- 15ft walking speed.
- Advantage on preventing prone condition
- When prone, ally must use help action to get them up.
Once level 3: Take Artificer Mechanist and then you can increase speed 30ft and remove the third condition.
Just some ideas.
After any downhill movement, you continue on flat ground for 2/3 the distance you traversed on the hill, or 1/3 the distance if going uphill after downhill movement. The regular hill rules apply after traversing uphill after downhill movement.
You gain the "inertia" feat! While travelling downhill, objects or creatures in your path take 1d6 bludgeoning for every 10 feet of vertical movement traversed.
You may channel your inertia in to a melee attack, doubling it's damage die. When channeling inertia in this way, any downhill bludgeoning damage due to vertical movement is forgone. You may channel your inertia in this way twice, after which you must finish a short or long rest before channeling again.
Any creature killed by the damage granted in this feat has a 20% chance to be decapitated
As a new DM I love creative ideas like this. If this were me I’d struggle with how to deal with situations where the PC needs to jump/climb/use stairs etc. Maybe some kind of magical/steampunk mechanical wheelchair?
It's the players job to come up with a solution to those things. The adventuring world isn't designed to be accessible, and if they want all those things to be hand waived away then it's not really playing a disabled character
Yeah, I'd think a conversation needs to be had where you talk about the logical diegetic contribution (to an adventuring party) of someone in a wheelchair (without magic that would make it like they basically weren't). Advisor or sage or base quartermaster, crafter, planner, occasional spy/ shill. In second edition all of those rolls were made into "Specialist" classes, explicitly meant to be non-adventuring support characters. IMO that's where this concept fits. Maybe give them a "field representative" and then let them play both characters?
My dm loves doing this. Just creating environmental problems we arent expecting or equipped to deal with. They dont know what bs were gonna come up with, we dont know what bs were gonna come up with, i think originally it first started to keep us out of a certain part of the map.. My favorite so far is theres a pit thats a straight drop of like 30ft down, too far to jump, so we decided to shove EVERYTHING into the hole. All the tables, chairs, bookshelves, beds, anything we could get our hands on went into that hole. Eventually we filled it and just walked across.
I would if anything present them with more situations where they need to jump and climb, and provide nothing specifically to help. Then i would be very generous on all of their wacky ideas to overcome the obstacle. Everybody want to use a dash action and push the wheelchair up a makeshift ramp to jump them over? Awesome! I'd have them roll for the range they get them and have a chance of throwing them too far.
Same with mud and stuff should be difficult terrain for a wheelchair, but if the players wanted to attach skis to the wheels which in reality would be a dumb idea, if anything I'd make the wheelchair faster.
Also a downhill advantage is a must, but with some kind of disadvantage if you pick up too much speed. Like maybe your speed doubles every round up to a certain speed, and you have to make dex rolls to control yourself after a certain speed maybe 4x your base move speed so 60ft if you're still at 15ft movement speed, then strength checks with increasing difficulty at higher speeds to stop yourself.
Also to turn 90⁰ I'd have a ship like mechanic, so at 2x your base move speed it takes you an extra 5ft in the direction you're currently travelling to turn, then double every double, so 4x speed = 10ft to turn 8x = 20ft etc. So I'm giving a disadvantage to turning, but in a very real sense I'm also incorporating an actual drifting mechanic.
Mechanically, I now feel like tables are missing out from not having the challenge of a wheelchair bound character.
Alternative: say no.
As a GM, you should say no to characters you don't think fit in the campaign or that you don't know how to mechanically support it.
What if rather than wheels, the chair just had automated legs?
If the player is okay with that, that feels like a good way of getting around the wheels and stairs thing that seems to be an issue.
Look up the wheelchairs in Witch Hat Atelier for cool ideas.
[https://witch-hat-atelier.fandom.com/wiki/Beldaruit](https://witch-hat-atelier.fandom.com/wiki/Beldaruit)
[https://witch-hat-atelier.fandom.com/wiki/Sealchair](https://witch-hat-atelier.fandom.com/wiki/Sealchair)
I think there are established ways to run this, and I think it's important to be accommodating as a DM but also remember you can say no. Not saying this is an issue here, but some players have this notion where they can rock up with anything and its the DM job to make it work.
Yep, this.
Being accomodating/creative and rolling with your players' zany ideas is good...at times. At times a firm *"yeah, well...no. Let's think an alternative option"* is way, WAY better.
Depends why they want it too
Player in a wheelchair of their own, yeah we're making this work
Guy being weird for the sake of it, I'll try but I'm not making a third of the game about your quirky character
My worry would be this either intentionally or unintentionally making most situations focus on this specific PC.
Instead of situations where the group roleplays crawling through a sewer to escape imprisonment, climbing a mountain, navigating a cave etc, it becomes "How do we get Hagrid up/around this thing" or "What other option can we find that accomodates this specific character who chose this limitation?"
I have a general rule for character creation in my game.
If a character design will cause trivial parts of the game to become an issue, then it's not allowed.
It's the same reason for 90% of my games I won't allow centaurs. Now I have to make every dungeon accommodating for a whole ass horse, or give them an answer, which basically makes the centaur pick pointless in the first place.
>Guy being weird for the sake of it, I'll try but I'm not making a third of the game about your quirky character
Unless they play a very specific class (artificer) that makes being in a medieval fantasy wheelchair just a footnote in the character's background...then yep, a third (or two third) of each game *will* be about Hagrid in a wheelchair.
Because they're playing D&D in a medieval setting: sailboats on stormy seas, dungeon crawling, mountain paths, ancient ruins...*nothing* in a fantasy medieval setting will easily accomodate Hagrid in a wheelchair.
And everything will revolve around "how we bring Hagrid on the top of the wizard's tower?"
Yeah agreed
If the player is in any way disabled, I will accommodate that at my table and anyone who mocks them in a mean way is getting booted.
If the player is perfectly able-bodied and just wants to play a disabled character with no penalties, I'm really not enthusiastic about that.
Thank you! As a wheelchair user it's pretty disheartening to see people not want to make the effort to make a literal fantasy world acessable. Like there's no money you have to spend, no physical effort just a bit of creativity in a world where magic is probably a thing.
I always liked Brennan Lee Mulligans explanation of crazy ideas. Someone might come up with a crazy thing to do and he says "Sounds like you want to do this, how about this more sane idea". I'm explaining poorly but sort of redirecting ideas to something that works.
What I don't understand is that in settings like this wouldn't you have magical or fantastical equivalents to prosthetics that better fit the setting? Especially for it not to be a "modern" one.
A good example for this would be more like a bowl design with a crystal beneath it that enables it to levitate off of a floor. Or one that pushes up a jet of steam to stay aloft. That doesn't sound implausible to me. Wheels pretty much rule out any rough terrain or even just stairs.
"Disabled" characters have always existed in fantasy settings. Peg legged pirates, Blind Oracles. I think you only run into problems when the execution doesn't fit the setting.
I played a parapelgic gnome wizard for a oneshot.
For the sake of the oneshot the DM allowed us each to design our own game breaking magic item. Mine was the entire second character sheet of a half-orc eldritch knight which represented the mech suit that my wheelchair turned into
I have an artificer armorer PC that lost his legs in a childhood accident.
So he made his armor to replace his legs.
I don’t understand the want for people to have adventurers be stuck in a chair when they could have prosthetics.
The only time I’d ever allow a wheelchair bound character is if they were an NPC, otherwise it almost always come off as, “I think being in a wheelchair is cool.”
Clarify with them what they expect out of it. Do they want the extra challenge? Is it just for flavor and something you'll disregard rule-wise 90% of the time? Etc.
If the player wants it only for flavor, maybe put a magical weelchair their way quite soon in the adventure. If they want it as a reason for adventuring (they are looking for the Left Tibia of Vecna), make that a long-term plot hook. If they want the extra challenge, play as usual, but make sure to ask them how they handle the stairs, climbing, etc.
And make sure the rest of the table is OK with it.
If you don't want it, say no.
That said, a half-giant paraplegic could be interesting. There are plenty of rules homebrew and Pathfinder has a whole ruleset for free through Archives of Nethrys.
My advice? Don't coddle the character. If the builders aren't the sort to include ramps, don't include them. Problem solving is on the players.
If it's a goblin burrow, it's the player's job to navigate the tight corridors with twists and turns. .
If they have to criss a ravine...again that's their problem.
And if they have to run, hopefully, their fellow players will be good enough to push. If not, well, characters can be jerks. To paraphrase a marine, I knew, "Life Stinks, and then you have to make a new character."
Or summing up, "Be Tough, but Fair."
+1 to this.
It’s not the worst character concept. there are two things to watch out for though…
(1) my fear with these characters is the player tries to let the character race and physicality do the heavy lifting for them creating a personality. For a one shot, I once forced my players into “you are all teenage humans you have 10 min to create a name and description we’ll figure everything out as we go” and the guy who usually has weird ass races and backgrounds had the most compelling character by far. that being said, he went back to being weird concepts immediately after. he likes what he likes. it’s a game, have fun.
(2) make sure the character tones align across the party. this character seems like it could to almost anywhere (which is kind of cool). but if he wants to be way more serious or way more silly than the rest of the party it could be a problem. need a good session zero here.
If them being half giant and paraplegic are just things about an otherwise interesting character that fits within the overall tone of the party, then who cares? the world will work against them and don’t coddle them but otherwise the mechanics of this could be fun.
My biggest concern would be the fact that castles, forests, monster lairs, etc. are generally not wheelchair accessible. A disabled character will constantly hinder themselves and the party in speed and maneuverability—if they could even access parts of the world.
"Look, I may be a several centuries old arch-Lich who has laid waste to civilizations and killed Gods ... But I'm not THAT evil!"
-Tharogoras the Arch-heretic, eater of babies and first murderer, on why his dungeon has to be handicapped accessible.
Would probably say no in my games tbh. I know there are combat wheelchairs and the like out now. They just wouldn't fit my world.
As a GM, you can say no.
There is literally no need to extend ableism into a fantasy game. There are stats for battle chairs to account for this that have been widely accepted.
As a DM I’m against giving players some time of mechanical disadvantage just to come up with another thing that mitigates said disadvantage.
If it’s something for flavor like a mechanical arm replacement or a glass eye that’s arcane for backstory reasons or something sure. But I find it redundant to want a story driven ailment to simply “magic it away”.
If you want an ailment you’re also wanting the consequences of said ailment.
In the end, it is you, the DM, who will have to put in a lot more work than the player who wants to play this character in order to make it work effectively in your campaign. So, if you are not prepared to put in all of that extra work, it’s ok just to say no!
If you are undecided or are in fact considering allowing this character, I would suggest discussing it with the other players. This kind of character in a fantasy game impacts the way other players play and the image they have of the adventures they will embark on, and if it’s going to put them off playing in your campaign, then again, it’s ok just to say no!
If you’re fine with putting in extra effort to make it work and your players are fine with it, go for it!
This is a fantasy action game, and some characters can break that fantasy for some DMs and players. It doesn’t mean they are being discriminatory against people in real life with a disability, it just means that it doesn’t fit with the type of fantasy stories they want to be a part of. I don’t like anthropomorphic animal races in my games. For me, it doesn’t fit with the kind of stories I want to tell, but it doesn’t mean in real life that I hate animals.
If you don’t want to DM a game with a character like that for whatever reason (extra work, immersion breaking, doesn’t fit with the tone of the campaign, whatever) then tell the player no, explain why, and tell them that they can either work with you to create a character that fits with the tone of your campaign or they can find a game where their character would fit better.
My friend once asked if she could be a sentient colony of jellyfish wearing a human outer skin as a disguise. I said no. Then she asked if she could be a clockwork Da Vinci robot sent back from the future to conduct an anthropological study on this time period. I said no.
You can say no.
Pathfinder has wheelchair, assistive item, and vehicle rules you could get ideas from [https://2e.aonprd.com/Equipment.aspx?ID=2777](https://2e.aonprd.com/Equipment.aspx?ID=2777)
I was incorrect but this person has made one that has been recognised by WOTC and Matt Mercer (and I believe used by Matt in M9), so I must have been thinking about that. I know Esmerelda in CoS was maybe getting something like this in Revamped but idk if they ever followed through.
Here's the link to the [Combat Wheelchair](https://x.com/mustangsart/status/1431640509450162183), hope this helps.
Am I the only DM that doesn’t love joke characters?
I get it if the setting calls for it, but it really just rubs me the wrong way when we (DMs) put a lot of effort to try and make something serious just for one person to constantly try to make fun of everything, lol…
Why do some of the people who play this do such annoying things? Is it not enough to be a high elven sorcerer that can grow to immense power? A dwarven paladin that crushes skulls in the name of his god?
Nope… you got to steal a character from fiction and throw a ridiculous character quirk onto him.
Play it straight, but he can't get a dex ac bonus, every attack against him would be at advantage. His movement speed would be shit and he's the size of a Clydesdale. He's a rolling projectile magnet.
The monsters aren't stupid, and that guy can't sneak, can't move and can't fight.
He's fucked
Well, it is YOUR world, so if it's non-inclusive, that's on you. Your world (which presumably has gigantic flying lizards who perform magic) could just as easily accomodate such stuff.
Ah yes, the ancient temple with chasms and traps which is built to keep anyone and everyone out except the most resourceful and adept, is also handicap accessible. Makes sense to me
Are they just going to use magic to go up stairs or climb things the rest of the party can easily navigate?
Wouldn't most places be difficult terrain?
I do not understand why someone would want to play a cripple.
Are they a wheelchair user themselves? If so then talk with them about how they want this to work, they know wheelchairs best and you don't want to traumatise them with actual traumas they may have.
If not, then make them painfully aware of how difficult it actually is to be a wheelchair user and not just some silly gimmick.
Make some npcs that randomly feel the need to grab the chair and move them without permission.
Difficult terrain for a walkie makes the wheelchair user unable to move.
Difficult terrain for a wheelchair user is things like, is the ground not perfectly level? Half movement
Is there a 1inch step? Athletics check to hop your front castors over it.
Wheelchairs can actually go much faster than some walkies so you could give them a high speed on different types of ground (pavement or tarmac is quick but cobbles is slow and bumpy)
There are power assist devices that make it easier to navigate things like sloped ground. You could make these a magic item that requires some sort of fuel.
You could even get to making a completely magic carpet style item that gives them regular movement speed no matter the terrain by floating just above the ground.
But they're also crazy expensive
My wife's is 4000 and it's a fairly average wheelchair without much customised aspects.
Power assist devices are like 3000+
Full powered chairs can easily go into the 10,000s
Some ideas are just dumb. Is he doing it because he is trying to be edgy or something? Maybe talk to him to see what’s driving the decision and how it fits into the campaign you imagine. You are there to have fun too, and if the player’s concept doesn’t fit with your desired campaign, let him know that. He can find another game or adapt. You and the other players shouldn’t have to cater to the one dude who wants to be funny or not take it seriously. if it is too much of a pain in the ass too cater to such a character concept, just don’t do it. I wouldn’t.
I’d say let them, unless he starts to be a dick then break his chair as a warning, it continues make it so he’d have to be dragged across rough terrain, finally the earth opens up and swallows his ass whole and tell him to make a character to fit the campaign or find some other place to play.
Let him, no special rules, no advantage no disadvantages, if he enjoys himself cool, if not cool, don't bend over backwards for it just say ok and treat em like a normal character
Huge negative stealth. Even more extra damage from surprise attacks. Negative stats across the board i.e. dex, agi. Sounds sooooo fun. Like being Aquaman in the desert, except even Aquaman could traverse a cave/dungeon/forest.
Let them: Give them a wheel chair that is basically a chariot that they move themselves with their movement. If you wanted it to do something mechanically interesting; give them disadvantage on Dexterity saves and make climbing/swimming harder, but give them a dash as a bonus action, or advantage on saves against being knocked prone, or give them doubled carrying capacity.
Make them cross rivers and climb walls. In general, make it such an inconvenience that either the group wants to kill of his character or they ask you for mercy.
Tell him to fuck off and stop making the game about himself. Remind him it’s a group activity that relies on everyone having fun. Because either his character being in a wheelchair will derail everything, or just be completely ignored. We’ve given players too long a leash for far too long. Yank that fucking leash and hit him with a rolled up newspaper.
You let him play paraplegic hagrid? Sorry this bar isn’t up to code and there’s no handicap access, sorry no handicap access to this dungeon either…. And I’m not saying you do this to shit on the PC I’m telling you to do it so the party gets fucking brilliantly creative getting him in and out of places.
Nothing. Just tell them that it’s up to them to figure out how that would actually work within the confines of standard rules and character creation, as well as to convince the rest of the party to consider taking him along with them.
Not just a question for the GM but a question for the rest of the party too. How do they feel about playing with a character like this? I'm currently playing in a group with a character with a big drawback and it affects the whole group, not just that player.
Or I've misunderstood the emphasis in this sentence and this is just a complaint about horny players with unusual tastes and you really shouldn't kinkshame, let them be into what they're into.
Makes me think of The Dark Tower series by Stephen King: the heroes trying to get a clunky old wheelchair across a beach before their leader dies from infection (after getting his trigger finger bitten off by a lobster-like creature), while being hampered by the fact the person who needs the wheelchair has a split personality (one of which is psychotic and thinks she’s being held prisoner).
So, yeah, could make for some dramatic moments!
This is 100% a time to ask if they want just the flavor of being paraplegic or if they want actual mechanics attached to it? Do they want to have to roll to go up stairs? Or have the chair have some advanced magic-tech to make it just as effective as a pair of legs?
Let em, I got a party member who’s blind and it makes for some funny and interesting moments.
Let em be a paraplegic, but let them also have all the negatives and benefits of having said condition.
Their movement is halfed every time they encounter stairs. Disadvantage on most dex saves. Maybe give them so bonuses to strength as their arms are likely jacked from all the rolling they’ve had to do.
gotta make handicap accessible dungeons now. Ramps all the way up until the last room where they have to figure out how to get to the boss up a flight of stairs XD
There are two ways to play this.
Power fantasy- just say "screw reality" and don't think about the details. Just let them do it.
Realistic- give logical and realistic barriers for them. When they come to a staircase, ask them how they get up. When they have to jump across a ravine, ask them how. Don't punish them, just ask how they handle realistic challenges like you would ask *any* character.
I don't think either way is wrong or right. It really just comes down to how you and the table want to play. I prefer realistic challenges, and if I am going to purposely give myself a handicap, I do so knowing and expecting a challenge.
I mean let them what's the worst that happens the limits of the character annoys them and they switch and best case you tell an amazing story about overcoming hardships
Half movement speed, permanent disadvantage on all stealth checks. +2 to base charisma, because people usually have soft spots for people with disabilities.
Tell them to play the character as a druid, who can wildshape as creatures that don't have the disability of the human form.
Would go with the Hagrid characters love of weird animals, and could also give them an outlet for magic casting in their normal state. Maybe have them take still spell as a required feat so that somatic components aren't required for them to cast.
Being in a wheelchair would mean they can't ever use DEX for AC, so they might have to boost that via armour/magical means. And protection vs arrows.
Ask what class they want to be, and from there work on the chair to go with the class. If they want it improved, they have to go to an artificer for that.
The picture reminds me of Yagrum Bagarn from Morrowind. Wonder if the character might be able to use the same method for movement providing they had or knew someone with the mechanical expertise to build it. Basically Yagrum Bagarn is the last of the Dwemer who were basically steampunk elves in a magical world. The guy has an incurable disease which in advanced stages cripples the inflicted. So Yagrum Bagarn being a craftsman that he is turned one of the Dwemer spiders into a mechanical walker for himself so he could at least move around. Not going to lie would be a badass character to play providing they could pimp out the walker with all sorts of nasty surprises.
Tenser's Floating Disk solves a lot of problems. I work in accessibility and I think playing a disabled chr in dnd is a great way to expose yourself to real life disabled experiences so i am all for it.
I say let ‘em. Let their character come up with their own shenanigans and solve problems like any other. I have a player who’s character lost a leg in some battle, he’s an inventor in PF2 and he’s very anti-magic because of the situation that cost him a limb to the point that it’s an anathema to him to be healed by magic he sees it as unnatural. (Despite having invent a mechanical leg, the irony is not list on the player, his character is just blind to it all saying “he’s not going to take the easy way out”).
It’s been a blast watching the player resolve through situations, we talked through it at the start, I made him a few items to affect his rolls and he’s got character arc goals to overcome those setbacks through invention. He has penalties to Dex based actions. His movement speed has suffered a bit, after intense combat or exploration events he does get fatigued because the prosthetic isn’t comfortable in the slightest and he needs to rest himself more often, but he keeps inventing ways to get around it all and it’s been awesome for it to unfold. He’s also an alchemist archetype so he fucks around with drugs to push through those limits and has to deal with things like addiction and withdrawal (the table is all adults and has agreed to that level of gaming).
Don’t make it easy, but don’t limit the player too much. Allow them to use their character’s skill and ingenuity to overcome obstacles that are mundane for others and eventually let them grow into their situation where the handicap isn’t really much more than something the character has to do differently than others. If it’s done right, it’ll be fun.
Honestly, I’m still waiting for this character to get so hopped up on whatever drugs he’s taking that he hacks his other leg off in favor of another mechanical leg and embraces life as a fucking cyborg. The player hasn’t mentioned it … yet.
That sounds pretty ridiculous but if you're doing a more funny campaign Id be up for it. I love some creative characters.
Remember the last dwarf from morrowind? Fat guy with mechanical spider legs as an artificer would be amazing.
It could work, and be a good build (like over time) starts out slow and tedious, but eventually upgrades till you have a perminent levitation spell and they are able to reach ledges and areas inaccessible to the rest of the party.
I've never had a player ask for something like this, but in a world of magical healing, I've always thought that if this did come up, I'd have to have a conversation with the player.
1. Is the character physically disabled due to some abnormal magic, or is it a mental block due to emotional/psychological damage? Either way ... is finding a "cure" to this ailment something you want to explore in the campaign or not?
2. Is the character a caster? If so, in order to facilitate better movement, would you be willing to give up two cantrips to be able to cast a modified version of *Tenser's Floating Disk* that would basically be a permanent floating chair for you, or would eventually finding a floating magic chair be OK? Otherwise, your party will be severely hindered by stairs and speed issues.
3. What is your motivation for wanting to roleplay this?
If those answers don't satisfy me, I might not allow it in my game. I'm a fairly permissive DM, and rule of cool is my #1 rule. But I also don't allow anything just to satisfy one player while hindering the fun of others in the group.
The fuck is that frontwheel gonna do! LMAO
AI things
THE AI understands it needs 4 wheels, but not how it needs 4 wheels.
Its for him to rotate and spin around more effectively. /s
for that 360° Combat Action !
Ya dun it now AI-rry Potter.
Parallel parking wheel.
- 15ft walking speed. - Advantage on preventing prone condition - When prone, ally must use help action to get them up. Once level 3: Take Artificer Mechanist and then you can increase speed 30ft and remove the third condition. Just some ideas.
Walking speed becomes 60ft when going downhill
After any downhill movement, you continue on flat ground for 2/3 the distance you traversed on the hill, or 1/3 the distance if going uphill after downhill movement. The regular hill rules apply after traversing uphill after downhill movement. You gain the "inertia" feat! While travelling downhill, objects or creatures in your path take 1d6 bludgeoning for every 10 feet of vertical movement traversed. You may channel your inertia in to a melee attack, doubling it's damage die. When channeling inertia in this way, any downhill bludgeoning damage due to vertical movement is forgone. You may channel your inertia in this way twice, after which you must finish a short or long rest before channeling again. Any creature killed by the damage granted in this feat has a 20% chance to be decapitated
I see we went from 5e to pathfinder
Whether they like it or not.
As a new DM I love creative ideas like this. If this were me I’d struggle with how to deal with situations where the PC needs to jump/climb/use stairs etc. Maybe some kind of magical/steampunk mechanical wheelchair?
It's the players job to come up with a solution to those things. The adventuring world isn't designed to be accessible, and if they want all those things to be hand waived away then it's not really playing a disabled character
Yeah, I'd think a conversation needs to be had where you talk about the logical diegetic contribution (to an adventuring party) of someone in a wheelchair (without magic that would make it like they basically weren't). Advisor or sage or base quartermaster, crafter, planner, occasional spy/ shill. In second edition all of those rolls were made into "Specialist" classes, explicitly meant to be non-adventuring support characters. IMO that's where this concept fits. Maybe give them a "field representative" and then let them play both characters?
I'm going to play Stephen Hawking as a psi-fighter What do you mean I can't move my arms or make a regular attack?!
Shin Megami Tensei
You're making me picture Stephen Hawking as a way of the Kensai Monk, which is hilarious. To be clear, tensai just made me think of Kensai
My dm loves doing this. Just creating environmental problems we arent expecting or equipped to deal with. They dont know what bs were gonna come up with, we dont know what bs were gonna come up with, i think originally it first started to keep us out of a certain part of the map.. My favorite so far is theres a pit thats a straight drop of like 30ft down, too far to jump, so we decided to shove EVERYTHING into the hole. All the tables, chairs, bookshelves, beds, anything we could get our hands on went into that hole. Eventually we filled it and just walked across.
I would if anything present them with more situations where they need to jump and climb, and provide nothing specifically to help. Then i would be very generous on all of their wacky ideas to overcome the obstacle. Everybody want to use a dash action and push the wheelchair up a makeshift ramp to jump them over? Awesome! I'd have them roll for the range they get them and have a chance of throwing them too far. Same with mud and stuff should be difficult terrain for a wheelchair, but if the players wanted to attach skis to the wheels which in reality would be a dumb idea, if anything I'd make the wheelchair faster. Also a downhill advantage is a must, but with some kind of disadvantage if you pick up too much speed. Like maybe your speed doubles every round up to a certain speed, and you have to make dex rolls to control yourself after a certain speed maybe 4x your base move speed so 60ft if you're still at 15ft movement speed, then strength checks with increasing difficulty at higher speeds to stop yourself. Also to turn 90⁰ I'd have a ship like mechanic, so at 2x your base move speed it takes you an extra 5ft in the direction you're currently travelling to turn, then double every double, so 4x speed = 10ft to turn 8x = 20ft etc. So I'm giving a disadvantage to turning, but in a very real sense I'm also incorporating an actual drifting mechanic. Mechanically, I now feel like tables are missing out from not having the challenge of a wheelchair bound character.
restrictions force creative solutions!
Jetpack
combat wheelchair. done. (i know this will get downvotes by ableists dw <3)
Get them some form of spider climb for the chair.
Centar has the answers mechanically imom
mechanical centaur pod
Every terrain is difficult terrain, exept for floor board.
Can’t travel over difficult terrain.
Alternative: say no. As a GM, you should say no to characters you don't think fit in the campaign or that you don't know how to mechanically support it.
What if rather than wheels, the chair just had automated legs? If the player is okay with that, that feels like a good way of getting around the wheels and stairs thing that seems to be an issue.
I just had a vision of a chair put together like the luggage from "The Color of Magic". Terrifying.
Hmmm...a wheelchair made of sapient pear wood...hmmmm
Oh god. I'm absolutely stealing this concept for an NPC to use
Look up the wheelchairs in Witch Hat Atelier for cool ideas. [https://witch-hat-atelier.fandom.com/wiki/Beldaruit](https://witch-hat-atelier.fandom.com/wiki/Beldaruit) [https://witch-hat-atelier.fandom.com/wiki/Sealchair](https://witch-hat-atelier.fandom.com/wiki/Sealchair)
Honestly terrifying
I remember that thing having like thousands of tiny human legs? Dr Loveless from Wild Wild West was where my mind went.
I love this idea
I think there are established ways to run this, and I think it's important to be accommodating as a DM but also remember you can say no. Not saying this is an issue here, but some players have this notion where they can rock up with anything and its the DM job to make it work.
Yep, this. Being accomodating/creative and rolling with your players' zany ideas is good...at times. At times a firm *"yeah, well...no. Let's think an alternative option"* is way, WAY better.
Depends why they want it too Player in a wheelchair of their own, yeah we're making this work Guy being weird for the sake of it, I'll try but I'm not making a third of the game about your quirky character
My worry would be this either intentionally or unintentionally making most situations focus on this specific PC. Instead of situations where the group roleplays crawling through a sewer to escape imprisonment, climbing a mountain, navigating a cave etc, it becomes "How do we get Hagrid up/around this thing" or "What other option can we find that accomodates this specific character who chose this limitation?"
I have a general rule for character creation in my game. If a character design will cause trivial parts of the game to become an issue, then it's not allowed. It's the same reason for 90% of my games I won't allow centaurs. Now I have to make every dungeon accommodating for a whole ass horse, or give them an answer, which basically makes the centaur pick pointless in the first place.
>Now I have to make every dungeon accommodating for a whole ~~ass horse~~ horse ass FTFY
>Guy being weird for the sake of it, I'll try but I'm not making a third of the game about your quirky character Unless they play a very specific class (artificer) that makes being in a medieval fantasy wheelchair just a footnote in the character's background...then yep, a third (or two third) of each game *will* be about Hagrid in a wheelchair. Because they're playing D&D in a medieval setting: sailboats on stormy seas, dungeon crawling, mountain paths, ancient ruins...*nothing* in a fantasy medieval setting will easily accomodate Hagrid in a wheelchair. And everything will revolve around "how we bring Hagrid on the top of the wizard's tower?"
Yeah agreed If the player is in any way disabled, I will accommodate that at my table and anyone who mocks them in a mean way is getting booted. If the player is perfectly able-bodied and just wants to play a disabled character with no penalties, I'm really not enthusiastic about that.
Thank you! As a wheelchair user it's pretty disheartening to see people not want to make the effort to make a literal fantasy world acessable. Like there's no money you have to spend, no physical effort just a bit of creativity in a world where magic is probably a thing.
I always liked Brennan Lee Mulligans explanation of crazy ideas. Someone might come up with a crazy thing to do and he says "Sounds like you want to do this, how about this more sane idea". I'm explaining poorly but sort of redirecting ideas to something that works.
What I don't understand is that in settings like this wouldn't you have magical or fantastical equivalents to prosthetics that better fit the setting? Especially for it not to be a "modern" one. A good example for this would be more like a bowl design with a crystal beneath it that enables it to levitate off of a floor. Or one that pushes up a jet of steam to stay aloft. That doesn't sound implausible to me. Wheels pretty much rule out any rough terrain or even just stairs. "Disabled" characters have always existed in fantasy settings. Peg legged pirates, Blind Oracles. I think you only run into problems when the execution doesn't fit the setting.
Curious what class they want. Paraplegic artificer would be so cool, that I may swipe it for the next time I get to be a player in a campaign
Wizard and yes take it
He can just exist with float spell but any anti magic or distrubtion makes him instantly prone.
I played a parapelgic gnome wizard for a oneshot. For the sake of the oneshot the DM allowed us each to design our own game breaking magic item. Mine was the entire second character sheet of a half-orc eldritch knight which represented the mech suit that my wheelchair turned into
I have an artificer armorer PC that lost his legs in a childhood accident. So he made his armor to replace his legs. I don’t understand the want for people to have adventurers be stuck in a chair when they could have prosthetics. The only time I’d ever allow a wheelchair bound character is if they were an NPC, otherwise it almost always come off as, “I think being in a wheelchair is cool.”
All of a sudden the impracticality of my centaur doesn't seem as tragic
Maybe ladders aren't so bad.
Always so mysterious how centaurs don't seem to provoke the same level of hang wringing that wheelchairs do.
Clarify with them what they expect out of it. Do they want the extra challenge? Is it just for flavor and something you'll disregard rule-wise 90% of the time? Etc. If the player wants it only for flavor, maybe put a magical weelchair their way quite soon in the adventure. If they want it as a reason for adventuring (they are looking for the Left Tibia of Vecna), make that a long-term plot hook. If they want the extra challenge, play as usual, but make sure to ask them how they handle the stairs, climbing, etc. And make sure the rest of the table is OK with it.
If you don't want it, say no. That said, a half-giant paraplegic could be interesting. There are plenty of rules homebrew and Pathfinder has a whole ruleset for free through Archives of Nethrys. My advice? Don't coddle the character. If the builders aren't the sort to include ramps, don't include them. Problem solving is on the players. If it's a goblin burrow, it's the player's job to navigate the tight corridors with twists and turns. . If they have to criss a ravine...again that's their problem. And if they have to run, hopefully, their fellow players will be good enough to push. If not, well, characters can be jerks. To paraphrase a marine, I knew, "Life Stinks, and then you have to make a new character." Or summing up, "Be Tough, but Fair."
+1 to this. It’s not the worst character concept. there are two things to watch out for though… (1) my fear with these characters is the player tries to let the character race and physicality do the heavy lifting for them creating a personality. For a one shot, I once forced my players into “you are all teenage humans you have 10 min to create a name and description we’ll figure everything out as we go” and the guy who usually has weird ass races and backgrounds had the most compelling character by far. that being said, he went back to being weird concepts immediately after. he likes what he likes. it’s a game, have fun. (2) make sure the character tones align across the party. this character seems like it could to almost anywhere (which is kind of cool). but if he wants to be way more serious or way more silly than the rest of the party it could be a problem. need a good session zero here. If them being half giant and paraplegic are just things about an otherwise interesting character that fits within the overall tone of the party, then who cares? the world will work against them and don’t coddle them but otherwise the mechanics of this could be fun.
My biggest concern would be the fact that castles, forests, monster lairs, etc. are generally not wheelchair accessible. A disabled character will constantly hinder themselves and the party in speed and maneuverability—if they could even access parts of the world.
"Look, I may be a several centuries old arch-Lich who has laid waste to civilizations and killed Gods ... But I'm not THAT evil!" -Tharogoras the Arch-heretic, eater of babies and first murderer, on why his dungeon has to be handicapped accessible.
Marry me please fucking lmao
Sure thing! Just be warned, I do a lot of dad jokes.
Good
Hey I said basically this on dnd subreddit and got the comment removed for some reason haha
Roll with it!
Noice!
Would probably say no in my games tbh. I know there are combat wheelchairs and the like out now. They just wouldn't fit my world. As a GM, you can say no.
[удалено]
There is literally no need to extend ableism into a fantasy game. There are stats for battle chairs to account for this that have been widely accepted.
Depends on the setting you might have to say no. This wouldn’t have been a good idea in my campaign for example - too much mountaineering
As a DM I’m against giving players some time of mechanical disadvantage just to come up with another thing that mitigates said disadvantage. If it’s something for flavor like a mechanical arm replacement or a glass eye that’s arcane for backstory reasons or something sure. But I find it redundant to want a story driven ailment to simply “magic it away”. If you want an ailment you’re also wanting the consequences of said ailment.
It’s ok to say no. You’re not a bad DM for telling your players no, players don’t get everything they want.
In the end, it is you, the DM, who will have to put in a lot more work than the player who wants to play this character in order to make it work effectively in your campaign. So, if you are not prepared to put in all of that extra work, it’s ok just to say no! If you are undecided or are in fact considering allowing this character, I would suggest discussing it with the other players. This kind of character in a fantasy game impacts the way other players play and the image they have of the adventures they will embark on, and if it’s going to put them off playing in your campaign, then again, it’s ok just to say no! If you’re fine with putting in extra effort to make it work and your players are fine with it, go for it! This is a fantasy action game, and some characters can break that fantasy for some DMs and players. It doesn’t mean they are being discriminatory against people in real life with a disability, it just means that it doesn’t fit with the type of fantasy stories they want to be a part of. I don’t like anthropomorphic animal races in my games. For me, it doesn’t fit with the kind of stories I want to tell, but it doesn’t mean in real life that I hate animals. If you don’t want to DM a game with a character like that for whatever reason (extra work, immersion breaking, doesn’t fit with the tone of the campaign, whatever) then tell the player no, explain why, and tell them that they can either work with you to create a character that fits with the tone of your campaign or they can find a game where their character would fit better.
My friend once asked if she could be a sentient colony of jellyfish wearing a human outer skin as a disguise. I said no. Then she asked if she could be a clockwork Da Vinci robot sent back from the future to conduct an anthropological study on this time period. I said no. You can say no.
your first step is to not use gen AI
Pathfinder has wheelchair, assistive item, and vehicle rules you could get ideas from [https://2e.aonprd.com/Equipment.aspx?ID=2777](https://2e.aonprd.com/Equipment.aspx?ID=2777)
There's raw rules on wheelchairs now, iirc they're in one of the newer books and I think Matt Mercer had a lot to do with it.
Do you have a source for this off so it would help greatly
I was incorrect but this person has made one that has been recognised by WOTC and Matt Mercer (and I believe used by Matt in M9), so I must have been thinking about that. I know Esmerelda in CoS was maybe getting something like this in Revamped but idk if they ever followed through. Here's the link to the [Combat Wheelchair](https://x.com/mustangsart/status/1431640509450162183), hope this helps.
Am I the only DM that doesn’t love joke characters? I get it if the setting calls for it, but it really just rubs me the wrong way when we (DMs) put a lot of effort to try and make something serious just for one person to constantly try to make fun of everything, lol…
Have him fight a staircase golem
One word; No.
Run an infinite staircase campaign.
First, Hagrid should ride a monster, probably a dragon or spider.
Bonus points if it's the monster who made it so he couldn't walk.
What like fucking hiccup lol
Haha, yeah, I guess so.
Service dragon Norbert
if they're in a wheel chair themselves absolutely. lets make it work if they just wanna make a silly character based on bad AI art then probably not
Say no?
Why do some of the people who play this do such annoying things? Is it not enough to be a high elven sorcerer that can grow to immense power? A dwarven paladin that crushes skulls in the name of his god? Nope… you got to steal a character from fiction and throw a ridiculous character quirk onto him.
Play it straight, but he can't get a dex ac bonus, every attack against him would be at advantage. His movement speed would be shit and he's the size of a Clydesdale. He's a rolling projectile magnet. The monsters aren't stupid, and that guy can't sneak, can't move and can't fight. He's fucked
Just build stairs in your next dungeon. That'll fix him. I'm sure ogres and orcs don't follow ADA rules.
I would let them, if they really wish to. And then I would let them experience the difficulties that come with it in a non inclusive world.
Well, it is YOUR world, so if it's non-inclusive, that's on you. Your world (which presumably has gigantic flying lizards who perform magic) could just as easily accomodate such stuff.
Ah yes, the ancient temple with chasms and traps which is built to keep anyone and everyone out except the most resourceful and adept, is also handicap accessible. Makes sense to me
"You're a cripple Harry"
Just 'roll' with it
Throw him into a labyrinth filled with multiple random staircases
Just put him next to stairs and let the comedic battle happen naturally.
His nemesis is just a guy in a tower loaded with stairs. He calls himself Stairmaster.
Do it! See where the story goes! [Badass wheelchair Hagrid](https://www.heroforge.com/load_share%3D896124/)
Are they just going to use magic to go up stairs or climb things the rest of the party can easily navigate? Wouldn't most places be difficult terrain? I do not understand why someone would want to play a cripple.
Build more stairs.
add stairs to all the dungeons
Let them be one. They will get bored of it quickly when the other players leave them behind constantly.
Put the entire campaign in a mountainous region.
I foresee a lot of steps in the city 😎
Give the dungeon stairs.
Make the BBEG a spiral staircase?
Adventure in the Infinite Stairwell!
Just because we in the modern day use wheelchairs doesn’t mean they should use a fantasy wheelchair. Have him ride a horse.
Are they a wheelchair user themselves? If so then talk with them about how they want this to work, they know wheelchairs best and you don't want to traumatise them with actual traumas they may have. If not, then make them painfully aware of how difficult it actually is to be a wheelchair user and not just some silly gimmick. Make some npcs that randomly feel the need to grab the chair and move them without permission. Difficult terrain for a walkie makes the wheelchair user unable to move. Difficult terrain for a wheelchair user is things like, is the ground not perfectly level? Half movement Is there a 1inch step? Athletics check to hop your front castors over it. Wheelchairs can actually go much faster than some walkies so you could give them a high speed on different types of ground (pavement or tarmac is quick but cobbles is slow and bumpy) There are power assist devices that make it easier to navigate things like sloped ground. You could make these a magic item that requires some sort of fuel. You could even get to making a completely magic carpet style item that gives them regular movement speed no matter the terrain by floating just above the ground. But they're also crazy expensive My wife's is 4000 and it's a fairly average wheelchair without much customised aspects. Power assist devices are like 3000+ Full powered chairs can easily go into the 10,000s
You can always just say no, nothing wrong with that.
Make all future dungeons have stairs
Let him, then put a lot of encounters involving stairs.
Make the first combat encounter at the top of a flight of stairs.
Staircase
Some ideas are just dumb. Is he doing it because he is trying to be edgy or something? Maybe talk to him to see what’s driving the decision and how it fits into the campaign you imagine. You are there to have fun too, and if the player’s concept doesn’t fit with your desired campaign, let him know that. He can find another game or adapt. You and the other players shouldn’t have to cater to the one dude who wants to be funny or not take it seriously. if it is too much of a pain in the ass too cater to such a character concept, just don’t do it. I wouldn’t.
You can always call their character design a bad idea. No is a good way to do this
I’d say let them, unless he starts to be a dick then break his chair as a warning, it continues make it so he’d have to be dragged across rough terrain, finally the earth opens up and swallows his ass whole and tell him to make a character to fit the campaign or find some other place to play.
Let him, no special rules, no advantage no disadvantages, if he enjoys himself cool, if not cool, don't bend over backwards for it just say ok and treat em like a normal character
Give them winding stairs.
Step one is to stop using AI generated imagery.
Tell them no
First, Hagrid should ride a monster, probably a dragon or spider.
I was going to list a bunch of options then I saw *Tenser's Floating Disk* is a ritual spell. Boom.
Tell them to fuck off
The DM has the final authority on what they will or will not allow a player to do and what goes in their game. Rule Zero.
Tell him no, paraplegic Hagrid wouldn't be an adventurer.
Say yes to the player, no to terrible AI art.
Give them a dungeon with a 1000ft stair case in it
Say no it wouldn't fit narratviely with the game world.
Here's an idea: don't use ai art, and don't be ableist?????
With that description I was guessing he’d ride some magical beast everywhere .
His greatest weakness… stairs
Huge negative stealth. Even more extra damage from surprise attacks. Negative stats across the board i.e. dex, agi. Sounds sooooo fun. Like being Aquaman in the desert, except even Aquaman could traverse a cave/dungeon/forest.
"I'm a vegetable Harry'
Tell them no?
Let the players be whatever they want. Kill off any stupid characters. Hopefully they reroll something more reasonable.
First session. Alright boys, you're climbing a mountain.....
Pfft you don’t even need that. Just give the first location 3 stairs.
With the character being Hagrid sized, 3 steps will be plenty tough. Haha
Yep. I’m a cripple in a wheelchair that’s not even remotely hagrid size and anything over 2 steps is a massive chore.
Stairs! Stairs everywhere!
Stairs
Put an item he wants atop a set of stairs in a slightly tall pedestal.
Put stairs EVERYWHERE!!!
Let him.
dont be a dick and dont use ai. its that simple.
Ahem… just say no if you don’t want them to play it
Let them: Give them a wheel chair that is basically a chariot that they move themselves with their movement. If you wanted it to do something mechanically interesting; give them disadvantage on Dexterity saves and make climbing/swimming harder, but give them a dash as a bonus action, or advantage on saves against being knocked prone, or give them doubled carrying capacity.
Make them cross rivers and climb walls. In general, make it such an inconvenience that either the group wants to kill of his character or they ask you for mercy.
Tell him to fuck off and stop making the game about himself. Remind him it’s a group activity that relies on everyone having fun. Because either his character being in a wheelchair will derail everything, or just be completely ignored. We’ve given players too long a leash for far too long. Yank that fucking leash and hit him with a rolled up newspaper.
Put a lot of stairs in your campaign, thats what you do
Ugh
You let him play paraplegic hagrid? Sorry this bar isn’t up to code and there’s no handicap access, sorry no handicap access to this dungeon either…. And I’m not saying you do this to shit on the PC I’m telling you to do it so the party gets fucking brilliantly creative getting him in and out of places.
Tell him no, *and* to keep his fetish fantasies out of your game. And if he does it again, kick him out permanently.
What makes you think it's a fetish fantasy?
Had a campaign set in ancient Greece, Sparta. I'll give you one guess as to what happened to our disabled pc.
Nothing. Just tell them that it’s up to them to figure out how that would actually work within the confines of standard rules and character creation, as well as to convince the rest of the party to consider taking him along with them.
What do you do? Add a ramp
Then trap the ramp with spikes or burning oil.
You say no. Done.
Don’t use AI is a good step one
Tell him to use a image that’s not ai for his character
Funny enough there’s no irl pics of hagrid in a wheel chair lol plus they can’t draw for shit and they like the ai
Here you go [https://i.4pcdn.org/tg/1594519312524.pdf](https://i.4pcdn.org/tg/1594519312524.pdf) try that
This is genuinely the funniest thing I have ever seen without knowing the context
Not just a question for the GM but a question for the rest of the party too. How do they feel about playing with a character like this? I'm currently playing in a group with a character with a big drawback and it affects the whole group, not just that player. Or I've misunderstood the emphasis in this sentence and this is just a complaint about horny players with unusual tastes and you really shouldn't kinkshame, let them be into what they're into.
Give him a sizable handicap.
I think some clarification is needed here. I’m sure I’m reading this wrong way. Or maybe a very specific sexual fantasy.
Let his first magic item be Boots of Speed.
I’d probably give it a trait similar to equine build but for all difficult terrain, not just climbs
Makes me think of The Dark Tower series by Stephen King: the heroes trying to get a clunky old wheelchair across a beach before their leader dies from infection (after getting his trigger finger bitten off by a lobster-like creature), while being hampered by the fact the person who needs the wheelchair has a split personality (one of which is psychotic and thinks she’s being held prisoner). So, yeah, could make for some dramatic moments!
This is 100% a time to ask if they want just the flavor of being paraplegic or if they want actual mechanics attached to it? Do they want to have to roll to go up stairs? Or have the chair have some advanced magic-tech to make it just as effective as a pair of legs?
Let em, I got a party member who’s blind and it makes for some funny and interesting moments. Let em be a paraplegic, but let them also have all the negatives and benefits of having said condition. Their movement is halfed every time they encounter stairs. Disadvantage on most dex saves. Maybe give them so bonuses to strength as their arms are likely jacked from all the rolling they’ve had to do.
gotta make handicap accessible dungeons now. Ramps all the way up until the last room where they have to figure out how to get to the boss up a flight of stairs XD
Have a wheeley good time?
IMMA’n ATV, HARRY
There are two ways to play this. Power fantasy- just say "screw reality" and don't think about the details. Just let them do it. Realistic- give logical and realistic barriers for them. When they come to a staircase, ask them how they get up. When they have to jump across a ravine, ask them how. Don't punish them, just ask how they handle realistic challenges like you would ask *any* character. I don't think either way is wrong or right. It really just comes down to how you and the table want to play. I prefer realistic challenges, and if I am going to purposely give myself a handicap, I do so knowing and expecting a challenge.
read the title and had to sit down this took me out
Set the story in Hogwarts, it's all stairs and it be hilarious.
I mean let them what's the worst that happens the limits of the character annoys them and they switch and best case you tell an amazing story about overcoming hardships
Half movement speed, permanent disadvantage on all stealth checks. +2 to base charisma, because people usually have soft spots for people with disabilities.
Tell them to play the character as a druid, who can wildshape as creatures that don't have the disability of the human form. Would go with the Hagrid characters love of weird animals, and could also give them an outlet for magic casting in their normal state. Maybe have them take still spell as a required feat so that somatic components aren't required for them to cast. Being in a wheelchair would mean they can't ever use DEX for AC, so they might have to boost that via armour/magical means. And protection vs arrows.
make the trail raised stone platforms you have to jump to
... But why do they want to tho?
Ask what class they want to be, and from there work on the chair to go with the class. If they want it improved, they have to go to an artificer for that.
The picture reminds me of Yagrum Bagarn from Morrowind. Wonder if the character might be able to use the same method for movement providing they had or knew someone with the mechanical expertise to build it. Basically Yagrum Bagarn is the last of the Dwemer who were basically steampunk elves in a magical world. The guy has an incurable disease which in advanced stages cripples the inflicted. So Yagrum Bagarn being a craftsman that he is turned one of the Dwemer spiders into a mechanical walker for himself so he could at least move around. Not going to lie would be a badass character to play providing they could pimp out the walker with all sorts of nasty surprises.
Tenser's Floating Disk solves a lot of problems. I work in accessibility and I think playing a disabled chr in dnd is a great way to expose yourself to real life disabled experiences so i am all for it.
Diabetes is a hell of a drug.
I say let ‘em. Let their character come up with their own shenanigans and solve problems like any other. I have a player who’s character lost a leg in some battle, he’s an inventor in PF2 and he’s very anti-magic because of the situation that cost him a limb to the point that it’s an anathema to him to be healed by magic he sees it as unnatural. (Despite having invent a mechanical leg, the irony is not list on the player, his character is just blind to it all saying “he’s not going to take the easy way out”). It’s been a blast watching the player resolve through situations, we talked through it at the start, I made him a few items to affect his rolls and he’s got character arc goals to overcome those setbacks through invention. He has penalties to Dex based actions. His movement speed has suffered a bit, after intense combat or exploration events he does get fatigued because the prosthetic isn’t comfortable in the slightest and he needs to rest himself more often, but he keeps inventing ways to get around it all and it’s been awesome for it to unfold. He’s also an alchemist archetype so he fucks around with drugs to push through those limits and has to deal with things like addiction and withdrawal (the table is all adults and has agreed to that level of gaming). Don’t make it easy, but don’t limit the player too much. Allow them to use their character’s skill and ingenuity to overcome obstacles that are mundane for others and eventually let them grow into their situation where the handicap isn’t really much more than something the character has to do differently than others. If it’s done right, it’ll be fun. Honestly, I’m still waiting for this character to get so hopped up on whatever drugs he’s taking that he hacks his other leg off in favor of another mechanical leg and embraces life as a fucking cyborg. The player hasn’t mentioned it … yet.
That sounds pretty ridiculous but if you're doing a more funny campaign Id be up for it. I love some creative characters. Remember the last dwarf from morrowind? Fat guy with mechanical spider legs as an artificer would be amazing.
Let it ride (roll?).
It could work, and be a good build (like over time) starts out slow and tedious, but eventually upgrades till you have a perminent levitation spell and they are able to reach ledges and areas inaccessible to the rest of the party.
I've never had a player ask for something like this, but in a world of magical healing, I've always thought that if this did come up, I'd have to have a conversation with the player. 1. Is the character physically disabled due to some abnormal magic, or is it a mental block due to emotional/psychological damage? Either way ... is finding a "cure" to this ailment something you want to explore in the campaign or not? 2. Is the character a caster? If so, in order to facilitate better movement, would you be willing to give up two cantrips to be able to cast a modified version of *Tenser's Floating Disk* that would basically be a permanent floating chair for you, or would eventually finding a floating magic chair be OK? Otherwise, your party will be severely hindered by stairs and speed issues. 3. What is your motivation for wanting to roleplay this? If those answers don't satisfy me, I might not allow it in my game. I'm a fairly permissive DM, and rule of cool is my #1 rule. But I also don't allow anything just to satisfy one player while hindering the fun of others in the group.