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.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

So she flat out agrees with what was said in the foreword.

Where’s the argument?

Yeah, the latter half of this can be neatly summarized as, "Yes, he was sexist, but he wasn't exclusively defined by his sexism."

Which...I mean sure? Nobody that you can call sane is exclusively defined by any one single trait. But it's not exactly a stirring defense to say that one's father was a loving and honorable man despite his blatant sexism.

And, to he clear? I have my own share of issues with how my own father behaved. He was openly and blatantly homophobic to a shocking degree, but only in private. Publically, you'd never have known, he was always courteous. Despite his homophobia, I respected his insight on things, I'm glad about the majority of what he taught me, and I don't regret having him as my father. He was an honorable and hardworking man, and he was proud of who I had become as a person. He was still a raging homophobe and all of my love and understanding and context won't change that fact.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

"the misogyny is revealed as a conscious choice"

Everyone will have their own opinion whether this is an attack or a matter-of-fact statement, but it clearly refers to the authors not just to the content.

Do you believe authors have conscious control over the words they place into their works?

 

[DrunkonDuty]

I've learned not to care very much about what the Elongated Muskrat says.

Dude, what did muskrats ever do to deserve this unpleasant association?

 

[briggart]

Do you believe authors have conscious control over the words they place into their works?

Given we are not discussing a 3AM drunken text, but a book that likely went through few editorial revisions, I'd say yes.

 

[Vincent55]

There is a version of D&D for everyone, the current version is not to my taste which is fine you can keep it i will play older versions more the way I like. The thing is it is our game and we can play it any way you want with the rules however you like, there is no correct way to play the game and is set in such a way that you can make it whatever you want. We do not see the world as it is, we see it how we are everything is coloured by your own viewpoint and perspective. I for one have most all my 2nd edition materials and box sets as well as most the 3rd edition and some 1st, but also shadow dark and old school essentials as well as 3rd part creators who have built their own versions of 5e. The times were different back then and Gary created something special and deserves respect and acknowledgement for doing so. Elon a very smart and intelligent man who also deserves respect. As we would not have what we had if it was not for many people throughout history maybe being egotistical jerks and much more. I suggest everyone try to be better and do not lower your self and resort to insulting or disrespecting a person because in the end you just come off as small and petty, peace and loving to all.

 

[Jahydin]

Okay. Why don't you have a listen to the recent (and excellent) podcast, When We Were Wizards.

Looks interesting, and I will get around to listening to it when I can, but maybe type out a few examples of Gary's misogyny?

For example, from Designers and Dragons:

Things got going at TSR proper late in 1978, when Gary Gygax was thinking about creating an in-house Design Department. He began talking with a potential female recruit: a D&D; player named Jean Wells. Gygax flew her out to Wisconsin in January 1979 and decided she was a good fit; he announced her hire in The Dragon #24 (April 1979).

Though Wells was a D&D; player and a romance writer, she didn’t have any experience with rules design and development. The plan was for Gygax to teach her, but he was too busy by the time she arrived, and Wells was afraid to ask anyone else. This was the first of several obstacles she faced as TSR’s first female designer.

Wells soon ran into another problem: a male-dominated culture. At first other staff members wouldn’t even let her play in D&D; games; when they relented, they initially insisted she play male characters. Unfortunately, this dismissive attitude was still obvious decades later when one of Wells’ former coworkers described her as “large, insecure, brashly outgoing, and outspoken” — a mélange of adjectives that probably would not have been applied to a man.

An example of Gary clearly being more progressive than his peers. Why couldn't this story be in the forward instead of the nit-picking nonsense (comparatively, IMO)?

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Given we are not discussing a 3AM drunken text, but a book that likely went through few editorial revisions, I'd say yes.

Okay. Gygax thus intentionally chose to include such things as mockery of "women's lib" in his text. He also, at other times, explicitly laid claim to the label of "sexist" when asked about some of what he had said. For example:

“I have been accused of being a nasty old sexist-male-Chauvinist-pig, for the wording in D&D isn’t what it should be. There should be more emphasis on the female role, more non-gendered names, and so forth. I thought perhaps these folks were right and considered adding women in the ‘Raping and Pillaging[’] section, in the ‘Whores and Tavern Wenches’ chapter, the special magical part dealing with ‘Hags and Crones’, and thought perhaps of adding an appendix on ‘Medieval Harems, Slave Girls, and Going Viking’. Damn right I am sexist. It doesn’t matter to me if women get paid as much as men, get jobs traditionally male, and shower in the men’s locker room. They can jolly well stay away from wargaming in droves for all I care. I’ve seen many a good wargame and wargamer spoiled thanks to the fair sex. I’ll detail that if anyone wishes.” — Gary Gygax, EUROPA 10/11 August-September 1975
I don't think there's much room for opinion here. The man himself agreed to the label in an interview, and went rather far to double down on believing that if he included women to his liking, it would be either as sex workers, slaves, victims, temptresses, or evil hags. He explicitly wanted a wargaming environment where women did not ever participate, and based on these comments, he clearly believes that women were especially destructive to gaming, such that any and all disruptions caused by men somehow paled in comparison to the mere presence of one woman at the table.

You may decide for yourself if this is offensive or not. That's your prerogative (though as with all moral choices, you should be ready for others to disagree with you, regardless of your choice. Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from all possible consequences of that speech.) But it seems impossible to argue that the work was not sexist, and further, given Gygax explicitly claimed the label himself, it seems difficult at best to argue that the words does not then reflect to some degree on the writer.

As noted above, nobody sane is defined by a single character trait, good, bad, or indifferent. That should be remembered, but it cannot be used as an excuse or a dodge.

 

[Jahydin]

Saw the Troll Lords chiming in too about the statement:

Love seeing this sentiment. Worked with Gary Gygax for 8 years and are working with his legacy now! Troll Lord Games continues to carry the torch for one of the Fathers of RPGs.

Seems like another point for Gygax by people who actually knew him...

 

[UngainlyTitan]

The while Palintir...thing...makes one question how deep Peter Thiel's grasp of Tolkien's themes really is...

Yeah, using a Palantir when not a legit Elf friend and heir of Elindel can lead even the wisest and most powerful into the Shadow.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Saw the Troll Lords chiming in too about the statement:


Seems like another point for Gygax by people who actually knew him...

Is it possible to know and respect someone, while also conceding that they held beliefs you oppose, or even beliefs that you find morally wrong?

Is it possible to recognize that a person did or said bad things, but also was on the whole a force for good, without letting that "on the whole" part basically mean that anybody who does lots of good gets automatically forgiven for the concerning things they said or did along the way?