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.

 

[briggart]

I am recognizing that there are two things here. One is the question of whether the text makes sexist claims or presents sexist beliefs. That question has, as evidence, both the text itself, and the responses Gygax had in his own words to criticism of that text.

The other is the question of whether the text demonstrates anything about the people who wrote it. For that, the text is only weak evidence, but Gygax's responses are pretty conclusive evidence.

Just because a text contains sexist statements or evinces sexist beliefs, does not mean that the author definitely also shared that, but it is partial evidence toward it. (Substitute any other negative behaviors/beliefs you like, same logic applies.) When coupled with his own explicit statements in an interview that he knew would be published, it is essentially impossible to argue that the text isn't sexist, because Gygax specifically spoke of making it so with at least a passive desire to make women dislike it, and thus avoid it. That interview is then also, separately but relatedly, very good evidence that Gygax really did hold these beliefs, at least at that point in his life and likely for some time thereafter. Whether they changed or not, I've no idea.

More or less, I am addressing your valid critique (that the fact that a work contains sexist elements does not guarantee that the creator thereof holds sexist beliefs), by showing that we have both evidence that the text really was sexist...and that Gygax himself explicitly laid claim to being sexist/having sexist beliefs.

The point I was trying to make is only that The Making of the Original D&D explicitly stated that early D&D works reflected the authors beliefs, so defending Making of OD&D by saying that the book was not making any claim about the authors is not going to be very effective. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

That said, I agree with the general point of your post.

Regarding Gygax specifically, I started with 2e so besides being aware that he created D&D, I was not familiar with him, or his other works, or his ideas. What little I know, I got from these boards, and based on that I also agree that some of his ideas are clearly outdated.

But honestly, I care mostly in the academic sense. Young kids approaching D&D today will find a more inclusive environment that will shape what D&D means for them. What Gygax wrote 50 years ago only matters to us old farts, and our ideas and beliefs are unlikely to be drastically changed if we suddenly realized Gygax was a sexist, a tax evader, or - heavens forbids - a supporter of Juventus FC.

 

[billd91]

Elon a very smart and intelligent man who also deserves respect.

You know, there are different kinds of respect. One is the respect everyone deserves simply for being human like everyone else with hopes, dreams, needs, etc. (BtW, that’s a kind of respect that various -isms like sexism and racism undermine in our fellow humans.)

Then there’s the respect we gain or deserve through our actions - good and bad. Elon may be smart, but he’s also impulsive and doesn’t think things through. That’s how he ended up with Twitter in the first place and turned it into an unchecked factory for misinformation, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, nativism, and anti-semitism as well as undermine its ad revenue. He’s sloppy about national security. And he’s about to hurt a lot more people simply because he can. He’s definitely done a lot to EARN our DISrespect.

 

[Bedrockgames]

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

Where’s the argument?

I don't know what her views on the forward as it contains a number of criticisms of early D&D and the writing. She is commenting on the conversation around the forward and on the piece by Ben Riggs that quoted Gygax: she is defending her father as a person in the wake of this whole conversation (which I think in this instance and in the previous one---there was a thread on this a while back---is about more than just the forward itself. And she also notes some amount of agreement with Mentzer's post on the subject. Why i think it is relevant is it does show a nuanced take on the subject: she agrees with some of the critiques, but indicates she doesn't agree with with how he has been quoted. Yet she also is drawing attention to the importance of context, the complete person, and the times he lived in. I posted her and Mentzer's responses because between them they offer up alternative explanations of the quotes that have been getting discussion here (and I am not making an argument really----I already had that debate weeks ago on the earlier thread about this). My only point is people can look at what he said, look at his life, and draw different conclusions about both.

 

[Bedrockgames]

People are conflating two totally separate things. Heidi's response here is to Ben Rigg's article entitled "...Gary Gygax was Sexist".

Elon Musk is tweeting (X-ing?) about the forward to a book that doesn't call Gary a sexist. It talks about the work itself, and says that some of the things that a reader might find in it might look objectionable by today's standards. It IN NO WAY suggests that anyone should think less of any of the authors involved.

Two different things.

I don't think it is this simple. The forward when it came out, instantly sparked a conversation about Gygax's character on threads like this and in social media. I do think there is a tacit critique of Gygax in the foreword. But that aside, there is a pretty clear critique of him as a person in these conversations, and the Benn Riggs quotes became part of that discussion. So she is responding to the whole conversation that started after Musk made that remark (and her response I believe was a follow-up response of her own after Mentzer made his statement).

On the forward, my position is simply that not everyone has to agree with all the criticisms of the old books laid out in the forward. People are going to view that old text through different perspectives and have different readings (as Mentzer did of the Harlot table for example). I have no issue with someone being offended by the old books, agreeing with the foreward. I do have an issue with the idea that those who don't have an issue with the old books, who don't agree with the forward's criticisms, or have a slightly different take than it on issues it raises like cultural appropriation or the language used in the books, are somehow toxic, or objectively wrong (our reactions to this stuff are going to involve our subjective judgements). Not everyone views media through the lens of the writers who wrote this forward

 

[Morrus]

forward

Aaargh! Please! It's a foreword, not a 'forward'! One is an intro to a book, the other is a direction.

Yeah, I know, I'm a pedant. But that one makes me physically wince every time I see it. Could be worse, I suppose--I"ve literally seen it printed in books, and that's just painful. And embarrassing if you wrote the book!

 

[Bedrockgames]

Aaargh! Please! It's a foreword, not a 'forward'! One is an intro to a book, the other is a direction.

Lol. This is a mistake I should not be making. Apologies Morrus. If it is any excuse I was didn't have my morning coffee when I typed that lol.

 

[Bedrockgames]

And clearly the coffee is still taking its time kicking in lol

 

[Remathilis]

In the Table Top RPG world WotC has no rivals only mice who feed on the crumbs from its plate.

Honestly the Forward was a huge mistake, it doesn't matter if Gygax had some backwards things, it picked a huge completely unneeded fight with a large part of the fan base that already believes rightly the current day WotC doesn't have enough respect enough for D&D creators of yore or the lore. There was no need to do it and it was a divisive mistake.

It'd be like Paramount putting out a statement that would he certain to be perceived by a large amount of the Trekkies as disrespecting Gene Roddberry, you just don't do it, period. Or Disney putting out an insulting screed about Walt Disney, George Lucas, or Stan Lee. You don't do those things, not if you don't enjoy the bad lash.

I wouldn't care that much if Tondo wasn't WotC employee, he's free to have his own opinions, but in an official capcity working for WotC it was just a bad idea that was needless. Why create all the drama?

it worries me that this is the same man who appears to be in charge of FR Setting Books, can we look forward to a Foreward attacking Ed Greenwood?

WotC needs to pick it's battles better.

Grummz is a provocateur who's made a career out of making mountains out of molehills. He's the one who pushed the female custodes controversy in Warhammer, the "censoring" of the outfits in Stellar Blade controversy and was huge in trying to get a boycott of a number of AAA games (Star Field, Dragon Age, Resident Evil 2 remake, and Baldur's Gate 3) over "woke" elements like female or non-white protagonists, homosexual romance or sex options, trans characters, or the censoring of fan service female outfits (he was annoyed you could no longer do upskirt panty shots in RE2). Grummz finds any controversy no matter how small and amplifies it to his incel followers that use it to gatekeep their hobbies from women and minorities.

Musk is mega phoning and reacting to Grummz for similar reasons. His supporters are red pilled/4chan types who likewise feed on grievance and the notion their "safe space" is being invaded by people who don't look like them. He's following suit because it works up his fan base.

Now neither of them actually care about D&D. I doubt they have ever played. They are using this in their continued push to isolate white males from their hobbies in order to radicalize them towards Alt right ideology. It's the politics of grievance and it's absolutely designed to move them to say "my hobby has left me behind, so I'm going to make them pay for it". This tempest will move on, tomorrow Grummz and Musk will move onto another rage bait topic. But what will be done is a bunch of people who follow them will spread the word that WotC is more woke trash trying to destroy Western culture and masculinity. Just like Disney, Sony, Games Workshop, etc etc. The seed gets planted so that the next time someone gets upset with some minor nitpick like fantasy wheelchairs or tacos in a Heroes Feast, it can lead them down the rabbit hole to radicalization.

We're just now starting to see the fruits of their efforts.

 

[Some Dude]

Grummz is a provocateur who's made a career out of making mountains out of molehills. He's the one who pushed the female custodes controversy in Warhammer, the "censoring" of the outfits in Stellar Blade controversy and was huge in trying to get a boycott of a number of AAA games (Star Field, Dragon Age, Resident Evil 2 remake, and Baldur's Gate 3) over "woke" elements like female or non-white protagonists, homosexual romance or sex options, trans characters, or the censoring of fan service female outfits (he was annoyed you could no longer do upskirt panty shots in RE2). Grummz finds any controversy no matter how small and amplifies it to his incel followers that use it to gatekeep their hobbies from women and minorities.

Musk is mega phoning and reacting to Grummz for similar reasons. His supporters are red pilled/4chan types who likewise feed on grievance and the notion their "safe space" is being invaded by people who don't look like them. He's following suit because it works up his fan base.

Now neither of them actually care about D&D. I doubt they have ever played. They are using this in their continued push to isolate white males from their hobbies in order to radicalize them towards Alt right ideology. It's the politics of grievance and it's absolutely designed to move them to say "my hobby has left me behind, so I'm going to make them pay for it". This tempest will move on, tomorrow Grummz and Musk will move onto another rage bait topic. But what will be done is a bunch of people who follow them will spread the word that WotC is more woke trash trying to destroy Western culture and masculinity. Just like Disney, Sony, Games Workshop, etc etc. The seed gets planted so that the next time someone gets upset with some minor nitpick like fantasy wheelchairs or tacos in a Heroes Feast, it can lead them down the rabbit hole to radicalization.

We're just now starting to see the fruits of their efforts.

This right here. These tactics aren't new. The people pushing this stuff are not acting in good faith, or out of love for the game.

 

[HaroldTheHobbit]

I've been on Bluesky for a while, but this did remind me to actually delete my X account. Done.