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.

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

See that red squiggly line? This thread needs a High Pedant label attached to it...

 

[Bedrockgames]

You say « the kinds of critiques found in the foreward ». What about the actual wording in the actual foreward being discussed? Do you think it went too far? If so, what parts specifically?

I mentioned which areas of the foreword I disagreed with. I don't think the foreword went too far. And I think it is allowed to exist. I also think people can respond to it and disagree with it. I just think it isn't expressing ideas I agree on. Like I said before it is pretty standard, academic media critique language. I tend to be a bit skeptical of that approach to analyzation. So as an example, which I mentioned before, I think the cultural appropriation criticism is not one I agree on. And again we've debated the cultural appropriation issue, the critique in the foreword appears to be grounded in the types of conversations we were having here, I just disagree with its conclusions but I am not trying to rehash that specific debate. And the point about conscious misogyny I disagreed with.

Because, like with your claims about posts « demonizing » Gary Gygax, it feels like you are being purposely vague.

I have to be careful on this one because I was red texted on this question and I don't want to do anything that violates a mod ruling or the rules of the forum. So I am just going to say on this, I was never saying this was a majority position on the forum.

 

[Bedrockgames]

What are your specific criticisms of the foreward?

I responded to this in my previous post. Hopefully this addresses the question you are asking. But just to reiterate I am responding more to the conversation around the foreword than the foreword itself (though I do have my issues with it, I don't begrudge its existence)

 

[Juxtapozbliss]

Probably the last thing I want is a self selected curated sample of people in a single platform—-echo chamber central. And what they leave behind will be an echo chamber. Nice!

Twitter is a private corporation not a public good. No one owes it to you or anyone else to stick around within a corporation that profits a bigoted, sexist CEO who platforms racists and permits abuse like "Your body. My choice." Musk is the one who has turned it into an echo chamber for the right wing because that is his political viewpoint, and he wants to amplify it. It's not some kind of unbiased neutral ground for thoughtful debate and critical thinking. Many progressive or liberal thinkers experience Twitter as a playground for bullies so if they need to leave to avoid feeling victimized, that's not on them, that's due to the lack of moral moderation within Twitter.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

Twitter is a private corporation not a public good. No one owes it to you or anyone else to stick around within a corporation that profits a bigoted, sexist CEO who platforms racists and permits abuse like "Your body. My choice." Musk is the one who has turned it into an echo chamber for the right wing because that is his political viewpoint, and he wants to amplify it. It's not some kind of unbiased neutral ground for thoughtful debate and critical thinking. Many progressive or liberal thinkers experience Twitter as a playground for bullies so if they need to leave to avoid feeling victimized, that's not on them, that's due to the lack of moral moderation within Twitter.

Sure thing.

have a good one

 

[billd91]

what makes someone a guest, the fact that they stay at your house? Then you are arguing backwards.

A job applicant is not the same as your aunt or buddy staying over.

did he have the male applicants staying over as well? If not, why not / why her?

This all may seem very weird by today's standards, but the Gygax house did host a variety of people in its day from convention-goers nobody else really knew to TSR itself at one point. So hosting a job applicant when TSR itself was unlikely to ( or be able to) foot the bill for a hotel room? Not all that surprising then. It really was a different time and very small, idiosyncratically led company.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Woah.

Took part of the weekend off, and there are, like, FIFTY PAGES OF COMMENTS!

Have we learned anything? Yes. I know I have!

And what did Snarf learn?

When in doubt, call that thing at the front of the book the fourward forward foreward fourword ... PREFACE.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Has anyone who knew Gary personally come forward and supported this foreword?

You mean, like Gary saying "damn right, I'm a sexist?" Assuming we can agree that Gary knew Gary.

 

[Chaosmancer]

The paradox of the Paradox of Tolerance is that is a manifesto/excuse for intolerance when preached as a mantra or simple dictate, where kindness or consideration are ignored in favour of tribalism. For example, when you use capital letters to invoke it.

Us and Them. Me good, you bad. Nothing wholesome ever emerges from that pattern of thought, despite the best of intentions.

You know, you might be right. Sure, my paternal biological grandfather was a convicted pedophile who took pictures of naked pre-pubscent children to sell to his friends, but my Mother should have approached him with kindness and consideration, not demanded that he never be allowed near me or my sisters before we were 18. Why, my youngest sister was Thirteen when he died, and he didn't even get to know she existed.

Or my emotionally abusive father, who has taken every chance the legal system could grant him over the last four years to try and beat my mother (emotionally) into submission so he doesn't have to spend a dime on alimony, after she scuttled her own career prospects to raise him up during their marriage. I mean, he makes a mere 96K a year to her current entry level job making around 33K a year. I should approach him with kindness, consideration, and an open heart as he tries to force her to sell her home out of pure spite that she's divorcing him.

I mean really, what does it say about you, if you can't tolerate people who hurt you, make you feel small, or abuse you?

Oh? This is completely different because these are people from my life I know personally, not some distant figure I've never met. True, true, we should be entirely open and kind to people who want to kill us, beat us, remove our rights, remove our freedoms, or simply treat us as lesser. I mean, if you aren't kind to a person who denies your capacity to be human, then really, you are the problem, right?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Kinda resentful that I am going to keep seeing this gormless fool's face on the opening screen when I log on here for the next few weeks.

Utterly lacking in the least bit of gorm.