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.

 

[billd91]

My parents were hippies in the 60s and very progressive. While these movements were present and have had a huge impact we still feel today, people born before the war had a very different worldview. And even in the 60s and 70s (heck into the 80s) there was enormous division. Even here in New England, you had feminists born in the 20s and 30s but if you spoke with the average man or woman born in those decades they were far more likely to be in line with Gygax’s thinking in my experience. I do think that context matters here, as Heidi Gygax said in her post about the subject

And part of that context that matters is that Gygax put the dig at Women's Libbers in a publication as if to say "Amiright, boys? Mhaw haw."
He may have been thinking he was just talking to the Old Boys network when he wrote it, but it went way beyond that. In relatively early days it was clear it was growing beyond that. Yet, there it remained, not cut from later printings despite it going well beyond the old wargamer circles. And while sexist beliefs may have been broadly held among his age cohort, taking that dig and putting it on paper really does make it worse.

 

[Bedrockgames]

The reason people take the things from the foreword seriously is because we have the evidence people keep referencing, which you and others keep dismissing.

We aren’t dismissing it. We are interpreting the evidence differently (and I’m done cases I am agreeing with your interpretation). I think it is reasonable for people to have differing opinions about the evidence

 

[FrogReaver]

I could be. And I've previously tried to be. The issue is that patience and kindness was met with deflection and disregard, showing that the effort is largely wasted. That there is in this conversation a demand for a veneer of civility to paper over an issue of respect and accuracy. That the content of what is being said is less important than maintaining an air of politeness.

I've never been a big fan of that form of civility. Between the strawman arguments and the shifting of goal posts it's been shown that the civility exists almost exclusively as a mask.

The fact that you outright acknowledge you skim posts and "Come Back to Them" (unless something in it is uncivil and respond in seconds) as a matter of course shows that you don't read to understand or come to a consensus in a discussion, but read to respond. A classic bad faith tactic in discourse.

So I probably won't. Doing pointless emotional labor isn't my thing.

That's an interesting strawman you've bowled over, there, good job! That's not remotely what I've said and doesn't represent my feelings on the matter, but it's an impressive sidestep of the actual statement!

But since you clearly and DESPERATELY want my honest opinion on your strawman position you've set up for me:

The men and women and other people who pay for their work and then use them as an insult to others are sexists and should be shamed. This guy, in particular, who spent time writing out a series of insults based on the theme "Sex Worker" to make a random table in a D&D book as a repugnant repudiation of feminists calling him a sexist is a sexist.

Which shouldn't be a shock to anyone, since he acknowledged it, himself.

You may want to consider your tone. I'd hate to see you potentially be thread banned.

 

[Bedrockgames]

And part of that context that matters is that Gygax put the dig at Women's Libbers in a publication as if to say "Amiright, boys? Mhaw haw."
He may have been thinking he was just talking to the Old Boys network when he wrote it, but it went way beyond that. In relatively early days it was clear it was growing beyond that. Yet, there it remained, not cut from later printings despite it going well beyond the old wargamer circles. And while sexist beliefs may have been broadly held among his age cohort, taking that dig and putting it on paper really does make it worse.

For what it is worth that dig always struck me as very course. I do think there is an effort at humor behind it. And I don’t think it is that unusual for a man his age to have said such a thing. But it isn’t a sentiment I would agree with. Like I said, I share Heidi Gygax’s assessment of him

 

[MGibster]

She even felt like the "Token Female" because they didn't give her any training. That's a whole other level of messed up.

The 70s really were a different time. I've never been anywhere other than a beach where a random "pretty girl" might walk by while wearing a bikini. The best I can hope for at work is a random homeless man shouting into the sky.

 

[Steampunkette]

You may want to consider your tone. I'd hate to see you potentially be thread banned.

Really? I thought I was deeply polite, respectful, and direct. At no point did I call BedrockGames any names, demean, or insult. I wasn't even sarcastic in that particular post.

Not that it was enough to appease, clearly.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Because it's quite clear to me that, if anything, the thread has gone in exactly the opposite direction. It is Gygax's heroic persona that is sacred and a priori true. It cannot be called into question; anyone who does so is either deluded, or has an agenda, or is "hammering" anyone that disagrees, or is being nefarious, or committing character assassination against Gygax, or...

People question it all the time in these threads. They question D&D as well and there are pages of threads on content people find problematic. There is always debates though. Not everyone is going to be on the same page. But there are a substantial number of posters who are on the critical side of the aisle. And there are different responses to these critiques. That is just normal conversation when people don't see eye to eye on something

Do you not see how all of this is imputing profoundly negative, moralized rejection of criticism? Because that's exactly what it is. And it further isn't the "nuance" you claim to seek; it rejects any form of criticizing as being necessarily either a factual error or a moral fault.

Again people simply disagree with the criticisms. If someone takes their rejection or critique of the criticism to a level that is personal: I don't agree with that. Like I have said many times: I think the hobby is in a bad state in terms of division, no one is going anywhere, we are all equally valuable human beings deserving of respect and we are going to all have to figure out a way to share this hobby with one another. But one can take this position and also take the position that the foundation of some of the criticisms is either misguided or flawed. We can also reach differing conclusions about the evidence

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

I dunno but this thread has seemed to evolve into a clinic in sea lioning and everyone would do well to walk away.

 

[FrogReaver]

not really sure what that has to do with anything. Are you saying that Gygax no only hiring males is the same as him going out if his way to hire females?

Nope. Though, smaller companies only having men employed or only employed in important positions wasn't really uncommon in the time either was it?

Is it that a 19 year old stayed at his house for a few days? Yep, that might be going out of his way, but not in a good way

1. He paid for her travel. ("he flew me...")
2. As was fairly commonplace at the time people would have traveling guests stay at their home instead of going to a hotel (if there even was one nearby).
3. He was married at the time with his Wife under that same roof.
4. There's been no insinuation by anyone involved that anything at all unprofessional happened between them.

So to bluntly answer your question, yes, and it's not any kind of bad look at all - unless one speculates alot of things into existence that just aren't present in that story.

 

[Steampunkette]

The 70s really were a different time. I've never been anywhere other than a beach where a random "pretty girl" might walk by while wearing a bikini. The best I can hope for at work is a random homeless man shouting into the sky.

Lake Geneva has a beach. It's a tourist trap. TSR was on one of the roads leading to that beach, so pretty girls in bikinis with shorts would walk down that road (and still do) on their way to the beach.