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
Gaining Advantage 014: Fantasy Accessibility with Fay Onyx
May 13, 2022
How can we make our fantasy worlds more accessible, thus encouraging more accessibility in the real world? Dale and Fay Onyx nerd out about disability, accessibility, and TTRPGs.
The full book includes descriptions and full game mechanics for each trait. Each trait also includes assistive options, magical assistance, and real world examples.
100% of content creators hired for this book are disabled, neurodivergent, and/or have mental or chronic illness, and the variety of art styles intentionally reflects the diversity of experiences and expressions of these conditions.
Roll for Traits
Players can either roll for a random disability or discuss disability as part of their character concept with their GM, choosing specific traits, Frequencies, and IEs, keeping tropes to avoid in mind.
Game Masters especially who want to include a realistic percentage of disability in a game world’s population may find these random generators useful to provide a varied population. Fantasy worlds don’t need to have the same clusters of traits that we see in real-world experiences, but it’s also beneficial to use real-world clusters (diagnoses, both common and rare, and which vary by region or get organized differently by different cultures) to better understand the experiences of those around us, which again is why the tables allow you to “choose or roll.” Maybe you’ll do a little of both, or maybe you’ll use your first roll to find a real-world experience that includes that trait and learn more about it.
This suggestion also applies to the traits’ IEs and Frequencies. Instead of using tables to determine these, you may choose a frequency that ties into the narrative that you’re telling together, deciding in advance instead of leaving it to dice rolls.
Many people are afraid to represent these experiences in their games for fear of inaccuracy, but absence isn’t necessarily better, so we designed this book to get you started, to provide guidelines so you could feel free to add this inclusion creatively and respectfully.
Chance of Traits
15–20 percent of people worldwide in real life have some form of disability. In a world with less medical, therapeutic, and nutritional science but additional magic threats, the rate of disability is likely higher. GMs should decide the rate in the campaign world, but consider 20 percent to be the base rate. Roll 1d20, 1–4 indicating a disability. Any given population within that world should expect roughly the same percentage with possible variations based on environment and any number of other factors.
Number and Category of Traits
Many disabilities have multiple traits. Choose or roll on the following table to determine the number of traits your character has. If replicating a real-world cluster or more than one in the same character, you can increase or decrease the quantity.
d20
Traits
1–7
1
8−12
2
13−15
3
16−17
4
18−19
5
20
6
Next, determine whether those traits are physical or mental. The first trait is equally likely to be physical or mental. (Roll d20: 1−10 = physical, 11–20 = mental) Subsequent traits are more likely to be in the same category, so add or subtract 2 cumulatively to the roll for the category of each additional trait. (e.g. 4 traits: First roll = 18 (mental), so the next roll would be 1–8 physical and 9–20 mental. Next roll = 10 (mental), so the next roll would be 1–6 physical and 7–20 mental. Next roll = 4 (physical), so the final roll would be 1–8 physical and 9–20 mental.) No matter how the range adjusts, a roll of 1 is always physical, and a 20 is always mental.
Impact Extent (IE)
Each trait can vary in the impact of its expression. Roll on the following table to determine the impact of each trait. See the individual trait descriptions for impact explanations. Unless otherwise stated in the description, any saving throws required by the adverse effects are DC 8 + (IE). Note that the term “impact” and the Extent labels are used for mechanical shorthand to cover a wide variety of traits, but these terms aren’t always appropriate descriptors for their real-world counterparts. Players are encouraged to use more accurate descriptors or just the mechanical number. (e.g. Many neurodiverse traits are not appropriately described as “Acute” or with negative connotations; sensory disabilities, such as visual impairment, may be better described as “Complete” at IE 4.) If a trait causes an additional experience without a listed IE, choose or roll on this table for the new experience’s IE.
Pushing Through and Masking
You can use significant effort and concentration to force yourself overcome the challenges associated with many traits, temporarily reducing the IE penalties of a trait by expending one Hit Die per IE until the end of the encounter or for 1 minute, whichever is longer. This only affects ability checks, not saving throws, and all rolls to maintain concentration while pushing through are made with disadvantage. You also have advantage on Charisma (Deception) checks to conceal your trait.
D20
IE
1–9
Mild (1)
10−15
Moderate (2)
16−18
Substantial (3)
19–20
Total (4)
Frequency
Traits can come and go, sometimes appearing instantly and disappearing as quickly. Others appear and disappear gradually over the course of days. Some can disappear for months or years and suddenly manifest again, and some never go away. Choose or roll on the following table to determine the duration of each trait. (Note: This may not be applicable to many traits. e.g. missing limbs don’t generally come and go without magic. Players and GMs should use discretion for this table and see the trait description.)
All trait descriptions assume the effects only occur while the trait is active, unless otherwise noted.
Variant Rule: Plot Arc-Based Timing
For traits with Periodic Frequency or those that change over extended periods of time, instead of rolling for a number of days between changes or saving throws, depending on the trait description, make the change or roll based on the story arcs in your campaign, such as a climactic moment or after a major event when everyone is recovering. The players should decide how trait timing will be handled when implementing this system.
d20
Time
Frequency
1
Roll Twice
A trait may not fit one of these patterns exactly. Roll twice, and decide how they might combine, such as a trait that is Triggered but fluctuates in IE like Chronic or Frequent but only Periodic throughout a given day.
2
Remission
The trait begins absent. It will recur in 1d100 days, taking 1d4 days to reach full effect. On a roll of 95−100, roll again and add the rolls together, repeating for each roll of 95−100. At the end of the time period, the trait gradually disappears over 1d4 days, then roll the same way for the duration of remission.
3–7
Periodic
The trait fluctuates. It will recur in 1d20 days, rerolling cumulatively on a 20, taking 1d100 hours to reach full effect. On a roll of 95–100, roll again and add the rolls together, repeating for each roll of 95–100. At the end of the traits, they gradually disappear over 1d100 hours.
8−13
Triggered
The trait is triggered randomly or by one or more stimuli (or absence of a stimulus, like withdrawal) as determined by a discussion between the player and GM. The trait lasts as long as the stimulus is present plus 1d100 minutes, extended as above unless otherwise noted. (For absence of stimulus, the trait begins after 1d100 minutes and lasts until the stimulus is restored.) Note that some stimuli may be unknown to the character and seem random until discovering the triggering stimulus.
14−17
Frequent
The trait occurs more often than not but has periods of inactivity. Roll 1d20 every morning. The trait is present all day unless rolling a 19 or 20.
18−19
Chronic
The trait is always present, but if the Extent is more severe than mild, roll 1d20 each morning. The trait for the day is 1 Extent less on a roll of 15−19 and 2 Extents less on a roll of 20 with a minimum of mild.
20
Degenerative
The trait starts out Mild and gradually becomes Acute in 300d100 days. Once a degenerative trait becomes Acute, the character must succeed on seven daily DC 10 Constitution saving throws or gain a permanent level of exhaustion.Note: Degenerative conditions even in a fictional character, can be emotionally taxing. This RPG is a game, and such a bleak prognosis may take the fun out of the game, and this would work counter to the goal of this book, so the GM should always give a player the choice to reroll this result for the player’s own mental health.That said, the author's own father struggled with a degenerative disease for decades and lived with its accompanying disabilities, and he lived a heroic life in service to others. Many a tale can be told of heroes who finish their quest and ride off into the sunset, knowing their days are numbered, but that lives are meaningful however long they last.
Variant Rule: Good and Bad Days
In addition to overall trends in Frequency, many Traits have a fluctuating IE. Roll 1d20 after a long rest for each applicable trait.
d20
Effect
1–7
Good Day: All IE-related penalties are reduced by 1 (Minimum 0)
8–17
No change
18–20
Bad Day: All IE-related penalties are increased by 1 (Maximum 4)
Trait Descriptions
Physical Traits
For each physical trait, choose or roll to determine appendage or organ system (50/50 chance for each). Then roll on the appropriate table.
One or both of your ears has a shape that’s unusual for your ancestry. Choose or use the following table to determine the unusual shape and effects. This is a permanent condition.
A substance leaks out of your eyes. Roll on the table below for the nature and effects of the substance.
d20
Discharge
1
Acid
2–6
Blood
7
Ink
8–9
Oil
10−15
Pus
16−19
Tears
20
Venom
Eye Color Difference
Your eyes are colored outside the usual range of hues typical for your people according to the following table.
d20
Eye Region
1–3
Pupil
4−10
Iris
11−17
Sclera (Whites)
18–20
Entire eye
Ocular Diversity
One or both of your eyes are shaped or located outside the range typical for your ancestry. Choose or roll on the following table. Note that this is usually a permanent condition and does not fluctuate, but the player and GM are welcome to determine a magical version that fluctuates based on the Frequency table above. Example stimuli include sunrise/sunset, seasons, or stress.
d20
Ocular Diversity
1–3
Location
4–5
Eyelid Difference
6–8
Bulging
9–10
Sunken
11–13
Oversized
14–15
Undersized
16–19
Pupil Difference
20
Side Placement
Partial Field Blindness/Agnosia
You’re unable to see or recognize certain areas or features. Choose or roll on the following table.
d20
Visual Difference
1–8
Closed Angle Vision
9–14
Open Angle Vision
15–16
Humanoid Agnosia
17–18
Animal Agnosia
19–20
Topographical Agnosia
Humanoid Agnosia
You are unable to recognize a specific part of a humanoid body or distinguish it from others according to the following table.
You have trouble communicating using language, including speaking, understanding, and writing. Choose or roll on the following table. You have 1d6 of the following patterns.
d20
Language Processing Expression
1–5
Dysgraphia
6
Reiterative Agraphia
7
Specialist Agraphia
8
Dysexecutive Agraphia
9
Apraxic Agraphia
10
Lexical Agraphia
11
Semantic Agraphia
12
Phonological Agraphia
13
Visuospatial Agraphia
14
Alexia
15–16
Expressive Aphasia
17
Receptive Aphasia
18
Anomic Aphasia
19–20
Global Aphasia
Memory Loss
d10
Symptom
1–2
Anterograde Amnesia
3–6
Retrograde Amnesia
7
Dissociative Fugue
8–0
Traumatic Amnesia
Pain
d10
Pain Experience
1–5
Chronic Pain
6–9
Hyperalgesia
10
Hypoalgesia
Seizures
d100
Seizure Type
1–40
Focal Aware Seizures
41–60
Focal Impaired Awareness Seizures
61–67
Absence Seizures
68–77
Myoclonic Seizures
78–82
Clonic Seizures
83–88
Tonic Seizures
89–93
Atonic Seizures
94–100
Tonic Clonic Seizures
Focal Aware Seizures. You have a strange feeling for (IE)d20 seconds resulting in one of the following experiences.
Unusual smell or taste: You smell or taste something with no known source. You have a −(IE) penalty on all Wisdom (Perception) checks related to smell and taste for the duration.
Feeling like one random limb is larger or smaller than it actually is: you have a −(IE) penalty on all Dexterity attack rolls; ability checks; and saving throws with that limb for the duration.
7
Perception of colored or flashing lights: You have a −(IE) penalty on all Wisdom (Perception) checks involving vision
8
Hallucination
Sensory Processing Difference
d6
Sensory Processing Pattern
1
Sensory Over-Responsivity
2
Sensory Under-Responsivity
3
Sensory Craving
4
Vestibular Difference
5
Dyspraxia
6
Sensory Discrimination Difference
Sensory Discrimination Difference. You have trouble determining variation in 1d4 subtypes of sensory input. Choose or roll on the following table.
d8
SDD Subtype
1
Auditory
2
Visual
3
Tactile
4
Vestibular
5
Olfactory
6
Gustatory
7
Proprioception
8
Interoception
Sleep Disruptions
d100
Sleep Disruption
1–6
Confusional Arousals
7
Exploding Head
8–17
Hypersomnolence
18–40
Insomnia
41–44
Night Terrors
45–50
Nightmares
51–52
Sleep Aggression
53–55
Sleep Behaviors
56–60
Sleep Enuresis
61–62
Sleep Paralysis
63
Sleep Sorcery
64–86
Sleep-Related Breathing Disruption
87–88
Sleep-Related Hallucinations
89–93
Sleep-Related Movements
94–97
Sleep-Wake Disruptions
98–100
Sleepwalking
Sleep-Wake Disruption Your internal sleep clock does not correspond to your intended pattern. If you cannot follow your internal pattern, follow the rules for Insomnia accordingly.
Limitless Heroics for 5e (Disability, Neurodiversity, Mental illness Mechanics for DnD)
May 13, 2022
When you play a tabletop role-playing game like 5e, you want to be the hero. The world is different for you having been there, better. What if you could make the real world better by playing an RPG?! That’s what Limitless Heroics is all about. Limitless Heroics is the most comprehensive disability compendium ever created for a Tabletop Role-Playing Game. For Fifth Edition, it provides:
640 Pages of content!
450+ Traits: Game mechanics for nearly every condition or trait in existence (plus some fantasy traits, because that’s what you should expect in a world with magic) with 4 Impact Extents, and 6 Frequencies. With 1–6 traits per character (or more), that’s 64,800+ combinations with the option to add more. (Free Sample Trait: Blindness)
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 conditions to make sure our game mechanics represented their experiences before writing it, and over 900 people looked at the manuscript draft, and we got 90 pages of feedback from their experiences!
All writers, editors, and artists hired for this book are disabled, neurodivergent, and/or have mental or chronic illness.
Book Accessibility
Dyslexia-friendly layout
PDF, txt/csv, and ePub versions
Fully screen reader accessible
Indexed audio version included with every purchase
We believe that this resource will help you normalize disabilities in your life and the lives of other players. Non-disabled people can sometimes feel uncomfortable around disabled people or don’t know how to talk or act. This resource allows you to practice in an imaginary world to equip you with empathy and skills to feel increasingly comfortable doing that in the real world.And those with disabilities now have a way to represent their experience in-game to feel empowered and to help others see them more clearly.Imagine what we could communicate to the world when all those actual play Twitch streams include disabled characters!
This is a movement.
Limitless Heroics is more than an RPG book. It’s a petition. By supporting this project, 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.Imagine companies and organizations seeing the success of this movement beyond the RPG community and how that would affect their decisions in the future. Imagine how you as RPG players who work in every industry can work for change to overcome ableism because of what you and your players learned while rolling dice at the RPG table.Imagining is what we do best, but we can use fantasy to change reality. Maybe RPGs have some real world magic after all. Support this project with the 2,287 backers and others who ordered it since, and mark this day on your calendar and social media as the day you helped change the world.
About the Players Edition
The Players Edition of Limitless Heroics includes everything in the full book except the adventure, magic items, and NPCs, reducing the size and associated costs by 346 pages. If you plan to use these resources in settings where you need multiple copies (e.g. schools, clinics, community organizations, etc.), this will save you some money.
We met these stretch goals, all of which are included.
$25,000: Complications & Prostheses
Once we hit the $25,000 goal, we added additional complications and magical prosthetics. Some experiences are not traits of various conditions, but complications that result from them, such as infections, concussions, secondary depression, and intoxication. Once we hit this goal, we added 20 complications to the book and 20 Magical Prostheses.
$30,000: 10 NPCs
Similar to our previously published Disabled NPC of the Week but with more details, our character team added 10 NPCs (Non-Player Characters) with full backgrounds, personality details, disabilities, and artwork to the book. These are in addition to the characters created for the Create a Character and DELUXE Create a Character rewards and add-ons, which will be included automatically.
$40,000: One-Shot Adventure: Horror of the Shade by Theo Kogod
When a caravan makes camp in the shadow of crumbling ruins, they awaken an ancient revenant and are transported to a dark eldritch dimension. To escape back to the physical world, they will need to fight their way past the undead shade or risk being trapped forever.
$50,000: Service Animals
We included a chapter to implement service animals into your game, both real world and fantasy animals, including rules for training and how to use them. This section is written by Brittney Hay with service animal trainer and user consultation.
Content Warning
This book contains descriptions and game mechanics for nearly every physical, mental, and emotional condition in existence and a few that don’t exist, including physical, mental, and emotional trauma and all manner of illnesses, including an entry on phobias and mention or illustrations of possible phobic triggers. If it can happen to your mind and/or body, it’s probably here. For those who would have difficulty with any of that, please be aware of that likelihood. Use the table of contents to avoid difficult sections, or give this book to a trusted friend, and let them comb through it for the details you need to build your character while skipping past the traumatic entries.
Creators
Dale Critchley (Owner, Wyrmworks Publishing) Primary author of Limitless Heroics, Dale Critchley is the owner, lead writer, and chief tea drinker at Wyrmworks Publishing. He’s been playing tabletop role-playing games since 1982 and launched Wyrmworks Publishing as a hobby in 2000 to share his homebrew resources with the world. In 2021, after seeing the power that a TTRPG group can have to change the lives of the participants for the better, he rededicated Wyrmworks Publishing to focus on using TTRPGs to intentionally improve the lives of others and turned a hobby into a full time pursuit.
Beth the Bard, Layout Editor is the author of “She is the Ancient: A Genderbent Curse of Strahd” guidebook, now a Platinum best-seller on DMs Guild. She’s also a general TTRPG writer, graphic designer, and professional dungeon master.
Joie Martin, Cover Layout & Layout Contributor owns Drowning Moon Studios, a roleplaying game publisher that has produced over a dozen titles and two anthologies since being founded in 2017. They have been writing, developing, editing, and doing layout and graphic design for tabletop and live action roleplaying games since 1996. Beyond roleplaying games, Joie has produced content for a variety of markets, including ARGs, interactive theater, and immersive experiences. They have been a key speaker on panels about roleplaying game design at events such as DragonCon, MomoCon, and Metatopia, and was Head Judge for the 2020 IDGN Indie Groundbreaker Awards.
Naomi Hazlett: Copy Editor, Sensitivity ConsultantNaomi Hazlett, Bsc., MScOT, OT Reg. (Ont.) is a writer, editor, and occupational therapist with chronic pain. She is neurodiverse, queer, and lives with chronic pain and mental illness. Her work has most recently focused on social accountability, diversity, and inclusion in occupational therapy and gaming, including the adoption of a critical disability lens. Naomi has played and run TTRPGs for over 20 years; she has worked with organizations including Level Up Gaming, BALANCE for Blind Adults, and LOFT Community Services to run accessible TTRPGs, and consults for D&D Beyond. Naomi has multiple publications in academic journals, magazines, blogs, and poetry collections, and is currently the Managing Editor of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists’ national magazine, Occupational Therapy Now. She can be found online at @naomi_hazlett or can be reached via email.
Melissa Critchley, Sensitivity Consultant, lives with multiple disabilities. She has worked in the disability field for over 15 years and holds a graduate level certificate in Disability Policy and Services from the University of Minnesota in addition to her interdisciplinary master’s degree. She also recently completed an advanced certificate in Equity and Diversity and is an advocate for social justice and equitable societal change.Melissa has played quite a few tabletop RPG games through the decades which include Shadowrun, BESM, D20 Modern, Mutants and Masterminds, and Star Wars. However until we were confined to our homes during Covid quarantines, Melissa hated D&D. A good friend invited her to play over Discord, and despite her objections, convinced her that she “never had him as a DM.” It didn’t take long before she changed her mind about D&D, and it’s now her favorite game.
Simone Arnold, Sensitivity Consultant, Character Creation TeamSimone Arnold MA, Certified Geek Therapist, is a neurodivergent, queer clinical mental health counselor in the state of Vermont. They have been working in the mental health field since 2013 across a variety of settings including as a crisis clinician and currently as a counselor at a designated agency. Through this they’ve had the opportunity to work with people across the disability spectrum. They are also establishing their own private practice that is queer friendly with a special focus on ADHD and Autism. Simone has been gaming since 2012 and has had the opportunity to play across an array of systems including D&D 5e, Pathfinder, Dread, Thirsty Sword Lesbians, Call of Cthulhu and more.
Matthew Rickmon, Sensitivity Consultant, Character Creation Team, Certified Therapeutic Game Master, owns Tabletop For Growth (IG, Twitter), a business dedicated to helping people learn interpersonal skills and develop core values through interactive tabletop games. Matthew has a Bachelor of Science in psychology and a Master of Divinity with a focus in pastoral counseling. He is a Certified Therapeutic Game Master and Certified Geek Specialist through Geek Therapeutics. He lives with multiple chronic illnesses: Crohn’s Disease, Irritable Bowel, and Psoriasis. He also strongly suspects he is neurodivergent. Matthew has been writing stories and running in-person and live-streamed tabletop roleplaying games from his home in California since 2019. Beyond running roleplaying games, he maintains a strong partnership with The Erika Legacy Foundation, a mental health awareness and suicide prevention non-profit in Canada. Painting and writing tend to take up his free time when he’s not being yelled at by his cat, Mr. Fox, for more pets.
Theo Kogod is a genderfluid writer, editor, educator, and activist. Diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD, Theo learned to read at the age of ten, then attempted writing their first novel a year later. They have written for numerous publications, including the websites CBR, Screen Rant, The Gamer, and The Comics Vault, as well as the podcast Enter the Fanboy. In 2014, Theo helped found the magazine 3 Feet Left as its Resident Writer. Their fiction has been published in Diabolical Plots, Starward Shadows, and the cli-fi anthology A Flash of Silver Green: Stories of the Nature of Cities 2099, among other places. They are a lifelong storyteller and nerd who has been running D&D and other tabletop RPGs for over 15 years. You can find them at @TKogod.
Amy Weisner is a second year occupational therapy student at the University of Toronto. She has been playing TTRPGs for the past five years, including D&D 5e, Call of Cthulhu, and most recently the Avatar TTRPG. She has a degree in Child and Youth Care, and has worked in many settings and roles including community outreach and within the school systems. Through her experience, she has worked with individuals from all walks of life, including people from across the spectrum of disability and mental health. Amy is a passionate advocate, with experience presenting on social justice issues and advocating for clients. She has most recently begun a fieldwork placement with OT Naomi Hazlett at Level Up Gaming, assisting with running therapeutic TTRPGs for neurodiverse young adults and working on projects to make TTRPGs more accessible.
Artists
We intentionally assembled an eclectic team of artists to reflect the diversity of experiences and expressions of these conditions:
Kalman Andrasofszky (Insta) is a freelance illustrator, comic book artist, writer, and educator in Toronto, a longtime member of the R.A.I.D. Studio, and newly diagnosed with ADHD. In 20+ years as a creative professional, Kalman has worked with many clients such as Marvel Entertainment, DC Comics, Wizards of the Coast, Shaftesbury Films, UNESCO, Portfolio Entertainment, and TekSavvy, among others, creating content for such brands as X-Men, Avengers, Batman, Star Wars, Dungeons & Dragons, Murdoch Mysteries, and PG: Psycho Goreman. Kalman reinvigorated the classic Canadian superhero property Captain Canuck by both rebooting and adding many new concepts and characters to significantly expand the scope of the brand into a dynamic sci-fi shared universe. When not writing and drawing too many things at once, Kalman can be found retro-gaming on his vintage SEGA Genesis system.
In addition to our primary sensitivity consultants, we discussed traits and game mechanics with hundreds of others as part of the research for this book to reflect their lived experiences as closely as possible. That list is too long to include here, but many of their names are included in the book’s credits, and we can’t express enough how grateful we are for their help.
Press
We appreciate all who have helped us get the word out about this project on podcasts and in the press.
Geet weekly updates, encouragement, discounts, and free gifts!
Gaining Advantage 010: Gaining Access to RPGs with @AccessibleGames
May 13, 2022
What makes a tabletop role-playing game accessible, both to players and characters? We welcome Jacob Wood, owner of Accessible Games, to discuss that question.
0:00 Introduction
02:10 Jacob Wood
24:41 Wrap-up
Manually captioned. Transcript available at our website.
Gaining Advantage 007: Advantage against Psychic Damage (Jasper’s Game Day)
May 13, 2022
Life is tough, and sometimes, it seems like today’s CR is a bit too high. So what do you do? Get more people in the party! We welcome Josh Simons of Jasper’s Game Day to talk about mental health and suicide prevention through TTRPGs.
In our “Playing the Other” segment, we welcome Matt Weber with a great discussion about his physical disabilities and his decades of gaming experience.
Content Warning: Suicide, Body shape discussion, Mental Illness, Phobias
