There were TONS of animal powered carts and carriages all through the 19th century...so it was extremely prevalent still.  I think you could use an unseen servant to pull or push it though, rather than a faithful war dog.

I've read a little more on Savage Eberron, and worked up some character concepts for this one-shot adventure. All of the characters were powerful heroes in the Last War - but they all suffered from devastating magic or other effects that by its nature cannot be healed.

The theme for all of them is that their disability is a serious problem for core functions of their class. Although I'm using Savage Worlds that isn't per-se class-based, it still has class-like edges. They are far from useless, given that they were extremely powerful in the war. But their problems are enough that they were forced into retirement by their country.

The horror will be that in the sanitarium where they were left to rot, some horrors of the Last War have followed them, and they are forced to deal with it themselves.

The physically disabled concepts I thought of are:

• A human fighter who has lost both legs, now restricted to a cart or device to move.
• A halfling rogue who has lost both hands, now unable to do fine motor work. Has different prostheses (hooks, blades, etc.), but still struggles with many ordinary tasks.
• A dragonborn evocation wizard who is now blind, unable to aim fireballs and others spells, as well as being slow to read.
• A half-elf bard who is now deaf, interfering with music though they can still play and sing by rote memory.
• A human monk inflicted with arthritis that causes pain with any joint movement, so they have to rely on precision and technique that minimizes motion.

I also had character concepts all suffering from some relation of PTSD (which is a broad category with different symptoms). Like the physically disabled ones, these cut at the core of their abilities.

• A half-orc barbarian with PTSD-induced flashbacks that are triggered by (among other things) his own rage.
• An elven druid with PTSD-induced neuroses, causing fear of disease, infection, and parasites - that can cause difficulty with animals and natural settings.
• A dwarven paladin cursed with PTSD-induced schizophrenia - plagued by hallucinations of demon voices and other small sensory hallucinations, that make him unsure of whether he is doing right.
• A warforged artificer with a faulty controller, prone to erratic behavior from his battle programming.

I'm still on the fence about having a cleric character. It's one of the core classes, so I'd like it represented, but I'm not sure what sort of PTSD or injury would fit well.

Quote from: jhkim on July 06, 2024, 07:45:22 PMI'm still on the fence about having a cleric character. It's one of the core classes, so I'd like it represented, but I'm not sure what sort of PTSD or injury would fit well.

A crisis of faith because he can heal almost anyone's injuries...except those of the people he's stuck adventuring with.

Quote from: jhkim on July 06, 2024, 07:45:22 PMA human fighter who has lost both legs, now restricted to a cart or device to move.

I find something compelling about characters like this, especially when they manage to be heroic or scary anyway.  In The Bourne Identity the main character fought a man with no legs and the outcome appeared in doubt.  The conversation afterwards went something like:  Girl:  I can't believe you just killed that man.  Bourne:  You saw a cripple, I saw the most dangerous man in Europe.  Cool.

Quote from: jhkim on April 19, 2024, 01:01:49 PMI haven't seen Late Phases, and it's been a while since I've seen Bubba-hotep. I don't want this to be parody or a pity-party for the PCs. It should be a rousing, action-packed adventure of fighting with horrors. PCs may well die, but they're not helpless victims being picked off.

The main character in Late Phases is blind but far from helpless.

Quote from: HappyDaze on July 07, 2024, 12:42:55 AM

Quote from: jhkim on July 06, 2024, 07:45:22 PMI'm still on the fence about having a cleric character. It's one of the core classes, so I'd like it represented, but I'm not sure what sort of PTSD or injury would fit well.

A crisis of faith because he can heal almost anyone's injuries...except those of the people he's stuck adventuring with.

Thanks, that's interesting. The others all have real-world injuries or trauma instead of an explicitly magical weirdness, but it works to have the cleric be the one exception. Whatever is happening with his clerical powers would definitely be related to the plot of the scenario. (There will be some spooky power related to the Mourning, which could affect a cleric.)

Quote from: yosemitemike on July 07, 2024, 04:42:24 AM

Quote from: jhkim on April 19, 2024, 01:01:49 PMI haven't seen Late Phases, and it's been a while since I've seen Bubba-hotep. I don't want this to be parody or a pity-party for the PCs. It should be a rousing, action-packed adventure of fighting with horrors. PCs may well die, but they're not helpless victims being picked off.

The main character in Late Phases is blind but far from helpless.

Cool. I still haven't seen it, but it's now in my queue.