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.

 

[Maxperson]

None of it maters because it doesn't matter if he was 'a product of his time'.

Whether there were one billion people who did and said scumbag things during a certain time period or one, that doesn't change the things they said or did. If someone sucks because they were a 'product of their time', that doesn't make them not suck, it just makes 'their time' also suck and in no way absolved them of their actions.

And I haven't said otherwise. I'm pushing back against the unsubstantiated claim that he was outside the norm(some level of sexism). I'm not pushing back against the claim that he was sexist.

 

[Bedrockgames]

no one is arguing about whether Elon was right or wrong, he just set the thing in motion, other than that he plays no role in it

He seems to be pretty peripheral to the conversation. Every so often a poster mentions it, and people weigh in but it is like you say, he simply sparked the conversation with a tweet

 

[Zardnaar]

yes, he is not the worst, not being the worst does not mean you are free from criticism

That's fine I'm saying tge criticism might be counter productive though.

The authors basically went on Twitter throwing chum into the water. They're either stupid or doing the same thing Elons doing. They're not stupid so.....

Don't be Jane Fonda using my Vietnam comment earlier.

 

[Zardnaar]

And I haven't said otherwise. I'm pushing back against the unsubstantiated claim that he was outside the norm(some level of sexism). I'm not pushing back against the claim that he was sexist.

8 billiion people on the planet over 7 billion would likely fail a purity test.

Western values are not the norm. Even in our own societies it's very split.

That's basically what I mean with product of their time/place.

 

[Maxperson]

no, the claim was he was an outlier even then, to me the letter demonstrates that

It can't. At best, even if he believed he was a outlier, and the letter doesn't even prove that belief, he could be wrong. There is absolutely nothing in that letter that shows him to be an outlier(more people not sexist than are).

 

[Vaalingrade]

And I haven't said otherwise. I'm pushing back against the unsubstantiated claim that he was outside the norm(some level of sexism). I'm not pushing back against the claim that he was sexist.

Then what is the point?

IF you're not trying to help people build a shield out of 'Product of his time', then why try to make the case that he was a product of his time?

 

[mamba]

That's fine I'm saying tge criticism might be counter productive though.

so we never get to criticize someone because there might be a right wing mob being upset when we do? Well, apart from people they also criticize… yeah, recipe for disaster, not interested

Don't be Jane Fonda using my Vietnam comment earlier.

that comment was incomprehensible to me, I have no idea what you tried to say

 

[Vaalingrade]

8 billiion people on the planet over 7 billion would likely fail a purity test.

Western values are not the norm. Even in our own societies it's very split.

That's basically what I mean with product of their time/place.

And if the majority does something it's okay.

My family sure if glad Abe Lincoln didn't agree with that.

 

[Mannahnin]

Also, regarding:
View attachment 386993

A more charitable interpretation could be he was cognizant of how that was going to be taken by Women's Lib, but since it was based on Tiamat, a female dragon, he was sticking with it.

Long since debunked. She didn't get retroactively called Tiamat until two years AFTER this book was published.

The authors basically went on Twitter throwing chum into the water. They're either stupid or doing the same thing Elons doing. They're not stupid so.....

No they didn't. You're making a false statement.

8 billiion people on the planet over 7 billion would likely fail a purity test.

Western values are not the norm.

That's basically what I mean with product of their time/place.

Irrelevant. No one here's making a purity test, and we're dealing with our own communities, not the whole planet.

 

[Remathilis]

I agree it is a danger. You wouldn't want to make the argument that "oh Hitler was just a product of his time" for example. I think here though I really do see Gygax much more in the light that I would see an elderly relative

And yet people do. People like Kanye West have made that exact argument.

And the second line is the problem. You feel a kinship to Gary because you appreciate what he has done for you. Your affection for the game he made (and especially the edition he specifically wrote) forces you to defend him like you would a family member.