Homebrew is truly one of the best things about the TTRPG community. If you can't find something in the original sourcebooks, you can probably find it on homebrew sites such as DMs Guild or Drive Thru RPG. And if you can't find it there either, you can make it. It's a magnificent facet of the game.
A recent homebrew creation that has taken the TTRPG world by storm is the combat wheelchair by Sara Thompson. This homebrew item allows for the inclusion of those with mobility issues in adventures everywhere, and renders every dungeon's loot accessible for the taking.
A phenomenal idea with stellar and thoughtful execution, the Combat Wheelchair is great for several reasons. For those curious about the intricacies of its operation which is built to be a lightweight and marked improvement of the 5GP wheelchair found widely throughout Faerun, there is an in depth autopsy of its parts. These include slanted wheels for maximum battlefield maneuverability, a seat tilt lever, condensable design for portability, armrests, and even a seatbelt. But perhaps most impressive of all is the use of beacon stones. The chair comes with one of these pebble sized transmutation conduits that is used to steer and gives it the ability to hover at a height of up to 2ft in order to tackle stairs. Furthermore, the beacon is not affected by dispel magic. Huzzah!
Expecting trouble on your next dungeon delve? The chair has a solution for putting bandits and goblins alike in their place, too. From tyre strikes to a ram attack and upgrades that allow for mounted crossbows and lances, it truly does deserve its name as a 'combat wheelchair'.
I found out about this item because I scrolled past a tweet from the creator replying to someone who disagreed with the idea of wheelchairs in TTRPG. The tweet that she posted detailing the item itself now has 9.3k likes and 4.3k retweets, as well as 416 comments, an unfortunate number of which contain a similar sort of negativity. Thankfully, for every one such tweet there are many people who are rebutting them with measured and firm responses that 'disagreeing' with wheelchairs in TTRPG is just poorly disguised ableism. And I agree.
'The Combat Wheelchair does not give a
disabled character an "advantage" over the abled characters.
All it does is enable disabled characters to do the things an
abled adventurer can. You should not be punished for
something you cannot help and to be punished for having a
disability is cruel.
Anyone can be a hero.'
~ Sara Thompson ~
Another silver lining is that amongst such comments, the Wizards of the Coast staff have openly voiced their support for the creator and their item, WotC stating that they would be looking to 'fix' the lack of disability representation in their own work in the future.
From my perspective, this should not be a discussion. Everyone should be welcome in TTRPG, regardless of sexuality, gender, disability, race, or any other aspect of who they are a person. The community makes the hobby, and telling a subsection of it that they are not welcome to be represented in our fantasy roleplaying game is devaluing the contributions that they have made to it.
This item, I believe, is a very good sign that things will keep getting better for TTRPGs. There will always be detractors, but as long as there is still a fearless drive for representative creations within the games we enjoy, things will improve and the hobby will keep growing.
To everyone out there going on to use the Combat Wheelchair in future games, I see you and I salute you. May all your hits be critical.