Robert Kuntz, one of the founders of Dungeons & Dragons, blasted Wizards of the Coast for attacking him and his fellow original creators in the preface to the recently released book, Dungeons & Dragons – the Making of Original D&D: 1970-1977.
Robert J. Kuntz at Lucca Comics & Games 2015. Photo Credit: Niccolò Caranti, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
In the preface written by Jason Tondro, a Senior Designer on Dungeons & Dragons, and shared to X by user dLsd_25, Tondro attacks the original creators writing, “Some language in the first iteration of D&D presents a moral quandary. The documents reproduced in this book include many pages of charts and tables alongside lists of monsters, spells, and magic items. But that game content also includes a virtual catalog of insensitive and derogatory language, words that are casually hurtful to anyone with a physical or mental disability, or who happens to be old, fat, not conventionally attractive, indigenous, Black, or a woman.”
Tondro continued, “Some people have charitably ascribed this language to authors working from bad assumptions. In the 1970s, historical wargamers in America were predominately white, middle-class men; it isn’t surprising that they would dub a class of soldiers the ‘fighting-man.’ But when, in the pages of Greyhawk, the description of the Queen of Chaotic Dragons includes a dig at ‘Women’s Lib,’ the misogyny is revealed as a conscious choice. It’s an unfortunate fact that women seldom appear in original D&D, and when they do, they’re usually portrayed disrespectfully.
Dungeons & Dragons – the Making of Original D&D: 1970-1977 (2024), Wizards of the Coast
Tondro went on, “Slavery appears in original D&D not as a human tragedy that devastated generations over centuries, but as a simple commercial transaction.”
“The cultural appropriation of original D&D ranges from the bewildering (like naming every 6th-level cleric a ‘lama’) to the staggering; Gods, Demi-gods and Heroes (not reprinted in this book) includes game statistics for sacred figures revered by more than a billion people around the world,” he wrote. “Were players expected to fight Vishnu, one of the principal deities of Hinduism, kill him, and loot his ‘plus 3 sword of demon slaying’?”
Tondro concluded the preface writing, “Despite these shortcomings, D&D has always been a game about people choosing to be someone unlike themselves and collaborating with strangers who become friends. It has slowly become more inclusive, and as the player base has become more diverse, the pool of creators who make the game has expanded to include people with a broader range of identities and backgrounds. As these new creators make the game more welcoming, the game has attracted new fans who, in turn, continue to make the game more inclusive. The future of Dungeons & Dragons, here at its fiftieth anniversary, is bright.”
A screenshot from Dungeons & Dragons – the Making of Original D&D: 1970-1977 (2024), Wizards of the Coast
It was not just Tondro who attacked Kuntz and the other original creators such as Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, but so did Jon Peterson who penned a Foreword for the book. Peterson is a writer who has co-authored Dungeons & Dragons: Art & Arcana, Heroes’ Feast: The Official Dungeons & Dragons Cookbook, and Heroes’ Feast Flavors of the Multiverse.
In his Foreword, Peterson wrote, “Note that the ‘Rules for Fantastic Medieval Wargames Campaigns’ that make up original D&D were created and sold to a wargaming community that was almost exclusively white, middle-class men. The rules compiled here offer little by way of roles for other players, nor indeed for anyone who wouldn’t easily identify with a pulp sword-and-sorcery hero. Especially before 1974, the rules made light of slavery, in addition to including other harmful content. To reiterate the disclaimer Wizards of the Coast includes on legacy D&D content, ‘these depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. The content is presented as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed.'”
A screenshot from Dungeons & Dragons – the Making of Original D&D: 1970-1977 (2024), Wizards of the Coast
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Kuntz reacted to these attacks in a post to X from his Three Line Studio account. He wrote, “You know I have to take a break from posting. This whole attack upon OleTSR has really tripped my trigger. A 50th year celebration and this is it: Of the original D&D authors and its supplements Gary, Dave, Jim Ward and Brian Blume are gone; and that leaves me alone as the last man standing, the last author. It really is a burden watching this slanderous episode unfold. And it was done without one bat of the eyelash, a WoTC fate accompli, done in such as assumptive manner as if they wield the holy articles on morality which they enact with their reprehensible judge, jury and executioner demeanor. They are probably wincing and wonder: Us? The Saints of Truth? More like Snakes.”
He continued, “Anyone who would until the majority of authors who created the game were gone to stick it to them in this manner is a vile snake; and just to complete the deed do it on the 50th, show their admirers who’s in charge, show them who’s in control of the IP. They fear those times, times they had no hand in creating; and they especially fear Gary Gygax. His name sends shivers up and down their crooked spines; and if it wasn’t enough to have hounded him in life, let’s do a Houdini and trample on his grave. Disgusting slime.”
Dungeons & Dragons – the Making of Original D&D: 1970-1977 (2024), Wizards of the Coast
Next, Kuntz wrote, “But it’s not just Gary or Dave and us others. It’s also about wanting to wipe out that success and claim it as their own; and in order to do that the fandom must be attacked as well as that history. All of it must be purged and never again allowed to exist. These people are the epitome of evil robber barons parading as the good guys. Sleight of hand bulls**t from gold-hobbled prestidigitators who don’t know Fantasy or how to summon it.”
“What they know how to push down on their little man syndromes by stepping on those whose shoes they can never walk in, that and preaching righteous indignation while counting their bottom lines, taking their vacations, and dreaming about their next cafe latte. Posers, one and all,” he added.
He concluded, “We fought these establishment pukes back in the mid seventies as they gathered about a fledgling TSR to bring it down. Now it’s the second round. Robilar may be a little aged but he’s not dead yet. You have made a permanent enemy of many you stupid Coastal Wizards. Let’s see how many real magic cards you hold besides illusory ones; for this battle, neither sought after nor wanted by me and others, is just beginning. You’ll get sick of hearing my name soon enough. It’s spelled Kuntz!”
Good Night from Corsica. But do read and repost.. I shall return after recharging. pic.twitter.com/1vHVe0w2jE
— Three Line Studio (@threelinestudio) June 24, 2024
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In a follow-up post Kuntz noted that he was sending a letter to Wizards of the Coast’s parent company Hasbro and it would determine his next course of action.
He posted, “Gauntlets have been cast. My letter to Hasbro will decide the next course of action. Mark. My. Words.”
If I could give more likes I would. Gauntlets have been cast. My letter to Hasbro will decide the next course of action. Mark. My. Words.
— Three Line Studio (@threelinestudio) June 25, 2024
In a more recent post, Kuntz described the current management of Wizards of the Coast as “the Real Racists” while sharing an image of a quote from Wizards of the Coast’s Executive Producer Kyle Brink.
Brink’s quote reads, “There’s been mistakes made in years past where people assumed that Dungeons & Dragons players were all, you know, white dudes in a basement, which has been a faulty assumption for a lot of years and gets more and more false every day. And so in my viewpoint, honestly, guys like me can’t leave soon enough for this hobby.”
Brink’s comments came in an interview with 3 Black Halflings.
Kuntz reacted to Brink’s comment on X, “Just a reminder of the Real Racists in this hobby, and in their own words. Also a reminder that it was white dudes with the help of white women that created this hobby for everyone to share in, no matter their race, color or creed. Remember that as WotC and ilk slay the EGG.”
Just a reminder of the Real Racists in this hobby, and in their own words. Also a reminder that it was white dudes with the help of white women that created this hobby for everyone to share in, no matter their race, color or creed. Remember that as WotC and ilk slay the EGG. pic.twitter.com/KCkx5EwLoi
— Three Line Studio (@threelinestudio) July 10, 2024
What do you make of Kuntz putting Wizards of the Coast on blast?
