Elon Musk Calls for Wizards of the Coast to "Burn in Hell" Over Making of Original D&D Passages

Elon Musk, the owner of the app formerly known as Twitter, is calling on Wizards of the Coast and its parent company Hasbro to "burn in hell" for the publication of Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons. On November 21st, former gaming executive turned culture warrior Mark Hern posted several passages from Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons on Twitter, criticizing the book for providing context about some of the misogyny and cultural insensitivity found in early rulebooks. These passages were pulled from the foreword written by Jason Tondro, a senior designer for the D&D team who also worked extensively on the book. Hern stated that these passages, along with the release of the new 2024 Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide for D&D's "40th anniversary" (it is actually D&D's 50th anniversary) both "erased and slandered" Gary Gygax and other creators of Dungeons & Dragons.

In response, Musk wrote "Nobody, and I mean nobody, gets to trash E. Gary Gygax and the geniuses who created Dungeons & Dragons. What the [naughty word] is wrong with Hasbro and WoTC?? May they burn in hell." Musk had played Dungeons & Dragons at some point in his youth, but it's unclear when the last time he ever played the game.

Nobody, and I mean nobody, gets to trash E. Gary Gygax and the geniuses who created Dungeons & Dragons. What the [xxxx] is wrong with Hasbro and WoTC?? May they burn in hell.

- Elon Musk​

Notably, Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons contains countless correspondences and letters written by both Gygax and Dave Arneson, including annotated copies of early D&D rulesets. Most early D&D rules supplements as well as early Dragon magazines are also found in the book. It seems odd to contain one of the most extensive compliations of Gygax's work an "erasure," but it's unclear whether Hern or Musk actually read the book given the incorrect information about the anniversary.

Additionally, Gygax and Arneson are both credited in the 2024 Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide. The exact credit reads: "Building on the original game created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and then developed by many others over the past 50 years." Wizards of the Coast also regularly collaborates with Gygax's youngest son Luke and is a participant at Gary Con, a convention held in Gygax's honor. The opening paragraph of the 2024 Player's Handbook is written by Jeremy Crawford and specifically lauds both Gygax and Arneson for making Dungeons & Dragons and contains an anecdote about Crawford meeting Gygax.

Musk has increasingly leaned into culture war controversies in recent years, usually amplifying misinformation to suit his own political agenda.

 

[Jahydin]

Interesting piece. That said, I bought the book and haul it around (took off the dust jacket though). It has all the OD&D stuff in one place. It means I don't have to haul my other OD&D books around (the original printings, which are worth waaaay too much these days, so I figured I wouldn't haul them around anymore, so I bought a 2013 anniversary set...and now that set is worth crazy money as well...will it never end) and have all the rules I like. In addition, it has the SR articles and that is a major bonus. All in one book.

Yes, if I can get a new group together to play it, I some day plan to run a new game of OD&D with this book.

Glad to hear it. Just purchased it myself and looking forward to reading through it.

 

[J.Quondam]

God he sounds like he's the one with the little man syndrome. He's not even defending the unsavory elements as depiction sans endorsement or pointing out the positives. He's just ascribing a nonsensical sinister motive to what any honest evaluation must conclude: there are unfortunate, poorly aged aspects to many old D&D products.

To be fair, though, his pulpit thumping in High Gygaxian does make for a fun-to-read screed. I could practically hear the gauntlet at the feet of the The New Gamer Establishment with that last pulse-pounding declaration.

 

[mamba]

My view on humanity? Not great.

and declining rapidly

 

[Jahydin]

You guys are only going to encourage Musk to buy ENWorld.

 

[Not a Decepticon]

You know what's funny? Some of WotC's biggest rivals have already left Titter for Bluesky

Tabletop creators leave X for Bluesky in droves

Bluesky has already grown to to 21.2 million users

www.polygon.com

 

[Not a Decepticon]

You guys are only going to encourage Musk to buy ENWorld.

Can he buy something that is not for sale?

 

[I'm A Banana]

Heh. Just to be serious for a moment, I wonder how much of the reactions that people seem to have when we talk about stuff not aging well has to do with people reading stuff years ago, liking it, and then not rereading with fresh eyes.

One of the things I keep realizing is that the vile elements of a lot of fantasy that was popular when I was coming up and a little before were not considered vile by all of the kids reading them (or the adults they have become).

Folks like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel do think about the stuff they read years ago, and remember what it felt like to be ostracized for reading and enjoying it, and have turned into toxic adults. Musk's desperation to be loved and adored is naked, and Thiel's more subtle machinations are in line with a guy who thinks of humanity as a hierarchy with himself at the top of it. But they're both undeniably Big Frickin' Nerds. They're just the kind of nerds that fall into the Geek Social Fallacies , never had to learn and grow out of them, and now wield enough power that we all have to put up with them, and all of their disfunctions.

 

[I'm A Banana]

To be fair, though, his pulpit thumping in High Gygaxian does make for a fun-to-read screed. I could practically hear the gauntlet at the feet of the The New Gamer Establishment with that last pulse-pounding declaration.

Feels like Don Quixote to me.

If the windmills he tilted at posed half the threat he thinks they do, he'd be a hero.

Too bad he's only heroic in his own head, crowing about his giant-slaying while doing absolutely nothing to help anyone.

 

[Umbran]

You burn in hell Musk, you smelly taint. You're not good enough to be part of my hobby. Or the human race.

Mod Note:
Hey, not cool.
We have been allowing a lot of criticism in this thread, but there are limits. You have surpassed them. You won't be posting in this thread again.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I just bought the Uncaged Anthology, 'cuz it's 5e and I'm nothing if I'm not basic as hell. Holy moly, these products are beautiful and so VERY well written. I'd been thinking about where my next adventure is coming from, and this anthology is a serious contender. Only $13, too!

Hell, just did some digging and found out that there's hardcovers, which is VERY ATTRACTIVE to me. Christmas list just got a little bigger.