffer like this everyday? I've been playing for decades and never met anyone who would feel the need to self-insert to that degree. Most people play characters that aren't like them, or characters built specifically to explore a certain concept. In this way, I wouldn't call this an inclusive move. This is the part that's patronizing to me. When we play DnD we're looking to tell stories, we're looking for escapism. You're right about some characters not letting their disabilities define them or using that as an story arch or source of conflict in some way, but this item serves as a magical cure all to avoid that. And, even though it's fantasy? Suspension of disbelief is set to a different standard depending on the group you're in. Different people have different standards for what is and isn't too far for them. For me? I think adding something silly like this impedes storytelling. It erases the conflict that good stories arrive from. There are also far more interesting and creative solutions in the settings. Some sort of prosthetic of golem artifice, a Faustian bargain to nullify pain, a tenser disk, a loyal friend to carry you, indentured servants, etc. This chair is an easy way out and just. ...Ridiculous. Despite the good intentions.
YOU wouldn't but someone at a table at the game store i played dnd who was in a wheelchair loved that idea and loved the possibility. Also what stops the character to make their wheelchair themselves, it could be a part of the story. It aall depends on the person and it is fine you think it's patronizing, but son't assume everyone thinks that.
Things that never happened for 500, Alex. I suppose the possibility exists. But the vast majority of people don't play roleplaying games to play carbon copies of themselves and their own limitations. And, I'd bet money, that they will likely find it as patronizing as I do 9 times out of 10. And, there are better more creative solutions to playing a disabled character. I addressed that already.
@@rudesthazard5769 completely fair points and i agree it's hard to believe without proof. I do think the wheelchair is a way more creative option than Tenser's floating disc (i really don't like that spell personally sorry) but it's my opinion and i respect yours too. sorry if i sounded rude.
@@chakradarrat8832 No problem, haha. I have a corrosive sense of humor myself. Doesn't always translate as humor or sarcasm in text. Everyone's entitled to their opinion, no worries.
The mountain and difficult terrain are inclusions as to make the game more interesting and fun. It's not made to pick on handicapped characters. If you're just in it for the story, then you might as well just remove the dice and write a story with your players. Because it's a game first.
In a world where you can restore limbs with magic it’s seems…. A waste. Replacement limbs greater restoration regeneration etc….and then there’s ladders Slopes up Trees to climb …..
if you had to spend that much gold on a wheelchair, why not just get the robot legs magic item that was added. Also wouldn't most healers at a certain point be able to heal it?
If your family was rich eniugh to buy you a super wheelchair they were rich enough to get you to a temple of a major good aligned God that would have clerics who are obligated to heal you.
Damn people really do be like "I can accept dragons and liches and goblins, but I draw the line at disabled people using fantasy wheelchairs to get around, that's unrealistic!" I appreciate the way you approached this. Good video.
Me I think the main problem with the concept of a wheelchair in DnD is that it's inclusion is predicated on the idea that it's the only possible solution to the problem of having a particular disability.... This is a magical fantasy world with flying carpets, animated chairs and armor, and all manner of fantastical beasts that could be used as mounts... It also seems to not take into consideration what a disabled player character could potentially do without a mobility aid in the context of the setting.... (As well as forcing the DM/Player to come up with some cause that can't be healed by the abilities accessible to the player characters or NPCs that populate the world... Namely a cause not tied to any form of injury or disease...) That said I think when it comes to wheelchairs their use by disabled characters should not be the only use considered.... (Things like maximum weight capacity, how many player characters it can hold, how fast it can go when being pushed by another PC, because I could see in an emergancy the dwarven fighter gets in the chair users lap, and the monk grabs the handle bars to push allowing the entire party to travel at monk speed while running from something bad.....)
You don't have to put anything about yourself in the game other people do and that includes the Combat Wheelchair or their Disabilities (because they want to)🙂
@@scorpius1401 acutely i now use the wheel chair with boss encounters things so broken you can break up a party of 4 folk easily by haveing an orc ride the chair and use hit and roll tactics. My group hate combat wheel chairs as normaly one of them dies trying to give the others an opening to kill it.
A lot of people are arguing that it doesn't make logical sense to have a wheelchair if you could have magical prosthetics. I understand that point to an extent, but sometimes people just want characters that represent them. If someone is a fencer and wants their character to have a rapier, you wouldn't say, "Why can't you just use this magical super-light longsword instead?" because a lot of people like rapiers. Please just let people enjoy things and feel represented.
rapiers make sense in a fantasy world, people would use them. the fuck would I stay chair bound when I got to regrow my legs with magic or hire someone to regrow them? Also, i do not understand why a wheel chair bound person would play one in the game? like, isnt the point of ttrpgs to be something other than yourself?
Yet the most played class race combo is human same sex fighter (then paladin same sex) since the start of the hobby so self inserting yourself is kind fo the base of the hobby...@@jacobgoodrich6984 We had the oracle from pathfinder that are disabled divine caster yet nobody complained abotu playind one handed one legged, blind, mute or deaf character and now having whellchair get people annoyed feel super strange to me... Also magic legs might onyl work if you were able to move you legs at a time in you life(same for healiong/regen)... so people born disabled might not be able to use those protesis... Maybe a levitating chair would make more sense but what do you do if you enter a no magic zone? fall to the ground...wheelchair does avoid to be stuck becaus eof this kind fo spell. Vampire the masquerade is mostly a setting about disabled undead vampire crippled by many physical and mental problem. also combat wheelchgaor isnt really a new things, rememeber the steam spider legged chair? rocket chariots? disabled wooden "mecha" pilots?
Honestly I don’t care about the wheel chair seeing as I’m the forever DM I’m not going to follow the crit only rule because that’s dumb seeing as it’s a magic item, magic items should be the only thing that could effect it/damage it. But how does a regular wheel chair go up stairs without help because level 1 characters don’t start off with a magic wheelchair or any magic items or special cantrips depending on your class.
I feel that as a fellow forever DM. I believe your situation is handled in the "Starting out with the Chair" and "Ascending and Descending Stairs" sections of the supplement. The more specific answer is likely "in the real world, a regular wheelchair couldn't go up stairs without help." As to why you would want that to be a challenge in your game, I'd refer you back to my video.
Feltheleb my players don't start with magic items under absolutely no circumstances. A level 1 player was literally a farmer or a black smith a month ago they're is no way they would afford it. So every issue would still be a issue until they earn they're magic chair.
Okay but like this wheelchair idea is REALLY cool, even if you don't have to use a wheelchair irl. Think of it like a story of perseverance! How did you lose the ability to use your legs? Was it something you were born with, or did you lose the ability after a vicious combatant struck you while you were down? If you were born with it, that could be something cool relating to Sorcerer's powers, or maybe a Warlock gave up the ability to walk in order to continue their insane research on Cthulu, or a Paladin seeks retribution to the evil that took away its ability. Like come on! This is like complaining about an additional background option. Think of the background possibilities! It's awesome!
why did this get recommended to me now? anyway, I'm pretty sure asking for any other item of this caliber would instantly get you labeled as "that guy" at the table. and everyone seems to love roasting those. are you really gonna make your DM play around the wheelchair on top of everything else he does just because you REALLY want to play the disabled but not actually disabled character because being actually disabled is annoying and sad which means the whole idea of the combat wheelchair nullifies any narrative value a disabled character would have making it a self defeating gimmick?
Okay hear me out. Armored Combat wheelchair with tracks with an eldritch cannon, two regular cannons and at least 9 staves of power/Fireball Wands. Disclaimer: Your DM might punch you in the face and ban artificers.
I am fine with that. Just a question. How much money did you have again? And how big is this "tank" supposed to be? I sure hope you do not face a vertical climb at some point in the future.
@@RedSunUnderParadise 12 Magic items? You wish. Maybe towards the end of the campaign. You can get however easily get 12 magic items as long as they are common, cost around 100gp each and barely do anything in combat.
5:30 with said magic this should rule the wheelchair moot. This feels like pandering: Anyone can be an Adventure? The bones littering the dungeon tell us otherwise.
I don’t understand your point. Dungeons are dangerous so disabled people can’t be adventurers? Facing danger is what makes someone an adventurer. If you died in a dungeon, you were an adventurer. Again though, you’re providing purely fictional evidence as to what can happen in a narrative. Nothing in dnd is real, and people can do whatever they want.
@@Feltheleb While I agree and endorse that every table can and should play as they see fit. The very words 'every one can be an adventure' seems...pandering. Not everyone in the game world can be an adventure. PCs risk life and sanity for gold and glory. Some will allways fall. As to the point of the wheelchair it seems like an artifical fix in a realm of Clerics and Artificers. Also put into place the chair can only be damaged by crits? It looks like instead of defining the character by class/race/background some want the wheelchair to be the defining element and that feels like more panering.
TrpDr Spider TrpDr Spider I think mainly I agree with you (I put in the video that I don’t agree with crit damages) I think that you’d agree though that while everyone can not everyone would succeed. A PC character, wheelchair user or not, needs a narrative reason for what they’re doing. As far as pandering goes, it was created for free by a wheelchair user so I don’t feel it’s pandering. for individuals who would make their defining element as the wheelchair, Ive seen no evidence of that, even so that’s their choice. Every table can and should play as they see fit, I think that’s well put
This is honestly really neat, and I even as a able bodied person like to sometimes have characters dealing with a disability, I have in the past set up one armed chars and one I have had fun roleplaying was a mute char and I look at ideas like this and imagine like a Artificer with some amazing suite of cool gadgets and the like woven into their chair as just a piece of the kit and showing how they push past their limits to be heroic.
Reading the supplement now, and it's sooooo cool. I wanna play with this. I wanna both be an ally and someone whose in a wheel chair, it's too cool not to. I'd love both a spell caster & fighter(mounted paladin or ranger, anyone?) It just yes and I'm fully abled. It's just creative & cool. IDK why controversy, it soooo aaaaugg yes.
DMs don’t “put” things to “serve as hindrances.” DMs describe narrow hallways because that’s the way the world the GM has world built caused a dungeon to arise. Some dungeons are built by kobolds-doncha think kobolds would build a dungeon with narrow corridors that suit them? Sorry I don’t “include challenges” to make people struggle. I speak the truth of the world I see through the looking glass. I am not an entertainer-I am a medium looking into another world and helping others come along on the ride, none of knows where it leads. Please don’t shame people that imagine the DM’s role differently.
Lolol the idea is quite interesting and is thought out very thoroughly. It's an interesting addition to the game, overall. Now that the video has gotten to hallways/entrances, there have been times when there were very narrow passages in Undermountain. I've only been on the 1st lvl, so far, but those could always be changed to accommodate a wheelchair character. I don't see any controversy with this, other than smoothing out the details for balance. If the chair was magical and there is a anti-magic zone...that would suck but be an interesting thing for the PC to overcome if they never thought about it.
The idea is nothing new so I dont see why people complain so much about it my only personnal complain woudl be about it being too good and making you better than a non crippled person... so all the need multiple crits cannot be shoved out of it or thrown ont he side is a big no for me... but since there is magic and some anachronic tech, it could be quite easy to make it a weelchair with extra trick gained throught the campaing(having build in levitation to climb stair low height...being able to fold it when you can use it or senhd it into a demi-plane for the time beeing for exemple if you need to cross a river) If its just to be in a wheelchair and have none of the problem(be better than normal people) of such an object/situation it would recieve a big no from me... its like giving a steam mecha/magic item other dont get it need to be somewhat balanced by an oportunity cost.
@@alphahollow5642 Wrong. My first character and setting was and included alternative sexualities. My first character was a homosexual, the reason why I opted for this was both to avoid playing into the strappin' fighter gettin' all'em ladies and to challenge myself. Sure, I made offensive jokes at times. I started off my campaign in a typical European White society where non-Whites were often officials, traders, elite soldiers or professionals. As the players travelled they encountered more non-Whites and saw their civilizations. Some were primitive, some were highly advanced; they all had their focuses and favoured activities and morals. Slaves were mostly prisoners of war or punished for a crime. The desperate sold themselves. In White societies, most slaves were White and used for dangerous or menial labour; non-White slaves were often considered a novelty and thus given a more social role. The reverse was true for non-White societies that had slaves.
I hate the idea, but fuck me, it is a fantasy game after all. It must be inclusive and all things must be possible within the realms of our imagination.
Imagine being so sad the only thing you can RP is your own attributes. I can't imagine playing a character with gender dysphoria...why the fuck would I want to. o.O
I love how people responding to this video and other pro-wheelchair videos seem to automatically assume people in a wheelchair are "lesser"/aren't "viable" because of "military"-related reasons, not realizing that the real, non-fantasy military they wank the philosophy of is abusively ableist itself towards those who are permanently hurt in service. So their reason is ableist anyways.
Here's the thing you're ignoring just support your argument: There are Hindrances in EVERY SINGLE D&D game. There's a gap between 2 cliffs, some characters can make it, others cannot. It doesn't matter what character you are playing as, you fail that athletics check, you won't make it. By your logic, "the gm is just being a dick". And seriously, people who are bound to their handicap don't want to be handicapped. I have loads of medical issues that make my life an utter living hell, WHY THE HELL DO YOU THINK I PLAY FANTASY GAMES? To be reminded of it or to escape it? Its not insensitive, its not being a dick as you claim to put roadblocks in the way. And seriously, your door example is dumb. Play an Ice Giant, see a Gnomes house, do you honestly believe that Gnome who is barely the height of a human toddler is gonna make their door big enough for an ice giant to come in? Its not a cool idea, its dumb. Xavier has mind powers, his disability is a non-issue, and FFS his chair can fly. Real wheel chairs themselves are a hindrance for those using them, not because they want to use them, but because THEY LITERALLY HAVE NO CHOICE. Do you honestly think I'd find it enjoyable to play what I live every single of my life? Ask any disabled person if they were given the chance to walk and never have to deal with the crutches or the chair again, YOU REALLY THINK THEY'D SAY NO? Yes, its an option. But its an option that actual wheelbound folks would not use. And seriously, THE BIG BAD EVIL GUY IS NOT GONNA MAKE A DUNGEON TO ACCOMMODATE FOR YOUR INABILITIES. Try telling a Lich to be considerate of Fighters who can't use magic. See how well that works out.
"It doesn't matter what character you are playing as, you fail that athletics check, you won't make it. By your logic, "the gm is just being a dick". " - That is a really good point. Yes. With this logic there is no reason to have skill checks and no reason to have a challenge. In D&D 5e there are many attributes considered "dump stats". Like Intelligence, and Strength. The reason they are dump stats is because players and DM's do not use them a lot. If the DM want strength to matter, have more physical challenges. Like climbing cliffs, jumping over pits and lifting and pulling things. If the DM wants intelligence to matter. Have more lore like history, politics and investigations. In my game we have quite a lot of it, and it is noticable when our barbarian with 8 in Int, Wis and Cha has to do those checks. They gotten into quite a lot of issues because of it. However a DM is not a "dick" for having a failure state because a character did not succeed. There is plenty of ways to resolve issues. But most players do not prepare when they go out on adventures. Like. Not trying to read through the advanture gear supplies. "I have loads of medical issues that make my life an utter living hell, WHY THE HELL DO YOU THINK I PLAY FANTASY GAMES? To be reminded of it or to escape it?" - Because these things are empty gestures and for virtue singals. It is made by people that just "want to be more open to people", while failing to understand the subject matter they are talking about. Most of them also don't play the game.
My main issue with this concept as a whole comes from the current trend of Dungeons and Dragons subverting actual creativity for the sake of making "statements". Between this and the newly announced "Wheelchair-accessible dungeons," it feels like they're looking at people with disabilities and ironically using them as a crutch for the sake of diversity Brownie Points. Is it optional? Yes. But it's still added ink and added weight and added *credit* to a potential new add-on for D&D. It's purchasing a book and removing a chunk of it because you don't want to deal with that - yet you're still purchasing that module and showing support for that as a whole indirectly *because you purchased the book including that*. Here's the deal. This entire concept's purpose is implying that the greatest fantasy experience a disabled person could have *Is to still be disabled* It's not that people are angry about its diversity aspect, it's about using the banner of diversity for the sake of something that is literally belittling disabled people as *tokens.* Can it be used for other purposes? Absolutely. I can see an Old Man using this as a humorous gimmick, but it doesn't ring as something someone who wants to fantasize being a powerful warrior will imagine. You're telling Disabled people that in order to play D&D to it's fullest, you have to be stuck in a wheelchair ingame, too!
Hey, anyone who thinks this is a bad idea needs to watch the 1979 movie The Crippled Masters that demonstrates exactly how to use these disabled characters in game play. When it come right down to it, this is a fantasy game. What if your favorite Fighter gets paralyzed by a Mgu Mgu spell and looses control of their legs. He/she can still fight but needs to get a wheel chair in order to continue. In my campaigns, I don't allow any rogues to play. That's just my choice along with some other house rules. But that is what our group likes to play. Also, critical roles are stupid too. That's the dumbest rule they made up yet. But if you can have a magical fantasy world why not have magical wheel chairs that can travel through dungeons and thick forests? You can have a wheel chair that swims under water too.
The more I think about this it occurs to me this is limited to someone disabled in the legs. There are more disabled than people disabled with legs. I think a better solution than the wheel chair which would fit in with the fantasy world is a mechanical suit. The adventurer would sit inside the mechanical suit and operate the suit using levers. If the crippled adventurer doesn't have use of their hands, Tinker Tools proficiency wouldn't help either. There could be a Cleric spell of 1st level available to "heal" the mechanical suit from combat damage.
I think it has to be taken on a case-by-case basis. If your player wants to use fantasy as a sort of escapism, great! Don't mention their wheelchair except in situations where they want to use the skills it offers. But some disabled people feel put off when their disabilities get ignored. Sometimes it can feel like erasure for them. In which case you might want to acknowledge the inconveniences of a disability: like a corridor being too small. If you're DMing and one of your characters has a combat wheelchair, just ask them what they want! Everybody's different.
Is this an item or is it a class? If its an item that's a lot cooler. That said, I don't NEED rules to justify the fighter being in a wheelchair. As a DM it'd be crazy fun to describe a dude in a chair flying around and kicking ass. And yeah someone is gonna try to smash your chair at some point. It's dramatic. It can also give that player an opportunity to do something truly heroic. They can still be cool even without it! As for WotC... well... The official inclusivity parts is something that I do not like. Just that the direction WotC is going in. If anything the notion that a wheelchair NEEDS special rules can be kinda insulting. "Oh YOU'RE different. Here are your SPECIAL RULES because YOU'RE not like us." Just let the barbarian fight in a wheelchair and do cool spins and flips with it. You really think a lack of ramps is gonna stop a barbarian from rolling up some mere steps?
Well the same kind of person that makes a video called "+1 combat wheelchair of representation" obviously they dont have any biases with a title like that
Haters : just knock them over Me: mounted combat knocked off horse! Haters: attack the wheelchair Me: leave yourself open for opportunity atks Haters: difficult terrain Me: bron the broken
I think part of the issue is that some people cannot image a disabled person in dnd because they can only barely image a disabled person irl. They lack experience with and examples of people with disabilities, basically Some people also just get real angry when you try to include anyone who is not them ...
For me, it's too powerful. Something like that should exist to bring them even, not above in the early game. Besides, you want to be disabled? I got you, and it's going to be a whole lot cooler than a wheelchair.
Wow. You must have a really shitty view of other people don't you. It isn't that their objections are based on reson and logic, no no no. It must be becuase they are morons that lack experience of ever having seen that rare breed called disabled people. What a absolutely horrible way to see other people. No. The reason the combat wheelchair is absolutly retarded is because: 1. Everyone can not be everything. Not everyone can become an adventurer nore should everyone want to. Adventurers live in danger and can die at any point. Most people shouldn't even want to be one. 2. The combat wheelchair exist in a world where magic is common. You can most likely go into many major city and ask a local cleric to resurrect someone who has died as long as you give them a donation. What do you think they ask for donations to restore limbs? If resurrecting the dead is just a hassel, why should restoring limbs be harder? It is most likely cheaper then the wheelchair. 3. If an artificer should invent a combat wheelchair, why shouldn't they have invented something like a bionic limb? Have you seen Fullmetal Alchemist? Automail is literally what people should invent if they have access to stuff like magic if you do not want to solve the problem using magic. Why make a wheelchair and have to solve all the workaround when easier options exist? Also. Have you heard about Berserk? He lost his arm and replaced it with a prosthetic with a connon inside. What is more logical in a fantasy world? A magical wheelchair or a magical replacement? 4. This is just a way to force in "inclusion and representation" into the game when it doesn't make sense for it to even exist. A wheelchair make sense in our world. It does not make sense in a world where you can fly and resurrect the dead fairly easily.
I played a merman with an amulet of levitation, you don't really need an intricately crafted magical mechchair to not have legs and still play the game. Have none of these angry people shooting down the homebrew really never played a character with any kind of different body type? lmao
You just gave a reason why the wheelchair is not need and still don't get it? I'll quote a fellow above: "It's easier for people to maintain suspension of disbelief with Dragons and Mimics because they aren't in our world. "..."Wheelchairs however are a real thing, so we know what their limits are". Adding a wheelchair that can be used in combat to a fantasy world, without the limitations the disability implies is nothing more than pointless pandering that helps nobody besides self-agrandizing twats who wanna shout out how virtuous they are.
But doesn’t the combat wheelchair essentially take away a disabled character’s story arc? The arc that sees the character developing into a hero despite their disability, or a character who develops in other ways due to their disability. This magic item essentially just brings them up to par, mechanically, with the non-disabled characters. This makes their disability nothing more than flavor, because they’re not actually “disabled” while they have the Combat Wheelchair.
Well your question I think wrongly assumes that a disabled character's story arc has to be ABOUT their disability. It doesnt. Their disability CAN just be flavor. Take Toph Beifong (Avatar TLA) or Ed Elric (Full Metal Alchemist). Both have some disabliity (blind; missing leg and arm) which is supplemented to make them on par/overpowered in combat (earth bending sight; automail prosthetics). However that doesn't keep them from being "actually disabled." Their reliance on supplements is evidence of that. And the arc for both characters spends little or no time at all exploring "developing despite their disability." Each has a character arc rooted in their emotional/moral/inner development because that is what the heroes' journey is about. With ALL that being said: No, I don't think giving a combat wheelchair takes away the option you are suggesting. You can very well have a newly disabled character struggle to learn their wheelchair and grow to be a competent fighter with it. I'd argue that with some disabilities that kind of arc would be impossible WITHOUT something like the combat wheelchair.
Feltheleb Would a character’s disability not be a part of that journey as well? Not as THE focus, but as another obstacle to overcome/adapt to. It’s kind of a big deal, it’s a major obstacle that is inherent IN the character. Personally, it just feels like a wasted storytelling opportunity to have a character that is disabled in flavor, but not in mechanic, and then not have them be forced to deal with their disability at any point. Of course, you can have your Edward Elrics who, when supplemented, don’t actually feel like a disabled character at all seeing as how their disability is effectively REMOVED. But in the event that they lose those supplements, it would make for a much more satisfying and redeeming arc when they learn to overcome the situation withOUT those supplements. As opposed to those supplements being treated as their ONLY salvation or the only things that make them relevant. As you pointed out in the video, a character’s disability doesn’t define them, but it is still a very real part of them that would believably cause hardships. But I guess it boils down to the types stories that you like. I appreciate the Brans and Tyrions more than the Ed’s, Tophs, and Alphonses.
@@Wesley_Youre_a_Rabbit I see your point! I think--if we disagree at all--our disagreement does come down to taste. I tend to think either story (Bran or Toph) could be compelling if done right. As always, I think truly compelling stories will mix both. There is also this underlying problem of "mechanics in gameplay" which perhaps is underlying our arguments. The idea of having a disabled character undergo mechanic penalties OR growth in a game doesn't always square PRECISELY with the storytelling aspect. Personally, unless my party wanted it (e.g. to have a Bran-like story), I would think it unfair to hinder a player simply for wanting to explore a disabled character (e.g. to have a Toph-like story). For a party that wants to engage in the latter, I think the wheelchair is well suited in a way it may not be for the former. However, just because it isn't well suited for the former doesn't mean it loses its utility for the latter. I think that's the point I'm trying to make. Just because a screwdriver isn't useful to drive a nail doesn't mean its an ineffective tool. It just needs the right problem to fix.
Maybe they made the wheelchair themselves and it is a PART of their arc. Also with the same logic, do glasses take away from a nearsighted character's arc?
Chakra Darrat If a player creates a character who wears glasses, then the first thing I’m asking is why do they have glasses. Does your character have vision impairment and they need glasses? If so, then they’re gonna have disadvantage on anything that involves sight if they lose those glasses. TTRPGS aren’t video game, none of that stuff is just “flavor”. They’re roleplaying games for a reason.
I get it but at the same time would you put a person that is disabled in a war ...like a real war ww1, ww2, Vietnam....I can see desk work but not real combat, if that hurts what about a real zombie apocalypse not a fake one but a logically put them in a fast running or walking dead situation. plus I'm not going to give a level 1 a 200g magical item for free
If you “get it” I’m not sure you’d comment this. DnD isn’t real so what I’d do in those real situations doesn’t matter. That’s the whole point of the video. Your argument assumes DnD is bound to rules of real life. It isn’t.
@@Feltheleb then why bring real life into fantasy...example they say orcs are black people...wtf and then why bring a wheelchair into a fantasy setting......its just people trying to fix something when the game was not broken to begin with
Chad Dega Your examples don’t make any sense. If I bring a sword into the game is that bringing “real life into fantasy?” No one claimed the game is broken. It’s just someone adding a magic item into the game. It’s like DLC not an update. It doesn’t hinder your enjoyment. You don’t have to put it in your game.
@@Feltheleb but they are pushing for it.....and they are starting to have sensitivity writers......all I'm saying is leave fantasy to fantasy...hell in UA you can make a power armor that would work better than the combat wheelchair ....or even better a centaur with a saddle then a wizard is protected and you got a blast cannon on your back. even cheaper for level 1....the max you could be lucky is 200g to start with and that's assuming you are lucky
Chad Dega Man idk how to tell you this, but if a magic wheelchair is in fantasy...it’s a fantasy wheelchair. It seems like your issue goes deeper than this one supplement. Sorry you’re going through that, but if DnD is getting more progressive, lazy criticism on this one supplement won’t change anything.
Well thought out video and i think you hit a majority of the nails on the head. Theres a point id like to bring up though. I feel like the whole addition of wheelchairs is a form of pandering in a go woke era. There was nothing before stopping the addition of wheelchairs before so i guess this is just a solidification of that aspect. But WOTC does have a thing for pandering to the woke audience and thats the bit i dont like. I just think they hid that bit very well this time.
I’m not sure I know what you’re taking about. At the time of making this video at least, the combat wheelchair was a free home brew supplement made by fan. WOTC has no hand in creating it.
@@Feltheleb oof my bad. From everything ive been seeing, which led me to this video, it was wizards of the coast who solidified the concept of a battlechair but now i cant find anything... I still feel its pandering to a degree but at the end of the day its realistically up to the person playing it, the dm and the other players. Its not as big of an issue as people are making it out to be.
i dont get how the combat wheelchair makes dnd more inclusive. people with physical disabilities were allready playing the game. its just a tool for people to make a character who is crippled because they think it will make a interesting character( and lets be honest it probably will be made by people without disabilities which i dont really care about but it seems to defeat its intended purpose.) and if we just ignore all the flaws of such wheelchair like your sand and hill example then there is no overcoming there disability and no real justification for other characters to deal with difficult terrain it just becomes pandering to the crippled person who probably didnt even make a disabled character.
There are two things I can think of 1 a person with a disability that has has a character with a disability will most likely feel some similarities whereas using a non-disabled character as a person with a disability they would feel less comfortable(it just depends on the person) 2 a lot of people don't want to "overcome their disability"and enjoy the life they have (if you read the rule set and you don't like something then change it to make it more badass)
I do have a problem with the wheelchair. Your argument about the suspension of disbelief really doesn't hold up. While consuming any sci-fi or fantasy media, we need some amount of suspension of disbelief. Dragons and other giant creatures are unrealistic mostly because of the square cube law but when it comes to ghosts and magic... those exists in D&D universe because of all the EXTRA laws that don't exists in out universe. The fact that magic exist does not automatically makes the laws of physics and logic to stop working. Ghosts exist but if you fall of a cliff you can break your legs or die. One person can shoot fire of their fingers but they still can get sick and die. For some reason you assumed that existance of fantastic elements makes the entire world nonsensical. Which is a common mistake. And about the suspension of disbelief... I know that "five heroses" couldn't kill a giant dragon in meele combat. That's where suspension of disbelief comes in. I can imagine those heroes dodging all the attacks and I can imagine them being so tough that they can withstand dragons mighty blows etc. But the sheer amount of suspension of disbelief to make me imagine the same scenario but with a character that literally can't move and attack at the same time is ridiculous. I'm curious on what you think so please don't attack me and remain civil
I have a wheelchair bound artificer that has a eldrich cannon chair with spider legs
the first time I saw this topic I thought "oh neat", now I find out it has such controversy, why get angry over a free, home-brewed idea, being shared for others to have the option to use
Dude it’s a nine page look at me feature And it’s not even actually interesting if you can be defeated by stairs you’re not an adventurer have a necromancer glue your top have to a horse for gods sake’s
@@charlottewalnut3118The latest version has a flight speed of 30 so stairs are not a problem or any pressure plate trap is now a non issue. And it is compact so the person can fit into narrow gaps as well.
@@1973WashuYeah, do you know how insane that is?
It's easier for people to maintain suspension of disbelief with Dragons and Mimics because they aren't in our world. Dragons aren't something that people see and deal with, so we have no refrence on what they can and can't do. There's no solid real world basis for how a fire breathing sky Lizard the size of a Whale breeds, hunts, or anything like that, so it's easy to accept anything shown about them in media. Wheelchairs however are a real thing, so we know what their limits are. My mum's in a wheelchair, so I know how easy it is for them to get stuck, and that's why I - and likely anyone else who spends a lot of time around wheelchairs - will struggle with accepting the idea that somebody in one will have no problem going down a muddy road.
There's also the fact that the Combat Wheelchair grants benefits that make playing a legless or paralyzed character better than an able bodied one. It grants the character proficency with tinkers tools - even if their class, background, and backstory would say nothing about them such a skill - and no penalty to movement in rough terrain, while able bodied PCs get slowed down.
That last part is what gets me. The whole point of role playing a character with a disability is to intentionally give yourself a handicap. It give the character a physical flaw they need to overcome, it can lead to interesting scenarios and character development that way.
But the combat wheelchair takes that concept and tests it out the window. It makes playing as a disabled too advantageous which is not how it is in real life. I know this because I myself am disabled. It isn’t a fun experience and I’m a little offended someone would try to make it that way.
"There was no racism in the disk because specism was more interesting, black and white lived in harmony and ganged on black" Terry Prachett
You say that the only reason a DM would have the characters climb a mountain, is to make it hard for a combat wheelchair. What about the DM that took mouths to plan a online quest, set in a desert, fill with deadly sand taps and underwater tunnels? Or plan to have the team go to a icy island, with have non-stop 70 mph winds? Then find out that one of the team want to used a combat wheelchair. What if it is a new player joining a quest that is a year into the campaign? Dose the DM just trash all their work? Do they risk making the combat wheelchair feel bad or getting mad, for getting special treatment? Or dose the DM keep everything as plan? And risk making the other team members mad.
As some that was In Special Need Class, I would just leave the sand taps, icy lakes, and everything else. I hated all the special treatment I got. Others did not.
SIDE NOTE: I think Pathfinder have rules for combat wheels. I know they have rules for crutches, even say that "this tool is used by merfolk and other folk to help with moving on land."
The issues you’ve presented are issues deriving from communication about expectations with players, not with the wheelchair itself. If you mess up and are in any of those positions, I would recommend attempting to compromise with your players and square those with your expectations for your game (which could of course mean not allowing wheel chair use in the game). You seem to concede though that with “special treatment” (I.e narrative justification) you could make it work to allow that player in. This is all to say that none of these are reasons why the wheelchair couldn’t be played.
Well in the case of the underwater tunnels, I'd suggest keeping the wheelchair in a bag of holding or something similar because the disabled won't need it when swimming... Sand would of course be difficult terrain for the wheelchair.... As for Stairs, I'd consider it similar to a cliff encountered a party where some players can fly and some can't....
@@minnion2871 random, almost forgot this post
Realism isn't ableism and it isn't added specifically to hinder disabled characters. As a DM, you try to apply the logic of what would naturally happen to a given situation. And while I agree that you shouldn't be giving a wheelchair-bound character flack over fitting through a door unless you did the same for the goliath, there are some circumstances, such as trekking through a dense rainforest, where a wheelchair can and should be an impediment that affects the wheelchair-bound character more than able-bodied characters. I'm not going to make the forest floor as smooth as polished marble just so the wheelchair character can keep up - that would be dumb. Everyone, including the player of the wheelchair-bound character, knows that rainforests aren't like that and that making them like that is unrealistic pandering. And since I plan the prominent locations and dungeons of a campaign long before I have players, it's not 'added in'. So what are we to do? Are rainforests off-limits for campaigns? Should DMs be expected to give up on / redesign the environments they spent weeks creating just for one character, even when it feels forced and super unrealistic?
I think the combat wheelchair module is very poorly done. Instead, I would suggest a magical sphere-like chair that floats at all times and is telepathically connected to the rider, or perhaps a magical pair of prosthetic legs. It gets around all the annoying justifications you need to make for a wheelchair to work and uses the far more easily justifiable "it flies" or "they're just legs" defense. Then all you have to do is come up with a backstory reason of how the character got the item since they likely wouldn't be widely available. So much easier than doing all the mental gymnastics necessary to make a wheelchair-bound character able to traverse the game world just as easily as an able-bodied character.
Where I'm at as a DM, the example used is way too OP and is far better than normal legs. I would not allow a chair with wheels, but I would allow spider legs on a chair and have it skitter around.
TLDR; the wheel chair would not work for reasons that are purely logical and extremely dark based on thousands of years of human nature on our own world and how it has always functioned.
So I want to point out a few things from a logical perspective based on my off hand knowledge of 3.5.
1. Let’s look at income disparities. It is ironed out that 1 gp is a year wage for a commoner who gets paid a few coppers every pay. An expert would get around 10 gp a year as they earn a few silver per pay. Warriors, I believe earn around the same as experts and adepts are treated as lower end aristocrats. It is described that the 1gp a commoner makes is just enough to keep it alive assuming it makes its own clothes, grows own food, etc. commoners in d&d are as severely impoverished as they were a thousand years ago. An expert would have a higher income but also has a larger overhead. Warriors are only paid as long as they can do their duties. The only ones who could reasonably afford a wheel chair, something that would need to be specially crafted and made to order, would pretty much be just aristocrats, adepts, and those with advanced training (player characters). Considering that adepts and aristocrats only make 0.5 % of the population and all pc classes in total only make up 0.1%at most, there is, at most, only 2% of the populace that could potentially afford one. Some experts, depending on field, could potentially afford a basic one but nothing ever combat ready.
2. We also need to remind ourselves that until about two centuries ago, unless you were able bodied enough to work, or had the resources to supports you, you didn’t last. Life was exceptionally hard, people died young, and disease was rampant. Unless you were from the upper class, life was short, brutal and dangerous. It only gets worse the further back you go. While magic is a thing in d&d, it is still a very class divided system. Unless you have plenty of money laying around, your chances or dying from some disease, accident, or run in is pretty high. This is without bring into the fact that d&d is full of species that just murder bone us. The 98% just does not have access to any of the magical or mundane benefits the average d&d player sees.
3. Now that we brought up those two key points, now we need to look at the remaining 2%. Assuming you were not born into the 98% and didn’t die at an early age from predators, raids, disease, famine, or being abandoned by your parents (who were barely able to feed themselves, let alone a disabled child), you could potentially survive being disabled and grow old enough to navigate the next hurdle. This is navigating a world where the vast majority are not wheel chair bound. Unless you live somewhere with a large enough population of disabled people, and the authorities over the city decided it was worth the costs to accommodate an exceptionally small percentage of beings, navigating will just be a different time. Even worse outside population centers.
4. While I agree inclusivity is important, and a DM should build a story around their characters, we can’t fully remove reason. It is a magical world so there is differences. That works both ways though. Since it is magical, unless you were born with a defect and/or couldn’t afford the treatment, you are magically cured. So the portion of wheelchair bound people will further diminish. We also need to consider the game is based on a society from a thousand years ago with a power structure reminiscent of ones that have existed for thousands of years. Finally, humans are always going to be humans. Even other species are still modeled based on a human perspective. You can only assume so much about how we would be without being reminded we are still a greedy, dangerous, and highly intelligent species that is only as nice as our resource abundance allows us to be. The second that gets taken away, our real nature comes out and the disabled, old, and infirm, historically, tend to be weeded out first. Then as the resources dwindle, we just just splitting into tribes and murdering each other. That behavior sadly lurks in every human and most of our decisions are made from a very short sighted approach that aims for instant gratification. Can’t model a world without that nihilistic humanistic understanding of what we are and how we treat each other.
This is a very well-constructed comment.
My 2 cents. I haven't really followed the controversy, but i do have a problem with this homebrew. I think having a wheelchair character is interesting BECAUSE of the limitations. Saying "you can rule the hallway is wide enough" is avoiding the point. If a disable character has to behave, on the map, exactly like a non disabled one you can put magical iron legs on it instead of a chair. The only reason to use the chair is limits. Working around problems. Having to be brought on shoulders sometimes, and so on. In the end it's boring and useless to create a character with an interesting limit, say not being able to use his legs, only to make up stuff to make the limit go away in all situations. A dnd character isn't a lol champion to be skinned with no actual change. Embrace the limit.
but at the same time, D&D has magic. very common magic. wheel chairs either have to be fundamentally amazing, and they aren't, or they are insanely stupid for an adventurer to have. the only exception i could think of is an artificer, in which case, why the hell would anyone use a wheelchair?
i guess there are a very select few scenarios involving creatures without legs to begin with, but i wouldn't let a player play a mermaid if the campaign wasn't heavily water based.
@@comyuse9103"or [this combat wheelchair] is insanely stupid"
Ding ding ding. Correct answer found. You win.
Honestly, I'm still shocked this was a controversy. It's one of the most harmless things I've ever heard of, it's a cool supplement!
Also even if it isnt for a disabled character, it could be part of an adventures story that in the campaign they get injured badly and cant walk, so they have to adapt to a new form of movement so they can still travel with their friends!
I think this is a good idea but I think ram damage by a wheel chair can only give about 1 hp damage. And the same for crush damage. Maybe give a ram bonus +1 for initial attack while rolling into combat more than 10 feet distance. Maybe crush damage you can use when facing opposite to the opponent. You can back into them while taking a movement to turn the wheel chair around.
@@Kill2Hard101 were you trying to say "clutch my pearls?" LOL
@@Kill2Hard101 nah my petals are doing great 👍
@@Fallenmonkd20 I’m hoping she’s (the creator of the rules)able to get the rules into a book this year it’d be a pretty cool thing if she did
@@Kill2Hard101 when was I offended? I just wanted to know what you even meant 🤣
The problem with this suplement isnt the suspension of disbelief already required for dragons and fireballs. There are two main problems with this suplement.
1. In the default setting of forgotten realms and most other official DnD settings magic is fairly common, and even powerfull magic effects are not relegated to long forgotten myths about gods, but rather something that is quite easy to seek out. Visit any major city with a couple of temples and each of them will have several clerics able resurrect the dead, and fixing a limb or two is really no biggie. (would also cost way less than the base price of a combat wheelchair). Given how the established world works the combat wheelchair simply isnt a believable sollution to the problem. Even if we for a moment imagine a DnD world without cleric spells and healing magic but still had the magic needed to invent the combat wheelchair, why would artificers invent the combat wheelchair instead of golem legs? Animated magical legs would not need the amount of workarounds and special effects that the combat wheelchair does just to function.
The second and bigger problem with the wheelchair is that it doesnt just allow a crippled character to adventure like any able bodied adventurer. It goes far and above with all the easily acessible bonuses. It is quite possible to have an enjoyable campaign set in a world where magic items can be bought at the magic item wallmart of which every small village has one. THat is however not how magic items work in most settings. The combat wheelchair and its upgrades however is something you can ask any blacksmith in any village to whip up stuff for. If I wanted a ring of [advantage to stealth checks] for my character I could not expect to always find one in any village/town I visit always for sale at a set (and very low) price, but that is how the combat wheelchair suplement works. The wheelchair suplement isnt about just allowing a disabled character to play on equal footing as an able bodied character because introducing a magic item wallmart element to every campaign regardless of setting is something entierly different.
My criticism of the combat wheel chair from a creative stand point is that I find it to be unimaginative.
There are several games that circumvent the physical disabilities of characters or units. Lucio from Overwatch, the Protoss Dragoon from StarCraft, and the Imperium Dreadnought from Warhammer 40k are a few I can think of.
All of these examples are in keeping with the aesthetic and technology of the world they are in.
If you were to give Lucio a wheel chair instead of cybernetic legs it would look silly. A space marine wheeling down a hill firing at a squad of Orks looks silly.
In the world of dungeons and dragons a wheel chair looks fine for a former adventurer in retirement in his/her mansion. But within the confines of an ancient crypt it looks silly. You have a world of magic, artificers, lost dwarven technology and the best this creator could come up with for allowing a paraplegic to go adventuring was a wheelchair that can do magic?
It's at this point that I believe it's more about the wheelchair itself than about being inclusive toward the physically disabled. The creator like many people from this generation want to play characters who are exactly like them, in a world that caters to them instead of playing characters in a world that reacts to their decisions.
Gh0stMan0nThird on Reddit says it beautifully: "Let's replace "wheelchair" with "breastplate," and I don't think anyone would be singing this items' praises. This is the epitome of overpowered, Mary Sue homebrew that nobody should take seriously.
Coming from a disabled veteran, regardless of how you feel about the idea of a combat wheelchair, this ain't it."
This part of this comment is not directed at the homebrew directly:
I'd rather DM/play a game that (baring magical effects) don't ignore physics/chemistry/etc. Simple example is while there are no 5e Rules for penalties to be swimming while carrying 50lbs or gear and being fully armoured. And even with magical effects in play, then bend the laws but there has to be some point where it's stupid over magical. You example with the goliath having trouble fitting through a door? You can bet you bottom dollar I'm considering that as a DM. Encumbrance? I track that. etc etc. We try to follow RaW/RaI as much as possible, with realistic physical effects. most importantly, we try to stay consistent in these areas and I'd encourage my players to point out if I wasn't (sometimes I'd forget something to me was trivial but for their plan is important).
About the chair:
I like the idea, and I'm happy to see something like this made. I work with accessibility testing and quality assurance so I'm happy with this direction. I just find the chair as is OP for its value and since I've yet to play with someone that wanted to have PC in one I can't comment on the mechanics in-game. I just don't see the viability of a balanced version of this wonder item working (in conjunction with the first part of my comment above). Particularly if I was running an intelligent BBEG (and friends) versus the party w/ a PC in the chair... I'd definitely be interested in running a session+ to actually see for myself though.
3 critical hits though is excessive. I'd prefer it to be somewhat like a separate set of it's own temporary hitpoints. Once it's gone, it's gone and you can repair it.
They aren't set in stone(the rules) so you can change the chairs rules to make it better
My dm casted heat metal on my wheel chair and I roasted to death.
I didn’t mind it because flaws are normal no one is perfect
Also it should be consider a magic item
So if the wheel chair got stuck in the swamp land is it my fault that swamps are not wheel chair assessable?
Yes. Absolutely. This is just the “doorways aren’t going to be wide enough” argument and the laziest of all strawmen. If you choose to make it difficult for disabled characters then of course it will be difficult for them. But you are choosing to make it difficult. No one is making you.
@@Felthelebwasn’t one of the points of dnd to have the party problem solve? When was it the DMs job to make every encounter Easy? If the player decides to go to the swamp land in a wheel chair there will be consequences if they are not prepared. It’s not my job to always prepare the party the party should be asking “what challenges will we face down the road? What can we do differently to tackle these issues?”
If you took a wheel chair to a swamp or marsh you would find that it’s pretty hard to move around. That’s called realism.
Just because the dm doesn’t give an easy out doesn’t mean the dm is being mean or bad some times he/she wants the party to figure out what the best course of action is.
I can tell that by your answer you haven’t dmed a lot.
I think it’s Important to note that he’s asking about if things that were always there in the world become the object of DM critique: not just things made up as obstacles or “gotchas” for the party.
There have always been swamps in D&D worlds. The way I read his question, This isn’t an objection to the wheelchair or using it per se, (in which case it would be a straw man) it’s a question about what the culture of play looks like now that we welcome the combat wheelchair.
@@The_CGA thank you. I purely ask cause my world has a fairly large swamp land that is commonly traversed by small boats. Players could walk but there would be leeches and nagas in the water and traps. It’s about 4-5 feet high in some parts. A wheel chair would get stuck.
Did I have wheel chairs in mind when making this part of the map? Nope because who would try and make that trip on food
Would I allow players to put the wheel chair on the boat? Yeah I would.
@@TVMAN1997 " DMs job to make every encounter Easy?" Are modern GM's really that crap? I blame Matthew Mercer
100%.
Automatic proficiency in tinkers tools, ignore penalties in moving through mountains, forests, coasts, and grasslands, AND you can't be knocked out of it? Wait, there's more advantages? OK, maybe when you hit level 7, wait, you want this at first level? What about the other characters? No, just no. You don't get an armored assault vehicle at first level, get out of here with that shit.
You can rp as a centuar so yeah wheelchair can be in it
Wow, this comparison made me laugh my ass off. You can't be serious with that statement.
@@hayseshouhda5730 I am gonna go out on a limb here and say that he meant something along the lines of the fact that centaurs also need to have the game designed around them a bit, like for example cave width, both the wheelchairbound person and the centaur need the cavern to be a certain width otherwise they wont get through, or like climbing ropes, centaurs struggling with that aswell ofcouse I do not know the original commentor so I could be wrong in this assumption
This is honestly a pretty cool idea. I am a home brew guy and love a lot of unknown amazing stuff. Excellent work feltheleb 😁
Hop you have fun with it @WeavingSee🙂
Now that I’ve seen a good review of this supplement it seems really interesting! I think my biggest issue was that some big news company made an article about it and got really political about it that really kinda muttered creation itself.
We had a player who was a siren and used the wheelchair to get around in land. One of our missions required her to drink a potion she had made to give her legs temporarily and that is where my favorite thing ever said in a dungeons and dragons game came from: “roll for legs”
I think your point about disability being part of a character's story is important. Especially in such an intense RP game as D&D, players want to see themselves in characters. If they want to play a character whose disability is a big part of their story and arc, that's awesome! If they want to play a character who uses accessibility tools and that has absolutely no bearing on what they can and cannot do, that's great, too. It's all about the player's choices and, most importantly, what they want to get out of the game. From my perspective, I think a lot of it has to do with being empowered. It can be empowering for one person to recognize their own or their character's disability affecting their daily life but NOT stopping them from being an adventurer, and it can be empowering for another to be disabled but not hindered (as in, they use a wheelchair but are not inherently disabled by it in game as they likely are IRL, such as having to take circuitous routes to get anywhere cuz of stairs). I think the way the players want to take it and how they work that out with the DM should remove any troubles regarding gameplay.
Wow thanks for this. I have a character I’m running right now in a wheel chair and I’m going to run it by my dm.
"Running" lol
Sorry you can't run that character.
You mean wheel it by the DM.
How did it go? I am honestly curious.
@@YourFavoriteDerp I didn’t end up running with this expansion, instead what we worked out was to turn my wheel chair into my steel defender having it change between a wheelchair or an arachnid form depending on the situation. I haven’t had any problems yet and I’m still using said character.
This a great video and your opinion on the matter is super good. That's so stupid that it's a controversy. The door thing is the worst. People in real life exist with wheel chairs and still manage to get through doors. Honestly doors in real life are like half the size of doors in DnD.
Literally the entire thing was put together for the sake of saying "We're inclusive! Look, you cripples can play the games now because we have imaginary wheelchairs for you! What do you mean you want to fantasize walking?"
I found it to be patronizing, honestly. I don't identify with any of my disabilities to the point that I feel the need to project that onto my characters, in fact, on my worst days I can barely walk and just.. I would never play a character like that. Why, when I suffer like this everyday? I've been playing for decades and never met anyone who would feel the need to self-insert to that degree. Most people play characters that aren't like them, or characters built specifically to explore a certain concept. In this way, I wouldn't call this an inclusive move. This is the part that's patronizing to me. When we play DnD we're looking to tell stories, we're looking for escapism. You're right about some characters not letting their disabilities define them or using that as an story arch or source of conflict in some way, but this item serves as a magical cure all to avoid that. And, even though it's fantasy? Suspension of disbelief is set to a different standard depending on the group you're in. Different people have different standards for what is and isn't too far for them. For me? I think adding something silly like this impedes storytelling. It erases the conflict that good stories arrive from. There are also far more interesting and creative solutions in the settings. Some sort of prosthetic of golem artifice, a Faustian bargain to nullify pain, a tenser disk, a loyal friend to carry you, indentured servants, etc. This chair is an easy way out and just. ...Ridiculous. Despite the good intentions.
YOU wouldn't but someone at a table at the game store i played dnd who was in a wheelchair loved that idea and loved the possibility. Also what stops the character to make their wheelchair themselves, it could be a part of the story. It aall depends on the person and it is fine you think it's patronizing, but son't assume everyone thinks that.
Things that never happened for 500, Alex. I suppose the possibility exists. But the vast majority of people don't play roleplaying games to play carbon copies of themselves and their own limitations. And, I'd bet money, that they will likely find it as patronizing as I do 9 times out of 10. And, there are better more creative solutions to playing a disabled character. I addressed that already.
@@rudesthazard5769 completely fair points and i agree it's hard to believe without proof. I do think the wheelchair is a way more creative option than Tenser's floating disc (i really don't like that spell personally sorry) but it's my opinion and i respect yours too. sorry if i sounded rude.
@@chakradarrat8832 No problem, haha. I have a corrosive sense of humor myself. Doesn't always translate as humor or sarcasm in text. Everyone's entitled to their opinion, no worries.
@@rudesthazard5769 another magic item that CAN serve the same purpose is the apparatus of kwalish. it needs only th arms to be maneuvered
(Edit: nevermind, just saw the quote at the end about allowing people to see themselves in the game. A valid viewpoint
And right now is exactly when I'm subscribing. Wow this was excellent and powerful
The mountain and difficult terrain are inclusions as to make the game more interesting and fun. It's not made to pick on handicapped characters. If you're just in it for the story, then you might as well just remove the dice and write a story with your players. Because it's a game first.
In a world where you can restore limbs with magic it’s seems…. A waste.
Replacement limbs
greater restoration regeneration etc….and then there’s ladders
Slopes up
Trees to climb …..
If the chair raises veracity adequately,
suspension of disbelief can be maintained.
Session Zero is vital because of subjective tastes.
if you had to spend that much gold on a wheelchair, why not just get the robot legs magic item that was added. Also wouldn't most healers at a certain point be able to heal it?
Yes, and healers can do it for free.
If your family was rich eniugh to buy you a super wheelchair they were rich enough to get you to a temple of a major good aligned God that would have clerics who are obligated to heal you.
If you can afford this in DnD, you can resurrect yourself with a cleric.
Thanks for the video!
Damn people really do be like "I can accept dragons and liches and goblins, but I draw the line at disabled people using fantasy wheelchairs to get around, that's unrealistic!"
I appreciate the way you approached this. Good video.
❤️👨🏻🦽
Me I think the main problem with the concept of a wheelchair in DnD is that it's inclusion is predicated on the idea that it's the only possible solution to the problem of having a particular disability.... This is a magical fantasy world with flying carpets, animated chairs and armor, and all manner of fantastical beasts that could be used as mounts... It also seems to not take into consideration what a disabled player character could potentially do without a mobility aid in the context of the setting.... (As well as forcing the DM/Player to come up with some cause that can't be healed by the abilities accessible to the player characters or NPCs that populate the world... Namely a cause not tied to any form of injury or disease...)
That said I think when it comes to wheelchairs their use by disabled characters should not be the only use considered.... (Things like maximum weight capacity, how many player characters it can hold, how fast it can go when being pushed by another PC, because I could see in an emergancy the dwarven fighter gets in the chair users lap, and the monk grabs the handle bars to push allowing the entire party to travel at monk speed while running from something bad.....)
I dont mind the wheel chair but its DnD why would i carry my irl problem into a game where i can be anyone?.
You don't have to put anything about yourself in the game other people do and that includes the Combat Wheelchair or their Disabilities (because they want to)🙂
@@scorpius1401 acutely i now use the wheel chair with boss encounters things so broken you can break up a party of 4 folk easily by haveing an orc ride the chair and use hit and roll tactics. My group hate combat wheel chairs as normaly one of them dies trying to give the others an opening to kill it.
A lot of people are arguing that it doesn't make logical sense to have a wheelchair if you could have magical prosthetics. I understand that point to an extent, but sometimes people just want characters that represent them. If someone is a fencer and wants their character to have a rapier, you wouldn't say, "Why can't you just use this magical super-light longsword instead?" because a lot of people like rapiers. Please just let people enjoy things and feel represented.
rapiers make sense in a fantasy world, people would use them. the fuck would I stay chair bound when I got to regrow my legs with magic or hire someone to regrow them? Also, i do not understand why a wheel chair bound person would play one in the game? like, isnt the point of ttrpgs to be something other than yourself?
Yet the most played class race combo is human same sex fighter (then paladin same sex) since the start of the hobby so self inserting yourself is kind fo the base of the hobby...@@jacobgoodrich6984
We had the oracle from pathfinder that are disabled divine caster yet nobody complained abotu playind one handed one legged, blind, mute or deaf character and now having whellchair get people annoyed feel super strange to me...
Also magic legs might onyl work if you were able to move you legs at a time in you life(same for healiong/regen)... so people born disabled might not be able to use those protesis...
Maybe a levitating chair would make more sense but what do you do if you enter a no magic zone? fall to the ground...wheelchair does avoid to be stuck becaus eof this kind fo spell.
Vampire the masquerade is mostly a setting about disabled undead vampire crippled by many physical and mental problem.
also combat wheelchgaor isnt really a new things, rememeber the steam spider legged chair? rocket chariots? disabled wooden "mecha" pilots?
Honestly I don’t care about the wheel chair seeing as I’m the forever DM I’m not going to follow the crit only rule because that’s dumb seeing as it’s a magic item, magic items should be the only thing that could effect it/damage it. But how does a regular wheel chair go up stairs without help because level 1 characters don’t start off with a magic wheelchair or any magic items or special cantrips depending on your class.
I feel that as a fellow forever DM. I believe your situation is handled in the "Starting out with the Chair" and "Ascending and Descending Stairs" sections of the supplement. The more specific answer is likely "in the real world, a regular wheelchair couldn't go up stairs without help." As to why you would want that to be a challenge in your game, I'd refer you back to my video.
Feltheleb my players don't start with magic items under absolutely no circumstances. A level 1 player was literally a farmer or a black smith a month ago they're is no way they would afford it. So every issue would still be a issue until they earn they're magic chair.
Alexander Nunez thats your choice, but understand that it IS a choice. It’s arbitrary and not necessitated by anything.
Okay but like this wheelchair idea is REALLY cool, even if you don't have to use a wheelchair irl.
Think of it like a story of perseverance! How did you lose the ability to use your legs? Was it something you were born with, or did you lose the ability after a vicious combatant struck you while you were down?
If you were born with it, that could be something cool relating to Sorcerer's powers, or maybe a Warlock gave up the ability to walk in order to continue their insane research on Cthulu, or a Paladin seeks retribution to the evil that took away its ability.
Like come on! This is like complaining about an additional background option. Think of the background possibilities! It's awesome!
why did this get recommended to me now?
anyway, I'm pretty sure asking for any other item of this caliber would instantly get you labeled as "that guy" at the table. and everyone seems to love roasting those.
are you really gonna make your DM play around the wheelchair on top of everything else he does just because you REALLY want to play the disabled but not actually disabled character because being actually disabled is annoying and sad which means the whole idea of the combat wheelchair nullifies any narrative value a disabled character would have making it a self defeating gimmick?
Okay hear me out. Armored Combat wheelchair with tracks with an eldritch cannon, two regular cannons and at least 9 staves of power/Fireball Wands.
Disclaimer: Your DM might punch you in the face and ban artificers.
I am fine with that. Just a question. How much money did you have again? And how big is this "tank" supposed to be? I sure hope you do not face a vertical climb at some point in the future.
@@Cloud_Seeker
Well that depends, how much is the average level, I suppose 12 magic item again? Probably thrice it's value.
Edit: Level 12 magic item.
@@RedSunUnderParadise 12 Magic items? You wish. Maybe towards the end of the campaign. You can get however easily get 12 magic items as long as they are common, cost around 100gp each and barely do anything in combat.
@@Cloud_Seeker
My bad. I meant an average level 12 or less item.
5:30 with said magic this should rule the wheelchair moot. This feels like pandering: Anyone can be an Adventure? The bones littering the dungeon tell us otherwise.
I don’t understand your point. Dungeons are dangerous so disabled people can’t be adventurers? Facing danger is what makes someone an adventurer. If you died in a dungeon, you were an adventurer. Again though, you’re providing purely fictional evidence as to what can happen in a narrative. Nothing in dnd is real, and people can do whatever they want.
@@Feltheleb While I agree and endorse that every table can and should play as they see fit. The very words 'every one can be an adventure' seems...pandering. Not everyone in the game world can be an adventure. PCs risk life and sanity for gold and glory. Some will allways fall.
As to the point of the wheelchair it seems like an artifical fix in a realm of Clerics and Artificers. Also put into place the chair can only be damaged by crits? It looks like instead of defining the character by class/race/background some want the wheelchair to be the defining element and that feels like more panering.
TrpDr Spider TrpDr Spider I think mainly I agree with you (I put in the video that I don’t agree with crit damages) I think that you’d agree though that while everyone can not everyone would succeed. A PC character, wheelchair user or not, needs a narrative reason for what they’re doing. As far as pandering goes, it was created for free by a wheelchair user so I don’t feel it’s pandering. for individuals who would make their defining element as the wheelchair, Ive seen no evidence of that, even so that’s their choice. Every table can and should play as they see fit, I think that’s well put
@@Feltheleb Disabled people historically were in support roles, this is not abalist its simply reality.
Great video man!
I was a merfolk monk
I was slow as fuck and punched really good
Seriously pathfinder Scaled fist Merfolk is scary
This is honestly really neat, and I even as a able bodied person like to sometimes have characters dealing with a disability, I have in the past set up one armed chars and one I have had fun roleplaying was a mute char and I look at ideas like this and imagine like a Artificer with some amazing suite of cool gadgets and the like woven into their chair as just a piece of the kit and showing how they push past their limits to be heroic.
Reading the supplement now, and it's sooooo cool. I wanna play with this.
I wanna both be an ally and someone whose in a wheel chair, it's too cool not to. I'd love both a spell caster & fighter(mounted paladin or ranger, anyone?) It just yes and I'm fully abled.
It's just creative & cool.
IDK why controversy, it soooo aaaaugg yes.
DMs don’t “put” things to “serve as hindrances.” DMs describe narrow hallways because that’s the way the world the GM has world built caused a dungeon to arise. Some dungeons are built by kobolds-doncha think kobolds would build a dungeon with narrow corridors that suit them?
Sorry I don’t “include challenges” to make people struggle. I speak the truth of the world I see through the looking glass. I am not an entertainer-I am a medium looking into another world and helping others come along on the ride, none of knows where it leads.
Please don’t shame people that imagine the DM’s role differently.
captions please!
Lolol the idea is quite interesting and is thought out very thoroughly. It's an interesting addition to the game, overall.
Now that the video has gotten to hallways/entrances, there have been times when there were very narrow passages in Undermountain. I've only been on the 1st lvl, so far, but those could always be changed to accommodate a wheelchair character.
I don't see any controversy with this, other than smoothing out the details for balance. If the chair was magical and there is a anti-magic zone...that would suck but be an interesting thing for the PC to overcome if they never thought about it.
The idea is nothing new so I dont see why people complain so much about it my only personnal complain woudl be about it being too good and making you better than a non crippled person... so all the need multiple crits cannot be shoved out of it or thrown ont he side is a big no for me...
but since there is magic and some anachronic tech, it could be quite easy to make it a weelchair with extra trick gained throught the campaing(having build in levitation to climb stair low height...being able to fold it when you can use it or senhd it into a demi-plane for the time beeing for exemple if you need to cross a river)
If its just to be in a wheelchair and have none of the problem(be better than normal people) of such an object/situation it would recieve a big no from me...
its like giving a steam mecha/magic item other dont get it need to be somewhat balanced by an oportunity cost.
Making a tower with stairs is a "jerk move" JFC dude
Inclusion is a poison to suspension of disbelief.
I assume your dnd setting doesn’t have gay, lesbian, human with non white skin tone and women in power, cause that would be inclusion right?
@@alphahollow5642 Wrong. My first character and setting was and included alternative sexualities. My first character was a homosexual, the reason why I opted for this was both to avoid playing into the strappin' fighter gettin' all'em ladies and to challenge myself. Sure, I made offensive jokes at times.
I started off my campaign in a typical European White society where non-Whites were often officials, traders, elite soldiers or professionals. As the players travelled they encountered more non-Whites and saw their civilizations. Some were primitive, some were highly advanced; they all had their focuses and favoured activities and morals.
Slaves were mostly prisoners of war or punished for a crime. The desperate sold themselves. In White societies, most slaves were White and used for dangerous or menial labour; non-White slaves were often considered a novelty and thus given a more social role. The reverse was true for non-White societies that had slaves.
Based
@@alphahollow5642 Nah just not retarded bullshit like combat wheelchairs
@@alphahollow5642 Wow. Your head must be filled with nothing but brainrot if you think anything like that. What is wrong with you? Who hurt you?
I hate the idea, but fuck me, it is a fantasy game after all. It must be inclusive and all things must be possible within the realms of our imagination.
Imagine being so sad the only thing you can RP is your own attributes. I can't imagine playing a character with gender dysphoria...why the fuck would I want to. o.O
Ok when I play your game I get to have an abrams tank and a desert eagle cuz I can imagine it.
I love how people responding to this video and other pro-wheelchair videos seem to automatically assume people in a wheelchair are "lesser"/aren't "viable" because of "military"-related reasons, not realizing that the real, non-fantasy military they wank the philosophy of is abusively ableist itself towards those who are permanently hurt in service. So their reason is ableist anyways.
Tell that to the Orc trying to savage your face.
I don't think you understand how lesson mobile you are once you are in a wheelchair. You are not going to be able to fight
Here's the thing you're ignoring just support your argument: There are Hindrances in EVERY SINGLE D&D game. There's a gap between 2 cliffs, some characters can make it, others cannot. It doesn't matter what character you are playing as, you fail that athletics check, you won't make it. By your logic, "the gm is just being a dick".
And seriously, people who are bound to their handicap don't want to be handicapped.
I have loads of medical issues that make my life an utter living hell, WHY THE HELL DO YOU THINK I PLAY FANTASY GAMES? To be reminded of it or to escape it?
Its not insensitive, its not being a dick as you claim to put roadblocks in the way. And seriously, your door example is dumb. Play an Ice Giant, see a Gnomes house, do you honestly believe that Gnome who is barely the height of a human toddler is gonna make their door big enough for an ice giant to come in?
Its not a cool idea, its dumb. Xavier has mind powers, his disability is a non-issue, and FFS his chair can fly. Real wheel chairs themselves are a hindrance for those using them, not because they want to use them, but because THEY LITERALLY HAVE NO CHOICE. Do you honestly think I'd find it enjoyable to play what I live every single of my life?
Ask any disabled person if they were given the chance to walk and never have to deal with the crutches or the chair again, YOU REALLY THINK THEY'D SAY NO?
Yes, its an option. But its an option that actual wheelbound folks would not use. And seriously, THE BIG BAD EVIL GUY IS NOT GONNA MAKE A DUNGEON TO ACCOMMODATE FOR YOUR INABILITIES. Try telling a Lich to be considerate of Fighters who can't use magic. See how well that works out.
"It doesn't matter what character you are playing as, you fail that athletics check, you won't make it. By your logic, "the gm is just being a dick". "
- That is a really good point. Yes. With this logic there is no reason to have skill checks and no reason to have a challenge. In D&D 5e there are many attributes considered "dump stats". Like Intelligence, and Strength. The reason they are dump stats is because players and DM's do not use them a lot. If the DM want strength to matter, have more physical challenges. Like climbing cliffs, jumping over pits and lifting and pulling things. If the DM wants intelligence to matter. Have more lore like history, politics and investigations. In my game we have quite a lot of it, and it is noticable when our barbarian with 8 in Int, Wis and Cha has to do those checks. They gotten into quite a lot of issues because of it.
However a DM is not a "dick" for having a failure state because a character did not succeed. There is plenty of ways to resolve issues. But most players do not prepare when they go out on adventures. Like. Not trying to read through the advanture gear supplies.
"I have loads of medical issues that make my life an utter living hell, WHY THE HELL DO YOU THINK I PLAY FANTASY GAMES? To be reminded of it or to escape it?"
- Because these things are empty gestures and for virtue singals. It is made by people that just "want to be more open to people", while failing to understand the subject matter they are talking about. Most of them also don't play the game.
My main issue with this concept as a whole comes from the current trend of Dungeons and Dragons subverting actual creativity for the sake of making "statements". Between this and the newly announced "Wheelchair-accessible dungeons," it feels like they're looking at people with disabilities and ironically using them as a crutch for the sake of diversity Brownie Points.
Is it optional? Yes. But it's still added ink and added weight and added *credit* to a potential new add-on for D&D. It's purchasing a book and removing a chunk of it because you don't want to deal with that - yet you're still purchasing that module and showing support for that as a whole indirectly *because you purchased the book including that*.
Here's the deal. This entire concept's purpose is implying that the greatest fantasy experience a disabled person could have
*Is to still be disabled*
It's not that people are angry about its diversity aspect, it's about using the banner of diversity for the sake of something that is literally belittling disabled people as *tokens.*
Can it be used for other purposes? Absolutely. I can see an Old Man using this as a humorous gimmick, but it doesn't ring as something someone who wants to fantasize being a powerful warrior will imagine. You're telling Disabled people that in order to play D&D to it's fullest, you have to be stuck in a wheelchair ingame, too!
Hey, anyone who thinks this is a bad idea needs to watch the 1979 movie The Crippled Masters that demonstrates exactly how to use these disabled characters in game play.
When it come right down to it, this is a fantasy game. What if your favorite Fighter gets paralyzed by a Mgu Mgu spell and looses control of their legs. He/she can still fight but needs to get a wheel chair in order to continue.
In my campaigns, I don't allow any rogues to play. That's just my choice along with some other house rules. But that is what our group likes to play.
Also, critical roles are stupid too. That's the dumbest rule they made up yet. But if you can have a magical fantasy world why not have magical wheel chairs that can travel through dungeons and thick forests? You can have a wheel chair that swims under water too.
The more I think about this it occurs to me this is limited to someone disabled in the legs. There are more disabled than people disabled with legs. I think a better solution than the wheel chair which would fit in with the fantasy world is a mechanical suit. The adventurer would sit inside the mechanical suit and operate the suit using levers.
If the crippled adventurer doesn't have use of their hands, Tinker Tools proficiency wouldn't help either. There could be a Cleric spell of 1st level available to "heal" the mechanical suit from combat damage.
I think it has to be taken on a case-by-case basis. If your player wants to use fantasy as a sort of escapism, great! Don't mention their wheelchair except in situations where they want to use the skills it offers. But some disabled people feel put off when their disabilities get ignored. Sometimes it can feel like erasure for them. In which case you might want to acknowledge the inconveniences of a disability: like a corridor being too small. If you're DMing and one of your characters has a combat wheelchair, just ask them what they want! Everybody's different.
Is this an item or is it a class? If its an item that's a lot cooler. That said, I don't NEED rules to justify the fighter being in a wheelchair.
As a DM it'd be crazy fun to describe a dude in a chair flying around and kicking ass. And yeah someone is gonna try to smash your chair at some point. It's dramatic. It can also give that player an opportunity to do something truly heroic. They can still be cool even without it!
As for WotC... well...
The official inclusivity parts is something that I do not like. Just that the direction WotC is going in.
If anything the notion that a wheelchair NEEDS special rules can be kinda insulting.
"Oh YOU'RE different. Here are your SPECIAL RULES because YOU'RE not like us."
Just let the barbarian fight in a wheelchair and do cool spins and flips with it. You really think a lack of ramps is gonna stop a barbarian from rolling up some mere steps?
10/10
Wow look a proper review actually Links to the thing they are reviewing
Do...do people not do that??
Well the same kind of person that makes a video called "+1 combat wheelchair of representation" obviously they dont have any biases with a title like that
Haters : just knock them over
Me: mounted combat knocked off horse!
Haters: attack the wheelchair
Me: leave yourself open for opportunity atks
Haters: difficult terrain
Me: bron the broken
I think part of the issue is that some people cannot image a disabled person in dnd because they can only barely image a disabled person irl. They lack experience with and examples of people with disabilities, basically
Some people also just get real angry when you try to include anyone who is not them ...
For me, it's too powerful. Something like that should exist to bring them even, not above in the early game.
Besides, you want to be disabled? I got you, and it's going to be a whole lot cooler than a wheelchair.
Wow. You must have a really shitty view of other people don't you. It isn't that their objections are based on reson and logic, no no no. It must be becuase they are morons that lack experience of ever having seen that rare breed called disabled people. What a absolutely horrible way to see other people.
No. The reason the combat wheelchair is absolutly retarded is because:
1. Everyone can not be everything. Not everyone can become an adventurer nore should everyone want to. Adventurers live in danger and can die at any point. Most people shouldn't even want to be one.
2. The combat wheelchair exist in a world where magic is common. You can most likely go into many major city and ask a local cleric to resurrect someone who has died as long as you give them a donation. What do you think they ask for donations to restore limbs? If resurrecting the dead is just a hassel, why should restoring limbs be harder? It is most likely cheaper then the wheelchair.
3. If an artificer should invent a combat wheelchair, why shouldn't they have invented something like a bionic limb? Have you seen Fullmetal Alchemist? Automail is literally what people should invent if they have access to stuff like magic if you do not want to solve the problem using magic. Why make a wheelchair and have to solve all the workaround when easier options exist? Also. Have you heard about Berserk? He lost his arm and replaced it with a prosthetic with a connon inside. What is more logical in a fantasy world? A magical wheelchair or a magical replacement?
4. This is just a way to force in "inclusion and representation" into the game when it doesn't make sense for it to even exist. A wheelchair make sense in our world. It does not make sense in a world where you can fly and resurrect the dead fairly easily.
I just thought it was in poor taste
I played a merman with an amulet of levitation, you don't really need an intricately crafted magical mechchair to not have legs and still play the game.
Have none of these angry people shooting down the homebrew really never played a character with any kind of different body type? lmao
You just gave a reason why the wheelchair is not need and still don't get it? I'll quote a fellow above: "It's easier for people to maintain suspension of disbelief with Dragons and Mimics because they aren't in our world. "..."Wheelchairs however are a real thing, so we know what their limits are".
Adding a wheelchair that can be used in combat to a fantasy world, without the limitations the disability implies is nothing more than pointless pandering that helps nobody besides self-agrandizing twats who wanna shout out how virtuous they are.
But doesn’t the combat wheelchair essentially take away a disabled character’s story arc? The arc that sees the character developing into a hero despite their disability, or a character who develops in other ways due to their disability. This magic item essentially just brings them up to par, mechanically, with the non-disabled characters. This makes their disability nothing more than flavor, because they’re not actually “disabled” while they have the Combat Wheelchair.
Well your question I think wrongly assumes that a disabled character's story arc has to be ABOUT their disability. It doesnt. Their disability CAN just be flavor. Take Toph Beifong (Avatar TLA) or Ed Elric (Full Metal Alchemist). Both have some disabliity (blind; missing leg and arm) which is supplemented to make them on par/overpowered in combat (earth bending sight; automail prosthetics). However that doesn't keep them from being "actually disabled." Their reliance on supplements is evidence of that. And the arc for both characters spends little or no time at all exploring "developing despite their disability." Each has a character arc rooted in their emotional/moral/inner development because that is what the heroes' journey is about.
With ALL that being said: No, I don't think giving a combat wheelchair takes away the option you are suggesting. You can very well have a newly disabled character struggle to learn their wheelchair and grow to be a competent fighter with it. I'd argue that with some disabilities that kind of arc would be impossible WITHOUT something like the combat wheelchair.
Feltheleb Would a character’s disability not be a part of that journey as well? Not as THE focus, but as another obstacle to overcome/adapt to. It’s kind of a big deal, it’s a major obstacle that is inherent IN the character. Personally, it just feels like a wasted storytelling opportunity to have a character that is disabled in flavor, but not in mechanic, and then not have them be forced to deal with their disability at any point. Of course, you can have your Edward Elrics who, when supplemented, don’t actually feel like a disabled character at all seeing as how their disability is effectively REMOVED. But in the event that they lose those supplements, it would make for a much more satisfying and redeeming arc when they learn to overcome the situation withOUT those supplements. As opposed to those supplements being treated as their ONLY salvation or the only things that make them relevant. As you pointed out in the video, a character’s disability doesn’t define them, but it is still a very real part of them that would believably cause hardships. But I guess it boils down to the types stories that you like. I appreciate the Brans and Tyrions more than the Ed’s, Tophs, and Alphonses.
@@Wesley_Youre_a_Rabbit I see your point! I think--if we disagree at all--our disagreement does come down to taste. I tend to think either story (Bran or Toph) could be compelling if done right. As always, I think truly compelling stories will mix both. There is also this underlying problem of "mechanics in gameplay" which perhaps is underlying our arguments. The idea of having a disabled character undergo mechanic penalties OR growth in a game doesn't always square PRECISELY with the storytelling aspect. Personally, unless my party wanted it (e.g. to have a Bran-like story), I would think it unfair to hinder a player simply for wanting to explore a disabled character (e.g. to have a Toph-like story). For a party that wants to engage in the latter, I think the wheelchair is well suited in a way it may not be for the former. However, just because it isn't well suited for the former doesn't mean it loses its utility for the latter. I think that's the point I'm trying to make. Just because a screwdriver isn't useful to drive a nail doesn't mean its an ineffective tool. It just needs the right problem to fix.
Maybe they made the wheelchair themselves and it is a PART of their arc. Also with the same logic, do glasses take away from a nearsighted character's arc?
Chakra Darrat If a player creates a character who wears glasses, then the first thing I’m asking is why do they have glasses. Does your character have vision impairment and they need glasses? If so, then they’re gonna have disadvantage on anything that involves sight if they lose those glasses. TTRPGS aren’t video game, none of that stuff is just “flavor”. They’re roleplaying games for a reason.
I get it but at the same time would you put a person that is disabled in a war ...like a real war ww1, ww2, Vietnam....I can see desk work but not real combat, if that hurts what about a real zombie apocalypse not a fake one but a logically put them in a fast running or walking dead situation. plus I'm not going to give a level 1 a 200g magical item for free
If you “get it” I’m not sure you’d comment this. DnD isn’t real so what I’d do in those real situations doesn’t matter. That’s the whole point of the video. Your argument assumes DnD is bound to rules of real life. It isn’t.
@@Feltheleb then why bring real life into fantasy...example they say orcs are black people...wtf and then why bring a wheelchair into a fantasy setting......its just people trying to fix something when the game was not broken to begin with
Chad Dega Your examples don’t make any sense. If I bring a sword into the game is that bringing “real life into fantasy?” No one claimed the game is broken. It’s just someone adding a magic item into the game. It’s like DLC not an update. It doesn’t hinder your enjoyment. You don’t have to put it in your game.
@@Feltheleb but they are pushing for it.....and they are starting to have sensitivity writers......all I'm saying is leave fantasy to fantasy...hell in UA you can make a power armor that would work better than the combat wheelchair ....or even better a centaur with a saddle then a wizard is protected and you got a blast cannon on your back. even cheaper for level 1....the max you could be lucky is 200g to start with and that's assuming you are lucky
Chad Dega Man idk how to tell you this, but if a magic wheelchair is in fantasy...it’s a fantasy wheelchair. It seems like your issue goes deeper than this one supplement. Sorry you’re going through that, but if DnD is getting more progressive, lazy criticism on this one supplement won’t change anything.
Well thought out video and i think you hit a majority of the nails on the head. Theres a point id like to bring up though.
I feel like the whole addition of wheelchairs is a form of pandering in a go woke era. There was nothing before stopping the addition of wheelchairs before so i guess this is just a solidification of that aspect. But WOTC does have a thing for pandering to the woke audience and thats the bit i dont like. I just think they hid that bit very well this time.
I’m not sure I know what you’re taking about. At the time of making this video at least, the combat wheelchair was a free home brew supplement made by fan. WOTC has no hand in creating it.
@@Feltheleb oof my bad. From everything ive been seeing, which led me to this video, it was wizards of the coast who solidified the concept of a battlechair but now i cant find anything... I still feel its pandering to a degree but at the end of the day its realistically up to the person playing it, the dm and the other players. Its not as big of an issue as people are making it out to be.
i dont get how the combat wheelchair makes dnd more inclusive. people with physical disabilities were allready playing the game. its just a tool for people to make a character who is crippled because they think it will make a interesting character( and lets be honest it probably will be made by people without disabilities which i dont really care about but it seems to defeat its intended purpose.) and if we just ignore all the flaws of such wheelchair like your sand and hill example then there is no overcoming there disability and no real justification for other characters to deal with difficult terrain it just becomes pandering to the crippled person who probably didnt even make a disabled character.
There are two things I can think of
1 a person with a disability that has has a character with a disability will most likely feel some similarities whereas using a non-disabled character as a person with a disability they would feel less comfortable(it just depends on the person)
2 a lot of people don't want to "overcome their disability"and enjoy the life they have (if you read the rule set and you don't like something then change it to make it more badass)
I do have a problem with the wheelchair.
Your argument about the suspension of disbelief really doesn't hold up. While consuming any sci-fi or fantasy media, we need some amount of suspension of disbelief. Dragons and other giant creatures are unrealistic mostly because of the square cube law but when it comes to ghosts and magic... those exists in D&D universe because of all the EXTRA laws that don't exists in out universe. The fact that magic exist does not automatically makes the laws of physics and logic to stop working. Ghosts exist but if you fall of a cliff you can break your legs or die. One person can shoot fire of their fingers but they still can get sick and die. For some reason you assumed that existance of fantastic elements makes the entire world nonsensical. Which is a common mistake.
And about the suspension of disbelief... I know that "five heroses" couldn't kill a giant dragon in meele combat. That's where suspension of disbelief comes in. I can imagine those heroes dodging all the attacks and I can imagine them being so tough that they can withstand dragons mighty blows etc.
But the sheer amount of suspension of disbelief to make me imagine the same scenario but with a character that literally can't move and attack at the same time is ridiculous.
I'm curious on what you think so please don't attack me and remain civil