Movies. TV shows. Holiday commercials, even. For the first time in history, the integration of disabled bodies in popular culture is more pronounced than ever. And what better place to add in disabled representation than in fantasy TTRPGs, where anything can happen? This is what designer Sara Thompson (she/they) sought to do with their design of the Combat Wheelchair, a homebrewed supplement for the 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons.
The Combat Wheelchair functions as an extension of the player character, existing to allow a disabled character to participate in adventures the same as an able-bodied character. It is affected by spells and status changes as the player character is affected, and comes with functional gear that any wheelchair user would be familiar with, such as gloves and a backrest compartment in favor of a pack. Thompson’s homebrew provides a slew of updates available for the Combat Wheelchair, such as a Mounted Sniper, Shin Shredders, or Thunder Trip, and they also provide a background for a character known as the Paralympian.
I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Thompson about their creative process behind the Combat Wheelchair, as well as their other thoughts regarding disability representation and design.
Cripple Magazine: I’d love to begin with hearing about your creative process behind designing the combat wheelchair. When did you first come up with the idea for it?
Sara Thompson: The idea first came late last year when playing D&D with my disabled friends and I made an offhand remark that I’d make my own wheelchair ruleset for some of my friends who use chairs so that they could play characters like themselves. It was then a good half a year looking into wheelchair sports and designs and talking with my friends about how to best capture their experience and how to translate that into the item’s mechanics.
CM: What did you consider or take into account when designing the original concept? What did you want the Combat Wheelchair to bring to future gameplay of DnD or other TTRPGs?
ST: I had to take into account that a wheelchair for an adventurer in D&D would need to withstand combat, carry gear, and all around be as much a part of the adventurer’s life as a chair is in real life. I had to think about the environments, magic, even things as small as stairs in dungeons and houses and how the chair would navigate and interact with them! I had to read through a lot of the 5th edition rulebooks to be certain that the rules I made interacted with the established rules in a way that was creative and unique but still wouldn’t be unbalanced.
I wanted at heart to bring something to the TTRPG sphere that would enable disabled players to play as a protagonist who is like them. We all put a part of ourselves into our Player Characters but, for a long time, disabled folks couldn’t – at least not without having to deal with the terribly inaccurate “take a negative to X stat” or simply being told by the others that playing such a character wasn’t possible. Folks don’t realise just how significant disability is in a disabled person’s life. It is a part of who we are. Not all of us want to escape that. Sometimes escapism means a wheelchair user gets to play a wheelchair using a character who is seen as the hero rather than the villains, inspiration porn, or pitiful creatures we are so often portrayed as.
I wanted to open up the dialogue about disability in gaming. Disabled people have been ignored and brushed under the rug for so long. I still think a lot of designers and companies are afraid of disability. I wanted and still want to show them that disability isn’t scary. It’s not this big taboo society makes it out to be. We are people, and we deserve to be represented like people.
CM: The combat wheelchair has since undergone an update (Aug 7). What have you brought into the update, and why?
ST: The updates have mainly been hashing out words and making rules a little clearer. I take a lot of feedback from disabled TTRPG players and designers and use their input to help ensure that the chair represents and captures their experience correctly whilst still making the rules fun to play and use in-game.
CM: Were there any ideas that didn’t make it into the design? Any hopes for a future update or another design?
ST: There are some new Upgrades like a portable barricade, rune carvings that allow you to make use of spells such as Expeditious Retreat, and a set of discuses that the user can attach and detach from the push rims to fling them at enemies and catch them again. These didn’t make it into the initial design, but they will be making it into the ‘official’ write-up of the combat wheelchair I’m working on that will have art and more information – it’ll still be free to download, but I plan on getting some physical copies printed.
Of course, when introducing a new idea into any existing media, there will be backlash. Thompson faced criticism regarding their Combat Wheelchair with complaints that it “wasn’t realistic” or that disability would not have a place in DnD, a game where injuries can be healed magically or treated with potions. However, Thompson’s design garnered even more positive feedback and went on to inspire other creators who continued to build on her creation.
CM: How do you feel about the fact that the Combat Wheelchair is becoming more prominent in DnD circles, such as being created into miniatures or even being highlighted by Critical Role? Any favorite iterations of the Combat Wheelchair?
ST: I love it! When I first put the chair out there (the v2.0), I met a lot of backlash. I received the same tiring ableist rhetoric (and still do) and even death threats from people who felt so threatened by a wheelchair in a game where magic and dragons exist without controversy. Strata Miniatures were the first people to reach out and put their full support behind me. Together we got some miniatures put together and backed the Ehlers-Danlos Society in the UK as my charity of choice. People then really started to get behind it – even members of the Critical Role cast bought the sets and Matt Mercer recently painted our dwarf barbarian mini!
Getting miniatures out there that show wheelchair users in exciting, dynamic, and heroic poses was so important. I think a visual of what rules I had created helped some folks be more open to the idea and genuinely be interested in asking the important questions about disability representation and what we can do to take steps in the right direction. Critical Role also really helped to show a large portion of the community what the rules can do in-game. It also showed how disability representation can be done correctly and sensitively. Dagen Underthorn really established a lot of what I’d been advocating for to a large audience all over the world and I can’t thank Matt enough for reaching out and talking about it.
CM: Prior to your design, there was very little disability representation in TTRPGs. What do you say to the critics who believe, in a fantasy setting, disability or disabled characters have no place?
ST: There are only critics because we are taught that disability is a bad thing – that is can only ever be something negative. People are afraid of it. If you have people going on dangerous adventures every single day, disability is an inevitability (if they weren’t already born with one). Just let us exist in things. We are people, human beings, and have just as much right to be in gaming as anyone else.
Your voice matters, your work matters. You matter. – Sara Thompson
CM: Now that you have broken the disability barrier, any other disabilities or mobility devices you’d like to see in DnD and other RPGs?
ST: I really want to address magic in D&D. It was never made with disabled people in mind, which is why gatekeepers try and use it as a means to exclude disabled people. For example, Regeneration can’t grow back limbs or body parts that never existed in the first place, and the Status Condition Paralysed is not the same thing as being paralysed from a medical condition – Status Conditions are short effects caused by magical or outside sources that have no lasting effects. People elect to forget these things established in the core rulebooks when they’re busy clamouring to use them to exclude disabled folks.
There are a lot of things I want to work on addressing, but this is the next step I’m taking.
And we’re looking forward to see what Thompson will be bringing to disability representation in the future:
CM: Are you working on anything else disability- or TTRPG-related? Any new work you’d like to share with Cr*pple Magazine?
ST: At the moment I’m working on a really fancy-looking write-up for the Combat Wheelchair that will feature art, new mechanics, subclasses, etc.
I’ve also worked on establishing hovering chairs for Starfinder (Paizo), wheelchairs for Pathfinder 2e (Paizo), cyberchairs for Cyberpunk RED (R. Talsorian Games), some basic mobility items for Hellboy RPG (Red Scar Gaming, Mantic Games), and wheelchairs and mobility aids for Legendlore (Onyx Path Publishing). I have a lot more in the works but it’s all stuff I am under NDA and such for.
CM: Finally, do you have any words for disabled people who want to be creators for TTRPGs?
ST: To any disabled person out there who want to or are creators for TTRPGs: you belong. You do, no matter what others in the community may tell you. Keep pushing forward, hold companies accountable when they refuse to include us and don’t be afraid to speak up. Your voice matters, your work matters. You matter.
As I’m writing this on International Day of Persons with Disabilities, this seems like a fitting piece of advice. We here at Cr*pple Magazine hope that you will take Thompson’s words and continue your own push forward however you are able to.
Check out Thompson’s Combat Wheelchair here (dyslexic-friendly document available too!), and support Thompson’s work on their Patreon. You can follow Thompson on Twitter at @mustangsart.
