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.

 

[Bedrockgames]

What is a better test is online gaming, I'd say. People often get really aggro and stressed whilst playing PvP games, and what they do then is a better test of character, because they're generally not drunk nor high. Some people start swearing and some people escalate that to racist and homophobic epithets, and I'm pretty sure any guy who deploys the n-word just because he's mad with you is probably pretty racist lol.

I don’t do online gaming so I can’t weigh in on that. But in other competitive circumstance, like combat sports, I have heard people say things as insults meant to get under a persons skin. They didn’t always reflect what the person really thought as the aim wasn’t to express a world view but provoke a reaction and affect performance. Again some insults are going to be more reflective of what a person believes (most people wouldn’t have an easy time deploying the N word to unseat an opponent in my opinion)

 

[mamba]

Very much in dispute about what was normative in those decades.

what isn’t in dispute is that sexism is not a good look though

I don't think that analogy works because saying someone is the most bad they've ever met is a contemporaneous statement explicitly placing that person as worse than normal in their times. We don't have anything like that for Gygax.

what was Gygax responding to in 1974, if not criticism of his sexism. That criticism was contemporaneous

 

[Steampunkette]

It does seem though as if this statement is deliberately intended to make his critics angry. I agree that Gygax didn't care if he made people mad for sure or if people thought he was an old sexist male chauvinist pig. It does seem like this was spouted off in anger.

This is Frank Mentzger's take.
Gygax: A Staunch Defense
Gary-bashing has been trending.
So I've got something to say.
(TLDR: Quotes taken out of context & fake news)
I think Gary's morals and ethics were notably superior. He worked to be fair, regardless of age sex beliefs or whatever.
frex I recall him hiring and defending Jean Wells, and later acquiring Barima Obong-Ubusu (sic) for VP Finance at TSR.
Yes he fell victim to substance abuse for one brief period in his west-coast life. He kicked it all quickly, fyi.
Sometimes he got mad, sure.
Sometimes he said things he regretted, sure.
. . .
As to 'infamous' quotes now being widely publicized...
All taken out of context and milked for clicks.
You ever exaggerate to make a point, or play the clown to amuse others?
Back off and look at the whole package, the patterns of behavior.
You find many humourous bits, and some are ill-advised (oft traces of his first 30 years). Many subtleties don't arise until re-reading.
You find grudges (Rick Loomis, the Blumes, more).
His was a normal, smart, deep human mind, kind and considerate, a Jehovah's Witness, and flawed.
In the DMG we find a 'harlots' table. That was a joke.
One quote 'damn right I'm sexist' was a deliberate poke to get a response. NOT a sexist in reality, in behavior or belief -- another ill-considered humorous angry jab.
I knew him well, friends for 25+ years. You can see the truths in the above.


I think his daughter gave a statement that reflects the basic reality.
Originally posted by Heidi Gygax Garland from Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/786112328478908/user/724011994/?__cft__[0]=AZUDv-LodJgA5sx0dp87nDQzFT-Dkgyx7cd5UrhYHA8HYNFT-bXjP2PwiOMOzIzAh87zpoypucMhfFB2jz7MajhE_kH4CQdKbXuVjW4wbdH0lalGBicUSivdpr4Iq6ip4UQZRcTcgUDQDYspsFINzwKKdJdgrV6LFsfnwLTU3e34E1lFsqUlOLoqi_RUvMoKZxIOlYcHRi1bPGLZYsmlwh6LQDEYpyn7saw0RWRG6OQl4g&tn=<<,P-y-R
Regarding the post by Ben Riggs “D&D Co-Creator Gary Gygax was Sexist” IMO much seems to be taken out of context and pieced together. I cannot verify the sources, although I truly believe they are incomplete and/or incorrect. I think Frank Mentzer states his insights on this eloquently. As for my perspective, I do not believe my father was racist or misogynistic. Was he sexist? He was born in 1938 to a father born in the 1880’s and a mother born in 1906. He was raised in a traditional Anglo-Saxon Protestant family with traditional biblical family values where the male was the head of the household. In my adult opinion, yes, this is sexist and doesn’t hold up to our more enlightened standards today. Yet, he was a loving father and husband who valued all of his children and his wife. All 3 of his daughters played D&D with him at some point, but I happen to be the only one who still plays. In short, he wasn’t perfect, but he was far from all of the negative accusations that are (re) surfacing, and I’m extremely proud - as a strong, independent female - to have E. Gary Gygax as my father and my family legacy.

I wonder if Metzger saw Gygax's posting history.

I highly doubt it. He pretends this is all one-off events or single off the cuff jokes when other people in his life (notably women who met him) say something different. I wonder if, somehow, maybe, and this might be a little out there... He wasn't as much of a sexist around the guys in his life as he was to the women, and maybe guys in his life were more tolerant or willing to ignore his sexism.

Big if true.

Meanwhile his daughter, Heidi, outright says he was a sexist. She couches it in a bunch of "He was also" and does her best to paint him as a product of his times... but she's his -child-. Even as a married adult there's gonna be some desire to protect him. (It's also kinda ridiculous because he got called out by people in his time who weren't sexist sooooo...)

Anyway. Yeah. It ain't that deep: Gary Gygax was a sexist. He made it clear over and over again throughout his life.

 

[mamba]

But it does relate to what we were just discussing, what was normal back then.

it doesn’t matter whether it was commonplace, that does not make it right or excuses it. As you yourself wrote just five minutes ago

I'm all for condemning his views as whatever 'ist' provided they are being properly attributed to him.

It cannot be both, so which of the two is it?

 

[darjr]

I did a spot on my show about the topic. Here are my main points:

• Gygax made sexist remarks and that sexism and bigotry can be found in early (and even current) versions of D&D. This is what Peterson and Tondro said in their introductions and they were right.
• Gygax can be (and, from accounts, was) nice to women he worked with, who worked for him, or who he met through the hobby and still be sexist. One is not mutually exclusive from another. People can be complicated.
• You can love D&D and also recognize the flaws in its creators and its history.
• Our hold on the hobby becomes stronger when we recognize and shine a light on its flaws.
• You get to decide how to change your view of someone's work when you learn more about them. We each get to choose how. Don't ignore indications of racism and sexism just because you like the work.
• If you're a cis het white dude, the conversation isn't about you. It's about the experiences of many who were pushed out of the hobby for decades. Listen to those who were and are affected.
• You can love TTRPGs and not like D&D. You can love D&D and not love WOTC or Hasbro. You can love the designers at WOTC and not like the company. You can love D&D and recognize the flaws of its creators and its problematic past. Doing so makes your hold on the hobby stronger, not weaker.
• It's ok to have complicated and evolving feelings about this hobby and its creators.
• As @CleverNickName says: "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."

This topic also includes wonderful examples of sealioning, DARVO, and following the Narcissists Prayer. All good examples to help us with online discourse in the future.

Thank you for this. Looking forward to watching.

 

[Morrus]

I think at this point we mainly have a handful of people repeating themselves over and over and talking past each other. I"ll keep an eye on it for a bit, but it looks like there's nothing new going to be said in this thread, so it may get closed later today.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

First I'm hearing Gygax said this. Care to share any more info on it?

Q&A with Gary Gygax, Part II - Page 3 - Dragonsfoot

www.dragonsfoot.org

I don't think that analogy works because saying someone is the most bad they've ever met is a contemporaneous statement explicitly placing that person as worse than normal in their times. We don't have anything like that for Gygax.

Gygax himself knew his views were unusual:

This isn't an argument you make if your views are widely accepted and normative. And further it's clear even in 1975 enough people regarded Gygax as deeply sexist that Gygax felt the need to write into a gaming magazine and explain that yes, actually, he is sexist, no he doesn't care about women's rights at all, and he'd be happy to see women chased out of wargames.
I'd be very interested to see the letters section of the next few issues of Europa, because somehow I doubt it was full of people saying "YEAH GARY IS RIGHT!". Which, were it remotely normative, it would be.

The question keeps coming back to what his actual views were though.

Yeah because people keep ignoring Gygax's own words on the matter. That's what's messed up here. Gygax self-identifies as a sexist, and not even sarcastically or ironically, he explicitly outlines his - very sexist - views, avoiding doubt entirely.

So that question keeps coming up because people refuse to accept his own words. It's not a real question - it's borderline sealioning, at this point.

There's more of course like:

That's not "normal for 2002" mate, not even for a 64-year-old. And again, Gygax knows it - hence his "as a biological determinist" - something he knows is unusual and is proud to be.

When someone tells you who they are - listen.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

It does seem though as if this statement is deliberately intended to make his critics angry. I agree that Gygax didn't care if he made people mad for sure or if people thought he was an old sexist male chauvinist pig. It does seem like this was spouted off in anger.

This is Frank Mentzger's take.
...
I think Gary's morals and ethics were notably superior.

So, one of the reasons I hate it when the Army of Grognards rushes in to defend Gygax is, as I keep saying, they aren't helping. And that puts me in the terrible position of having to point out Gygax's issues, which I hate, because I love the old stuff, and I keep saying that Gygax brought more joy into the world than he took, and constantly debating the issue and dredging this up just because people are denying historical facts isn't helping- Gygax wasn't a murderer, he wasn't evil, he wasn't a serial harasser, he wasn't a ... Piers Anthony or an M.A.R. Barker, he was just a person with flaws, like most of us.

I am going to key in on this bit from Frank Mentzer. Because it's hard to reconcile this statement with what we know. To point out the obvious-

1. His first marriage. I'm not going to go there, but ... not great. And I don't just mean the rampant cheating.

2. The way he treated people on the way up. He burned a lot of bridges. If you listen to the podcast, wait for the Kuntz anecdote. You'll know which one.

3. The way he screwed over so many employees of TSR. He doesn't get that much heat for this, because he let the Kevin Bloom be the hatchet man, but over and over again he either authorized actions that screwed them, or allowed it to happen. And don't get me started on "contracts that only apply to other people, not me," or "only I get royalties, no one else, because I get the royalties and the money from the company."

4. Literally everything about the Hollywood time. Cocaine and bimbos was just part of it- the self-dealing was also kind of an issue.

5. Some of his views. Whether it's the sexism, or the "western-influenced" (nits, etc.). He had some views that weren't always great.

6. The lying. I joke about this when I'm doing historical research, but Gygax was often incapable of telling it straight. And if you've read Game Wizards, you know that while it wasn't a formal finding, the Judge believed that he not credible. Another way to put this (and I think it is accurate given the historical record) is that he chose to ... testify inaccurately on the stand in order to advance his case. Under oath. Which is not a mark of high moral or ethical character.

Again, I wish this would stop happening. I think that after the fall, he was chastened and humbled, and a lot of people remember that Gygax- the avuncular figure from conventions who was always ready to play or tell a story (or three). But when people insist on stating things that are factually untrue, all it does is continue the debate. So instead of talking about the things he did that were great (turning his hobby into a business, making GenCon amazing, going from repairing shoes to an amazing business, writing some of the most important books that are the foundation of our hobby, etc.) we are stuck debating his character flaws.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

And that led to people debating whether Gary was various types of -ist. Which has to do with what we think Gary believed.

Why engage on those debates? they are not really pertinent to the original topic, create more smoke than light and not really necessary since Gary was not shy about stating his opinions.
What Gary really believed has no current bearing on anything.

I've also weighed in on what I think about the foreword itself and Musk's response to it

Did you? I must have missed that then.

 

[Emerikol]

[Gygax himself knew his views were unusual:
View attachment 387161
<snip>

I think your attributions are not how I'd read that at all. All the way down to the D*mn... part, Gygax is obviously making a belligerent joke. I would not say by any means that Gygax was not sexist at all by any means. He was a man of his times, and perhaps a midwestern man of his times. But this is a hyperbolic statement meant to offend all his critics.