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]

Hey folks! Enjoy the thread! I made the point I was trying to make. Made some new friends, had a few folks Ignore me (what an awful feature), but that is their prerogative. I took some hits, I think opened some eyes, and hopefully left the place tidier than when I got here. Much as you would an AirBnb rental. Or also a hotel room for that matter. I'm one of those weird people that does the dishes and sweeps the floors in those situations.

 

[Gradine]

And how's that been working out?

In my personal life? Pretty great, honestly. I've cut out a lot of bigots.

Either way it's people not in that locked in side you need to appeal to.

I have no interest in nor use for people who find "bigotry" and "the opposite of bigotry" as equally valid positions that they simply cannot make a decision between. Not that many of these people actually exist.

Do you want to farm up votes from people who agree with you or make the world a better place (I would settle for not worse atm).

I'm not a politician, nor do I work for or with one, and so my responsibility to farm up votes is exactly nil.

 

[Gradine]

The bottom half of the glass is empty. Pure vacuum.

Yeah it turns out that doesn't end well for anyone involved...

 

[abirdcall]

No, I absolutely do not. It is not incumbent on me or on anyone to build bridges with bigots to find "common ground". Because, frankly, there isn't any, not really. I don't care about the politics or the power of it, because that is absolutely none of my responsibility at all.

No, all I have to do, all that it is my moral imperative, is to make bigots feel unwelcome and unwanted. They have a worldview that is completely detrimental to and contradictory of the betterment of humanity, and the more unacceptable it is for them to espouse their views in public the less actual power they get to hold.


"B-b-b-but then they'll just dig underground-"

Let them rot there.

This right here.

My job is to help people change. They must want to though or it won't work.

There is a meme that says "I don't know how to convince you to care about people."

Some of my patients don't want to change and they are fine with hurting others. In that case my job (well more my team's) is to teach them how to exist in the world without hurting others AND that there are consequences for doing so which ultimately impede their goals in life.

This is an entire team of healthcare professionals and we can't 'change' them, but what we can do is show them the consequences of their actions.

That's all we can do here. If you can't play nice you don't get to play. When you are ready to play nicely we can talk about it.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Your takeaway from my statement is strange to me.

Look at this way. Are there bad, like truly bad, people in the world? Absolutely! Are there as many incredibly villainous, irredeemable scoundrels as some would believe? Not at all. What I'm talking about are the knee-jerk reactions. You have a slight disagreement with me, therefore I am pure evil and clearly have motives so dark that the pure-hearted could never pierce.

Uh, no. Most people are just, you know, people.

If someone does something objectionable, or even really objectionable, instead of going holy warrior on them, take a step back and analyse what's happening here. Most people are not bad. Most people are misguided though. There may be something in their past or upbringing which has damaged them and laid down some thought patterns which are causing issues for themselves and others later in their lives. It's worth taking the time to treat others, even when it's unpleasant and your back has gotten up and it feels super wrong to do so, with humanity.

Someone who is misguided can be reasoned with. You're not going to be able to reason with someone when you turn your cannons on them. You go on attack mode immediately, it's a guarantee that nothing has been solved and you are now responsible for perpetuating more distress on the world.

Being sexist doesn't mean you are a black-hearted, irredeemable scoundrel who is pure evil and so dark-hearted that no light can reach you. It means (in the general parlance) that you are specifically crappy to women. Women who have been treated as property, tools, and less than human for (at various points in western culture) over two thousand years and counting.

And you know, it would be great if you could reason people out of that. But I am not going to demand that we withhold accurately calling a spade a spade to make the person doing the harm and attacking others feel better about themselves. If you don't like being called sexist, stop being a sexist. But this even goes a step further. You don't like us calling someone else, who is dead, a sexist for the things they did and never apologized for... because we might hurt the corpses feelings? Because other people will be upset that we accurately acknowledged what he said was sexist? This is nonsense.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I am going to mention this again.

Gygax did some things that aren't great. Because he is an imperfect person (as most of us are). These are things that are factually part of the history. And we don't need people who deny facts, or the history, or otherwise minimize these issues.

But I truly wish that people would stop arguing about the facts of Gygax's character flaws. It is what it is, because they are facts. Yes, he was sexist, long past the point where he should have known better. Yes, he had some views (nits, etc.) that aren't acceptable today. Yes, he had issues with the way he treated some people- whether it's the Hollywood and cocaine time, or the way he burnt so many bridges when he became a success (again, the podcast, When We Were Wizards, is almost a Greek tragedy of hubris), or the way he kept directing money to himself, while not doing the same for the other TSR creatives. I mean, you could also note his slipperiness with the truth, which extended to being under oath. He had flaws, and some of them were quite bad and can't be denied, but none rise to the level of, say, an M.A.R. Barker.

Every time this argument comes up, it overshadows the legacy of a man who went from repairing shoes to building a company. Who wrote some of the most important foundational books in the TTRPG history. Who gave us a hobby (with others, including Arneson) that we all love. Who was constant in his love for, and evangelizing of, this game. Who, after his fall, was a regular at conventions and constantly shared his joy of RPGs. This doesn't mean he was a "good person" in all ways, or we should deny his faults, but rather that we should remember that his faults were not the sum of his life.

The 1e PHB and DMG are books that I still look to for inspiration today. The OD&D books, despite the manifest and manifold issues from today's perspective (both design, and ... the ways in which they reflect a perspective that can be uncomfortable at times) are still the books that were a toolset that allowed people to create so many other new games, in addition to kicking off D&D. And everyone know of my love for Greyhawk- I will continue to say that the 1983 boxed set is still the basis (with some adjustments for the times) for the campaigns I run, and it is the platonic ideal, for me, of a campaign setting ... and the Darlene Map will never be surpassed. Gygax had flaws. But he also had a 10 year run of greatness.

And that- what he produced, what he gave to us- that is his legacy. The other stuff? That's just history. We can acknowledge the history truthfully*, while keeping in mind that the reason we pore over that history to this day is because he did accomplish those things.


TLDR; the reason I wish the Elon Musks and Army of Grognards would stop bringing this up and denying history is because they aren't doing Gygax any favors. It's fine to acknowledge the real issues, because it is what it is. But instead of denying facts, and making the argument about Gygax's flaws, it's better to remember that he was a flawed person who did something important (even if some of the important things contain a few elements that aren't great to our modern eyes).


*Again, the reason we acknowledge these things isn't about Gygax. He can't hear any of this. It's so we can make things better now. If you look at what he wrote and said and (sometimes) what he did, and say that some of that isn't sexist, then I am not concerned about Gygax; I am concerned about what lessons you are taking with you now.

 

[jasper]

Hey, Larry suffered the great indignity of never being nominated for a Hugo for his books about shooting monsters with guns. Think of the suffering he endured.

As for Elon... I'm kinda missing the days when he just missed the point of Culture novels.

He also finished his fantasy series, has a mountain, is not GRR Martin, nor as likeable as neil gaiman

 

[Alzrius]

So I had to scroll back quite a bit to find out what video people kept referring to. Since it doesn't seem to have been posted here that I saw, I'll go ahead and do so for the sake of convenience:

 

[Chaosmancer]

Again a lot of what he wrote wasn't written in a serious tone. For example, the Harot table is clearly a joke (and frankly a joke I think is funny). Menzter seemed to indicate as much as well. Words like "Brazen strumpet" are obviously intended for humorous effect.

And what was the punchline of that joke? Look at all the old-timey ways to call a woman a [****]? I know it would remove the "humor" but please, explain the joke to me.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

And what was the punchline of that joke? Look at all the old-timey ways to call a woman a [****]? I know it would remove the "humor" but please, explain the joke to me.

That table gets all of the press, but I still think that the "Good Wife" table was worse.

Goodwife encounters are with a single woman, often indistinguishable from any other type of female (such as a magic-user, harlot, etc.). Any offensive treatment or seeming threat will be likely to cause the woman to scream for help, accusing the offending party of any number of crimes, i.e. assault, rape, theft, or murder. 20% of goodwives know interesting gossip.
AD&D (1e) DMG p. 192.

This is an an example of misogyny in the following ways (and I apologize if I miss any):
a) that a typical married woman is indistinguishable from a prostitute;
b) that women (not men) are the ones to get gossip from;
and worst of all c) women will make up accusations such as rape in response to offensive treatment.