D&D Rules Address Gender, Identity, and Orientation

By Ashley R. Lierman

While there has never been anything to prevent players from playing gay, bisexual, or trans* characters, Version 5 of the Dungeons & Dragons rules actively encourage players to consider the full range of sexual and gender identities when creating their characters. Via PinkNews:

Part of the character creation section states: “Think about how your character does or does not conform to the broader culture’s expectations of sex, gender, and sexual behaviour.

“For example, a male drow cleric defies the traditional gender divisions of drow society, which could be a reason for your character to have to leave that society.

“You don’t need to be confined to binary notions of sex and gender.

“You could play as a female character who presents herself as a man, a man who feels trapped in a female body, or a bearded female dwarf who hates being mistaken for a male. Likewise, your character’s sexual orientation is for you to decide.”

It adds: “The elf god Corellon Latherian is often seen as androgynous or hermaphroditic… and some elves in the multiverse are made in Corellon’s image.”

[Image credit: Wikimedia Commons]