Dungeons & Dragons now has a combat wheelchair to provide adventurers with mobility and accessibility both in and out of combat. Earlier this month, Sara Thompson released rules for a combat wheelchair for use in Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. Thompson explains in the opening paragraphs of the ruleset that the combat wheelchair is meant to enable a character with disabilities with the ability to go on the same adventures as able-bodied characters, and was inspired by the designs of the wheelchairs used in wheelchair basketball and rugby.
The seven page ruleset provides everything from customization options to how the wheelchair can be used as a weapon by its user. Notably, the wheelchair comes equip with a beacon stone that allows the wheelchair to float a few feet off the ground in order to ascend or descend stairs. The beacon stone only allows the wheelchair to float for about 25 feet at a time and has a 30-second recharge to prevent a player from trying to use the stone to “game” a scenario or trap.
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The wheelchair comes with three standard attacks – a standard Tyre Strike, a Ram attack that can be used to knock an opponent back, or a Crush attack used to run over a prone opponent. These attacks can either be used as a replacement for melee attacks or as a supplementary attack once a character gains an Extra Attack. Over time, players can gain up to two upgrades to give the combat wheelchair more versatility, providing everything from Armored Plates to Shin Shredders that can be used to give a target disadvantage on their next attack if they fail a Constitution saving throw.
The Combat Wheelchair is both mechanically balanced and adds a bit of extra accessibility to the game. While Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy world, the game still has plenty of characters with disabilities of some kind. For instance, Banak Brawnanvil from the Drizzt novels uses a wheelchair after suffering a serious injury in battle. With all of the ingenuity shown in established campaign settings like the Forgotten Realms and Eberron, it makes sense that the combat wheelchair would exist to provide characters with the option to explore the world no matter what.
The Combat Wheelchair is available free to download here. You can support Thompson via her Patreon page.
