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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.
I mean... You live in a world where magic healing exists. Why would anyone be blind when you can find a sorcerer, wizard or cleric (or even a spoony bard like Volo) and restore your sight in at least 20 different ways? ๐ค
This was a bit of weird shit in Star Trek with Geordi, too. They can literally grow him new eyes (and do eventually) but the visor is also cool, and the rule of cool wins.
It's not so much that a disabled person being realistic is unfun; it's that it doesn't seem to fit the world itself which kills suspension of disbelief if you understand how the game world works. You'd have to work extra hard at giving a believable reason for this person to be disabled and not have gotten healed through magical means.
People with curable disabilities exist all around us in the real world.
I mean if it's a matter of accessibility then that's different. I can't get help for my disabilities because of accessibility. We don't have the facilities or experts so I just deal with them as they can be worked with. Someone who lives in an area without magic or resources then would definitely have to suffer the lack of proper health care.
Yeah, the existence of disabilities "fixable" by magic is easily explained when you realize that people who do magic are incredibly rare. Like, I'd like to say that if magic were real, I'd be a wizard, but I don't even make an effort to learn real stuff in real life. Do I really think my 10 int ass is gonna read three textbooks about how to make a Magic Missile? Am I arrogant enough to think God likes me enough to let me channel His magic? Maybe one in ten churches has a cleric, and they're busy treating the frequent cholera and dysentery that plagued the world prior to modern water treatment. They don't have the spell slots to spare for someone who's in a wheelchair and lives relatively normally with it
I think the thing that's really getting to me (and probably a few other people too) is the image above. Taken at face value, someone in a wheelchair, seemingly in the role of an adventurer. Well-dressed and can afford a wheelchair, with magic, seems like they could probably have gotten that healed if it were just a normal injury. Healed or otherwise resolved in whatever other manner.
Not to mention, the context certainly does matter and can make inclusions come off as preachy.