I friggin love that.

You may know Payton as Ezekiel, or possibly as Cyborg fromTeen Titans Go.

This character was going to be going on a journey to findsomething.

Khary Payton looking to the left on the set of Dungeons and Dragons Encounter Party

What better kind of analogy about this young tabaxi going out in the world to literally find himself?

He was going through this on his own and I didnt see it.

When he finally said, I think Im transgender, I swear it was like the Sixth Sense.

art of Tolo from Encounter Party running forward with an axe

Artwork by Narendra B Adi

I cant believe I didnt see it this whole time."

Im just finding out who I am.

And theres not a lot like me out there?

A screenshot from Baldur’s Gate 3. A half drow woman kisses her tall, red Tiefling girlfriend called Karlach.

Turns out there are more than you realise.

This is a way for me to explore what [Carter] is going through, Payton tells me.

There are moments in the campaign that I get so protective of who Tolo is as a character.

Ned and Brian over an orange background for an Encounter Party interview

I was asking myself, Am I playing the character?

Or am I playing the father who is protecting the character?

But so much fun.

Tabletop

I get to feel these things happening in the moment and its really exciting to me.

Ive gotten a deeper understanding of my son playing this character.

Carter was the first person Payton told about Tolo, and his response was palpable excitement.

Dungeon & Dragons

Its gonna be awesome.

Hearing it coming from him means so much.

And online, getting so much great feedback from the transgender community has been awesome.

Its everything that I wanted.

In Encounter Party, were doing something you havent seen before.

I was kind of wary of working for the man.

I was worried the company would want me to play it safe.

But everybody was really cool and supportive.

Dungeons & Dragons isnt about being homogenous, Payton says.

Its about being different.

But nobody talked about it before.

Now you get to.

Thats how D&D started.

I could be myself buthideit in a dragonborn, or a cleric, or an elephant.

But weve come far enough that I can just say, This character is me.

Itsfu**ing meand not have to apologise for it.

Its exactly why representation is such a powerful thing.

Not everyone gets that opportunity, but people like Payton are pushing for that to change.

Because it was so personal to me, I went for broke.

you’re able to watch it on demand via Plex right now byclicking here.