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.

 

[BookTenTiger]

As I said in the previous thread on this, that particular quote seems somewhat sexist to me. At the same time I also don't think it at all unusual for a man his age in 2004, to think women and men would have different levels of interest in different activities (or that men and women are biologically different). I think he is wrong about the amount of interest women would have in D&D. I don't think the quote makes him a monster though. I think anyone who had a grandparent born its eh 1920s or 30s gets how different that generation was. That said, I could certainly see other people viewing the quote differently.

I'd say that quote is very different from one where he is declaring himself to be a sexist. I tend to be skeptical around these kinds of remarks because in my experience few people are that cartoonish in reality. It sounds like it is something where there is greater likelihood that the statement is provocative or a product of frustration.

Come on, man. Nobody is saying Gygax is a monster. They're saying he's sexist. If Gygax gave quotes that were sexist, wrote material that was sexist, and called himself a sexist, that's three very legitimate pieces of evidence to consider.

If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and says "Damn right I'm a duck," then it's a lot more work to try and disbelieve it's a duck than to accept that, yes, this bird who was important in the foundation of our hobby is, in fact, a duck.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

All without realizing he's a grade A shite father himself.

Yeah, the best response to realizing you had a bad parent (like both of my grandfathers were) is to be the best parent you can be, rather than just saying "welp, this is who we are, I guess!"

 

[CleverNickName]

The part that the Musk fans are missing:
It's not about "shaming" Gary Gygax for being a bigot.
It's about acknowledging the bigotry in our hobby, so that we can do better going forward.

Do they not want to do better going forward?

 

[Steampunkette]

As I said in the previous thread on this, that particular quote seems somewhat sexist to me.

Riiiight... okay. So this isn't -obvious- sexism, or -blatant- sexism, it's just a -little- sexist. As a treat!

At the same time I also don't think it at all unusual for a man his age in 2004, to think women and men would have different levels of interest in different activities (or that men and women are biologically different).

Good old "Product of his time". "It's not unusual, therefore it's not a problem" is one hell of a way to avoid facing issues of bigotry. "It's common, so let's not worry about it!"

I think he is wrong about the amount of interest women would have in D&D. I don't think the quote makes him a monster though.

Glad you -think- he's wrong about women's interest in D&D. But I'd like to point to the bolded statement and highlight that this is a Strawman. No one said he was a "Monster".

I said he was a sexist.

I think anyone who had a grandparent born its eh 1920s or 30s gets how different that generation was. That said, I could certainly see other people viewing the quote differently.

And we're back to "Product of his Time" combined with "It's common, so let's not worry about it".

Cool cool cool cool cool....

I'd say that quote is very different from one where he is declaring himself to be a sexist. I tend to be skeptical around these kinds of remarks because in my experience few people are that cartoonish in reality. It sounds like it is something where there is greater likelihood that the statement is provocative or a product of frustration.

The point of the post in 2004 is not "Here is the entire body of evidence that he was ever sexist" it's "This is a continuing trend throughout his life."

Is it different from where he outright claimed to be sexist? Yes. Because it is evidence that HE WAS TELLING THE TRUTH about being a sexist.

As far as your skepticism, it isn't helpful or useful in this situation. It is just another person demanding ever more overwhelming evidence of the obvious: Gary Gygax was a Sexist.

I swear to god, the fact that the man, himself, said "I am a sexist. And to prove it I'm going to make a table about harlots 'cause I know prostitution is a hot button topic that pisses off feminists" and then DID THAT THING is such a clear example of his overt, blatant, and avowed sexism that the "skeptics" are dragging the goalposts to another stadium in a different town at this point.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The part that the Musk fans are missing:
It's not about "shaming" Gary Gygax for being a bigot.
It's about acknowledging the bigotry in our hobby, so that we can do better going forward.

For one thing, the dead feel no shame. And Gygax, who addressed this topic on this forum while he was still alive, did not ever feel any shame about it.

 

[Moon_Goddess]

As I said in the previous thread on this, that particular quote seems somewhat sexist to me. At the same time I also don't think it at all unusual for a man his age in 2004, to think women and men would have different levels of interest in different activities (or that men and women are biologically different). I think he is wrong about the amount of interest women would have in D&D. I don't think the quote makes him a monster though. I think anyone who had a grandparent born its eh 1920s or 30s gets how different that generation was. That said, I could certainly see other people viewing the quote differently.

Yes, my grandmother was born in 1928, my grandfather 1898, they were racists, there's no questioning it, they were also sexist, and homophobic, they might have been transphobic too, likely so, I just didn't come out soon enough to find out.

Does this make them monsters? in some ways yes. Does this make them unlovable? No, do I love my grandmother despite the fact I'm CERTAIN she would have rejected me when I come out? Yes.

Just because someone is older isn't an excuse. There are things I'm wrong about I'm sure, I don't know what they are yet, when I'm in my 60's I'll say something really horrible I"m sure of it. and It makes me a bad person for believing it now.

 

[SlyFlourish]

I don't think the quote makes him a monster

Tondro and Peterson didn't call him a monster.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Come on, man. Nobody is saying Gygax is a monster. They're saying he's sexist. If Gygax gave quotes that were sexist, wrote material that was sexist, and called himself a sexist, that's three very legitimate pieces of evidence to consider.

I think some people are suggesting something like that. Not everyone. But the post I was responding to didn't just call him a sexist, it suggested he was deeply sexist, as well as racist and an anti-semite. Those are pretty charged labels.

I am not saying you shouldn't conclude he is sexist. I just said one of his quotes seems kind of sexist to me. My view is there is room for disagreement. Especially if people are taking the complete picture o the man into account, they are going to reach different conclusions on this. Is it the most sexist thing I have seen? Certainly not. It is about in line with people his age I remember when I was growing up. I think the quotes are mix. Some are probably a reflection of sexism of a man who was born in 1938 some are probably being misinterpreted. I tend to agree with Heidi Gygax's statement on the subject.

 

[CleverNickName]

For one thing, the dead feel no shame. And Gygax, who addressed this topic on this forum while he was still alive, did not ever feel any shame about it.

Exactly. He's gone, he can't change, he can't hear us talking about him or defending him.

But his work--our hobby--lives on. We are working for a better, stronger, more inclusive future for his legacy. Why on earth would Gygax fans try to hinder that?

 

[Clint_L]

The part that the Musk fans are missing:
It's not about "shaming" Gary Gygax for being a bigot.
It's about acknowledging the bigotry in our hobby, so that we can do better going forward.

Yeah, I don't think they are missing that. I think that is their whole beef.

Do they not want to do better going forward?

I suspect they would define "better" differently than you and I.