In recent years, Wizards of the Coast has put in a lot of effort in making Dungeons & Dragons more inclusive with every new release. Books such as third edition's Races of Faerun went through great pains to detail the myriad of human ethnicities. Unfortunately, concepts like inclusivity and sensitivity weren’t the priority when they were written.

In the 2020 article "Diversity and Dungeons & Dragons," Wizards of the Coast gave some insight into how they will go about improving, stating that “making D&D as welcoming and inclusive as possible has moved to the forefront of our priorities over the last six years."

Tasha's Cauldron of Everything Adds Character Customization Options

With that in mind, Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything was a welcomed new arrival, expanding the rules of how to make the game your own, adding more customization options for player characters without the need to turn to homebrew. From personalizing spells to how to change your subclass and reflect shifts in your character’s abilities or beliefs, Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything provides players with some insight into how to go about making your character sheet reflect your character.

Just because you want to play as an orc, doesn’t mean that you need to conform to the stereotype of what an orc is. Your character, like you, has their own experience that shapes who they are as a person. It shouldn’t matter if a creature is an orc, a dark elf, or any other oft maligned race, they are still a person.

It’s the clearest message yet that a player character’s race and class don’t have to be strict archetypes for the player to fit into, but starting points and inspiration for the complexity of characters that a growing and increasingly diverse base of players can imagine. Within its pages, Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything states that these options are to facilitate in helping you “step outside those assumptions to pave the way for truly unique characters”, and there truly is something for everyone inside.

What is inclusivity? We’ve been throwing around the word inclusivity a lot, but what do we mean when we say that? In this context, it’s the ongoing process of opening up a space where everyone can feel welcome and represented in a respectful manner. Basically, being inclusive means making sure to include everyone, with special consideration towards those who have historically been excluded.

Van Richten’s Brings a Diversity of Horror

Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft not only offers different flavors of horrors, it contains a variety of cultures and material that push the envelope beyond traditional European tropes. Domains of Dread such as I’Cath, Har’Akir, Hazlan, Kalakeri, and Valachan exemplify this.

Ravenloft is no stranger to representations reminiscent of other real world cultures, but fifth edition's first attempt, with the adventure Curse of Strahd, had some missteps. Wizards of the Coast listened to feedback and made adjustments in response. In their article "Diversity and Dungeons & Dragons," Wizards of the Coast addresses the issue and laid down how they would work to do better moving forward:

“Curse of Strahd included a people known as the Vistani and featured the Vistani heroine Ezmerelda. Regrettably, their depiction echoes some stereotypes associated with the Romani people in the real world. To rectify that, we’ve not only made changes to Curse of Strahd, but in two upcoming books, we will also show—working with a Romani consultant—the Vistani in a way that doesn’t rely on reductive tropes.”

Source: "Diversity and Dungeons & Dragons" from Wizards of the Coast

Wizards of the Coast has been consulting sensitivity readers and experts into the creative process as part of their dedication in making the effort to make D&D accessible and diverse.

Queer Non-Player Characters You Might Encounter

Plenty of the following examples represent small roles and can be easily missed. But they are characters for you to find and potentially befriend. They populate the world in a subtle but natural feeling way that doesn't feel forced or like pandering.

• The artwork to accompany details on how an academy could function as a group patron in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything doesn’t leave you guessing, as the subtext succinctly tells you: “Wizardly boyfriends relax while their classmates practice magic at an arcane enclave."
• Alanik Ray, known as the Great Detective, and his partner, Arthur Sedgwick, investigate mysteries together and are introduced in Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft. 
• Waterdeep: Dragon Heist has the nonbinary herbalist Fala Lefaliir, who uses they/them pronouns and gently corrects player characters if they’re misgendered.
• While playing Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage, you may encounter Darribeth Meltimer who mentions her wife, Urgala, who happens to be an non-player character from Storm King's Thunder.
• In Ghosts of Saltmarsh, the marines who watch over the docks of the salty city are led by Tom and Will Stoutly, a married couple and hardened veterans against monsters and Sea Princes alike.
• In the adventure Storm King’s Thunder, there are the Osstra family. Husbands Thelbin and Brynn and Brynn’s adopted nephew, Broland. These Nightstone villagers are Tethyrian human wheat farmers you can encounter within the first chapter.
• Acquisitions Incorporated has “Propha” Dran and her wife, Audra Courtier, who run the aptly named inn, The Dran & Courtier.

Encouraging Inclusivity at Your Table

Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything outlines some of the things that can be done during a session zero. This includes a discussion of the social contract we enter when coming together to play the collaborative game that is D&D. A social contract is, simply put, an understanding that all members of a group can agree to that defines what is acceptable behavior.

The most important thing in D&D is that everyone is able to have fun! To do that, it’s important everyone feels safe and comfortable letting loose, not being afraid of making a fool of yourself or letting go and getting absorbed in the story. Interpersonal conflict can happen with any group of people, but the following are tips and questions you can ask your players to help set boundaries.

Quick tips for DMs

• Ask your players before you start if there is anything that could happen in-game that they would be entirely uncomfortable with. Understand a player's hard and soft limits. Try to foster an environment where if anything comes up, they know they can change their mind, even if they said they were comfortable with something previously
• Unless everyone at the table signed up for gritty realism, try not to go to get too intense or graphic when it comes to topics like fantasy-racism or sexual assault.
• Make the distinction — and reinforce it if needed — between a player character’s feelings and a player’s feelings. You don’t want in-character squabbles to leak out and become real arguments between players.
• If a player is acting in a truly unacceptable manner, talk to them privately about the matter. If the issue persists and you’ve talked to them multiple times, don’t be afraid to remove them from the game, if needed. This would be the last course of action, but if one person is preventing everyone else from enjoying the game, you need to draw the line somewhere.

In an inclusive environment, your differences are welcomed and your boundaries are respected. Sometimes these boundaries are implicit and sometimes they need to be said out loud, but the end goal is that everyone is accepted on common terms and able to have a good time.

Mira Alwan is an avid Dungeon Master, prolific player, and a glutton for lore. A lover of roleplaying games of all types, they first picked up a d20 in 2015. In their free time, they create homebrew and slowly work their way through video games, completing every side quest.