Diversity & Inclusion updates

Diversity & Inclusion updates (also known as D&I changes) are unpolled changes to Old School RuneScape that are introduced by updating various content from decades past to reflect the social norms of today, ensuring the game remains an accepting and inclusive space for all players. Like game integrity updates, D&I updates are not voted on by players and cannot be vetoed by the community.

Old School RuneScape is many things: a nostalgic trip to a world of adventure, a hardcore grind for the most dedicated of players – and for many, it's an escape to a place of safety, enjoyment, and comfort. We want everyone to feel safe and represented here in Gielinor, and as a team, we're united in our commitment to making Old School RuneScape more diverse and inclusive for our community.

— The Old School Team, June 2022 Gielinor Gazette

List of changes

30 June - 18 October 2020

• King Roald no longer calls the player "mentally deficient" during a part of the Priest in Peril quest, and now calls them "a complete imbecile" instead.

25 November 2020

• The hand displayed when operating Oaknock's exchanger during The Eyes of Glouphrie was made to match the player character's skin tone, rather than defaulting to a light pigmentation.

23 June 2021

• The clan rank "Peon" was renamed to "Pawn", due to the derogatory meaning attached to the former in certain contexts.

27 April 2022

• Prince Ali Rescue received multiple changes:
  • Potentially offensive dialogue (present in the historical transcript) was removed.
  • Lady Keli's skintone was changed.
  • The item "skin paste" was renamed to "paste".
  • The scene where Prince Ali disguises himself as Lady Keli was removed, and now happens off-screen.
• Inappropriate dialogue from Icthlarin's Little Helper and Contact! was removed.

14-21 September 2022

• Me no longer says You do know those clothes make you look fat!, having been replaced by You've got an outrageous accent, you silly thing!
• The word "chink", referring to narrow openings or cracks, has been swapped with the word "gap" when players deal a critical hit to kalphites and scabarites with the keris and its variants, due to its usage as an ethnic slur against people of Asian descent (You slip your weapon through a [chink/gap] in the creature's chitin, landing a vicious blow.)

9 November 2022

• All character makeover services (including changing the player's gender/skin tone, hairstyle, garments, and shoes) were made free.
• Players may now choose to romance either Prince Brand or Princess Astrid during the Throne of Miscellania quest, regardless of their character's gender. An option to skip romance and become the selected royal's best friend instead was also added.
• Sir Kuam Ferentse's challenge in Recruitment Drive was adjusted, no longer requiring the player character to be female in order to defeat Sir Leye.
• The mining companies The Brown Engine and The Yellow Fortune, which the player may choose to work for during The Giant Dwarf, are no longer gender-locked. Accordingly dialogue tied to the gender-exclusive companies (as documented in the quest's transcript) has been rewritten.
• All NPCs in The Feud gain unique names after completion of the quest (for example, Ali the Barman's true name is revealed to be Faisal the Barman).
• Male and female H.A.M. Members no longer have unique Thieving level requirements to pickpocket, both now being unlocked at level 15.
• Any inhabitants of Barbarian Village can now be killed for a key during a medium clue scroll.
• Dialogue with the Odd Old Man during Rag and Bone Man I was adjusted.
• Multiple NPCs received more diverse models:
  • White Knights
  • Black Knights
  • Paladins
  • Knights of Ardougne
  • Guards (the ones in Varrock were also graphically updated)
  • Farmers
  • Warrior women (now called warriors)
  • Heroes
  • Master Farmers
  • Tribesmen (Tribeswomen were also added)
• Multiple NPCs were renamed:
  • Warrior women were renamed to warriors due to new variants being added.
  • Jungle savages were renamed to Tormented Warriors.
  • Alice's husband was given a name: Malcolm.
  • The title of "Gypsy" was dropped from Aris's name.
  • Enoch was renamed to Okina.

30 November 2022 - 6 February 2023

• Parts of dialogue in My Arm's Big Adventure was adjusted to remove a word that could be misinterpreted as a slur.

18 April 2023

• All hairstyles are now unisex.

16 August 2023

• The text of a challenge scroll given out by the Squire as part of a medium anagram clue was updated in order to de-emphasise wording reminiscent of supremacist discourse.

26 June 2024

• The kiss the frog event was reworked by allowing players to pat the frog prince/frog princess instead of kissing the frogs, and players can acquire both the "prince" and "princess" parts of the Royal frog costume, regardless of body type.
• The Ethereal Man and Ethereal Lady were replaced by an Ethereal Being during Lunar Diplomacy, which reflects the player's body type.

14 August 2024

• The phrases "Male" and "Female" on the character creation and Makeover Mage interfaces were renamed to "Body type A" and "Body type B", respectively.
• Players may now choose a preferred pronoun for their player character, from the options "he/him", "she/her", and "they/them". Previously, "he/him" was restricted to male/type A only and "she/her" was restricted to female/type B only.
• All facial hair styles can now be used on either body type.

Unknown

• Parts of dialogue in the quests Ratcatchers and Tower of Life was updated to be less offensive.
• Players of any gender may now confess their love to the servant in the Evil Bob's Island random event.
• Potentially offensive aspects of Ambassador Spanfipple's dialogue were changed.