One of the tenets of Dungeons & Dragons is that your character can be anything. Well nearly anything. There are certain limitations on species, mostly due to fantasy tropes. Those continue to expand. The embrace of characters with crutches, wheelchairs, and other ambulatory aids continues. Official books always include art showing these samples.
While the movement towards inclusion of disabled people as potential heroes is slow. It is there. This is wonderful. Because everyone deserves representation. Everyone should have the choice to see themselves as a hero.
Me? I wear glasses. Have all my life. This includes when I was a cartoon superhero as a linguist in the 5th Special Forces. On the range? Glasses. Jumping out of airplanes? Glasses. Setting det-cord? Glasses. Giving an IV? Glasses.
But how would my character where glasses? How could I play this?
My next D&D character is a glasses wearer.
They carry dozens of lenses for varied uses. One of the land’s best archers, they can shoot a bee’s nest at 300 lengths.
Once a truffle hunter always paying attention what was close, they now look afar, constantly.
There’s no rules for wearing glasses. The fix is simple. The worlds of D&D have magnifying glasses (100 gp, can start fires) and spyglasses (1000 gp, doubles size of object). So grinding glass isn’t a problem within typical D&D. Neither is the construction of simple frames. In the real world glasses as we know them date to the 13th century.
Eyeglasses or Spectacles
Type: Adventuring Gear | Cost: 25 gp* | Weight: —
Wearers of eyeglasses or spectacles have their vision corrected to normal within the world.
* any player who wants to start their character with lenses should be permitted at no cost.
Now, you may ask — what happens if they get knocked off?
First, I say? Whatever. No, seriously, is your game a constant barrage of disarming player characters of their weapons, shields, and spell components? If not, then don’t worry about it. If you do run that kind of game, then use the same rules for other disarms and expect that characters would carry an extra set of lenses, as I did when I was a cartoon superhero. Maybe their next attack is at disadvantage if you feel cruelty is necessary in your game of heroics.
Those rules are rather unnecessary. My glasses fell off only once during training exercises that involved nearly the highest level of training in the US Army (I was SOT-A, not tabbed).
Hero Forge, DM Heroes, ReRoll, Never Ending all have glasses options for art. Currently DnD Beyond does not have character art with glasses, but many of the 2024 books do.
My next D&D Character is bespectacled.
They wear lens to correct their poor eyesight. Not a nerd, just a person who lives life with lenses on their face. They slay dragons with a giant sword and use their shield to protect their friends.
This post was originally published in 2022.
Full Moon Storytelling 