Few things annoy an RPG more than a poorly executed cliché. Those who play a clichéd character require attention, work, and yet many times they don’t become more bearable as time goes by.
This is not to say that such clichés are unplayable, simply that there are inherent difficulties in playing them that are often overlooked or ignored. The goal of this guide is to offer ways to make these types of RPGs more bearable, specifically those that feature a ‘disabled’ character. This guide is not about those who actually have a disability in real life, but about players who decide, for whatever reason, to give their character an ailment, be it physical or mental.
Many who work with newbies have, at one time or another, come across a character with a performance disability. These are often poorly made, sloppy and not well thought out. And, unfortunately, it’s also quite often that they resist each and every healing attempt, falling into the traditional ‘wizard did it’ defense (or something equally unbelievable) to explain why their handicap is resistant to all. the medicines. . This is frankly jarring and annoying and should be avoided at all costs.
There are two basic things to keep in mind when portraying a disability: it requires a strong ‘what and why’, and a high degree of restraint and flexibility.
The ‘what’ is the most obvious of the three: what’s wrong with the character? Many appear to have physical disabilities or problems, a missing or crippled limb, blindness, deafness, an inability to speak, and the like. While it’s possible to interpret them, it’s hard to show them convincingly if the game mechanics can prove you wrong.
Unfortunately, mechanics almost always have to trump RP, and this is one of those cases. Interpreting a missing arm can be confusing if one is forced to wield a sword in the supposedly nonexistent hand, or if an attack hits one in the right hand. Likewise, if there are cures for blindness, deafness, or stuttering, it doesn’t make much sense to consider them as disabilities. For example, in Achaea, blindness is cured with skin ointment or a mindseye tattoo: someone playing a blind monk in Achaea is likely to drown in a sea of skin ointments and the inks needed to create a mindseye. Explaining why a cure works for everyone else on the planet but not for you can be a very complicated proposition.
Instead of acting out such common physical ailments, playing some other problem can be just as entertaining without the suspension of belief necessary for higher-profile disabilities. Maybe your character is allergic to a food or animal, or is afraid of birds. Whatever the choice, care must be taken that it makes sense and does not ask too much of others, which leads to the next topic, moderation and flexibility.
There are two things to consider here: your impact on others and your dependence on others. A deaf/blind/dumb character will have trouble with many tasks and will likely need another help on a regular basis. These are the kinds of handicaps to avoid, if another character isn’t there to help your character then you won’t be able to do much without breaking the role. A healthy degree of independence must be maintained or the character quickly becomes unviable in the long run, you’ll get bored just like other players.
Similarly, your character should not be too demanding with others. Other players are not obligated to help your player through every trial of their life, and you shouldn’t force them. Such actions are likely to make your character unpopular and quickly ignored whenever the opportunity presents itself. This also leads to an unpleasant and hostile environment. Allowing other players to ‘opt out’ of role-play situations whenever they want will allow you to get some of the role-play with a willing group, and still allow them to do as they please.
Although more work is required, playing a disabled character is not entirely impossible, just unlikely, and all roleplaying associated with it should be approached with due caution. Remember, when planning your character, that mechanics often trumps role-playing and your character must stay within the limits of possibility. You should also exercise proper restraint: constantly forcing others to take care of your character won’t win you many friends and can serve to alienate other players. Proper care must be taken to ensure that your disability does not interfere with the fun of others.