Pathfinder 1E An open letter to Paizo

[mcrow]

No, but my wife had a student commit suicide two weeks ago that same day he was picked up on marijuana drug charges. Granted, he wasn't a puppy, he was a 16-year-old kid.

That's a terrible thing to happen, but what does that have to do with this doll?

You are just overreacting.

If you seriously think this doll will make anyone do drugs or even influence them to do so, I'd have to question your experience with drug users.

having grown up in a family of drug addicts and alcholics (that are now clean, thank god), not one of them were influenced by a doll, cartoon, or anything like that. In most of them it was the fact that somewhere down the road their friends thoght smoking weed was what cool kids do and so they tried it and went on to harder drugs. Since they all are easily addictive personalities, it hooked them.

 

[Grimstaff]

Baked baked plush doll

I am VERY upset to see your "Baked Baked Plush" doll. My wife and I are both teachers of high risk students and my daughter works in drug rehabilitation and we have a FIRM, IRON-CLAD POLICY against spending money on any merchant who supports a drug lifestyle. The doll whose "activities include baking batches of special brownies, ripping crispy bingers and burning bowls followed by the consumption of large quantities of chips, cookies, candy bars, ice cream, pizza, pretty much anything edible and some things that aren't" certainly qualifies.

Anything that sends the message "you can celebrate your drug use with this purchase" is not acceptable to me. I estimate I have spent over $200 on Paizo products in the last year and was considering subscribing to your "Pathfinder" periodical. That is out of the question if you choose to market and sell this doll. Marijuana use is a "starter" for almost every other drug out there. Between students and clients my family has seen one tragic death, at least two murders, multiple life-changing injuries, multiple jail sentences (including two life sentences) and more than a few drop-outs related to drug use. We take this matter seriously and will not "get over it" or "lighten up" about "just pot."

I really hope I can spend money on Paizo products again. Send this doll back to the manufacturer now.

This is a RPG forum Firebeetle, please take your controversy mongering elsewhere. Issues like Politics, Religion, Abortion, and, yes, Drugs are inappropriate and unwelcome here. Your "Open Letter" is an obvious attempt to get some aggression going on these boards. If you truly have would like to implement some change on this subject, I would suggest you employ the proper (and more effective) methods of doing so, as opposed to unabashed rabble-rousing.

Is there a Mod in the house today?

 

[jonathan swift]

Ok, but what does that have to do with my point? No matter how you slice it you get gold and exp for killing things in D&D and we all think that is ok. A doll that is clearly meant to satirize a pothead is ok for the same reasons we assume D&D is ok. Those being that it is not real. You can't smoke the doll, you can't use the doll to consume drugs, it is just a doll. Same as D&D is just a game.

Some of us don't think it is okay. And that is why some of us play other RPGs than DnD. Don't make assumptions about your audience.

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

Ok, but what does that have to do with my point? No matter how you slice it you get gold and exp for killing things in D&D and we all think that is ok. A doll that is clearly meant to satirize a pothead is ok for the same reasons we assume D&D is ok. Those being that it is not real. You can't smoke the doll, you can't use the doll to consume drugs, it is just a doll. Same as D&D is just a game.

D&D is rather like taking your kids to a PG13 movie. PG13 movies don't contain depictions of drug use, although they occassionally do contain depictions of alchohol and tobacco use and most of them contain violence.

Drug use in movies garners an R rating pretty much every time. I don't allow my kids to watch R-rated movies. This doll depicts drug use, whether satirical or not, and is being sold in an online store alongside G-rated products (the above mentioned Bella Sara cards).

 

[mcrow]

Some of us don't think it is okay. And that is why some of us play other RPGs than DnD. Don't make assumptions about your audience.

Ok, what RPG do you play that doesn't involve violence of some kind?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Some of us don't think it is okay. And that is why some of us play other RPGs than DnD. Don't make assumptions about your audience.

Don't assume people posting on ENWorld play D&D? Really?

I suppose we shouldn't suppose people posting over at FoxSports.net like sports, either, but the assumption is going to be made.

 

[jonathan swift]

Ok, what RPG do you play that doesn't involve violence of some kind?

Dogs in the Vineyard, Primetime Adventures, Mortal Coil. All are games that can be played without violence or with.

And plenty of others can be played with combat without glorifying killing other sentient beings.

 

[Arkhandus]

And to be honest, I find it a tad hypocritical. You play a game that essentially glamorizes murdering sentient beings and stealing their stuff.

No, we play a game that traditionally revolves around slaying dangerous monsters. (edit: and general adventuring of course, d'oh) Some people may vary it and focus more on fighting other humanoids or other potentially-capable-of-being-halfway-decent sentient creatures, but the core of D&D is monster-slaying.

Personally, I play it for the heroic aspects, random sillyness, and some interactive storytelling. And that's pretty much the default. So I don't think there's anything hypocritical about it at all.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

D&D is rather like taking your kids to a PG13 movie.

You cannot assume for a moment than anyone else's D&D game is PG-13, G, NC17 or anything else.

This doll depicts drug use, whether satirical or not, and is being sold in an online store alongside G-rated products (the above mentioned Bella Sara cards).

This is the Internet, not a store shelf. She cannot stumble upon this doll if she's looking at Bella Sara cards.

 

[jonathan swift]

Don't assume people posting on ENWorld play D&D? Really?

I suppose we shouldn't suppose people posting over at FoxSports.net like sports, either, but the assumption is going to be made.

From a lot of the big poll threads lately, there is at least a sizeable chunk of the ENWorld population that doesn't play DnD, but plays other RPGs and sees this as a good community for general discussion.