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.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Keep in mind though, like I've said before, I focus way more on what people do over what they say. If someone says they can't stand redheads, but then ends up marrying one, my opinion on how they really feel about redheads is going to lean to a positive. That's just me; I don't expect everyone else to think the same way.

You would be shocked at the number of bigots who make 'exceptions' for 'one of the good ones'.

 

[Umbran]

Why are you so angry with me?

Mod Note:

Maybe because you are trying to make this discussion about her, rather than the topic.

You are done in this discussion.

 

[Gradine]

 

[Umbran]

I'm sorry you had to go through that, honestly. I grew up in an environment that would make you blanch, and if I told you the details, you'd likely apologise to me for trying to use your story, as tragic as it truly is, as a weapon in this discussion.

It isn't a competition.

 

[Steampunkette]

It always boggles my mind, and will probably always boggle my mind, that when women say "This person is sexist. Here are the sexist things he said. Here is why those things are sexist. Here is why that person knew he was being sexist" there's always a bunch of guys who rush out to go "Nuh uh."

Oh, there's women who do it, too, for certain. Black Sashes were worn for a reason.

But the discussion about why something is or isn't sexist really isn't that long or difficult. There's not this massive pile of nuance to dig and sort through.

This guy? Is sexist. It's not that deep.

 

[pemerton]

I am not saying you have to agree with my assessment, but what I have said on the topic here is just my honest reading of what he said, what I have seen other people say about him, etc.

He hired -two- women to work for TSR in the early days! Both of them hired on pretty much to be eye candy and sit around. One, in fact, he flew out from South Carolina, where she lived, had her stay in his home for a couple weeks until she could find a place to stay, promised he would teach her all the rules of how to write D&D material and get her started. Then plopped her at a desk near the front window of the office with no guidance and no expectations of work other than to call out "Hot Chick Alert" when some pretty girl walked down the street so Gygax and the rest of the guys in the back could run to the front to ogle the pretty girl walking down the street.

How do we know? Because she WROTE about it and talked about it at conventions.

@Bedrockgames

I've quoted, from @Steampunkette, something that "other people" say about Gygax. How does that fit into your defence of him?

 

[Crimson Longinus]

That's actually not correct. While that first illustration (from the original G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King, published in 1978) does show them as being pale-skinned, the accompanying text says that they have black skin.

Moreover, that's also how they're described in the Monster Manual, published in 1977:

View attachment 387043

Interesting. I would actually not automatically interpret that referring to their skin colour at all, darkness here is contrasted with brightness, not paleness. I would have understood this as more thematic/spiritual darkness.

 

[Chaosmancer]

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

I appreciate that you share Heidi's assessment that he was sexist, but I want to stop for a moment and consider the first part of your post. Particularly, the line that "there was an effort of humor behind it".

Should that matter?

You see, a lot of the time, people defend hateful things they say by declaring "it was only a joke!" or "I was being sarcastic!" As though humor is some kind of shield against criticism. Like humor can't be weaponized.

I mentioned my father in an earlier post. One thing he loved to do was "make jokes" about my mother. To just about every stranger he would meet, in a grocery store, in a restaurant, in the bank, everywhere, he would "joke" about her. He'd mock her for her weight, he'd mock her for her nagging him, he'd mock her for the way she dressed. Constant "jokes" about her, to complete strangers, constantly putting her down, making her out to be the villain of his life, the worst person in his life. Constantly. To everyone.

When the divorce proceedings started, it was something my mother brought up to me, one of the things she was tired of. He never had a kind word for her in public. It was all "jokes" at her expense. Constantly. Do you think that made them okay? Do you think the fact he thought he was being funny made it okay to constantly put down my mother and constantly belittle her and constantly make her seem like a monster to complete strangers? Because he was making an attempt at humor?

I'm reminded of another instance that hit the news recently. Young woman at a highschool got suspended. You see, she punched a boy. And the boy, he would likely tell people he was only joshing around, you know just a bit of locker room talk, a bit of humor to lighten the mood. He only told her "your body, my choice". You know, because it is funny to tell a woman that you get to decide whether or not she will have sex and get pregnant. Real comedy hour stuff to tell women that they have no rights, no control, to expectations of anything but submission and obeying.

And, if he said it was "just a joke" then it has to be okay, right?

Of course, as you said. You agree with Heidi Gygax that her father was a bit sexist, and you think that this "humorous" jab at the idea of women having rights was also a bit sexist, and a bit unbecoming of a proper gentleman as it were... but a lesser offense than if he hadn't been trying to be funny? Because, as long as you make it a joke, then you can't be doing that much harm, right? After all, just because a joke isn't funny and no one laughed doesn't mean it can't be defended as being okay.

 

[Parmandur]

I appreciate that you share Heidi's assessment that he was sexist, but I want to stop for a moment and consider the first part of your post. Particularly, the line that "there was an effort of humor behind it".

Should that matter?

You see, a lot of the time, people defend hateful things they say by declaring "it was only a joke!" or "I was being sarcastic!" As though humor is some kind of shield against criticism. Like humor can't be weaponized.

I mentioned my father in an earlier post. One thing he loved to do was "make jokes" about my mother. To just about every stranger he would meet, in a grocery store, in a restaurant, in the bank, everywhere, he would "joke" about her. He'd mock her for her weight, he'd mock her for her nagging him, he'd mock her for the way she dressed. Constant "jokes" about her, to complete strangers, constantly putting her down, making her out to be the villain of his life, the worst person in his life. Constantly. To everyone.

When the divorce proceedings started, it was something my mother brought up to me, one of the things she was tired of. He never had a kind word for her in public. It was all "jokes" at her expense. Constantly. Do you think that made them okay? Do you think the fact he thought he was being funny made it okay to constantly put down my mother and constantly belittle her and constantly make her seem like a monster to complete strangers? Because he was making an attempt at humor?

I'm reminded of another instance that hit the news recently. Young woman at a highschool got suspended. You see, she punched a boy. And the boy, he would likely tell people he was only joshing around, you know just a bit of locker room talk, a bit of humor to lighten the mood. He only told her "your body, my choice". You know, because it is funny to tell a woman that you get to decide whether or not she will have sex and get pregnant. Real comedy hour stuff to tell women that they have no rights, no control, to expectations of anything but submission and obeying.

And, if he said it was "just a joke" then it has to be okay, right?

Of course, as you said. You agree with Heidi Gygax that her father was a bit sexist, and you think that this "humorous" jab at the idea of women having rights was also a bit sexist, and a bit unbecoming of a proper gentleman as it were... but a lesser offense than if he hadn't been trying to be funny? Because, as long as you make it a joke, then you can't be doing that much harm, right? After all, just because a joke isn't funny and no one laughed doesn't mean it can't be defended as being okay.

Listen...I say this jokingly sometimes, but gicen the direction here I am being very serious...have you heard the good word of the Ignore feature?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'll take your word that you intended to be all of them.

Mod Note:

All things considered, limiting your post to the is quoted section would have been perfectly fine.

The rest was…provocative, and that’s something we don’t need.