Image source here, captioned, “Sarah Roman's students at Raritan High School learn how to play Dungeons & Dragons. (Courtesy of Sarah Roman) (Courtesy of Sarah Roman)”
Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) is a fantasy role playing game (RPG) that has existed for decades. It involves dice, maps, pencils and paper and lately they have been developing an online version of the game. Players create characters and roleplay those characters in a setting created and directed by the Dungeon Master. Various kinds of dice are rolled in the game for a healthy dose of unpredictability.
Much of the fun for players is in creating their character’s role and race in the game. Your character can be a fighter, a magic user, a thief and so on. Your character can be of the human race, of the race of elves, the race of gnomes - it’s your choice and it’s fun to roleplay as an other race or to be of the human race.
Gary Gygax, creator of D&D as portrayed in an episode of Futurama.
Notice that there is only one human race in D&D. It’s been that way since the game was created 1970s.1 Furthermore, you can choose for your character to be be inter-racial, that is, to be half-human/half-elf, half-orc/half-human and so on…
…at least you could choose to be inter-racial until now.
And they now self-flagellate and promise to be “diligent in extracting past prejudices, stereotypes, and unconscious biases.”2 Though there is only one human race in the real world and in D&D, they now consider “race” to be a “problematic term”.3 After decades of fun, it seems the company behind the game - Wizards of the Coast - has gone woke and broke.
I am not just repeating a phrase here. Reportedly, they have been in fact been going broke and they have, in fact, gone woke. In what has been called “their latest step forward on their long march to lost profits”,4 have decided to ruin the game in the name of woke, progressive, social justice. According to a report by Bounding Into Comics on April Fool’s day, 2023,5
This forthcoming update was first announced publicly at the recent D&D Creator Summit, an event wherein Wizards of the Coast gathered a number of notable personalities ranging from game developers to content creators and provided them with a sneak peek at Dungeons & Dragons’ upcoming releases.
We’ll return to that. It seems that the company has been going woke and broke for some time before this latest self-destructive move as an April 3rd, 2023 interview with Kale Stutzman6 (“Game Director at Wizards of the Coast” according to his LinkedIn) indicates.
In the interview, things like “inclusivity” and “equity” are discussed as well as “LGBTQ”, “disabled”, “BIPOC” and “marginalized” people in a way that makes it obvious that the people in charge of Dungeons and Dragons (the Wizards of the Coast) focus on such things routinely. You would think they would focus on things like making the game more fun or enhancing it in other ways, not ruining it out of wokeness.
But they are too focused on their “convictions and ideologies of inclusivity” to foster fun. They spend resources removing the terms “savage” and “dim-witted” because it makes dim-witted people feel bad, for example, because, as they say, they are committed to making it clear that “hate is not welcome” as far as they are concerned.
Are they still allowed to pretend to use physical violence in the game? Or is fighting to toxic masculinity? How about ‘verbal violence’?
According to this interview, they have “inclusion reviews”, “inclusion collaborations”, “inclusivity readers” and a “director of inclusivity” who says they are “paying market rate for consultants to look at things and advise” them on “an entire inclusive review process”. Apparently there is such a thing as a “cultural consultant”.
We need to walk our convictions and ideologies of inclusivity to make it clear hate is not welcome. We're going to publish content guidelines so you'll be able to review it and comment on it. We're making changes on an ongoing basis. For example, "savage" is gone. "Dim-witted" is gone.
The interviewer brings up equity (in the economic sense as in some people being less able to afford their products than others) and asks Stutzman, the game director, “How are you going to address that?”
It’s as if the interviewer is saying, “Some people can’t aford your products, which is classist and marginalizing of the economically disadvantaged, so how are you going to ensure that everyone has equitable access to your products, comrade?”
At one point, the interviewer says,
I feel like the challenge of any game development has been inclusivity and including marginalized people in the development process, and by accessibility I mean LGBTQ folks, disabled folks, BIPOC folks, and it's easier when that's tackled from the beginning. Can you give us more direct answers what you're considering from the get go how those voices are being heard, are they're any features, like Sim 4, due to direct community feedback, have now included a very robust skin tone range you can use for your sims.
Game Director Stutzman replies that they are designing their “character create” feature to give players what they want before saying,
And then on the inclusivity we're talking to people. Like tabletop is using inclusivity readers and we're going to do the same.
They write that
The director of inclusivity then stepped up to address this further.
and stated,
I don't think it's the sole responsibility of marginalized people to creative inclusivity. We have a diverse lighting approach where it's like the NFL Roomey rule. So for every requisition we're hiring for, it's tied to executive performance. We have an entire inclusive review process for D&D, MTG, Arena, marketing, etc. What inclusion review means is that we have different gates and stops to look at inclusion and accessibly so we're paying market rate for consultants to look at things and advise.
It’s as if this “director of inclusivity” stepped in like a lawyer answering for a defendant. The interviewer then says that they think that “accessibility and inclusivity” is “awesome” and goes on to say that getting hired by them is “difficult” if one is “not a white male”. The D&D folks respond by saying they are changing their review process to ensure more diverse hiring,
which means really digging into what's asked and removing any bias. I love ensuring we have diverse slates of interviewers so we aren't asking our women, our marginalized communities, our disabled team members, etc. to do more interview work.
The interviewer then says,
Cultural consultants are often used to shelter from criticism. What about promoting or hiring marginalized people into decision making roles. And what are the policies and procedures in place after recommendations are given so they are acted on?
It is unclear if the “director of inclusivity” or game director responded, but the reply was,
When it comes to consultants, we want to hire the best people for the job. A great game designer is not a culture expert in the broad academic experience of POC. So yes, we are always paying attention to questions in our work force, what is our pay equity, etc. I want to create a work force and work place where a disabled person or POC, etc can create and never talk about their background if they don't want to. We want to make sure we're engaging with experts. How do make sure we're acting on it? Because we do. The consultants give us the info so we can made an educated decision. The recommendations are documented and the changes are documented to be sure it's addressed.
At one point, the interviewer states,
There's a lot lack of confidence and distrust in the community right now. Many of us were attacked for even coming here.
and asks,
What are you going to put in place protections and restore the lack of trust the community feels?
Some of the reply was,
Good question. I think this what we're doing. We're engaging directly.
Someone called Dixon stated,
We want feedback aimed at us, not the creators working with us. You shouldn't take abuse for things we do.
The interviewer then asked Dixon,
Wondering what Wizards will do for us after the conclusion of this event but people are still going to yell at us. We've experienced that for a month. It wears down our mental health. It hurts me seeing all the people in this room who took abuse and not seeing Wizards do anything about the harassment we received.
Dixon replied,
Sometimes we step in and it settles things and sometimes we say something and it inflames things further. We don't want to create the Streisand effect so we need feedback from you as to how we can step in and do it better. We want to be active listeners that create better solutions with you that works for all of us.
The interviewer proceeded,
Aspeaker noted that a lack of response can be just as bad as a poor response. It comes across as a lack of communication. Wizards has a PR department. We do not. We're passionate this community. We appreciate you trying to formulate the answer because we're being attacked in the meantime while you're waiting. Dixon agreed that sometimes we need to respond quickly and sometimes we need to step back, reassess and formulate an answer.
One of them replied,
Yes, there are issues we need to address and do it better. I'm not going to stand in front you today with a plan that is half baked. Yes, it's going to take some time to make a plan for the future. We really encourage you to talk to us and give us truth that's unvarnished because the only way we'll be able to make that feedback useful. I want people feeling comfortable speaking truth, whether that's in surveys, coming into our Twitter DMs, etc. because that gives us the information needed to make actual changes. We are working toward getting that solved and making a space that's better for all creators.
The interviewer says,
When creators are constantly taking the hits on behalf of WotC because we're the people people can access. It takes a toll and wears on us. Are you putting together mental health and support resources because we need them.
They replied in part,
it's a super difficult problem without a straightforward answer.
The interviewer then had the sense of entitlement to say,
Employees have access to mental health resources and support. We as freelancers don't. it's become toxic. We're here because we love this game. it feels like you don't have our back and we need you to.
It seems like the interviewer is demanding free health care from the D&D company! The reply was an apparently deadpan,
Thank you for sharing that so openly.
The interviewer persisted,
There have been several missteps in the handling of race in D&D, handling of Hadozee, long-standing issues about orcs, changes to the term race, and more. Tasha's addressed it a little bit. What is your game plan for addressing this in the future? What is WotC's high level approach for handling it and how to rebuild trust?
The reply came,
We're doing inclusion reviews. Sharing it to a pro, sharing it to another pro. Make changes. Share it back to the pro and see if it addresses it. We want to make the game as welcoming as possible to as many people as possible but a fact of what happens i that some people will then dislike those changes. Species is one change we're testing. No decision has been made yet.
The interview went on…
What is Wizards core value at a high level? With queer, trans, etc. players more visible than possible, which has dangers. What is your core audience? What is your plan for race?
More, not fewer. We're trying to widen the play space. We're always making steps in those direction. I think today's audience is bigger than it has ever been, but I also think it's a fraction of what it could be so we need to be more inclusive. We need to look at what content is not welcome in our spaces because it reflects hate. We need to walk our convictions and ideologies of inclusivity to make it clear hate is not welcome. We're going to publish content guidelines so you'll be able to review it and comment on it. We're making changes on an ongoing basis. For example, "savage" is gone. "Dim-witted" is gone.
It often sounds like changes are made at the end of the process to be inclusive. i think we'd like to hear more about the steps taken in the early stages. Who is in the room from day one making sure not only is it something that can be caught in review but makes sure it's never in the book in the first place.?
It’s like an interrogation or an inquisition. It’s also a bit like a chess game in which the rule is that everyone must use progressive protocol and the objective is to come out looking good by the standards of wokeism.
Diverse teams make stronger and better teams. Having folks in the room who can offer different life perspectives. The inclusion review process came out after Spelljammerso now everything going forward has these checks in place from the beginning and the very formation of the idea. The process we have now, it never could have happened in Spelljammer. It would be caught early.
One shudders to think of the horrors that must be entailed in this emotionally traumatic Spelljammer experience…
Given that 95% of these questions have been addressed by your inclusivity and diversity team, how do you plan to expand and support the team?
They come to me and as they express needs, we address them.
Will you be hiring more because clearly more community support is needed?
Our team works heard to help and serve you. We may not get to everything immediately but we will escalate internally.
How pitiful, nay, contemptible their kowtowing is!
With all of this discussion of inclusivity, after having cut Black Dice Society and other similar BIPOC shows, how can we trust you? I know how much it takes to run a show. it's great to talk about equity and inclusion. but money talks so what about seed money or something because a D&D-backed show means a lot. Pulling the rug out from under us is hard. I want someone who can touch the money to answer this question.
I don't know the history....
It's not about the history. it's about moving forward.
I'd love to follow up more afterward and hear more. This isn't about easy questions. I wasn't at Wizards when this happened. I was brought on to lower barriers to access and to represent the voice of the creator space in D&D.
It’s like a store owner begging a mob to not torch their store. Later, the D&D people say,
Even reprints are going through inclusion review. That's why some older books are changing, too.
They go on to say that due to changes, players can no longer create half-orc or half-elf characters. They say that the idea of mixed race characters is “inherently racist”. They do not, however, attempt to explain why. Hilariously, Stutzman, the game director, they guy being interviewed identifies in his Twitter profile as “Half-elf”. Isn’t that supposed to be racist? What about woke racial separatism?
Source: Bounding Into Comics, captioned, “A human and a half-ling make sure their opponent is down for the count on a Dungeon Master’s Screen (2016), Wizards of the Coast”
Also at that summit, Bounding Into Comics reports,7
the post-demo Q&A turned to the topic of (Wizard of the Coast’s) ongoing efforts to sanitize D&D, beginning with a question about how exactly the publisher makes use of their sensitivity readers.
“We don’t send everything to the same people all the time,” Crawford explained of their content review process
They are referring to Jeremy Crawford, "Principal Game Designer for Dungeons & Dragons" according to his LinkedIn. They further quote him to say,
“Different reviewers have different areas of expertise and experience. Everything gets sent to at least 2 people, sometimes more. The old inclusion review process had holes in it because they would only send out what they thought would be a problem. Now EVERYTHING is sent out so we aren’t guessing what might be a problem.”
“Our team are game designers and storytellers, we’re not experts in culture and inclusion,” he added. “So we’re focused on what damage should this creature do. That’s why everything goes through inclusion review now so everything in our game brings out delight. Even reprints are going through inclusion review. That’s why some older books are changing, too.”
Further on, they write,
Crawford then confirmed that due to the game now having four elf variants for players to choose from when creating a character – standard Elves, high Elves, Wolf Elves, and the Drow – the Player’s Handbook would soon be revised to do away with ‘half-‘ species.
“Frankly, we are not comfortable, and haven’t been for years with any of the options that start with ‘half’,” he explained of this decision. “The half construction is inherently racist so we simply aren’t going to include it in the new Player’s Handbook.”
Unsurprisingly, Crawford did not expand on his accusation, and thus his reasoning behind this claim remains unknown.
The soon-to-be-memory-holed race descriptions for Half-Elves and Half-Orcs (2023), D&D Beyond Official Website
Let’s back up to December 1, 2022 when they announced
We have made the decision to move on from using the term "race" everywhere in
the game and
do not intend to return to that term.
They stated that they,
understand "race" is a problematic term that has had prejudiced links between real world people and the fantasy peoples of D&D worlds
…that they…
have also evolved the lore of the peoples throughout the D&D multiverse to be more diligent in extracting past prejudices, stereotypes, and unconscious biases.
…and that they…
are presenting a replacement for the term "race." That new term is “species.”
…they say and the term…
was chosen in close coordination with multiple outside cultural consultants.
Of course, they do not actually explain how or why these things are problematic or racist or whatever. That day, Bounding Into Comics reported,8
The change comes three months after Wizards of the Coast apologized to players of Spelljammer: Adventures in Space for its rules’ depiction of an alien species that many found to be a racist caricature. Then, in November, Wizards announced it would work with “multiple outside cultural consultants” to vet new material before its publication.
What was this alien species that many found to be a racist caricature and what was this apology? In Statement on the Hadozee by Dungeons and Dragons (September 2, 2022), they state,
We wanted to acknowledge and own the inclusion of offensive material within our recent Spelljammer: Adventures in Space content. We failed you, our players and our fans, and we are truly sorry.
The campaign includes a people called Hadozee which first appeared in 1982. Regrettably, not all portions of the content relating to the Hadozee were properly vetted before appearing in our most recent release. As we continue to learn and grow through every situation, we recognize that to live our values, we have to do better.
Throughout the 50-year history of Dungeons & Dragons, some of the characters in the game have been monstrous and evil, using descriptions that are painfully reminiscent of how real-world groups have been and continue to be denigrated. We understand the urgency of changing how we work to better ensure a more inclusive game.
Effective immediately, we will remove the offensive content about Hadozee in our digital versions – and these will no longer be included in future reprints of the book. Our priority is to make things right when we make mistakes. In addition, we’ve initiated a thorough internal review of the situation and will take the necessary actions as a result of that review.
Again, they don’t explain their reasoning. We are left to guess. They state nothing further, leaving only a link to a PDF of a page from Spelljammer referencing the Hadozee. See below.
What in this world or any other is racist about intelligent, extra-terrestrial, bipedal gliding monkeys?
We are eternally grateful for the ongoing dialog with the D&D community, and we look forward to introducing new, engaging and inclusive content to D&D for generations to come. D&D teaches that diversity is strength, for only a diverse group of adventurers can overcome the many challenges a D&D story presents. In that spirit, we are committed to making D&D as welcome and inclusive as possible. This part of our work will never end.
Oh, the “ongoing efforts to sanitize D&D”.9 Ah, yes! The triumphal, never-ending march of the cultural revolution! All we have to do is pile up the past, the books to be burned, thrown down the memory hole and eradicate all wrongthinkers. Onward ho! Comrades! Onward towards our glorious future - the utopia! Forever perched on the horizon, inviting, always receding out of reach like an eternally setting sun, soaked in blood.
According to a new report, Hasbro’s ongoing financial woes have gotten so bad that, in a desperate attempt to generate cash, the toy manufacturer has taken to shopping around the Dungeons & Dragons IP to any and all potential buyers – a leading candidate of which is the Chinese-owned entertainment conglomerate Tencent.
News of both Hasbro’s intent to sell the grandfather of all tabletop gaming and Tencent’s interest in taking it off their hands was first brought to light on January 29th by the China-based financial news outlet Speed Daily.
Per “people familiar with the matter” who allegedly spoke to the outlet (as translated via DeepL), negotiations between the two entities over the rights to D&D are currently “still in the early stages”, with both sides having “yet to agree on the details of the deal”.
One of the first entities approached by Hasbro to take D&D off their hands, Larian Studios ultimately had bow out of the running for its purchase due to “insufficient funds”.
However, in ostensibly recognizing just how massive of a boon such a large IP could present to any given company’s portfolio,rather than walk away from the offer completely, Larian Studios instead kicked it up to Tencent, who in turn agreed with the developer’s read of the deal’s potential and moved to make it happen.
To this end, a source within Tencent Interactive Entertainment Group (the company arm responsible for managing their video game, esports, and overseas operations) told Speed Daily that the company has already “come forward to conduct consultations with the intention of taking a series of rights, including the rights to adapt D&D video games.”
“Tencent currently holds a lot of top IP game adaptation rights,” they elaborated, as recapped by Speed Daily, “but because most of the authorization model is not a one-time buyout, resulting in Tencent not only need to bear the high copyright fees and long-term revenue sharing, but also often in the research and development and operation of the partner’s constraints.”
As noted above, Hasbro’s supposed decision to sell the most iconic tabletop gaming property of all time comes amidst an ongoing collapse of the company’s finances.
In 2019, the toy manufacturer’s stock price hit a record high of $123.67 USD and remained firmly above $90 USD throughout most of the year.
And though the company’s value suffered an unsurprising drop in 2020 with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it took only seven months (March – October) for it to climb back up past the $90 USD line.
But now, following the company’s hard turn to appealing to ‘wider audiences’ in recent years – as seen in their moving to ensure D&D materials offend absolutely no one, actively rejecting Power Rangers‘ Super Sentai roots, and allowing identity politics to run roughshod across Magic: The Gathering – their stock, at the time of this article’s writing, sits at just $48.95 USD.
Offering recognition to these financial struggles during the company’s Q3 2022 earnings call, Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks recapped to investors, “We’re continuing to see the Wizards of the Coast business performing well, particularly the Magic: The Gathering business, which year to date is up 5%, whereas the general games category are down as low as much as negative 8%, depending on which source you look at.”
Touching upon the subject a year later in their Q3 2023 earnings call, the company’s Chief Financial Officer Gina Goetter admitted, “Total Hasbro revenue of $1.5 billion was down 10% versus last year.”
“The impact of the broader toy category declines has had a change in our consumer products and total Hasbro outlook,” she further detailed. “Based on this, we now expect total Hasbro, Inc. revenue to be down 13% to 15%.”
As of writing, neither Hasbro, nor Tencent, nor Larian Studios have offered any official word regarding a potential sale of the D&D IP.
Let us tell a tale, a tale told in headlines. You are encouraged to read for yourself and, as always, to do their own research on the matter. However, we can, jokingly, summarize the matter as it now stands with merely a few headlines in the right order. But we’ll elaborate afterward.
They note that in the video in the post, Musk states,
“The problem with the DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) and the woke mind virus is that it kills the art. When you see something that’s forcibly imposed on a game, it kills the art. It kicks you out of the story because you feel you’re being lectured. Let me just enjoy my video games.”
They reported, furthermore,
Fans on X were excited about Musk’s decision to launch his own game studio. “We need this so bad, Elon! All the games coming out these last few years SUCK!” exclaimed one.
“Whoa, xAI is now going to make games. Huge,” said another. “This is the way,” added a third.
As of recently, Musk became the number one Diablo 4 player in the world. He was previously ranked within the top 20, but after conquering the Diablo Tier 150 in under two minutes on November 20, he took the world title.
The same day Elon Musk announced he would be starting his own AI game studio to make video games “great again,” he teased purchasing Hasbro to secure the rights to D&D.
They reiterated what they reported the previous day and added,
Now, it seems like Musk has his eyes set on another property and is seeking to change the way it’s run.
A week later, on November 27, X user Ian Miles Cheong posted a screenshot showing Tondro’s response to Musk’s prior concerns.
When addressing Musk’s criticism of the book, Tondro explained that he and others agreed that backlash would come from “progressives and people from underrepresented groups who justly took offense at the language of OD&D.”
However, while he didn’t expect the criticism to come from old-school players like Musk, he dismissed their comments.
“I just don’t take those critiques seriously even now. I consider those people not worth listening to, so I didn’t anticipate their ‘outrage,’” he said.
“How much is Hasbro?” Musk asked.
Although the X owner didn’t elaborate on a potential purchase, if Musk does end up acquiring Hasbro, he would also secure the rights to Transformers, Axis & Allies, Monopoly, Magic The Gathering, and even My Little Pony.
Musk’s latest remarks have generated considerable interest from both fans and industry analysts, who are now left wondering whether his proposed purchase could reshape the future of these beloved franchises. For now, though, the exact scope of Musk’s intentions remains uncertain.
why doesn’t a literal billionaire simply make his own RPG?
Get ready for the pot to call the kettle black. They also wrote,
Is it just easier to co-opt popular culture, than to try to build something original?
Also,
Maybe you should tell us what DnD should be like, because so far we only have an idea of what it shouldn’t. It shouldn’t be ‘woke’. Got it. But we know you’re not a reactionary, you’re a forward thinker, an ideas guy! So lay it on us – let us know how you’re going to purge all that worrying woke and simultaneously ensure DnD is a smash hit.
Musk acquiring Hasbro would synergize with plans for his new AI game studio project, providing the startup with access to some of the most well-known game IPs on the market. Dungeons & Dragons would be of particular interest to Musk's AI game studio because the D&D IP has already spawned a number video games throughout the ages, such as the Baldur's Gate series and others, and also comes with other digital assets like D&D Beyond.
Musk has a lot on his plate running multiple companies like X, Neuralink,Tesla and SpaceX. He’s also been a very active part of President-elect Trump’s transition team and tapped to oversee the Department of Government Efficiency with Vivek Ramaswamy. Hasbro might be too small for his attention or it could become a hobby unto itself for the entrepeneur.
The one thing that’s reliable about Elon Musk is his unpredictability. Time will tell if this was a momentary social media distraction or if he decides to get into the tabletop industry. Wherever he goes, disruption follows in his wake.
What has the Gygax family said about Musk’s comments?
In the wake of Musk’s comments, Gary Gygax’s daughter Heidi Gygax Garland responded on Facebook saying: “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 Mentzerstates 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.”
In their final thoughts, they write that it is
unlikely the Musk would or could buy Hasbro, both given his current financial resources and what he’s done with Twitter/X (both as a platform and a business). In fact, in a related story from Polygon, it was reported that numerous tabletop creators are migrating to Bluesky, the new social media platform which is an increasing rival to Twitter.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on this story in the days ahead.
The same applied to us. We shall update when applicable. Be sure to subscribe!
