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Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere on the boards, but I saw this posted around the Twittersphere, and felt like sharing this:
That's pretty awesome. :)
Yay!
Mega-cool. :-)
:D
Nice! This made my Friday!
This is super sweet :)
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Copy/Paste for those of us unable to traverse to tumblr?
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Copy/Paste for those of us unable to traverse to tumblr?
Transcript:
Paizo, You’re Just The Best!
So a little while ago I made a post about coming out as Transgender, and the issues that came with that regarding my family and my friends.Wes Schneider (I’m a tumblr noob and have no idea how to make that into a link to his tumblr), of Paizo Publishing sent me a message, and asked if he and his people could send some swag to make a hard time easier.
Well, it arrived.
That gesture in itself was amazing, but inside the cover of the Inner Sea Gods hardcover was this.
Annnnd! On the inside cover of Chronicle of the Righteous was this.
From Wes himself!~ And I’ll even show you the pages he marked off as things that might be of particular interest to me.
One of the Empyreal Lords in Chronicles of the Righteous called “Arshea”
Who embodies both and neither gender, and “Worshipers believe that one’s gender and role in society are not tied to one’s physical form.”
The second marked page was in “The Worldwound Incursion” and it was for a character named “Anevia Tirabade”
Who’s very opening line is “Born a man and originally named Anvenn”.
A deep, and.. just, I don’t really know how to put into words, amazing thank you to Wes and to Paizo. Not only did they think of me, and send me these awesome things! But personal thought was put into every little gesture.
It.. Yeah, I don’t know how to express how grateful I am for just a kind gesture in a difficult time for me. It wasn’t something that HAD to be done, it was something they chose to do. As an absolute fan of their work in general, I can’t begin to explain what it means.
Thank you Wes, and thank you Paizo.
Aww! Entirely my pleasure!
Games like Pathfinder have always been, in large part, about exploring idealized versions of ourselves, about being brave against all odds, about being heroes. Sometimes its hard to be brave, and sometimes it sure isn’t fun. But if a few words in a book can make it easier for us to be brave, even if it’s just in a safe space with friends for a few hours, I know how much that can mean.
You’re already being pretty damn brave, and, in my opinion, heroics should always come with goblins to kill. So I hope those serve you well for many awesome adventures to come! :)
It's always nice to see a company that does this.
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That's incredibly awesome.
It's also one of the big reasons I'm a subscriber -- I like to reward the companies that are awesome.
I can't express how important it is to see positive, effective trans portrayals like these -- it is so easy to feel marginalized without them.
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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This, along with so many other things, is why I've given Paizo so much of my money for their writing, and why I've made it such a priority to get to be a freelancer for them. If ever there was a company that deserved to have the rights of a human being, I'd say it's Paizo.
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Seems like every time I get upset with Paizo for some ruling via FAQ or Errata, nerfbat something into unplayability that doesn't deserve it/wasn't the problem, or just generally devs post something that I consider to be rather stupid (see the "because I say so" dodging questions of the blood drinker feat debacle going on)....
They turn around and do something like this. Just... Damn you Paizo for being so awesome. I'd like to see some other big company do this for one of their fans. They won't, mainly because they're "Profits and share holders first! Everyone else later!" types.
Just... Hurry up and take my money before the pendulum swings and I'm raging about the latest illogical debacle. xD
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Utterly amazing!
Lots of us say that Liz Courts rocks at one time or another—'cuz she does—but we rarely spread that sentiment to all the other incredible staff at Paizo. So without further ado...
Wes, you rock! :D
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This was beautiful.
Wes you rock, and for everyone else with Paizo, let me say that you're all awesome people and you should continue to feel awesome. :)
This was genuinely touching and it made me smile all morning.
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Being transgendered myself and struggling with telling my friends and family, as well as being part of a gaming group that wonders why I always play female characters, seeing the company do this really gives me hope that there are decent people out there. It also makes me really want to continue supporting Paizo by buying their products. Thank you for this wonderful gift you've given a fellow gamer and transwoman. **hugs to all**
Awesome! Thanks, Paizo!
It's very nice to see a modern company be so "human"....nicely done folks ;)
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Very, very nice, Wes and the rest of Paizo. As another transgender person, let me say thank you for reaching out to her like this. It was really lovely of you.
And if the girl in question is reading this, check out the LGBT Gamer Community Thread if you get the chance. There are a lot of good, supportive people over there, including trans people. Good luck to you and safe journey.
This is made of awesome. 'Nuff said.
{. . .}
And Wesley Schneider's response.
Just one problem: What if a Goblin needs to come out?
(Grinning, ducking, and running)
OK, I'm confused. Why was a post I recently made pointing out how the use of a certain word was offensive to the differently abled deleted? I see plenty of support for the GLBT community here on the Paizo fora, but when someone makes offensive comments about other groups that are discriminated against in our society it is verboten to call them out on it?
I had thought that Paizo strove to be respectful and inclusive of ALL groups, not just a select one or two favorites.
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OK, I'm confused. Why was a post I recently made pointing out how the use of a certain word was offensive to the differently abled? I see plenty of support for the GLBT community here on the Paizo fora, but when someone makes offensive comments about other groups that are discriminated against in our society it is verboten to call them out on it?
I had thought that Paizo strove to be respectful and inclusive of ALL groups, not just a select one or two favorites.
It was probably removed along with the post it referred to and the one that referred to.
The whole sequence got tossed at once.
No, what I am referring to was posted AFTER the sequence got removed.
I've already belabored the issue for too long, and for that I apologize. It has nothing to do with the existence of this thread, which is to discuss a "heartwarming message" Paizo apparently sent to a TG fan. Which was a good thing.
I just wrote a long explanation of what actually happened, and chose to delete it. I'll just repeat the important point -- which I sincerely hope Paizo sees fit to leave up, as it is both highly relevant to the situation and highly important to some of its customers:
The word "lame", used in a derogatory manner, is considered offensive to the differently abled. If a person is going to try to rebuke those who, accidentally or not, use words that are similarly offensive to the trans community (or any other group), they would do well not to use the word "lame" in a derogatory manner when they do so.
That is a truth, and if Paizo chooses to discard it as unfit for its message boards, it will tell me something about Paizo.
And that's the end of it from me.
Bravo Paizo! One of the many reasons I love this company.
Publisher, Chief Creative Officer
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It was deleted because it was part of a thread derail having to do with another word many find offensive, that you brought into the conversation in the first place.
Your points about the word "lame" were not part of the problem, and we have no problem with you reposting them.
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Good work Paizo. It's heart-warming to see such humanity at work like this.
I'm building up to telling my own family about my own heterosexuality. I hope Wes sends me some books. :-)
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When I first came across this thread, it gave me incredible joy and made me happy to be living in the twenty-first century.
Please don't turn it into one that makes me hate people on the internet. There are plenty of other threads available for such discussions.
The original post on this thread is still one of the coolest things I've heard all month -- and July was already a cool month.
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Assistant Software Developer
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Also, on a personal note, while I think Werebat has a point, it's a topic for another discussion. If you feel strongly about it, and it sounds like you do, you should really start another topic on the subject. It's a good way to get the people at paizo to hear you better as long as it's respectful to both the people in the thread and the topic at hand.
