Pathfinders Totem Deck rant

[moonvoice]

So, I was checking out the Pathfinders Animal Totems deck, as you do, mainly just because I was curious and because you know - eventually I would like to break my own deck out into the market, if I ever get it off the ground (60 pictures and counting) - and I saw this:

23) Mouse/Rat/Shrew/Bilby/Capybara

Um, WTF? The Bilby is NOT, and never HAS BEEN a rodent. It does not belong on a card with other rodents. It never will belong on a card with other rodents. It's energy is in no way rodent-like. At the very least, it should go with Bandicoot, and other members of it's family. Because they ARE similar.

I have a problem with condensing several animals into one card already, but this is just ridiculous. Research might seem hard to comprehend, but it really does help if you at least don't offend the Australians, and the Indigenous Aborigines who would see this, and probably just scoff in disgust. Why not just put Thylacine with the dogs? Why not just put the marsupial mole with mammalian moles? And I know, why not just put whales, sharks, seals and fish together! Because hey, if they swim in the sea, they might as well go together right?

*cough* Bah. On behalf of the Australians that give a shit, and are sick to death of foreigners butchering where our animals stand in the hierarchy and then lumping them with mammals, I am pissed.

*bitchslaps the person who came up with that*

I sent them a comment.
I guess it's fair to say that when it comes to Australian totemism, I know where I - and a lot of others - stand.

Comments

[chibithejournal.livejournal.com]

I am part of the deck, one of the artists at least, and I know several people have raised eyebrows at it. One person came up with the deck and everything about it, no one else was a part of it or was consulted or asked for feedback before the list was thrown up there. Im agitated at a few things at this point in the way its being run and Im close to backing out... I just dont think its going to end up being very proffesional. I would like to make my own deck but I dont have the resources or the 'fame' to market it. Ah well.

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I wondered how much control the artists had... it's just such a shame. It has so many amazing artists, and so much potential. I mean I look at the pictures and I'm like 'holy spamoly that's amazing!' and then I look at the categories and cringe. But you don't buy a deck just for the artwork, you buy it for the integrity of the information, and that just makes me sad. :/