By: Bri Meisser
Disability is something that encompasses every aspect of one's life. I was given a task to write 3 articles about my disability and how it impacts my ability to engage with the Realms. I will be splitting this series into 3 distinct sections. Bri The Player, Margaret The Character, and Bri The Event Holder. My hope is that by the end of this series, you will have a better respect for some of the struggles our disabled players go through in order to continue to play this game we love. Becoming disabled is the only minority group anyone can join at any time, and we will all deal with health related issues as we age. But maybe by working together, we can create a game that’s more accommodating and understanding to those issues. I am only one disabled individual, and everyone’s experiences are unique. But here are mine. This is Bri, The Event Holder
Being an event holder is really hard. It’s hard even in the best of times and the best of circumstances. And being disabled is not the best of times nor the best of circumstances. Both the preparation and the event itself can be physically, mentally and emotionally demanding, and all of these things are compounded by being disabled. But there are also benefits to being a disabled event holder. It allows you to be more inclusive in event design, creative about the way both players and staff have to solve problems, and when done well can lead to events that can be better enjoyed by all types of different players, both disabled and otherwise.
I used to be of the opinion that I didn’t want to ask a player to do anything that I will not be willing to do myself. But as I’ve become more and more disabled, I’ve had to change that attitude if I want to enable event events that are enjoyed by people of all different body types, including those who are more physically active and able than myself. Just because I can’t spend six hours fighting or do complex parkour across an event site does not mean that there aren’t people who want to do that. And my job as an event holder is to both create those opportunities and to ensure that no one is left behind who does not want to be.
A lot of that comes down to communication. I am one disabled person with several different disabilities, but my disabilities are not all encompassing and even people with the same disabilities as me may have different ability levels and those ability levels may change day-to-day. Knowing I have disabled players at my events in advance can help me to tailor my mods in my accommodations to those people, but being able to adapt in the moment is just as important. And this is true, not just of those who have known disabilities, but as an acknowledgment of the fact that anyone can get hurt at any time during an event. Someone could sprain their ankle. Someone could scratch their eye. Someone could become a non-com at any moment for any reason. And they deserve to be able to enjoy the event with the same dignity and respect as any other player. There should always be a role at an event and in a questing party for a disabled player who wants it. That is what I can offer as a disabled event holder.
It is not perfect. I can’t make the woods magically wheelchair accessible. I cannot account for every single content, warning, and every single trigger that anyone may possibly have ever. But I can start with the most simple and most important question. “What do you need?” And then I can do my best to provide it. Maybe they recently broke their arm and need more spells to enable them to participate in the event in a way that they enjoy. Maybe the trail battle is too far for them to walk, but I can have an NPC sit with them in the tavern as they roleplay and solve problems. Maybe they’re in the hospital and had to miss their favorite event series of the year, and I can get them comprehensive plot notes about what they missed and the ability to continue the story on their own time in their own way until they’re able to join everyone at the next event.
I am also incredibly blessed and privileged to be able to be an event holder at all. Not all disabled people can be an event holder. Sometimes the uncertainty about whether your health will be ok on the weekend of your event is too much in a game that expects the event holder to be everything. And that is okay. You are not lesser for not being an event holder, nor are your contributions less valuable because you can’t fill a specific role. Having people like Becky, Justin T, Sky, Nate, Josh, David, Tim, Derek, Renee, Adam, and countless others be willing and able to take on roles that I could never do has enabled me to throw events that I could never dream of in a million years on my own. Assembling a good team of people who support you is the most important thing that any event holder can do whether they are disabled or not. And for any disabled person who cannot fill the role of event holder, the worth you bring to any event team that you are on cannot be understated.
So go out and tell stories. Throw tournaments. Make tasty food. And remember that events take all types of people to run and they are designed for all types of people to enjoy.
Until the next quest,
Bri Meisser
