I’ve been a gamer for most of my life. D&D, Changeling, Vampire, Don’t Go Into the Basement… You name it, I probably have played it at least once. Many of my fondest memories of high school involve being in someones basement late at night with a can of vanilla coke and a bag of dice. At both the colleges I attended I was on the organizing committee for the Gaming Guild (I founded the one at my second college.)

So, a few months ago when Tracy Barnett and I talked about me writing a game supplement for Iron Edda: War of Metal and Bone I jumped at the chance.

You see, I frequently get asked to do interviews about how people who want to play games as disabled characters can do so respectfully – and Tracy has given me an opportunity to do something that I’ve always wanted to do.

I’m writing a game about blind people. But instead of their being useless, the blind have agency. The blind characters in this supplement kick ass.

They are the Blind Guardians of Midgard.

Yes, the Blind Guardians will “see things that the sighted cannot”, but rather than relying upon their sighted counterparts, they themselves take action The book will include a section on how to both RUN games with blind characters in them, and how to PLAY those characters in a way that makes sense. Yes, this will include hilariously fun activities for your gaming group to take part in before you try. It might involve eyepatches. 😀

I’m really eager to write this game because I want to show that RPGs can be about people with disabilities and still be fun and accessible to those who are able bodied. I want to write this game so that I can actually play a Mary Sue (yep. I will. Don’t judge me.) I want to be able to play a character who can beat up ghosts with her enchanted cane. More than anything, I believe in the conceit behind Tracy’s vision for this game – that you can find yourself in this game, no matter who you are. I want to make sure that this is true for people like me.

The Blind Guardians of Midgard are known across the land – it is said that you hear the scraping of their canes upon the ground long before you see them.

To support War of Metal & Bone and to see The Blind Guardians of Midgard in print, you can go here to donate to the kickstarter.