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Had this conversation with someone who chose to no longer be at my table after meeting a blind NPC
(files.catbox.moe)
Another player who was at the table during the incident sent me this meme after the problem player in question (they had a history) left the group chat.
Felt like sharing it here because I'm sure more people should keep this kind of thing in mind.
Fantasy and sci-fi are designed as alternate realities to this world and usually disabilities are expressed through metaphor rather than literal real world disability. A person can’t use magic so they become the worlds greatest artificer and the like.
I’m all for representation, but what is fantasy without being able to fantasize about not having a disability?
Conversely, why would a person want to fantasize about having a disability? I’m not saying there aren’t valid reasons, but I would imagine most people would be doing it in a performative manner.
Then let people make characters without disabilities if they want (which is already the case). But what if someone wants to play a character, or see characters, that face similar challenges to the ones they do? And then get to play them overcoming those challenges!
This is not exactly equivalent, and I'm not asserting that you meant this, but imagine in a different time someone saying, "I don't understand why anyone would want to play a non-white race, since it just opens them up to racism, when they could just fit in and be normal." I consider that to be along the same class of argument as the one we're discussing here.
To imagine a world where they are the same, but their disability is not an impediment. A more perfect world, rather than imagining themselves as other than they are.
One of the characters at my table was a blind monk who used blindsight to fight and move about the world a la Toph. It was an interesting thought exercise for us all, especially because he literally only had 30 feet of "sight." Another time we had a barbarian who decided not to fix a severed arm because he wanted to be constantly reminded not to take stupid risks and it would keep him humble. I had another guy who rolled up a low INT, high WIS character and played him like Forrest Gump. So yeah, there are people who will spice up their roleplay with some sort of disability.