The Adventure Zone is a D&D podcast created by the McElroy Brothers and their dad in the summer of 2014 originally as a fun foray into the D&D podcasting scene that developed into one of the most high-profile D&D games in an audio format. While all the players in the game are white men, this podcast stands out in terms of its intentional depiction of a diverse cast of characters starting in its third season in late 2015. Where Critical Role provides inclusion through the equal treatment and depiction of diverse characters, The Adventure Zone works to explicitly discuss minority characters within their campaign.

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      The most notable example of this is the depiction of the twin elven wizards Taako and Lup. Taako is a canonically gay man who gets a thoughtful romantic arc with the Grim Reaper, Kravitz, who is a gay black man. Taako's sexuality in the podcast is explicitly stated numerous times and he is the only player character to get a romance arc over the course of the show. His character fan-art frequently show him in gender-nonconforming outfits and never shy away from his romance with Kravitz as they are frequently drawn together. Lup is explicitly stated in canon as Taako’s identical twin who is a trans woman. Her identity as trans is mentioned by Griffin, the DM, when her character is introduced and is treated respectfully as part of her backstory informing her character. She is then characterized and revealed to be an absolute badass wizard who specializes in flame magic and is always treated with respect and referred to by the correct pronouns.

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     By explicitly stating that their characters are gay and trans, The Adventure Zone creates representations and depictions of characters rarely seen in both high fantasy and in D&D campaigns. By carving out a space for these identities in such a high-profile way, The Adventure Zone inspired many of their queer fans to start their own D&D campaigns because they felt seen and represented within the genre by characters that share their identities. The depiction of Lup in particular was incredibly poignant for the LGBTQ community within tabletop games and she is enshrined within the fandom as a beloved trans icon. Without directly addressing identity terms and labels, this kind of representation would hardly be possible. By explicitly stating characters' identities and allowing fans to claim them into their communities, The Adventure Zone did what Critical Role originally failed to do, which is allow fans to see themselves and their identities represented directly within D&D. Unfortunately, there is still a notable lack of minorities as creators for the show itself, and the narrative often doesn't address the struggles and realities of minority characters. Dimension 20, however, changes that entirely.