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Dragon	-	-	-	Dragon #53

If you’ve attended large gatherings of
D&D® game enthusiasts, you’ve very
likely met at least one handicapped or
disabled player. Have you ever wondered
how they conquered their limitations
and became “just one of the players”?

I’m one such player. Here’s what my
problems are, and how I overcame them.

I have choreo-athetoid cerebral palsy,
which sounds like the name of a creature
from the AD&D™ Monster Manual. This
means the motor control centers in my
brain don’t work properly. My body is
gripped by writhing, dancing motions
that interfere with my sense of balance,
the use of my hands, and my reflexes. I
can’t drive a car, walking is a dangerous
chore, and everyday life is a constant
battle against a balky body. But I’ve
achieved enough independence to maintain my own apartment, and I work parttime as an English composition coach at
the University of Arizona, from which I
have bachelor’s and master’s degrees in
creative writing.

I wanted to play in a D&D adventure as
soon as I heard about the game from
players in the Society For Creative
Anachronism, of which I am an active
member. It took a long time to get a toehold in a game, though, primarily because I can’t just hop in a car and drive to
someone’s home when that person says,
“We’re playing tonight, wanna come?

One of my fellow SCA members, Kurt,
rolled up my first D&D character at my
request one afternoon during a long break
between classes at the University of
Arizona. I carried the statistics card on
this character for over a year before any
opportunity arose to actually play her.

Later I learned that the university had a
Strategic Games Club which meets every Tuesday night. Although I attended
several meetings, I never felt welcome
there. Playing the D&D game turned out
to be a passing fad for this club, and I
searched again for several more months
and years without finding a group of genuinely friendly players and DMs.

At last, I met Joubert, an ex-Navy
frogman, a pre-law student, a genial man
with whom I shared a keen interest in
science fiction, fantasy literature, and
playing the D&D game. Week after week,
while we ate our lunches or waited for
classes, he regaled me with tales of his
exploits as a D&D player, past and present. I told him oneday, “If you ever set up
your own campaign, I want a spot in it!”
 

About six weeks later, Joubert announced his dungeon was ready. Not
only did he invite me, he arranged transportation to wherever his games were
held. During those early games, I developed the methods of play and ways of
bringing equipment I’ve used since.

I always tell a DM and other players my
problem, and ask for the aid of their more
nimble, willing fingers to write down the
data and monetary information, hit
points, or experience point changes on
the score sheets. I also have other players move my character’s miniature figure
as needed, and if I must convey a secret
message to the DM, I don’t try to write it
down; I go to him and whisper in his ear.

Like most other D&D players I’ve met, I
feel better tossing dice in my bare hands
—but when I do, the dice land anywhere
but on the game table, which can invalidate a roll. I have found it best to handle
one die at a time, tossed from a cup into a
deep container used to catch the die as it
falls.

Over the almost three years I have
played in Joubert’s campaign, I have accumulated a capacious canvas bag full
of D&D and AD&D books, other game
manuals, miniatures (some of these
painted for me by player-friends) in a
storage box, five different dice, a dice
cup, a dice-catching box, and the record
sheets for my characters.

After my player characters’ statistics
are finalized and recorded, I type up the
record sheets myself, photocopy them
on legal-size paper, and store them in my
canvas bag.

I have tried playing games by computer, but all the terminals I have played on
have very sensitive keys, and when I
strike them, I have no control over the
heaviness or lightness of my touch.
Hence, a computer usually beeps or
screams at me instead of showing game
data. To play successfully I must tell a
comrade at the console which keys I
wish to be punched.

Aside from playing in Joubert’s campaign “by hand,” I also play in a D&D
game by mail. For me this is ideal; every
10 days or so the DM, Clif, informs me of
what’s happening to my character in his
dungeon, and I respond what I hope is
the proper action (usually I am able to
write to him promptly). I need to roll no
dice, I have no paraphernalia to carry; it’s
just me, my typewriter, and letter paper.
The DM does all the rest!

But there is one problem, and it’s a
major one. Not everyone in the play-bymail game has my compulsion to answer
Clif as swiftly as possible, and sometimes Clif’s other duties interfere with his
promptness in sending new data. This
makes for a long, drawn-out playing time
for each adventure, and much attrition of
players who lose interest or no longer
have the time to commit.

The D&D and AD&D games are attractive to handicapped or disabled players
for the same reasons that other people
enjoy them. But to someone like me,
hampered by hands and body that refuse
to be reliable, running a fearless fighter,
a nimble thief, a graceful elf, or a powerful paladin offers the opportunity to be
resourceful and quick on one’s feet for a
while, which never happens in my alltoo-mundane real world. Free, agile, and
daring in spirit I play, but I can never
forget that when the game’s done, I face
a much greater adversary than any a DM
can dream up: my balky body.

EDITORIAL

Roadblocks
I once had a college course that
was unremarkable except for the
presence of one student, who was
unremarkable except that she could
not leave her wheelchair. The class
was on the second floor of a building
with no ramps or elevators.
Several of the stronger students
would wait for her at the bottom of
the narrow staircase to carry her
and her wheelchair to class ? but as
time went on, the volunteers
thinned out. The girl dropped the
course, unable to attend.

I thought of that lost student
when I was reading another gaming
magazine and noticed a letter from a
learning-disabled gamer who was
appalled at the lack of attention paid
to the issue of handicapped gamers.
She praised the MARVEL SUPER
HEROES® game for including details
on handicapped characters, of
which there are many in the Marvel
Universe. She also noted that the
character-creation system in FGU?s
VILLAINS & VIGILANTES? game
was easy to use for players with
math-related learning disabilities
(your character is based on your
ratings of your own real-life abilities;
thus, you play a superpowered
hero who is essentially yourself).

Anyone who has spent time at a
few gaming conventions is aware
that there are lots of gamers with
physical handicaps. Some are easily
corrected (myopia comes to mind,
since I have that), but some are not.
For example, Judith Sampson
("Adventuring with Shaky Hands,"
from DRAGON® issue #53) described
the ways she managed to cope with
cerebral palsy in order to join a local
role-playing group.

During the years I?ve been
involved in gaming, I recall a number
of people who had marked
handicaps or disabilities, though
such rarely interfered in their enjoyment
of role-playing games. One
gamer had an artificial eye; another
had survived leukemia; a third was
epileptic (and had a seizure during
one of our games). I?ve gamed with
people with other disabilities, but
such disabilities were never considered
to be relevant to gaming skill.
Gamers as a whole tend to be
accepting and helpful people.

What can be done to overcome
handicaps and improve your enjoyment
of gaming? We?d like to hear
from those with experience and
ideas on this topic. Send your com-
ments to DRAGON® Magazine, at
either the U.S. or U.K. address. We
may print some of the better ideas
and comments in the ?Forum?
column in the future.

Role-playing is too much fun not
to share with everyone. Lend your
ideas, and strengthen your hobby.

Around the roadblocks
Dear Dragon,
Several years ago, I read an article in DRAGON
Magazine on the subject of including disabled
gamers. It was brilliant?practical, yet hopeful. It
may have been six or seven years ago.

Since I recently became deaf through illness
(failed my saving throw!), it would help my
gaming group greatly if you could write and tell
me which issue contained that article and any
related materials that I may have missed.

Thank you for your time and attention, and
for the pleasure your magazine has given us.

Kathy Anne Powell
Takoma Park MD
(Dragon #169)

The article you were thinking of might have
been Judith Sampson's "Adventuring With
Shaky Hands," from DRAGON issue #53, in the
?Up on a Soapbox? column. Ms. Sampson, who
has cerebral palsy described the difficulties
involved in taking part in a role-playing game
and how she overcame them. This article is now
hard to obtain, as that issue is long out of print
(it was published in September 1981).

An editorial on the problems facing handicapped
and disabled gamers appeared in issue
#137 ("Roadblocks"). It was followed by several
letters in "Forum" in issues #145 and #146 that
offered ideas and support on the topic.

We are open to suggestions from gamers who
have first-hand knowledge on this subject.
Please send us your thoughts; the best advice
will be printed in "Forum."
 

I would like to commend Roger Moore on his
excellent editorial about handicapped gamers in
issue #137.  Since I am physically disabled, I was
glad to see the concern for those gamers who
are either learning or physically disabled.  Coping
with a disability is much easier if you know
there are people who share the same interests
on your side.

When I was in junior high school, I did not
have many friends because I was bussed to a
school other than the high school in my local
area which was not accessible to the handicapped.
Since I could not take gym class, I spent
a lot of time, in the library and developed an
interest in reading fantasy and science-fiction
novels. Reading helped me escape from some of
the loneliness. That summer, I met a friend at
camp who introduced me to the D&D game,
which we played whenever we had a chance.
After that summer, I never saw my friend again,
but I had found an activity in which I could
participate. After camp, I purchased the D&D
Basic Set. I acted as DM for some friends from
my neighborhood for two years after purchasing
the D&D Expert Set. When I entered high
school, I joined a war-gaming club in which I
was introduced to the AD&D game. For the
next 2½ years, I was a player, but during my
senior year, the school banned the playing of
the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game.

Two years ago, I entered community college
and have never really played the D&D game
since. All my neighborhood friends either went
away to college or moved. Now I don?t have
many friends since most people my age do not
much bother with me at the college. I have
gotten back into fantasy novels again, and I am
interested in the D&D game again. I have decided
to try to get a role-playing group together,
but I do not know where to begin to get people
interested in role-playing. If anyone has any
ideas, you should send them to ?Forum? so they
can be shared with everyone.

Michael Townsend
White Hall MD
(Dragon #145)
 

There are no ?rule? changes that have to be
made to accomodate the ?handicapped.? In most
rules are explained, and the DM?s quirks stated (I
AD&D game campaigns and dungeons, once the
am a DM with a lot of quirks), nothing else is
required except common courtesy, a willingness
to help (if asked or if necessary), a sense of
humor, and patience.

A member of our group (who has since died)
once thanked us for allowing her to join. She
was overjoyed at being able to walk, run, and
fight, not to mention have the magic she could
use (she had a 6th-level fighter-mage). We never
had a chance to thank her for enriching our
campaign.

I?ve been classified as totally disabled,
although (luckily for me) I?m not in a wheelchair
-- yet.

Just a small reminder: The "handicapped" are
people first.

Dave Timmons
Philadelphia PA
(Dragon #145)
 

Having just finished reading the editorial in
issue #137 (again), I want to share my comments
on handicapped gamers. I have played with
blind, deaf, hearing-impaired, learning-disabled,
physically impaired, and multihandicapped
players, and am myself hearing impaired. I have
worn hearing aids for almost 17 years.

Despite having a 45-50 hearing loss, I do
not really think of myself as being handicapped.
I played RPGs for about 6 years
before I encountered another atypical player, a
blind man.  It was at this point that I became
interested in ways to facilitate the inclusion of
players with disabilities into "normal" gaming
circles, an interest meshing quite nicely with my
pursuit of a career in special education.

It has been my experience that blind players
are easily integrated into gaming groups, the
primary difficulty being a matter of transportation,
which is easily resolved when the group
consists of adults.  Public transportation is also
an alternative, though not a feasible one for the
group that plays well into the evening or morning.
Perhaps the most difficult thing for the
naive player encountering a blind player, particularly
one blind from birth or a very young age,
is the disconcerting habit some such people
have of not "looking" at the person being spoken
to.  It is important for the seeing players to
remember that it is not a good idea to rearrange
furniture -- it can be very frightening and
painful to fall over a chair that was somewhere
else earlier.  It is my preference, when a blind
gamer is part of the group, to have the gaming
sessions at the blind player's home, thereby
eliminating the difficulties of getting the blind
player to the session and  the problem of becoming
accustomed to a new environment.  It will
not take long for the group to notice that the
blind player might have a slightly different way
of approaching things in the game setting; a
friend of mine always wanted to know that his
character smelled, something not many sighted
players would think to ask.

It is also relatively easy to integrate into the
group a person who is hearing impaired but
speaks well. It will help to use a round table or
arrange the group in a circle on the floor so that
the hearing-impaired person can easily see
everyone. Also, good overhead lighting is nice,
so the players? faces are not shadowed or silhouetted.
When the hearing-impaired person is
having trouble hearing, repeat yourself once,
and if that does not do the trick, rephrase what
is being said. Try to avoid talking with something
in your mouth, and remember to keep
objects away from your face. Avoid exaggerated
mouth movements and the inclination to shout
? some hearing-impaired people are painfully
sensitive to loud noise.

It is harder if the hearing-impaired or deaf
person relies on sign language for his communicative
needs. Sign language can vary a lot from
region to region ? like verbal dialects, only
more so. The problem is also compounded by
the fact that there are several signing systems in
use throughout the country. Once a person gets
around these difficulties, there is the problem of
vocabulary. There are only a few thousand signs
used for the more common words. After that,
the signer has to rely on finger spelling or signs
invented on the spot. Using sign language tends
to be a bit slower than speaking, and finger
spelling is slower yet, for obvious reasons. If the
signer is an atrocious speller, it can lead to
further difficulty. The game setting also has a
direct impact on the use of sign language. I have
yet to see a sign-language dictionary which
includes signs for ?thaumaturge,? ?necrophage,?
?Vulcan,? or ?remote-control guidance system,?
for example.

In the case of the physically impaired person
who is wheelchair-bound but able to talk, acces
sibility becomes an issue. Such things as getting
into another player?s house, apartment, or
bathroom can become major obstacles. As in the
case of the blind player, I prefer to use the
wheelchair-bound player?s home as the meeting
place for the gaming sessions. If forced to
choose between the blind player?s and physically
impaired player?s home (an unlikely situation,
perhaps), I would rather play at the
wheelchair-bound player?s place; walkways will
be well laid out because of the wheelchair, and
the blind person should easily adapt to the new
place.

Probably the most difficult person to accomodate
is the physically impaired individual who
is unable to use speech or sign language to
communicate with the rest of the group. In this
instance, a communication board or possibly an
artificial voice is required. In any event, these
prosthetic communication devices show a wide
range of sophistication and technology, ranging
from homemade communication books containing
commonly used words, phrases, or pictures,
to voice-activated switches connected to light
boards, where a light indicates the desired item,
to computer-aided technology. In order for a
disabled person to make use of most of these
systems, a thorough understanding of the game
to be played is required. The GM can then
devise a queuing system that would allow the
disabled person to participate. It is difficult to
be more specific due to the variety of communication
devices available, though I have come up
with ways to allow people to play TSR?s
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, FASA?s BATTLETECH
? and STAR TREK®, Steve Jackson Games?
CAR WARS® and GURPS®, and Bard Games?
TALISLANTA games by making relatively simple
but time-consuming modifications to existing
communication systems.

Having dealt with the mechanics of enabling
people with a variety of disabilities to play roleplaying
games, we come to the hard part -- the
successful integration of the atypical player into
a group of "normal" gamers. With a blind,
verbal/hearing impaired, or verbal/physical
impaired player, integration is relatively easy
because of the new player?s ability to use language
in a familiar manner when interacting
with the other players. Of course, some modifications
may be necessary, as in the case of a
physically impaired person who wants to do his
own dice rolling, for example. I have found it
more difficult to have signing people join the
group because of the need for an interpreter,
and some people have felt uncomfortable
because of not being unable to understand what
is being said or signed ? definitely a danger if
one?s character is being plotted against! Also, as
mentioned earlier, signing might slow the game
somewhat, especially if an interpreter is needed.
The most difficult situation is having a nonverbal
quadriplegic join the group because of the
slowness of communication and the discomfort
many people feel when being in the presence of
someone so obviously impaired.

When preparing a group of naive players for -
the addition of a handicapped gamer, it is impor
tant to explain beforehand, as much as possible,
the changes and adjustments that will have to
be made and why, and to validate the players?
feelings, to let them know that it is okay to feel
uncomfortable for a while when adjusting to the
new player. I also encourage the group to ask
the newcomer any questions they might have ?
they will not offend the new player, and if the
question is too personal, it can always be
refused. It never hurts to ask.

Personal experience has shown that it is
possible, although occasionally difficult, to have
atypical players become successful, positive
additions to the group. All it takes is some time,
forethought, and patience on the parts of all of
the people involved. Never make the assumption
that physical inability means mental inability as
well.

Bob Hempel
Pullman WA
(Dragon #145)
 

Having read in the September editorial (issue
#137) that you would like information on disabled
people and role-playing games, I would
like to share the following. For five or six years,
I was the Dungeon Master for an AD&D® game
consisting of six to eight males and females.
Each individual played one or two characters in
the game environment.

During most of those years, at least one and
sometimes two of the players were completely
blind. (The blind players were very skeptical of
the clerical cure blindness spell?it never totally
worked for them.) As the director of an agency
for the blind, I have been called upon several
times to translate parts of a player?s manual into
braille or to tactically mark a 20-sided dice?an
extremely difficult task. (In the final stage, it
was an extremely large 20-sided dice.)

The ages of the players ranged from seven to
sixty-two. The standard group was composed of
individuals primarily in their midtwenties and
midthirties. Most of these players were professionals,
(e.g., computer programers, attorneys,
social workers, EEO professionals, etc.). Other
than occasionally needing material in braille, the
AD&D game was an exceptional game for blind
and visually-impaired individuals. Most of the
scenarios don?t need an elaborate game board,
given that the adventure environment exists in
everyone?s imagination. One of the seeing players
kept a very detailed diary so that areas of
contention could be quickly referenced and
resolved.

I have often thought it would be fun to introduce
a role-playing game to a nursing home
group. Many of the seniors have very alert
minds and might benefit from the intellectual
stimulation of a role-playing game. Not all seniors
will be interested in medieval settings; some
might like a western setting, others a futuristic
or space setting. Many might get a real kick out
of World War I or World War II scenarios.

I reiterate that I believe role-playing games
are excellent opportunities for disabled individuals
to interact competitively and corporately
with individuals who are not disabled.

Barry A. McEwen
Executive Director
The Sight Center
Toledo OH
(Dragon #146)