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A wheelchair, also called a wheeled chair,[1][2][3][4] was a small vehicle that enabled mobility for people who could not walk or had another physical impairment.

Description[]

It was simply a chair with attached wheels.[1][2][5] They could be comfortable[5] and some were equipped with a small desk for writing and work[1] and others with awnings to shade against the sun. Wheeled chairs used by the nobility might be painted and adorned with their family badge.[2] Wheelchairs could be pushed by others.[2]

A basic, improvised form of wheelchair was a light wheelbarrow,[1] while a litter or palanquin could be used for the same purpose.[6][7]

Abilities[]

With a wheelchair, a user could move faster than they otherwise might, but only to about half the speed of a non-impaired human,[8] and they made it more difficult to defend oneself in battle.[9] However, experienced users might find it no burden on their abilities, instead operating as though it was a part of them.[10]

A wheelchair could make it inconvenient for a user to enter certain areas, while a multiple-story building might need an elevator installed for them.[8]

Known Users[]

Carrionettes vs adventurers

Wheelchair-using detective Alanik Ray shoots at a swarm of carrionettes in the Domains of Dread.

  • Galatea Smith: A girl in Ravens Bluff in the mid-to-late 1300s DR, she suffered an unknown illness when she was 4 that almost killed her. She survived but was left with a weak constitution and difficulties standing and walking. Her father, Adam Smith of the Iron Bull Smithy, built for her a wheeled chair so she could move around home, shop, and school, as well as a wheelbarrow so she could be transported through the city. With a talent for mathematics, by the age of 12 she was helping in the family business, keeping track of accounting.[1]
  • Lady Nettel Thalavar: The elderly matriarch of the Thalavar family of Westdate, she employed a wheeled chair pushed by six halfling retainers around 1368 DR. It was equipped with an awning, was painted white, and had the family's green feather painted on side panels. She left the chair when needed to walk short distances, such as up a ship's gangplank.[2]
  • Sarmon the Spectacular: A War Wizard of Cormyr, he was magically aged by a ghazneth in 1371 DR, leaving him frail. Eventually, he used a wheeled chair designed for him by Sage Royal Alaphondar.[3]
  • King Banak Brawnanvil: The dwarf king of Clan Battlehammer and Mithral Hall of the early 1400s DR used a wheeled chair[7][11][4] after his spine was severed by a spear in battle with orcs in 1370 DR.[12][5] As their priests were unable to heal the damage with their spells, the dwarves constructed a comfortable wheeled chair whilst he recovered,[5] as well as a special chair and later throne to support him,[13][14] and a palanquin carried by four dwarves on the battlefield.[6][7]
  • Catti-brie: When she had an injured leg and hip and struggling to walk, Cattie-brie stubbornly refused to use a chair with wheels, let alone a palanquin like Banak's, thinking it an indignity. She eventually relented and accepted a palanquin.[7]
  • Lucas Rivenstave: An ill old man and one of the Seven Burghers of New Velar in Harrowdale around 1479 DR.[15][16]
  • Jaan'vald Llanou, a githzerai and member of the Sha'sal Khou, in the late 1400s DR. Mistreatment by the neogi caused a degenerative neurological disorder that made it increasingly difficult for him to walk, so he relied on devices like his wheelchair, which was no impediment to him.[10][17][18]

Appendix[]

Appearances[]

Novels & Short Stories

Referenced only
The Two Swords • The Ghost King

Organized Play & Licensed Adventures

Gallery[]

External Links[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Terence Kemper (January 1995). “The Living City: The Horse Businesses”. In Jean Rabe ed. Polyhedron #103 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 11, 12–13.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Jeff Grubb and Kate Novak (July 1995). Masquerades. (TSR, Inc), chap. 12, pp. 174–176. ISBN 0-7869-0152-7.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Ed Greenwood, Troy Denning (May 2001). Death of the Dragon. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 23, p. 177. ISBN 0-7869-1863-2.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 R.A. Salvatore (October 2010). Gauntlgrym. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. Prologue, p. 9. ISBN 978-0786955008.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 R.A. Salvatore (September 2005). The Two Swords. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 4, p. 45. ISBN 0-7869-3790-4.
  6. 6.0 6.1 R.A. Salvatore (September 2005). The Two Swords. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 17, p. 190. ISBN 0-7869-3790-4.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 R.A. Salvatore (October 2007). The Orc King. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 1, pp. 21–24. ISBN 0-7869-4340-8.
  8. 8.0 8.1 F. Wesley Schneider & James L. Sutter (November 2005). “Shut In”. In Erik Mona ed. Dungeon #128 (Paizo Publishing, LLC) (128)., pp. 21, 24.
  9. Tracy Hickman & Laura Hickman (1986). Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill. Edited by Harold Johnson. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 9, 32, 45. ISBN 0-88038-322-4.
  10. 10.0 10.1 Greg Marks, Jonathan Connor Self (February 2022). Uprising (DDAL-DRW16) (PDF). D&D Adventurers League: Dreams of the Red Wizards (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 13, 14, 15, 23.
  11. R.A. Salvatore (October 2007). The Orc King. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 6, p. 67. ISBN 0-7869-4340-8.
  12. R.A. Salvatore (June 2004). The Lone Drow. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 30, pp. 347–348. ISBN 978-0786932283.
  13. R.A. Salvatore (September 2005). The Two Swords. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 14, p. 164. ISBN 0-7869-3790-4.
  14. R.A. Salvatore (October 2007). The Orc King. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 20, p. 225. ISBN 0-7869-4340-8.
  15. Mickey Tan (October 2009). The Vesperin Initiative (DALE1-6). Living Forgotten Realms (RPGA), pp. 10, 44.
  16. Matthias Schäfer, Renout van Rijn (May 2010). Agony (DALE2-2). Living Forgotten Realms (RPGA), pp. 18, 46.
  17. Ashley Warren, Paul Gabat (March 2022). Expedition to the Supreme Forge (DDAL-DRW17) (PDF). D&D Adventurers League: Dreams of the Red Wizards (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 4, 5, 22.
  18. Greg Marks, Andy Dempz, Ginny Loveday (July 2022). Tears Among the Stars (DDAL-DRW04) (PDF). D&D Adventurers League: Dreams of the Red Wizards (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 4, 27.
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