Allowing consulars, liaisons and potentially captains more disabilities

[EJJ]

This suggestion is to allow Consulars and Corp Reps to be disabled, and potentially Captains and desk-focused roles being able to as well.

The disabilities I'm talking about mostly here are Mobility, Sight and Limbs. Consulars and Corp Reps are mostly going to be paperwork/RP characters, why not allow them to be missing an arm or a leg? Captains as well are usually not expected to be rocking around setting up the SM, fighting antags, etc. Captains are basically Consulars/Corp Reps with a fancier title and a medal who are expected to divvy out tasks to the rest of command/staff or communicate with people who can do something, rather than doing it themselves, unless ultimately that is needed,

I'm not using this as a soapbox to say every single character should be missing a limb but I have found it very weird that Consulars/Corp Reps can have a Speech Impediment but not a missing limb, especially with the amount of Dominian Consulars we have had in the past and have now.

[Carver]

I agree particularly for Consulars and Liaisons. They're not really expected to take an active role in any kind of developing situation that requires physical ability, so why should they be restricted from physical disability?

[yeehawguvnah]

Captains, maybe, but not to the same extent. They're quite likely to be the most valuable person (in the eyes of the SCC) on the ship, and should probably be able to at least get away from trouble at a prompt speed.

[Owen]

Eyesight: as it stands captains and consulars/liaisons are in the "Flawed" category, which allows them to be basically anything short of blind. I think that section specifically is fine as it is, having a blind captain seems unreasonable. Same with consulars/liaisons who are expected to be handling a lot of paperwork.

For Mobility/Limbs: I think allowing captains and consulars/liaisons to be "Heavily Movement Impaired" is probably fine. Consulars/Liaisons for sure should be allowed, but having a captain be wheelchair-bound feels a bit odd, though I think that could be fine too. You're right that they're not expected to run and fix a lot of issues that come up. The same thing goes for having "Impaired Limbs," since again, they're not going to be expected to necessarily run around and fix stuff. 

[dessysalta]

Bumping this. Consulars and liaisons should absolutely be allowed to be missing limbs. Captains and such could probably get away with it ICly, but there's a bunch of things that aren't allowed OOCly regardless of what makes sense ICly.

[Scheveningen]

I think captains cannot get away with disability as they are liable to be expected to physically shore up any weaknesses in direct bridge staff duties depending on the current limitations of bridge cr*w.

[EJJ]

1 hour ago, Scheveningen said:

I think captains cannot get away with disability as they are liable to be expected to physically shore up any weaknesses in direct bridge staff duties depending on the current limitations of bridge cr*w.

If it gets a PR/rule change made I can concede on the captain's rules not being changed in favor of consulars/reps/maybe other command. I really feel like there's this weird expectation that the captain can just go do whatever job they want/is needed for the round?

I'm not asking for a full rule change, just more flexibility for playing (ROLE REASONABLE) command and consulars/corpreps with disabilities.

[Scheveningen]

16 hours ago, EJJ said:

If it gets a PR/rule change made I can concede on the captain's rules not being changed in favor of consulars/reps/maybe other command. I really feel like there's this weird expectation that the captain can just go do whatever job they want/is needed for the round?

This is the opposite of what the captain wiki page says you should do, and I am not saying you should do it. But the captain's most immediately pertinent mechanical, non-management duties involve knowing how the shooting mechanics work, as well as how flying the Horizon works - primarily the bridge staff's work. You must be able to do those when the bridge staff are at half-manning. In one particular round in which the Flak/Longbow and Leviathan were used to shoot down the hijacked Intrepid, there was only a BC and the Captain. I don't think a captain should be anywhere close to being blind if they have to substitute in for a bridge crewman to shoot the ship guns, or navigate the ship in an emergency. The captain should also be ambulatory enough to only require a cane for walking at worst. Helena Artigas is basically the ideal for a currently disabled character that is also captain-rank, I think they're completely fine the way they are presently, and most people should meet around that standard. I do not think being half blind or being bound to a wheelchair should be a viable character concept for any of command, though. My argument isn't for ableism, it's primarily a reasonability and in-character safety concern.

The XO is similar to the captain as a mini-captain except without all the all-encompassing management authority. They have to be able to do the job of the BCs if the wage earners are not present. The RD and OM are the only other heads of staff that have strictly management roles and no real requirements for physical work. The OM is a bit debatable, such as if no hangar technicians exist to load the ship guns - it would be bad if they were physically not able to.

In my experience with middle management, if your subordinates call out or aren't present at work, higher-level management expects you to do those duties to keep business functioning. The captain is the executive in this situation, and thus it is their job to find replacements and source even from off-duties if it is an emergency duty situation, in preference over doing the job themselves. However, pilots are specialized and thus nearly impossible to replace for the sake of piloting the cruiser. So if the captain has no other choice, they have to be physically able enough to do that, as needed.

Edited September 1, 2023 by Scheveningen

[greenjoe]

This is now partially implemented, for consulars and liaisons

[dessysalta]

Hell fucking yes.