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Fair warning, this is going to get rather maudlin.
Lately, it seems like there has been an uptick in threads blasting Paizo for the editorial decisions they've made. I won't be too specific here, but let's just say there have been complaints levied about the insulting lack of eye candy, or Paizo menacingly pushing the so-called 'gay agenda'. And to the credit of the posters here - and the human race - most of the community has rushed to Paizo's defense.
But I'm tired of waiting an reacting to negativity. Too often those of us who are impressed by the decisions a company makes are content to say 'Oh, that's nice' to ourselves and move on, while the bitter and angry minority tries to drown out the rest to sound bigger than they are.
So, apropos of no (specific) complaint:
Thank you, Paizo, for making a dedicated effort to include LGBTQ individuals - who have made up a large part of the human experience, but who have been relegated to obscurity bordering on invisibility.
Thank you for writing well-rounded female characters that are not relegated to damsels in distress and trophies to be won. For not treating female sexuality as something sinful or shameful, or as something that exists for men and male players.
Thank you for presenting humanity as a wide range of ethnicity and body types, and creating a human 'culture' that is as varied as our experiences in the real world. We are not uniform as a species - our art should reflect that.
Thank you for being accessible to your consumers. Far more often than not it feels as though companies are an unknown entity, rather than actual organization made of up of living people. Many companies, especially the larger ones, are content to allow third party intermediaries handle any direct public interaction and remain hidden behind official press releases.
Does Paizo achieve these things 100% of the time? No. Nobody does. But they are perhaps the most consistently thoughtful of any major tabletop or fantasy publisher on the market today. That they strive to reach a goal that is ultimately impossible, while managing to get a little closer at every opportunity, is something most of us appreciate - even if we do not say it often enough.
I started playing Pathfinder because I love role-playing and I love fantasy. It could have been any fantasy TTRPG, but with nearly every decision that Paizo makes in its materials and as a company in general, I feel more confident about that decision. There are very few companies I will gladly give my hard earned money to without a bit of ethical trepidation, and Paizo is chief among them. Thank you for being that, especially in an industry that desperately NEEDS a company like that.
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Nice to see a thread giving praise where it's due.
Entreris, you might also enjoy reading this one written in very much the same spirit as your thread here.
Cheers!
+1
Thanks Paizo - I may not agree with everything you do, but you do your darndest to make the best product you can. Thanks for everything.
Add my vote to this. If I wasn't already working in Modern Necromanc- uh, I mean Life Science Research, I would consider working for Paizo.
Pure Awesome on all fronts!
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Indeed. Such things are not to be taken for granted, and the fact that I do sometimes get upset at Paizo over such matters is only becuase I've been so spoiled by them that the slightest misstep is very noticable.
It's really awesome that I can actually take pride in being part of a community supporting this company. That I can just about take a random Paizo book out of a shelf, point to it and say "here is an example of so many things done right there's not even a point in counting them."
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Nice to see a thread giving praise where it's due.
Entreris, you might also enjoy reading this one written in very much the same spirit as your thread here.
That's awesome. Thanks for the link!
Just wanted to add my voice to chiming in on a positive thread.
Because yes.
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One other thing I'd like to add - in addition to embracing the community - to embracing 3PP as publishers and part of the community.
Seeing so many publishers posting and commenting on threads here is always amazing, and to see them work together with each other is great... and that wouldn't have happened if Paizo had not set the tone. The fact that Paizo embraces the OGL and supports the people that use it is a fantastic thing.
And whatever everyone else said.
Thanks.
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I just want to say I don't buy Paizo’s products because they are the best, which I believe they are. I back this company with my few Pesos (I'm a Mexican) because this is a company I can get behind with its values and its broad vision which is not only tolerant but also inclusive. Guys like these is the reason every weirdo out there feels at home in the golem's community. And that includes me.
