In the most recent commentary episode on The Adventure Zone: Graduation, Griffin McElroy explained that his PC Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt is asexual. While the McElroys have worked hard at making their TTRPG podcast inclusive (despite being four cishet white men), Fitzroy is their first ace character and provides a whole new form of representation.
Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt, Knight (in absentia) of the realm of Goodcastle, is a male half-elf barbarian who has only recently come to terms with his spontaneously-appearing magic. While he and the other PCs begin this season of The Adventure Zone at the same level, Sir Fitzroy is soon escalated out of the Sidekick and Henchperson annex to the ranks of true Villain.
What truly sets Sir Fitzroy apart from other McElroy character creations is his asexual identity. Other LGBTQ characters have become fan-favorites, including the beloved queer couples Taako+Kravitz and Carrie+Killian, bi Aubrey and trans Lup. However, Sir Fitzroy is the podcast's first asexual character.
During the most recent The The Adventure Zone Zone, the commentary show the McElroy family provides for their own podcast, Griffin describes Fitzroy as asexual, an identity that the character seemed to grow into over time. He says, "It's a difficult thing to kind of set in stone, because again, [asexuality] is a spectrum, but I feel like over time I've felt more comfortable with that being a definitive part of his personality."
Initially, Griffin introduced Fitzroy as a very sexy, sexual person, but has shifted away from this over-the-top description.
This isn't the first time McElroy characters have shifted sexual identities or orientations over the course of a campaign -- Justin McElroy describes his character Taako as a gay man, but in early arcs of the TAZ: Balance campaign, his character makes a point to ask whether there are any babes watching his heroics.
It's totally okay for a character to start out one way and then grow and change over time. In fact, that's the ideal, as it mirrors many of the actual experiences of real humans in the real world. Perhaps Sir Fitzroy, like many actual players, developed his own asexual identity over time.
Griffin has also worked to make sure his depiction of asexuality is kind. Too often, asexual characters are portrayed as robotic or sometimes literal robots. Sir Fitzroy, however, has emotions, strengths and flaws that help to make him a well-rounded character. Griffin has voiced his concern about letting Sir Fitzroy be tempted by villainy without linking his ambition to his sexuality. The care and compassion with which Sir Fitzroy's asexuality is brought to life is what helps make him such a great character.
Asexual representation is super important for the TTRPG community. Many really good roleplaying games are based on romantic and sexual encounters (there's a whole genre of dating simulators), and even the ones that don't focus on these aspects can still incorporate them without codifying them in the rules. These types of games provide an important space for players to explore these ways of interacting (and can also be incredibly fun), but they don't make great spaces for ace characters or, by extension, ace players.
Sir Fitzroy is thus a standout character for TTRPG ace communities. His inclusion in mainstream storytelling doesn't revolve around his asexual identity but does allow him complex emotions and motivations, which provides a great demonstration of asexual representation.