How can you represent Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in 5e that reflects real world experiences? Here’s a free sample from Limitless Heroics to implement them in your game.

Content Warning: Cyberbullying

Last year, I posted an early draft version of this preview to promote Limitless Heroics as I prepared for the Kickstarter campaign. In December, it, and consequently I, became the target of a Twitter hater cyberbullying attack by hundreds of people throughout the TTRPG community.

As a result of that, I pulled it down and wanted to hide. I seriously considered canceling the campaign altogether and closing up shop completely, but too many people were counting on me, and I was encouraged by some well-respected people in the industry to carry on, so with much trepidation, I continued with the campaign, avoiding Twitter and literally getting nauseated every time my phone made the new email chime for fear of the subsequent hate that flowed from that attack, and it has taken me this long to work up the courage to make this revised sample live again, reminding myself that, as big as the Twitter mob was, I’ve received nearly as many heartfelt notes of thanks and support, and ten times as many have already backed or preordered it. And with help from a licensed counselor, I’m learning to manage the subsequent anxiety and depression I’ve developed.

Ironically, I was recently diagnosed with ADHD myself, so I post this revision with confidence as it also reflects my own lived experience and that of many more who also have given input and affirm this as a reflection of their own experiences, plus it has been discussed and revised based on feedback from five sensitivity readers from multiple fields.

Because ADHD is a complex condition with a variety of expressions, we broke it into at least 3 separate traits with options for more, depending on your experience, but here are the three most common associated traits. (I personally have several more.)

You can use this sample by itself for free or purchase a copy of Limitless Heroics for a more comprehensive guide to disability, neurodiversity, and mental illness representation in fifth edition. Thanks for your interest in making the D&D and broader TTRPG space more inclusive and representative. (If you use it alone, IE = Impact Extent. See the tables for an explanation.)

LAYOUT NOTE: The format of this preview does not reflect the final format of Limitless Heroics, which we designed for maximum accessibility, including dyslexia-friendly.

Here’s a growing collection of resources to improve your life or to help you improve the lives of others.

Representation Resources

• Ableist Tropes in Storytelling « Oppression Aware Podcast, Fairy Tales, and Games (Interview)
• Writing Characters With Disabilities
• Forge Ahead: A Party to Access
• DnD Disability
• Combat Wheelchair 3
• Limitless Heroics

Miniatures

• Limitless Champions
• Combat Wheelchair
• Skinny Minis

Accessibility Resources

• Accessibility in Gaming Resources
• Roll for Kindness
• A big list of accessibility resource lists
• Braille Dice (Interview)

Mental Health Tools

• Jasper’s Game Day (Interview)
• TTRPG Safety Toolkit
• Consent in Gaming from Monte Cook Games
• MCDM Tabletop Safety Toolkit
• #CouchCon Charity Panel: “Sanity Checks & Stigma- Mental Health in TTRPGs” – YouTube

Publisher Resources

• CNIB Clear Print Guide
• ADA Compliant Print Short Guide
• Accessible Print Guide

Feel free to add more in the comments below!

Update: Don’t miss the adventures!

We are making a book of adventures that feature these characters and demonstrate how to use them respectfully in a roleplaying game. Follow the Kickstarter to get notified when it launches for an early backer bonus adventure!

And sign up for The Dragon’s Hoard to get weekly inclusive gaming updates, discounts, free gifts, and more in your inbox!

We are making history!

• What if your fantasy RPG world included disabled people, just like the real world?
• What if that disability representation went beyond wheelchairs and pirates?

We’re creating the largest, most diverse line of disabled fantasy miniatures ever made with 5e stat blocks and cards, which launched in a Kickstarter campaign on May 2, 2023.

Limitless Champions will make history as the largest, most diverse collection of disabled fantasy game miniatures ever created.

Character representation includes:

• Alopecia Areata
• Amputation
• Anxiety/Panic Disorder (represented by a fidget, grounding device, and emotional comfort animal)
• Arthritis
• Blindness
• Cerebral Palsy
• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis)
• Down Syndrome
• Dwarfism (Diastrophic Dysplasia)
• Ectrodactyly
• Fibromyalgia
• Face Differences (Treacher Collins syndrome, Cleft Palate)
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Quadriplegia

Each character includes:

• 5e Stat block
• Background & Personality
• Full color character art
• Miniature (Choice of STL, pre-printed mini)
• Plot hooks for inclusion in your game

Also included:

• Condition markers accessible to visually impaired gamers
• Wooden chests with custom artwork
• Digital Planner stickers & VTT Tokens (Stretch Goal)
• Service Animals (Stretch Goals)

The character collection follows accessibility principles for maximum readability (dyslexia, colorblindness, etc.) and will be available in multiple formats: PDF, ePub, txt, audio, and it will be included in Lair format for all subscribers.

Wyrmworks Publishing prioritizes hiring disabled, neurodiverse, and mentally ill creators for all of our projects, and characters on this project are based on a combination of research and conversations from previous projects, real-world people who commissioned characters based on themselves, and consultation with therapists, advocacy professionals, people whose experiences are represented here, and before the final sensitivity reading and edit, besides playtesting, we will send the manuscript to backers who are represented here for additional feedback.

Missed the Campaign?

All of the pieces are available in our store:

Check out the whole collection

We’re accepting ongoing applications from a variety of freelancers who are interested in working with us to make lives better through tabletop roleplaying games. If you are a TTRPG creator or artist who would like to work with us, please submit the following.

Fans, podcasters, streamers, and anyone else who thinks more people should know about Wyrmworks Publishing’s products and wants to join us in helping you make lives better with tabletop roleplaying games, we have an offer for you!

Join the Wyrmworks Publishing Affiliate program, give your fans a discount, and get a commission as our thanks!

1. Sign up using the form below.
2. We will review your application. If we feel you are a good fit, we will send you a link to our affiliate contract and promotion graphics.
3. Once you sign the contract, we will give you a coupon code.
4. Anyone new who buys one or more of our products using your coupon code gets a 10% off discount, and you get a 10% commission! It’s a win for you, a win for your fans, and it helps get the word out about our products and mission!

And if you want to use our products in actual play shows or similar uses, we can help you with samples or discounts.

When we launched Limitless Heroics, we said, ”Limitless Heroics is more than an RPG book. It’s a petition. Back this project, and you communicate to every game publisher on earth that disabled people exist and can easily be included in their games, that the customers want that representation, and that accessibility and representation are necessary core features for future products.” Some scoffed at that. Others called it virtue signaling. But we truly believe that these small actions have a ripple effect on the industry and the world.

Efforts toward inclusion have definitely improved over the years. Third party products like Ancestry & Culture and An Elf and an Orc Had a Little Baby offer suggestions for better representation and an alternative to the bioessentialism that has had such a prominent role in Dungeons & Dragons throughout its existence. Wizards of the Coast began making changes with Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything and took racial representation to the next level with the announcement of Journeys through the Radiant Citadel, and we applaud these efforts and see the leader of the industry providing a positive example for racial representation.

But what about disability representation?

The first well-known effort to better represent disabilities in role-playing games came from the viral Combat Wheelchair, followed closely by the inexplicably controversial ”ramps in dungeons” adventure in Candlekeep Mysteries, but note that the latter, while published by Wizards of the Coast, was only designed to be accessible by its author, Jennifer Kretchmer, not by direction from the company, which is obvious in that that’s the only adventure in the collection that includes any deliberate accessibility. (GURPS and the Hero System also include disabilities, but it does more harm than good.)

Besides a handful of very small games floating around itch.io, Accessible Games produces Psi-Punk and Survival of the Able, and Evil Hat’s Fate Accessibility Toolkit was the first deliberate representation publication by a second tier publisher, and it’s still considered the best of its kind in the industry, and while it’s brilliant, it’s also the best because it’s the only one of its kind until Limitless Heroics finishes production.

Other third party offerings have stepped into the D&D system with examples like Adventures in ADHD and our own Accessible Adventures of the Week, but those examples remain rare.

Proof that Tony Stark Has a Heart

But now Marvel has thrown down the Infinity Gauntlet of accessibility with the Marvel Multiverse RPG, including limited but deliberate disability representation. Disney/Marvel by no means leads the TTRPG space, but they’re the first company to enter it in recent years with the potential to challenge WotC on their home turf. While Marvel’s past TTRPG offerings haven’t challenged D&D for dominance, that’s not necessary even now to see more inclusion. (No, I have no illusions that Limitless Heroics influenced this decision.)

As more publishers, especially media companies whose reach extends beyond the TTRPG sphere, implement disability inclusion in their game systems and campaign worlds, the more it becomes expected. Imagine how odd a campaign world of all white characters would seem today thanks to the civil rights movements and the ongoing work of millions to demand racial representation. In the same way, games and other media without a broad range of orientations and gender expressions are becoming increasingly expected.

The more we see accurate and positive disability representation throughout different forms of media, the more it becomes a standard. I look forward to the day when the lack of disability representation becomes noticeable.

Our fans are actively dedicated to joining us in our mission to make lives better through tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPG).

We provide what you’d expect from a weekly publisher email: discounts, freebies, and news, but we also provide personal encouragement and opportunities to improve lives by working together. This is also the place for playtest announcements of upcoming products.

Our fans make the world a better place, and we truly treasure them, which is why we call them the Dragon’s Hoard, and we invite you to become a part of this treasure trove by signing up today and immediately getting your own free collection of treasure as soon as you confirm your subscription!

Hi, wonderful patrons! I know I’ve been quiet lately here on Patreon, and before that, I’ve been talking a lot about the Limitless Heroics Kickstarter, and now that it’s done, what’s next?

Of course, first of all, it’s far from done! If you’ve been watching the conversations in the Discord (Feel free to jump into the conversations!), everyone is busy creating characters, making artwork, writing additional pieces — over 200 magic items and so much more! We set July as the target date and are on track for that, and here’s a Patreon-exclusive teaser draft just for you that I just finished based on a backer submission! (Note: it hasn’t gone through our extensive editorial process yet, so expect it to change.)

GleamForth Wayfinder

Wondrous Item, Legendary

Follow the Gleam, and find your way. Hold me leftward lest you stumble. Let the third eye guide your path. Look to your heart to find your Truths. Center me, and I will bring you home though the darkness envelop you.

This labyrinthine eye provides protection and direction to those who would be lost without it. Unlike most prosthetic eyes, you hold this one instead of inserting it. When held in the left hand, it provides 5′ blindsight. When so held, you cannot use that hand for any other purpose. As an action, you can hold it mid-forehead and cast the find the path spell once per day. Once per day, as your action, you touch the heart of a creature you can reach that is charmed, frightened, or possessed by a celestial, an elemental, a fey, a fiend, or an undead. The creature you touch is no longer charmed, frightened, or possessed by such creatures. When held at the solar plexus, once every seven days, you can cast either plane shift or teleportation circle to your home. Your home need not have a teleportation circle inscribed, but when you acquire this eye, you must declare your home location as the destination of this function.

Pre-Orders Open

If anyone missed the Kickstarter (or knows someone who did — feel free to pass on this link), you can get the pre-order here, and use the coupon code LHPATREON to get $2 off! (Yes, you can share this coupon code along with the link!)

But then what?

We have a long to-do list that keeps getting longer, but picture this: imagine the city version of Limitless Heroics: a campaign city that explores concepts of accessibility where characters can have all the typical urban adventures while encountering what accessibility in its various forms would look like in a high fantasy setting! I’ve already received interested notes from accessibility advocates and universal design firms interested in helping with this and several writers and artists eager to work on future Wyrmworks Publishing projects, and if it’s well received, we can keep adding pieces to create a campaign world with different locations that explore and teach about all kinds of issues, all while having grand 5e adventures! Add in some miniatures based on some of the 50+ characters being designed for Limitless Heroics, and you have something truly unique that helps you improve others’ lives!

Tied to that big project, I have a collaborative project in the works that I can’t discuss yet, but it’s a partnership with at least one well known figure in the D&D space whose name is attached to some official D&D adventures. That one is just in the idea stage right now (We’re both pretty busy at the moment but hoping to get started on it later this year), but when I can say more, you’ll be the first to know! (OK, besides my wife. She hears these things first.)

And, I have some great guests lined up for future Gaining Advantage episodes, so expect more of those soon!

Thanks so much for your support! You’re helping make all this happen!

All the best!

Dale

Limitless Heroics

Including Characters with Disabilities, Mental Illness, and Neurodivergence in Fifth Edition

Limitless Heroics is the most comprehensive disability compendium ever created for a Tabletop Role-Playing Game. For Fifth Edition, it provides:

• 450+ Traits: Game mechanics for nearly every trait in existence (plus some fantasy traits, because that’s what you should expect in a world with magic)
• 78 Random tables to choose or generate the traits, their degree of severity, and their frequency
• 93+ New Magic Items and an online random generator for thousands more! Nearly every trait includes mundane and magic assistive options.
• Thousands of real world examples so players can learn more and better represent the traits
• Tutorials: Opening articles discuss how and why to implement these options, how to discuss it with your players, and common tropes to avoid. You have all the tools here to run an inclusive campaign.

Our website will have a free random generator to simplify determining character traits, but you’ll need the book for the descriptions and mechanics, or you can use the included tables to choose or roll manually. We talked to dozens of people with diverse traits to make sure our game mechanics represented their experiences. All writers, editors, and artists for this book are disabled, neurodivergent, and/or have mental or chronic illness.

Limitless Heroics launches on Kickstarter January 4 through February 3, 2022. Sign up to get notified when it goes live for a free first day backer tutorial adventure to help you implement these mechanics into your game!

Wyrmworks Publishing believes that representation of disabilities, neurodiversity, and mental illness in tabletop role-playing games helps players normalize interactions in real life by practicing in an imaginary setting. Disabled players who have consulted on the book have expressed joy in being recognized and given an easy way to demonstrate their experiences through game mechanics to help others understand their experiences, how they adapt, and how others can help.

Find the latest at InclusiveRPG.com.

Limitless Heroics Illustrations & Assets

Limitless Heroics Press Release: pdf / docx

Limitless Heroics page on our website

How can you represent phobias in 5e that reflect real world experiences? Grab this free D100 table of phobias and resources to implement them in your game.

Or use the one click generator in the Lair.