Pathfinder 1E An open letter to Paizo

[Firebeetle]

I guess I'm in the minority hear, but:

Lighten up already.

Good gravey, you'd have thought they ate someones pupy or something.

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.

 

[Xyxox]

Minors with credit cards?

The people buying from Paizo are adults. If there are adults who simply hand their credit cards to their children and turn them loose on the Internet, that's a much bigger issue than a stupid doll.

When ClubPenguin or Disney's ToonTown start to feature stoner characters, the OP has a point. Paizo sells products to people with credit cards.

And this thread belongs at their site, not here.

I didn't say they buy stuff. I said they peruise the site. They look at the stuff.

 

[6pakofdwarves]

I think the OP is over reacting. A doll that satirizes the drug culture is hardly going to be the "gateway" to addiction. Since they stated they worked so closely with at risk/ addicted individuals they should realize that this won't cause anyone to try drugs.
And to be honest, I find it a tad hypocritical. You play a game that essentially glamorizes murdering sentient beings and stealing their stuff. If you worked in the psyche ward for violent offenders would you be so outspoken against RPG's? Or just say "Now THAT is just fantasy, not real". Just saying

 

[mattcolville]

I feel the sudden urge to play FLUXX.

 

[catsclaw227]

Minors with credit cards?

The people buying from Paizo are adults. If there are adults who simply hand their credit cards to their children and turn them loose on the Internet, that's a much bigger issue than a stupid doll.


When ClubPenguin or Disney's ToonTown start to feature stoner characters, the OP has a point. Paizo sells products to people with credit cards.

Minors browse the Paizo site, they participate in the forums and they learn about new products there. You don't need a credit card to do this.

And this thread belongs at their site, not here.

If you don't like that the OP posted the thread here, I guess you simply don't have to read it. The Paizo staff reads this forum, and it has made others (like me) aware of the offending toy. That is a good thing, as far as I am concerned.

But YMMV....

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

I think the OP is over reacting. A doll that satirizes the drug culture is hardly going to be the "gateway" to addiction. Since they stated they worked so closely with at risk/ addicted individuals they should realize that this won't cause anyone to try drugs.
And to be honest, I find it a tad hypocritical. You play a game that essentially glamorizes murdering sentient beings and stealing their stuff. If you worked in the psyche ward for violent offenders would you be so outspoken against RPG's? Or just say "Now THAT is just fantasy, not real". Just saying

I'm currently teaching my kids how to play D&D and my wife and I emphasize that killing isn't the only solution to a problem in the game.

And D&D, at least the Basic Game, is a product targeted to ages 12 and up and is sold at Paizo's online store...along with this doll.

 

[Gold Roger]

I won't get deep into this, since it's a political issue and thus strictly against board policy.

While I agree it's an odd choice for paizo to add to its catalogue, I see no problem with this silly doll, other than it touching some peoples sensibilities.

 

[Firebeetle]

Can I ask why you didn't post this at Paizo, since that link is, in fact, a message board page in addition to being the item page?

And there's nothing illegal about selling a doll to adults. And to say this doll glamorizes drugs is to require that someone reads the ad copy. It's a very silly little doll not worth all this furor.

I e-mailed them that very same letter directly. I am posting here because ENWorld is the heart of the D&D community in my opinion. I am glad to see so many supporters, I was afraid I would stand alone. The absolute lack of drugs in my 27 years of gaming led me to hope others felt as I did and I am glad I was right.

You are correct, there is nothing illegal about selling the doll. That's not my point. They can choose to sell it, and I can choose to take my business elsewhere. It is in the quiet acceptance that they sell an item that promotes a drug lifestyle that is an evil. If there is one thing I've learned over my years of public service with children, it's that drugs are evil and users need only the thinnest idea that there is some acceptance to it to qualify and continue their actions to themselves and to others. In a capitalist society, the choices we make with our dollars speak volumes. In the last decade, consumer backlash has created better conditions for livestock, more educational television for children, and healthier Happy Meals at McDonald's (three of many examples.)

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

I won't get deep into this, since it's a political issue and thus strictly against board policy.

While I agree it's an odd choice for paizo to add to its catalogue, I see no problem with this silly doll, other than it touching some peoples sensibilities.

I don't think it is a political issue, per se...although it walks the line a bit.

It is a discussion, albeit a heated one, about a product being sold by one of the companies whose products are frequently discussed on these boards.

 

[6pakofdwarves]

I'm currently teaching my kids how to play D&D and my wife and I emphasize that killing isn't the only solution to a problem in the game.

And D&D, at least the Basic Game, is a product targeted to ages 12 and up and is sold at Paizo's online store...along with this doll.

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.