Voting for RPG Superstar Round 2 continues, and the competitors are getting anxious. To give them something to do, here’s a sample boards-friendly monster stat block. Competitors, feel free to practice your Round 3 monster challenge using this format—you’ll be able to copy and paste this into your entry and maintain proper formatting.
[b]----- Special Abilities -----[/b] [b]zzName (Ex/Sp/Su)[/b] zzDescription
Notes for the Competitors
Here are some tips for using the above stat block, and building stat blocks in general.
## is a placeholder for a number, so an entry like "Init +##" should be something like "Init +2" or "Init -2" in your monster stat block.
zz is a placeholder for anything other than a number (obviously, "zzSize" means you should replace it with a game term for size, such as "Medium," not "zzMedium").
When you are finished, your monster stat block should not have ## or zz in it at all.
If your monster doesn't have an ability mentioned in the sample stat block format (such as DR, SR, Immune, an "plus" effect for a melee or ranged attack, a conditional skill bonuses, or racial skill modifiers), delete that ability and its placeholders. For example, if your monster doesn't have damage reduction, delete the "DR ##/zzMaterial" and the semicolon after it so the line starts with "Immune."
If your monster has an ability that isn't presented in the sample stat block format (such as Spells Known), add it to the stat block, making sure to put it in the correct section of the stat block (for example, Spells Known goes in the Offense section) and match the bold and/or italic format for that ability as shown in a printed stat block.
If the monster doesn't have Feats, Skills, or Languages, delete the entire Feats, Skills, or Languages line.
If your monster has Space 5 ft. and Reach 5 ft., delete that entire line (the default is a monster with that size and reach).
When you are finished, your stat block shouldn't have any "blank" entries like "DR —."
The Defense, Offense, Statistics, and Ecology lines have "-----" at the beginning and end to visually offset those section headers. This is because the messageboard code doesn't allow you to underline text, and this is an easy and clear way to duplicate the printed stat block format for this purpose. Do not tamper with those lines.
In a printed stat block, the individual listings for the spell-like abilities are indented, but it's difficult to make that work in the messageboards, so if your monster has spell-like abilities, just use the non-indented format as presented in the above sample stat block.
If your monster has a new ability (such as "Arcane Vengeance" or "Eyeball Eater"), you must explain it in the Special Abilities part of the stat block.
If your monster has a common ability from the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook (such as sneak attack) or a universal monster rule from the Bestiary or Bestiary 2 (such as grab or stench), you do not need to provide the description of that ability in the Special Abilities part of the stat block (we assume the reader knows how sneak attack, grab, and stench work, or can look them up in the appropriate book).
Voting closes on Monday, February 6th and the Top 16 winners are announced on Tuesday, February 7th. At that time we’ll reveal the “twist” for Round 3!
Our Top 32 contestants have submitted their Round 2 new organization concepts! These round two submissions have been revealed to the general public with judges’ comments. Discuss the entries and vote for your favorite! Voting ends on February 6 and the Top 16 by votes will move on to Round 3. You can change your mind anytime until voting closes Monday, February 6 at 2 p.m. Pacific time.
The ultimate winner of RPG Superstar, announced April 3, 2012, will write a Pathfinder Module to be published in early 2013. The 2011 RPG Superstar champion module, Sam Zeitlin’s The Midnight Mirror, releases in April 2012.
Tuesday, we announced the Top 32 for RPG Superstar. Now those lucky, skilled gamers are hammering away at the Round 2 task of designing a new Golarion organization. Their submissions are due Friday, secretly reviewed by the judges over the weekend, and go live for voting on Tuesday, January 31. Good luck to the Top 32!
If you submitted a wondrous item and didn’t make it into the Top 32, don’t lose heart! One, not winning your first RPG Superstar is a fine tradition upheld by 2009’s winner Neil Spicer and 2010’s winner Matt Goodall—you now have a year to practice and hone your craft for the next competition. And don’t forget to stop by the Official Critique My Item Thread to get some feedback on your item from the community and perhaps the judges!
I’m also doing something new this year. During the selection process, the judges set aside items that may be suitable for the Top 32, usually ending up with 40–60 items that they winnow down to just 32 plus four alternates. If your item is on the following list, your item was on that longer list but didn’t make that final cut. To help improve your skills, if your item is listed here and you’d like me to give you feedback from the perspective of a Paizo developer, reply to this blog post and I’ll repost your item with my feedback—the same sort of feedback I’d give to a new freelancer.
Note: Only the items in the following list get this special treatment... I don’t have time in my work schedule to give feedback on hundreds of items.
Also, requesting feedback means you won’t be able to submit this item next year, as the judges will know who you are and therefore your item won’t be anonymous anymore. Fortunately, a true superstar has more than one awesome idea, and you should be able to take what you learned this year and create something even better next year!
Bracers of Versatile Channeling
Compass of the Void Shaper
Darklight Candle
Dust of the Shaitan
Facsimile Stone
Gloves of Theurgy
Gunhunter's Coin
Meridian Needles
Mirror of Monstrous Echoes
Necklace of Mirrored Alignment
Orb of the Dawnflower
Periapt of Continuous Haleness
Ponderous Pebble
Scatterself Stone
Shelyn's Thrush
Stubborn Nail
Torc of Zealous Tenacity
Vest of Second Skin
Viperfang Scabbard
Walking Stick of the Revered Elder
Paizo Publishing today announced the finalists for RPG Superstar, the largest open-call tabletop roleplaying game design contest in history. Judges Ryan Dancey, Clark Peterson, Sean K Reynolds, and Neil Spicer selected the Top 32 from hundreds of submissions in an initial contest to design a wondrous item using the rules from the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, available in stores and in electronic form on paizo.com. The Top 32 wondrous items are now on display at paizo.com, complete with judge commentary and additional comments from 2011 RPG Superstar finalists Sam McGowan, Jerral Toi, and winner Sam Zeitlin. Gamers are invited to contribute their own comments to the entries.
"RPG Superstar is a unique opportunity for gamers to become professional designers and for Paizo to discover new, talented writers," said judge and Paizo game developer Sean K Reynolds. "As a developer who regularly works with about a dozen notables from previous competitions, I look forward to seeing these designers grow and improve over the next four challenges. Congratulations to this year’s Top 32!"
The Top 32 finalists (and their winning wondrous items) for RPG Superstar 2012 are (in alphabetical order):
2012’s alternates are Benjamin Medrano, Andrew Newton, and Alex van der Kleut.
UPDATE: Anthony Guillotte, a Top 32 contestant, elected to drop out of the competition, and Jason Neals failed to complete an organization, allowing Andrew Newton and Benjamin Medrano to advance from alternate to the Top 32.
The Top 32 will now be required to design a concept for a new organization to the specifications of the RPG Superstar judges and submit that concept by 2:00 PM Pacific time on Friday, January 27. These round two submissions will be revealed to the general public on January 31 with judges’ comments and the public will then get to discuss the entries and vote for their favorite. Voting ends on February 6 and the Top 16 by votes will move on to round three.
The ultimate winner of RPG Superstar, announced April 3, 2012, will write a Pathfinder Module to be published in early 2013. The 2011 RPG Superstar champion module, Sam Zeitlin’s The Midnight Mirror, releases in April 2012.
As the four judges whittle down the RPG Superstar wondrous item “keeps” pile from about 60 to just 32 + 4 alternates, I thought we could take some time to hear from two of our guest judges for Round 1—Sean McGowan and Jerral Toi, who made it to the Top 4 last year. Take it away, gentlemen!
Sean K Reynolds Designer and RPG Superstar Judge
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RPG Superstar has, over the past few years, become as much a part of my holiday season as any family traditions I may have grown up with. It’s just not a proper winter wonderland ’til there’s a big, pretty link to the Superstar forums on the left side of the Paizo page. (Plus, it serves as a reminder that I need to start getting some shopping done.)
Paizo has created a great annual event with this contest, and much like the Macy’s parade or the New Year’s Eve ball drop, I hope it never goes away, but just stretches on into the future leaving an infinite number of superstar winners in its wake. Leaving aside the fun factor (and that’s a lot to leave aside...) it’s a great experience to just be able to see new RPG writers developing.
The first two years of the contest, I had a blast just being a spectator and kibitzing from the sidelines. The next two years I was lucky enough to make it in as a contestant. As one of the Top 4, I was thrilled at getting the chance to write a Pathfinder Society Scenario for Paizo, and loved the experience. This year, I’m enjoying the role of guest judge for Round 1. I’m very much looking forward to participating in the contest in this new fashion, not least because I’m a deeply impatient person and getting to see the Round 1 entries a week before they’re public is awesome.
Sean McGowan RPG Superstar Guest Judge
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2011 was a crazy year. The RPG Superstar contest was one of the most stressful, yet fun and exciting times of my gaming history. In the end, I placed in the Top 4 and was given the opportunity to start edging my way into game design freelancing. In addition to working with Mark Moreland on Pathfinder Society Scenario #3–09: The Quest for Perfection—Part I: The Edge of Heaven, I also infiltrated the kobold mines and snuck an article featuring alchemist archetypes into Kobold Quarterly 19. Right now, I am working on a series of steampunk-themed projects for Nevermet Press.
Publication, however, is only one of the many good things to emerge from competing. The contest forced me to reexamine several previously engrained thoughts and habits pertaining to writing and gaming. During the contest, the judges and broader audience shared a lot of information and advice about gaming, writing, and the RPG industry, as well as personalized and individual feedback. Where else can you get good and immediately applicable advice like this?
I am looking forward to learning even more in 2012.
Greetings, potential superstars! This is just a warning that the deadline for your Round 1 wondrous item submission is tomorrow at 2 PM Pacific Time!
What's that? You say you haven't submitted an item? Why not? You have nothing to lose by submitting an item. Every year, most of the competitors who advance to Round 2 planned their item ahead of time, but we always have a few who decided at the last minute to participate. There's still time tonight to prepare yourself and submit a cool item.
Even if you don't think you're going to win, you should submit something anyway. Your wondrous item may have exactly the sort of creativity the judges are looking for. You may end up writing professionally for Paizo. Wouldn't it be cool to get your name on a Pathfinder RPG book? Wouldn't it be cool to get paid to write roleplaying games? This is an incredible opportunity, and if you don't submit something by tomorrow, you'll have to wait until December next year to try again.
The Paizo offices are closed today as we all celebrate another orbital cycle around the sun, and it’s likely many of you fine Paizo blog readers are off today doing the same. But that doesn’t mean everyone should relax. No, the fine RPG Superstar judges are working hard to pare down the entrants in this year’s contest to the 32 best submissions, and since their judging duties are in addition to their everyday jobs, a day off is a great time to make headway on the daunting task.
For those of you playing at home, a holiday is also a great time to get your Round 1 entry polished off and submitted. There are only a few days left to submit your wondrous item for review and a chance to make the Top 32 and move on to Round 2 of RPG Superstar 2012, so don’t miss out! The deadline is this Friday, January 6; see all the rules and submission guidelines here.
May 4712 AR be the best year yet for Paizo, RPG Superstar, and all of you—our faithful fans and constant customers. Desna smile upon you!
Greetings, potential superstars! There’s been some discussion about the Round 2: Organizations challenge, as smart competitors want to start working on a Round 2 submission early just in case they make it into the Top 32. While we haven’t finalized the rules document for Round 2 yet, we have decided the Organization format will match that in the Inner Sea World Guide, which looks like this:
Organization Name
Alignment: [two-letter abbreviation] Headquarters: [location] Leader: [character name] Structure: [multinational corporation, military hierarchy, orders of crusading lawbringers, loose affiliation of like-minded explorers, religious cult, assassin’s guild, and so on] Scope: [regional, national, or global (specify region or nation, if any)] Resources: [property, valuable assets, castles, fortresses, equipment, network of local agents, informants, safe houses, and so on]
[100-word introductory paragraph summarizing the organization.] Structure and Leadership
[100 words on this topic.] Goals
[100 words on this topic.] Public Perception
[50 words on this topic.]
Note that the organizations in the Inner Sea World Guide are approximately 1,400 words, so your submission write-up is a lean, stripped-down version of that. If you don’t have a copy of the Inner Sea World Guide handy, here’s the entry for the Aspis Consortium - (3.9 MB zip/PDF) from that book that you can use as a model for your write-up.
Your organization should be something PCs would normally oppose or come into conflict with, not an organization a typical heroic PC would join. The organization doesn’t necessarily have to be villainous, but it should definitely be a potential antagonist.
Full details (including a BBcode-formatted template for this challenge and an example organization from the Inner Sea World Guide) will be available next week. In the meantime, use the above information to guide your design for Round 2.
Remember, the deadline to submit your wondrous item is January 6th! You can’t submit an organization in Round 2 unless you make it into the Top 32 by submitting a wondrous item!
We’re one week into the Round 1 submission period and we already have 12 items in the “keep” pile! If we maintain this pace, we’ll have well over 40 interesting wondrous item submissions when the round closes on January 6th! At that point, the three other judges and I have the difficult task of whittling down those “keeps” to the Top 32 (plus four alternates), whose next task is to write a “new organization” for Round 2!
Have you submitted an item yet? If not, why not? RPG Superstar is a unique opportunity to get your foot in the door as a freelance game designer. If you haven’t submitted an item yet, be sure to check the contest rules and Round 1 rules. Don’t forget the helpful advice in my consolidated advice thread and Clark’s link to the recording of the PaizoCon RPG Superstar panel where all four judges answered questions about what we’re looking for.
Remember, the deadline to submit your wondrous item is January 6th! You can’t participate in the later rounds—or win the competition—if you don’t submit something for Round 1!
Tomorrow marks the official launch of RPG Superstar 2012, Paizo’s annual open-call RPG design competition! That means a lot of excitement here at the Paizo offices, because if this year’s Superstar is anything like the previous four, we’re about to discover some serious design talent that will help us years into the future.
And while winning the chance to write a published Pathfinder Module is great, it’s also important to remember that RPG Superstar offers value to more than just the single winner. This year, the three finalists will also earn a contract to write a Pathfinder Society Scenario, a downloadable adventure sanctioned for play in Paizo’s worldwide Pathfinder Society mega-campaign. The first Pathfinder Society Scenario from last year’s finalists, Jerall Toi’s The Edge of Heaven just came out last week, and the two additional sequels that make up the “Quest for Perfection” campaign arc are all being written by RPG Superstar finalist and semi-finalist alumni.
Speaking of prizes for finalists, did you know that Pathfinder Adventure Path developer Rob McCreary first came to our attention as a finalist in the first year of RPG Superstar? He didn’t win the final challenge, but his hard work and excellent creativity made him a natural choice when a staff position opened a few years ago, and he’s now one of the most important elements of Paizo’s monthly editorial effort here at the Paizo offices.
This year’s competition begins tomorrow with an open call that asks you to submit an original wondrous item by January 6, 2012. If you can use your 300 words wisely (and awesomely) enough to earn a place in the judges’ Top 32, you’re on your way to what might just become a RPG design career! As a special treat, we plan to include selected wondrous items from this year’s Top 32 in 2012’s Ultimate Equipment Pathfinder RPG hardcover, which will also include selected favorites from previous years.
See paizo.com/rpgsuperstar for more details, a complete RPG Superstar calendar, and rules for Round 1.
So start sharpening your pencils and shaking up your creativity. The next RPG Superstar could be you!
Paizo challenged amateur game designers from around the world to show off their skills in RPG Superstar 2011, the fourth season of Paizo's search for great undiscovered game designers. Judges Ryan Dancey, Sean K Reynolds, Mark Moreland, and Neil Spicer narrowed the field to 32 would-be RPG Superstars, and guest judges including Paizo designer Stephen Radney-MacFarland, cartographers Jared Blando and Robert Lazzaretti, and Paizo's Creative Director James Jacobs provided their advice as the contestants answered each new challenge.
In the final round, we asked this year's Top 4 to propose a 32-page Pathfinder Module for use with Paizo's Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Contestants Cody Coffelt (Boise, ID), Jerall Toi (Port Elizabeth, South Africa), Sam Zeitlin (Arlington, VA), and Sean McGowan (New York City, NY) responded with four excellent submissions, but there can be only one RPG Superstar 2011, and so after the judges offered comments, the general public selected one winning proposal to be published by Paizo in early 2012.
Congratulations to Sam Zeitlin for his victorious proposal, Grasping at Shadows which will be released as The Midnight Mirror. Here's a brief description of the adventure from Sam Zeitlin's winning RPG Superstar 2011 submission:
A horror and investigation adventure for 4th-level characters.
In shadow-haunted Nidal, the denizens of the Plane of Shadow intermingle with the common man. Now people are disappearing, and it falls to the PCs to stop the terror. Faced with terrible shadow creatures, an unruly mob of scared citizens, and an unpredictable creature of light, can the heroes undo a greedy and uncaring noble's self-serving mistake?
The Midnight Mirror is an adventure for 4th-level characters, written for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and compatible with the 3.5 edition of the world's oldest RPG. In addition to the adventure, this volume also features a brand-new monster and a gazetteer of a brand-new location in the shadow-tainted nation of Nidal.
Written by Sam Zeitlin, the winner of Paizo Publishing's RPG Superstar contest, which allows unpublished authors to compete before a panel of celebrity game designers and legions of their peers for the chance to write a Pathfinder Module.
Pathfinder Modules are 32-page, high-quality, full-color, adventures using the Open Game License to work with both the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and the standard 3.5 fantasy RPG rules set. This Pathfinder Module includes new monsters, treasure, and a fully detailed bonus location that can be used as part of the adventure or in any other game!
As RPG Superstar 2011's Grand Prize, Paizo will contract Sam Zeitlin to write The Midnight Mirror, which we will release as a Pathfinder Module in January, 2012.
But you don't have to wait until January to reserve your copy! Head over to the new The Midnight Mirror product page here on paizo.com to preorder your copy of Sam Zeitlin's winning adventure! If you're already a Pathfinder Modules subscriber, The Midnight Mirror will arrive as part of your subscription.
On behalf of our judges as well as the whole Paizo Publishing family, congratulations to Cody Coffelt, Jerall Toi, and Sean McGowan. Though only contestant one earned the title of RPG Superstar 2011, for the first time in Paizo history, the runners up will be contracted to write a scenario for the Pathfinder Society, Paizo's organized play program. Keep an eye out in the months ahead for when these scenarios will be released.
And we'd like to offer one final thanks to you, the readers of paizo.com, and to anyone who submitted an entry or voted during RPG Superstar 2011.
And for those of you who didn't, RPG Superstar 2012 is less than a year away!
It’s time to vote for the RPG Superstar! We’ve seen the field winnowed down to just 4 competitors. Each has created a 3,000-word adventure proposal for the Pathfinder Modules line, and whoever the voters choose gets his or her adventure published by Paizo!
It has been a long and difficult journey. The competitors have slogged through hard deadlines and brand new game design territory. Their reward for all this work is the chance to get published. You decide which of the four gets the big prize—the contract to write a module published by Paizo. Read the submissions here! Vote here! You get one vote, so make it count! Voting ends Monday, March 21, at 2 p.m. Pacific Daylight Savings Time. The winner is announced Tuesday, March 22, at 2 p.m.!
The Top 8 survivors have battled their way to this point and have spent the last couple of weeks designing a unique encounter set in Golarion. They've written stat blocks, some flavor text, and created maps in the hopes of moving on to the next round. Regular judges Ryan Dancey, Mark Moreland, Sean K Reynolds, and Neil Spicer, plus special guest judges, professional cartographers and regular Paizo contributors Rob Lazzaretti and Jared Blando, have posted their comments and recommendations to the discussion pages of all eight submissions, and now it's your turn to vote for your favorites! The Top 4 finishers will proceed to the Finale! In the end, while everyone who makes it to the Finale will be contracted to write something for Paizo, only one contestant will be chosen as 2011's RPG Superstar, winning a commission to design a complete Pathfinder Module that Paizo will publish!
Eight amateur game designers have advanced to Round 4 of Paizo Publishing's RPG Superstar, the largest open-call tabletop roleplaying design contest in history. Paizo Designer Stephen Radney-MacFarland joined Pathfinder Tales author (Prince of Wolves) Dave Gross, celebrity judges Sean K Reynolds and Mark Moreland from Paizo, former Dungeons & Dragons Brand Manager and creator of the Open Gaming Movement Ryan Dancey, and RPG Superstar 2009 winner Neil Spicer to critique complete villain designs based on archetypes created in the previous round or from an official Paizo source. As a special Round 3 twist, the 16 finalists had to base the villains on artwork provided specifically for this purpose.
"If you think you have the chops, and you have a burning desire to do roleplaying design for a living, then participating in RPG Superstar is the best way to prove it. At the very least you’ll improve your craft through a crucible of constructive criticism," said guest judge Stephen Radney-MacFarland. "Even before coming to work at Paizo, whenever I taught game design classes, I recommended RPG Superstar to my students who wanted to take their game to the next level."
The Top 8 finalists for RPG Superstar 2011 and their winning entries are:
The Top 8 will now be required to design a Pathfinder Roleplaying Game location set in Golarion, the world of the Pathfinder RPG. The location must come complete with lore, a full encounter, and a map. Contestants must submit their entries to Paizo by 2:00 PM Pacific time on Friday, February 18. These Round 4 submissions will be commented on by the four regular judges plus two special guest judges, professional cartographers and regular Paizo contributors Rob Lazzaretti and Jared Blando. On February 22, the entries and judge comments will be revealed to the general public, who will then get to discuss the entries and vote for their favorites. Voting ends on February 28, and the Top 4 (by votes) will move on to Round 5.
The ultimate winner of RPG Superstar, who will be announced on March 22, 2011, will write a Pathfinder Module to be published in early 2012. The winning 2010 RPG Superstar module, Matt Goodall's Cult of the Ebon Destroyers, releases in February 2011.
For RPG Superstarlast year, I put together a series of quick map sketches with commentary on my personal blog in order to show different map turnovers, ranging from absolutely pathetic to pretty good. This year, we've migrated that information to here on the Paizo blog so it's easier for competitors to find.
As a general tip, make your maps legible. If your map is just a few wavy lines on the page, if your handwriting is so illegible that only you can tell the difference between a 5 and a 9, if you can't draw a straight line with a ruler, do whatever it takes to improve. You have to bring your A-game. Just as your text has to stand on its own without a mini-you nearby to explain it, your maps have to, too, and if a professional cartographer can't decipher your map, their version of your map probably isn't going to match up with your text.
So take a look at the map turnover examples below, and try to make your map the best it can be. If you need inspiration for a great map turnover, check out this Paizo blog featuring the work of frequent contributor Tim Hitchcock. Pretty stuff!
I'm just putting these all together for comparison's sake for the benefit of the competitors in this round.
This map gets an "F." This map is awful. It's drawn in pencil and the scan barely shows the lines. I can't easily see where everything is supposed to be. Even where I can see it, I don't know what it is! Are those lines rivers? Are they forests? Lakes? What are those circles? Are those letters or numbers next to them?
Map, grade "D." This map is marginally better than the previous one. All I did was go over the pencil with a dark pen so the lines would show up more clearly on the scan. I still don't know what these lines represent, or the circles, and the numbering isn't even clear.
Map, grade "C." This is a marked improvement, but could still be clearer. It looks like the upper left border uses the old "use a humped line to indicate the edge of a forest." The big loop on the right may be a lake, a giant mud pit, a swampy area, not entirely clear, but a quick email to the designer would clear it up. Rather than generic circles, the four locations use little icons--two forts or castles, some kind of ruin, and something that's hopefully a cave but maybe is a giant eyeball. The numbers are clear and legible. If you can't draw forts, cities, or what have you, find a symbol on the internet, print it out, and tape or glue it to your map before you scan it.
This ENworld link is a handy collection of common gaming map symbols, and here is another.
Map, grade "B." This is the exact same map as the Grade C map, except I colored in the forest and the blob on the right--green means forest, blue means water (rather than mud or swamp or magical barrier). It doesn't matter if you color it with colored pencils before you scan it or if you're using a coloring tool on your scanned map--color helps clarify what you're depicting.
This map is still missing a compass (indicating north) and a scale marker, so I'd still need to talk to the designer about it.
Map, grade "A minus." Some map as before, except I actually named the locations on the map as well as giving them numbers. I also added a simple compass rose and a scale marker.
Note that the scale marker is based on the grid size of the paper, which doesn't show up on the scan--if squares are important (like in a dungeon), make sure the grid shows up so the mapper knows what the scale is!
Also, because the resolution of the scan may mean your map appears at a different size on your screen than the mapper's screen, thus relative statements like "1 inch = 1 mile" may change; always include an on-map scale marker so the mapper can determine the scale without having to figure out at what DPI you scanned your map. I give this map an A- rather than an A because in some places the handwriting is a little sloppy; if you have text on a map, it's best to include a text file turnover of all the text on the map, spelled correctly. This allows the mapper to (1) just copy & paste the text onto the map, rather than puzzling out your handwriting, (2) cross off each piece of text as he works on adding it to the map, so he doesn't miss anything that's supposed to be there.
Thus, for this map, I should include a text file that says: 1 Fort Zur 2 Fort Brun 3 The Ruin of Castle Happydeath 4 Ogre Lair Bloodmurder Forest Drownwicked Lake [[compass rose]] 1 square = 1 mile
(The last two entries are mainly reminders rather than actual copy-paste goals... the cartographer isn't going to put the text "[[compass rose]]" on the map. We're not expecting Round 4 entries to include a map tags list, just make your map readable, please!)
If your handwriting is bad, either use a text tool in your graphics program to add text to the map, or print out the text, cut it out, and glue it onto the map before scanning it.
Note that the A- map doesn't get an A- grade for being awesome or interesting, it gets an A- for readability and how easily the cartographer could turn this into a professional map. I am 99% sure that if I handed this to a cartographer, he'd create a map that is exactly what I'm looking for.
Note also that this map could be much more interesting, with more details and such--but remember that the cartographer hasn't read your text for the book, he doesn't know if all the extra little details are necessary for your map, or if they're just flavor to make it look cool (for example, if you draw a scrap of paper on the floor of a room, he doesn't know if you're trying to make the room look more interesting, or if that paper is a vital clue the PCs can find in the room). As you work with a company and a cartographer more, you'll gain an understanding of the acceptable level of detail. For the purpose of RPG Superstar, the priority is readable, functional maps, not creating maps that are so awesome and detailed that you should be working as a professional cartographer rather than a writer.
As we find ourselves deep in the midst of RPG Superstar 2011, it is fitting that last year's winning adventure proposal is shipping out to subscribers this week. Matthew Goodall's Cult of the Ebon Destroyers pits the PCs against a despicable cult of assassins and murderers from the distant land of Vudra. Among the many new Vudran elements featured in the module is the book's new monster—the garuda. These avian native outsiders typically inhabit rugged hills and sometimes serve as protectors of isolated human settlements. Due to space constraints, we had to cut much of the garuda's world flavor from its write-up in the adventure itself, but it seemed a waste to simply leave it in my ever-growing cut text scrapbook file. What better way to show off Matt's debut adventure than feature his winged creation on the Paizo blog?
Garudas are distant descendants of the goddess Janasini, the mother of birds. Legend tells that Janasini made an unwise wager with her sister Ravithra, the goddess of nagas and snakes. Ravithra cheated, and Janasini lost and became the slave of Ravithra's naga children. Sudachala, the first of Janasini's garuda children, offered to complete any task to free his mother. The nagas demanded a legendary bowl of nectar said to rest atop the tallest mountain in Vudra. Sudachala flew to the mountain and overcame many obstacles to retrieve the bowl, as detailed in the Azvadeva Pujila.
As Sudachala flew back, the god Gruhastha appeared and told Sudachala that the nectar was the elixir of immortality. The wicked nagas had tried to trick Sudachala into stealing the elixir from the gods' hiding place so they could drink it and live forever.
Sudachala alighted in front of the waiting nagas, placing the bowl on some sedge grass, and the nagas freed Janasini from servitude. But when the nagas tried to drink from the bowl, they cut their tongues on the sharp grass, for as Sudachala and Gruhastha had planned, the god had whisked the true elixir away, leaving only an illusion in its place.
Since then, garudas have been the mortal enemies of nagas. Only the most depraved and outcast garuda would knowingly associate with any kind of aberrant serpent.
Additionally, we've released rules to run the module as part of the Pathfinder Society Organized Play campaign, complete with a unique Chronicle and advice on running it within the organized play format, available as a free download here.
The Top 16 survivors are back with descriptions and complete Pathfinder Roleplaying Game statistics for their winning villains. Regular judges Ryan Dancey, Mark Moreland, Sean K Reynolds, and Neil Spicer, plus guest judges Pathfinder Tales author Dave Gross (Prince of Wolves) and Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Designer Stephen Radney-MacFarland, have posted their comments and recommendations to the discussion pages of all 16 submissions, and now it's your turn to vote for your favorites! The Top 8 finishers will proceed to Round 4. In the end, only one contestant will be chosen as 2011's RPG Superstar, winning a commission to design a complete Pathfinder Module that Paizo will publish!
After a record number of votes in this year's Round 2, sixteen amateur game designers have advanced to Round 3 of Paizo Publishing’s RPG Superstar, the largest open-call tabletop roleplaying design contest in history. Ryan Dancey, father of the Open Gaming movement, joined celebrity judges Sean K Reynolds and Mark Moreland from Paizo and RPG Superstar 2009 winner Neil Spicer to critique 400-word class archetype concepts submitted by the top 32 Round 1 survivors, and a public vote resulted in 16 advancing submissions. The finalists must now create backgrounds and Pathfinder RPG stat blocks using one of 32 preselected villain images and an archetype, either from a previous round or from any published Paizo product.
Our Top 32 contestants have submitted their Round 2 alternate class concepts for use with Paizo's Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and judges Ryan Dancey, Sean K Reynolds, Mark Moreland and Neil Spicer have commented on each contestant's submission. Now you can read and critique the top 32, and then vote for your favorites! The 16 designers garnering the most votes will continue on to Round 3 and the ultimate winner will earn a paid commission to write one of Paizo's upcoming Pathfinder Modules!
Illustrations by Carolina Eade and Mike Sass. Wallpaper design by Crystal Frasier. Widescreen version here.
Ebon Destroyers!
Friday, January 21, 2010
As I was contemplating which wall paper to put up on the blog this week, Warehouse Will made it super easy since he came by to drop off advance preview copies of our upcoming products. The Inner Sea Poster Map Folio (3-1/2' × 5' of map goodness) and Condition Cards are awesome, but what really got me excited were my copies of Cult of the Ebon Destoyers. Written by RPG Superstar 2010 winner Matt Goodall, the module pits 8th-level PCs against a murder-cult of terror set against the backdrop of Jalmeray and its capital city of Niswan. Can the PCs wipe out the Ebon Destroyers before the beloved ruler of Jalmeray is beheaded? You'll be able to find out in a few weeks! Until then, enjoy this fabulous wallpaper depicting one of the many members of this evil cult of Vudrani assassins.
The 2011 RPG Superstar contest drew in hundreds of entries from around the world in a contest to crown the ultimate new roleplaying game design talent. The judges spent the better part of six weeks whittling down the entries to a top 32 finalists and 4 alternates. With their hard work done, the onus now rests on the public to crown the next RPG Superstar!
The new year continues to move on and tomorrow we'll be announcing who the Top 32 winners of RPG Superstar 2011 are. Keep an eye on the blog because at 2 p.m. PST we'll have the complete list of winners.
We aren't quite ready to announce the Top 32 contestants for RPG Superstar 2011 just yet. The judges are still working furiously to select the best wondrous items from the record-breaking number submitted.
However, we are ready to reveal the Round 2 Rules and FAQ to give everyone who submitted an item a head start on their new archetype. This year, we're revealing the rules for each round a bit earlier to give our contestants a little more time to work on their submissions.
Don't forget to check back on the 18th, when we reveal the Top 32 contestants and their wondrous items.
Tomorrow at 2pm PST the first round of RPG Superstar™ 2010 will end. The judges will go over the entries and pick the best 32, and the winners will move on to Round 2. Ultimately, we'll get down to the Top 4, who will all receive a contract to write for us. The ultimate winner will get to write a Pathfinder Module, while the remaining members of the Top 4 will get to write Pathfinder Society Scenarios.
Last week, Sean told you we'd give you a sneak peek of the Round 2 rules, and here they are: In no more than 450 words, design an archetype for one of the 11 core classes in the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook or the 6 base classes in the Advanced Player's Guide. Note that we mean actual archetypes, not new domains, subdomains, alternate classes or subclasses (such as the antipaladin), sorcerer bloodlines, or wizard schools.
Don't know what an archetype is? Check out page 72 of the Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player's Guide, or start reading here in the free online Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Reference Document (PRD).
There is no twist in Round 2! We'll reveal the full rules next week, but first things first—you can't compete unless you pass Round 1!
If you've ever wanted to be published in the RPG industry, this is your chance. Three hundred words isn't a lot, and if your dream is to write for Paizo, you owe it to yourself to get that idea in before time runs out. And really, what do you have to lose?
Besides, you don't want to make the Kobold King angrier than he already is...
Have you ever wanted to be a published professional game designer? We're two weeks into Round 1 of this year's RPG Superstar 2011 competition and have less than two weeks to go, so you still have a chance!
Judges Ryan Dancey, Mark Moreland, Neil Spicer, and myself have waded through hundreds of item submissions so far, with the expectations of hundreds more, and overall we're very impressed with the quality level of this year's wondrous items! Normally it takes us to the end of the Round 1 submission period to get enough cool wondrous items to build a strong Top 32, but we already have over 40 items in the "keeper" pile.
But don't take that as a sign that you shouldn't participate! We're going to continue adding good submissions to the pile, and only when the submission deadline has passed are we going to whittle those down to just the Top 32. So warm yourself by the fireplace, have some eggnog (or your favorite winter beverage), design a new wondrous item, and submit it using the above RPG Superstar link!
Do you want to sit around eating your "sad ice cream" and moping that you never submitted an item to RPG Superstar 2011? Or do you want to do victory laps around your gaming table, holding a Paizo-published module with your name on the cover? The only way you can win RPG Superstar is if you submit a wondrous item in Round 1!
(Next week, we'll give you a sneak peek at the Round 2 challenge!)
Later today, Round 1 of this year's RPG Superstar 2011 competition begins! If you've ever wanted to be a professional game designer, this is an incredible opportunity—and all you have to do (for now) is think up a cool wondrous item and submit it!
Two big reminders:
If you want to participate in the competition, you have to get involved in Round 1!
The deadline for submitting your wondrous item is December 31, 2010, at 2 p.m. Pacific Standard Time!
Do you want a shot at becoming a professional game designer? If so, you should enter the RPG Superstar 2011 competition. Though the competition doesn't begin until December 3rd, that's just when we start accepting submissions. Be smart and start working on your Round 1 wondrous item submission now. That gives you a few extra weeks to refine your item concept.
You should also check out the series of posts I'm writing giving advice about things likely to get your item auto-rejected. They're indexed in a sticky post here on the Paizo forums. This is my third year judging, and by posting these I'm trying to help other designers—that's you!—avoid common pitfalls that'll knock you out of the competition. Fellow judge—and RPG Superstar 2009 winner—Neil Spicer has been providing helpful comments in response to these posts, too. And it wouldn't hurt to read Neil's Advice For Round 1 post from last year.
Also check out former Superstar judge Clark Peterson's extensive write-up of problems he saw in items from a previous competition, which can help you steer clear of things that'll make your chances crash and burn.
Let me point out one thing so we're absolutely clear: you have to participate in Round 1 (wondrous item) if you want to progress to later rounds in the competition! We had a few people last year miss out entirely because they thought they could jump in at a later round. Oops!
Read the competition rules. Do some research. Submit a wondrous item between December 3rd and December 31st. Paizo uses this competition to recognize talented designers we can use for freelance writing—whether or not they make it to the final round. And if you do make it to the final round, you could win a contract to write an adventure module for Paizo. This could be your big break!
Good luck, good gaming, and most of all... have fun!
Paizo Publishing, LLC® is proud to announce RPG Superstar 2011, the fourth season of its popular RPG design contest. The search for the newest talent in RPG design begins December 3, 2010 on paizo.com.
"We’ve been blown away by the success of the contest,” said Lisa Stevens, CEO of Paizo Publishing. "Each year the contest gets bigger and better. This year not only will we publish the winner’s entry as a Pathfinder Module, but the remaining Top 4 contestants will each get to write a scenario for our Pathfinder Society organized play program. It’s going to be an exciting year, and I can’t wait to see what gets submitted."
Paizo has selected four judges to oversee the competition. For the first time ever, Ryan Dancey, one of the fathers of Open Gaming, will be an RPG Superstar judge. Returning from the previous season is Paizo’s own Sean K Reynolds, author and developer extraordinaire. Joining them will be Mark Moreland, Pathfinder Society developer and continuity editor; and former RPG Superstar winner Neil Spicer, who debuted as a guest judge for the initial round last year. These judges will critique each round’s entries before the public vote.
Last year Matt Goodall’s Cult of the Ebon Destroyers emerged victorious as 2010’s RPG Superstar winner after a week of public comment and fan voting at paizo.com. His winning adventure releases in January as a full-color printed Pathfinder Module.
Starting at 2 PM Pacific Time on December 3, 2010, contestants will be able to submit their RPG Superstar entry at paizo.com/rpgsuperstar/previous/2011. For the first round, that entry will be a wondrous item designed for use with Paizo's Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Each entry must be 300 words or less, and must include all of the proper mechanics and flavor. Contestants must submit their entry by December 31, 2010. Judges will select the top 32 entries to be announced on January 18, 2010; those 32 contestants will be assigned a new design task and their entries will be posted on paizo.com for the public to read, critique, and vote on. The designers garnering the most votes in each round will continue on to subsequent rounds, and the ultimate winner will earn a paid commission to write one of Paizo's upcoming Pathfinder Modules, while the remaining top 3 designers will earn a paid commission to write an upcoming Pathfinder Society scenario!
Specifics for each challenge will be announced as each round begins. The winner of RPG Superstar 2011 will be announced on March 22, 2011. Complete rules and a submission form are available at paizo.com/rpgsuperstar/previous/2011.
Do you have what it takes to be the next RPG Superstar?
Just this week, I finished development of RPG Superstar 2010 winner Matthew Goodall's awesome Pathfinder Module, Cult of the Ebon Destroyers. One of the best parts of the process was seeing the final art come in for the evil cultists who make this such an evocative adventure. So do what I did while poring over Matt's turnover and set your Pandora station to sitar music, get yourself a tangy curry or some buttered naan, and check out these pieces from Carolina Eade. Cult of the Ebon Destroyers is currently anticipated in stores and on paizo.com in January 2011.
A few weeks ago we announced 13 Regional Coordinators that we're calling Venture-Captains. Since then, Mark and I have been going through the entire Pathfinder Society program and starting the process of making sure Season 2 ends with a bang you'll all remember, making plans for Season 3 (which will be awesome, trust me), and going through all of the rules for the Society program itself. In between all of that, I've reviewed a number of Venture-Captain applications and chosen a few new Coordinators. We're still not finished naming new Venture-Captains, but rather than sit on these names I thought it was more important to get them announced and out there building the Society in their area. And so, without further ado, here are your new Venture-Captains!
Canada – Ontario (Toronto)
Neil Shackleton
VCNeilOnt@gmail.com
Oh, before you head over to the messageboards, you should scroll down a little to check out what my new desktop image is. Isn't it amazing? It's the cover to Matt Goodall's RPG Superstar adventure Cult of the Ebon Destroyers done by a good friend of mine, Kieran Yanner. And speaking of RPG Superstar, we're hard at work preparing for the 2011 round, so start getting ready for it. Who knows, this time next year I could be putting the cover to your adventure on my desktop.
Paizo challenged amateur game designers from around the world to show off their skills in RPG Superstar 2010, the third season of Paizo's search for great undiscovered game designers. Judges Clark Peterson of Necromancer Games and Paizo's own Sean K Reynolds and F. Wesley Schneider narrowed the field to 32 would-be RPG Superstars, and guest judges including game designer Greg A. Vaughan, cartographers Corey Macourek and Robert Lazzaretti, and Paizo’s Creative Director James Jacobs, plus last year's finalists Kevin Carter, Eric Bailey, Matt Stinson, and 2009 RPG Superstar Neil Spicer provided their advice as the contestants answered each new challenge.
In the final round, we asked this year's Top 4 to propose a 32-page Pathfinder Module for use with Paizo's Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Contestants Alexander MacLeod (Raleigh, North Carolina), Jim Groves (Ontario, Oregon), Matt Goodall (Cheltenham, Victoria, Australia), and Matthew McGee (Davis, California) responded with four excellent submissions, but there can be only one RPG Superstar 2010, and so after the judges offered comments, the general public selected one winning proposal to be published by Paizo in early 2011.
Congratulations to Matt Goodall for his victorious proposal, Cult of the Ebon Destroyers. Here's a brief description of the adventure from Matt Goodall’s winning RPG Superstar 2010 submission:
Now is the time to bring down the Ebon Destroyers!
Too long have the secretive Vudran cultists known as the Ebon Destroyers gone unpunished for their crimes of murder and assassination. Too long has the Isle of Jalmeray suffered from their deadly machinations. The Thakur of Jalmeray has outlawed the cult, and received in response an ultimatum stating that if he doesn’t revoke his edict, he and his family will die before the month is out. The PCs must locate the Ebon Destroyers’ hidden temple headquarters, battle the cult leaders, and save the Thakur himself!
Cult of the Ebon Destroyers is an adventure for 8th-level chararacters, written for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and compatible with the 3.5 edition of the world's oldest RPG. Inside you'll find intrigue and espionage in the slums and palaces of the city of Niswan and a perilous trek through the dense jungle and rugged hills of southern Jalmeray to the depths of a diabolical shrine.
As RPG Superstar 2010's Grand Prize, Paizo will contract Matt Goodall to write Cult of the Ebon Destroyers, which we will release as a Pathfinder Module in January, 2011.
But you don't have to wait until January to reserve your copy! Head over to the new Cult of the Ebon Destroyers product page here on paizo.com to preorder your copy of Matt Goodall’s winning adventure! If you're already a Pathfinder Modules subscriber, Cult of the Ebon Destroyers will arrive as part of your subscription.
On behalf of our judges as well as the whole Paizo Publishing family, congratulations to
Alexander MacLeod, Jim Groves, Matthew McGee, and Matt Goodall. Though only one earned the title RPG Superstar 2010, you'll likely be hearing from all of them, and from other RPG Superstar 2010 contestants, in the months and years to come.
And we'd like to offer one final thanks to you, the readers of paizo.com, and to anyone who submitted an entry or voted during RPG Superstar 2010.
And for those of you who didn't, RPG Superstar 2011 is less than a year away!
The Top 4 contestants have each written a proposal for a Pathfinder Module to be published for Paizo's Pathfinder Roleplaying Game! Regular judges Clark Peterson of Necromancer Games, and Paizo's own Sean K Reynolds and Wes Schneider have reviewed each proposal along with Pathfinder Creative Director James Jacobs, our guest judge for the round. Vote for your favorite submission by March 22, and on March 23, we'll announce which contestant you've crowned RPG Superstar 2010!
This is it folks! The finalists have put their pens aside, the judges have had their say, and now it's up to you. At 2:00 PDT this afternoon voting to decide this year's RPG Superstar begins. Make sure you're back here to check out the four fateful adventure proposals, one of which will soon begin on the path to actual publication. Your opportunity to vote ends Monday the 22nd, so make your choice carefully as it all comes down this! Good luck to all the finalists and may the best designer win!
Today is the deadline for this year's Top 4 RPG Superstar competitors to hand over their adventure proposal. This weekend, the judges—including guest judge James Jacobs—review the proposals, and on Tuesday they go live for public voting.
Alexander MacLeod, Jim Groves, Matt Goodall, and Matthew McGee have been plowing through the rounds of the competition since December of last year. Now they're in the home stretch. It's been interesting watching them respond to the challenges and criticism each round, and I'm looking forward to their final submissions. Whoever wins gets a contract to write a 32-page adventure module for Paizo—and bragging rights for having the design chops to beat out the competition!
Here's some more bonus material for the Pathfinder Module Realm of the Fellnight Queen. The RPG Superstar 2009 adventure by Neil Spicer originally included some additional random encounters at the beginning of Part 2: Lost in the Mist, but they were cut for space reasons. Adding these encounters helps to reinforce the eerie atmosphere of the mist.
Mist Random Encounters
Roll on the following chart to generate a random encounter for each day spent in the mist.
Roll
Type of Monster
CR
1
Desperate Townsfolk
—
2
Missing Lumberjacks
—
3
Spirit Moss
—
4
Amnesiac Elf
—
5
Pit Trap
3
6
Unicorn Sighting
—
7
Giant Bees
6
8
Will-o'-Wisp
6
9
Dire Bear
7
10
Fellnight Spriggans
8
Amnesiac Elf: A half-elf named Carith (N male half-elf warrior 2) wanders this part of the forest. He had the misfortune of falling victim to a pixie memory loss arrow (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 228) and now finds himself lost in the mist. If the PCs escort him to a safe place (for example, leaving him in the care of other good-willed forest creatures), award them experience for a CR 3 encounter.
Desperate Townsfolk: A Perception check (DC 20) detects cries for help in the fog. If the PCs respond, they discover a family of four with a stuck wagon fleeing Bellis. A DC 30 Strength check can get them moving again (multiple PCs can assist in moving the 10-foot-by-10-foot wagon, one per square adjacent to the wagon). A Diplomacy check (DC 20) convinces them to return to town for their own safety. If the PCs free the wagon or convince the family to return to Bellis, award them experience for a CR 2 encounter.
Dire Bear: The PCs blunder into the path of a dire bear that a short time ago hungrily raided a giant beehive. Unfortunately, he's still hungry and can smell the PCs through the fog.
Fellnight Spriggans: Four Fellnight spriggans deserted Rhoswen's army to explore and pillage on their own. They attack the PCs on sight (see page 7 of Realm of the Fellnight Queen).
Giant Bees: A nest of giant bees has recently had its hive disturbed by a dire bear. Three of the bees now angrily search the mist for creatures to attack.
Missing Lumberjacks: The PCs happen upon a ruined Lumber Consortium camp littered with debris. Thorn darts riddle the tents and supplies. A DC 15 Survival check determines at least nine lumberjacks have gone missing from the site. A search of their belongings discovers 38 gp, 42 sp, 118 cp, a brass cup engraved with the likeness of Cayden Cailean worth 25 gp, and a masterwork throwing axe.
Pit Trap:
Devarre the druid has laid traps to capture animals. Along a narrow deer trail lies a camouflaged pit trap (see Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook 420) designed to catch a bear, covered by leaves and baited with a honey-covered shoe.
Spirit Moss: A patch of spongy gray-green moss covers the sides of a massive log. A Knowledge (nature) check (DC 20) identifies the substance as spirit moss (Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting 217). Those consuming it suffer 2d6 points of Strength and Dexterity damage (no save), but temporarily gain the ability to speak with dead (CL 10th). A character who makes a Survival check (DC 16) may harvest enough for two preparations.
Unicorn Sighting: Any character making a Perception check (DC 20) notices a horse-like figure in the mist. As some of the fog drifts past, a unicorn meets their gaze and then gallops away, teleporting if the PCs try to pursue it.
Will-o'-Wisp: A will-o’-wisp uses the fog to mimic the voices of desperate townsfolk trying to leave Bellis, pretending to be lost in the mist or stuck among the thickets. It draws unsuspecting victims into a patch of brambles, a ravine, or a swampy area (see Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook 427).
You have chosen the Top 4 contestants, and they're working on their final challenge! Each contestant will write a proposal for a Pathfinder Module for Paizo's Pathfinder Roleplaying Game! Regular judges Clark Peterson of Necromancer Games and Paizo's own Sean K Reynolds and Wes Schneider will review each proposal along with Creative Director James Jacobs, our guest judge for the round. Your votes will determine which contestant will have his winning module published by Paizo!
Here's a bit of bonus material for the Pathfinder Module Realm of the Fellnight Queen. The RPG Superstar 2009 adventure by Neil Spicer originally featured this character in one encounter, but she ended up on the cutting room floor to make the adventure fit the page count. Now she's back and ready to annoy some PCs!
Spoiler:
Arvormeigh originally appeared in the Upper Pool area of the Dead Man's Drop encounter, along with an allied Large water elemental (CR 5), for a CR 7 encounter. If your PCs are especially tough, you could add her to the encounter as presented in the adventure, resulting in a CR 8 encounter.
ARVORMEIGH CR 5 XP 3,200
Female nixie rogue 5; (Pathfinder RPG Bonus Bestiary 15)
NE Small fey (aquatic) Init +6; Senses low-light vision; Perception +8 DEFENSE AC 18, touch 18, flat-footed 11 (+6 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 size) hp 43 (7 HD; 2d6+5d8+14) Fort +3, Ref +13, Will +4 Defensive Abilities evasion, uncanny dodge; DR 5/cold iron; SR 12 OFFENSE Speed 20 ft., swim 30 ft. Melee short sword +11 (1d4/19–20) Ranged+1 shortbow +12 (1d4+1/x3) Special Attacks lure (as harpy's captivating song, DC 16), sneak attack +3d6 plus 3 bleed Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th; concentration +16)
3/day—charm person (DC 16)
1/day—water breathing TACTICS Before Combat Arvormeigh observes intruders from the pool while in fish form to discern their intent. Then she reverts to her natural form to drink her potion of resist energy before swimming to the water's surface to speak with them. A Sense Motive check (DC 22) detects the nixie stalling for time during the conversation—she waits only long enough for the next obscuring mist from the wardstones before attacking (see Hazard). During Combat Arvormeigh knows the pool well enough to time the waves of mist to her advantage. On any round while her vision remains unimpeded, she keeps her distance, rising from the water to shoot opponents with her bow and making sure to use her Deadly Aim feat and bleeding attack ability if possible, selectively targeting spellcasters with sleep arrows. During rounds with the obscuring mist in place, Arvormeigh uses her lure ability instead, drawing victims into the pool and the waiting vortex of her elemental ally. She uses sneak attack underwater on anyone left in the pool. Morale As the final guardian of the wardstones, Arvormeigh fights to the death, only temporarily retreating to drink her potion of cure moderate wounds before resuming the attack. STATISTICS Str 10, Dex 22, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 21 Base Atk +4; CMB +3; CMD 19 Feats Deadly Aim, Dodge, Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Weapon Finesse Skills Acrobatics +14, Bluff +12, Craft (jewelry) +5, Diplomacy +12, Escape Artist +15, Handle Animal +12, Knowledge (nature) +10, Linguistics +5, Perception +8, Perform (dance) +12, Perform (sing) +12, Sense Motive +8, Stealth +17, Swim +17 Languages Aquan, Elven, Sylvan SQ amphibious, change shape (Small or Medium aquatic creature, beast shape I), rogue talents (bleeding attack, combat trick), trapfinding, trap sense +1, wild empathy +13 Combat Gearpotion of cure moderate wounds, potion of resist energy (electricity) ; Other Gear+1 shortbow, sleep arrows (6), cold iron arrows (20), short sword, aquamarine necklace worth 250 gp with matching bracelets worth 50 gp each
It's time to narrow down the 8 remaining contestants to just 4! The eight semifinalists have designed and mapped a Golarion location with an encounter featuring the monsters designed in the previous rounds! Guest judges and master cartographers Corey Macourek and Robert Lazzaretti have regular judges Clark Peterson of Necromancer Games, Wes Schneider, and Sean K Reynolds in reviewing each entry. Your votes will determine the four contestants who will compete in the final round of RPG Superstar 2010, battling to win a commission to design a Pathfinder Module to be published by Paizo!
Your favorite 8 contestants are advancing to Round 4! This time, their task is to design and map a Golarion location! Regular judges Clark Peterson of Necromancer Games, and Paizo's own Wes Schneider and Sean K Reynolds will review each entry along with guest judges Corey Macourek, and Robert Lazzaretti. Your votes will determine the four contestants who will compete in the final round of RPG Superstar 2010, battling to win a commission to design a Pathfinder Module to be published by Paizo!
Round 3 Monster Stat Blocks Now Open for Comment and Voting!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
The Top 16 survivors of Round 2 are back with revised monster descriptions and complete Pathfinder Roleplaying Game statistics for their winning villains. Regular judges Clark Peterson (Necromancer Games), Wes Schneider, and Sean K Reynolds (Paizo), and guest judge and Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Lead Designer Jason Bulmahn have posted their comments and recommendations to the discussion pages of all 16 submissions, and now it's your turn to vote for your favorites! The Top 8 finishers will proceed to Round 4. In the end, only one contestant will be chosen as 2010's RPG Superstar, winning a commission to design a complete Pathfinder Module that Paizo will publish!
This year's Top 16 competitors have beaten out hundreds of rivals, writing about wondrous items, strange new monsters, and now presenting a complete Bestiary-style stat block for their monster. Today at 2 p.m., voting begins for Round 3. Come check out the contestants' monsters and the comments from the judges—including guest judge Jason Bulmahn!
Voting ends Monday, February 15, at 2 p.m. Pacific time!
RPG Superstar™ 2010: 16 finalists advance to Round 3!
Round 3 contestants will create monster stat blocks
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Our Top 32 contestants submitted their Round 2 entries in the form of monster concepts for use with Paizo's Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. In addition to regular judges Clark Peterson, Sean K Reynolds, and Wes Schneider, guest judge Greg Vaughan commented on each contestant's submission. You voted for your favorites, selecting our Top 16 contestants; the ultimate winner will earn a paid commission to write one of Paizo's upcoming Pathfinder Modules!
Voting Booth Closes Today for RPG Superstar Monsters
Monday, February 1, 2010
Just a quick reminder—the voting for Round 2 of RPG Superstar 2010 ends today at 2 p.m. Pacific Time! If you haven't visited the voting booth yet, there's still a little time left! Tomorrow, we announce the Top 16 competitors who advance to Round 3!
Our Top 32 contestants submitted their Round 2 entries in the form of monster concepts for use with Paizo's Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. In addition to regular judges Clark Peterson, Sean K Reynolds, and Wesley Schneider, guest judge Greg Vaughan has commented on each contestant's submission. And now you can read and critique the top 32, and then vote for your four favorites! The 16 designers garnering the most votes will continue on to Round 3 and the ultimate winner will earn a paid commission to write one of Paizo's upcoming Pathfinder Modules!
Alexander MacLeod (Raleigh, North Carolina, USA)—Ardorwesp
Alex Shideler (Springfield, Virginia, USA)—Prismwing, Larvae
Andrew Sun (Springfield, Missouri, USA)—Carapace Devil
Benjamin Bruck (Boise, Idaho, USA)—Chymick
Brian Hoffman (Altoona, Wisconsin, USA)—Spitfire Revenant
Chris Mortika (Coralville, Iowa, USA)—Lantern Thrall
David Posener (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia)—Haga
Dennis Baker (Stockton, California, USA)—Brown Urus
Eric Hindley (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)—Sensory Stalker
Erik Randall (Missoula, Montana, USA)—Sin-Fallen Angel of Gluttony
James Martin (Durham, North Carolina, USA)—Wyrmhiri
Jared Goodwin (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada)—Tremagguan
Jason Schimmel (Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA)—Caltrop Golem
Jeff Spencer (Leeuwarden, Friesland, Netherlands)—Marrow worm
Jesse Benner—Chaitrakhan
Jim Groves (Ontario, Oregon, USA)—Skintaker
Joe Wells (Saint Louis, Missouri, USA)—Necrotic Tempest
Joshua Kitchens (Centerville, Georgia, USA)—Astrumal
Kevin Akemann (Hartford, Wisconsin, USA)—Echo Drinkers
Lief Clennon (Garberville, California, USA)—Rotling
Matt Goodall (Cheltenham, Victoria, Australia)—Churjiir
Matthew McGee (Davis, California, USA)—Ossuary Golem
Matthew Morris (Columbus, Ohio, USA)—Lahamu
Nick Waln—Mind Reaper
Nicolas Quimby (Anson, Maine, USA)—Liesinger
RC Higgins (Stanton, Kentucky, USA)—Fearmonger
Richard Hunt (Plano, Texas, USA)—Splorudra
Sean McGowan (New York, New York, USA)—Rictus
Seth White (Plymouth, Minnesota, USA)—Crysalis
Stephen Sheahan—Corpse Sticher
Tobias Mullen (Boulder, Colorado, USA)—Deathleech Puppeteer
Tom Phillips (Orange Park, Florida, USA)—Slithering Horror
Just a heads up to everybody that this afternoon, at 2:00 Pacific time, voting begins on the second round of RPG Superstar! We've got in a nasty bunch of beasties from our 32 Superstar competitors, Clark, Sean, guest judge Greg A. Vaughan, and I have gone through and made our comments, and now its time to cast your vote! You have until February 1st to make your choice known, after which we'll reveal our top 16 contestants. So check back here at 2:00 p.m. and let the monster melee begin!
The 2010 RPG Superstar contest drew in hundreds of entries from around the world in a contest to crown the ultimate new roleplaying game design talent. The judges spent the better part of six weeks whittling down the entries to a top 32 finalists and 4 alternates. With their hard work done, the onus now rests on the public to crown the next RPG Superstar!
Hundreds of people submitted a wondrous item for RPG Superstar 2010. Today at 2 p.m., we reveal the Top 32 contestants, their items, and comments from the judges (Clark Peterson, Sean K Reynolds, and Wes Schneider) and guest judges (RPG Superstar 2009 Top 4 finalists Eric Bailey, Kevin Carter, and Matthew Stinson and RPG Superstar 2009 winner Neil Spicer).
The next challenge for the Top 32 contestants is a bit of a mystery this year. In previous year, contestants knew ahead of time what all of the challenges would be. In this year's competition, the challenge is revealed at 2 p.m.—the same time as when we reveal the Top 32! Those who make it to this round have three days to complete the next design challenge by this Friday! Next week the public voting begins!
Ramping up to Tuesday's announcement of this year's RPG Superstar first-round winners, I wanted to remind everybody what all the hype is about. Here we see the cover to Realm of the Fellnight Queen in all its splendor, part of the "trophy" for 2009's Superstar winner Neil Spicer. Neil's winning proposal debuts in just a few short weeks, and it looks absolutely incredible. So that's the prize folks! The chance to bring your villain, hero, monster, story, or whatever to life with some of the best artists and editors in the biz. So check back on Tuesday, and we'll see if this is the year your adventure comes to life!
After weeks of shuffling and dissection, scrutiny and head scratching, we RPG Superstar judges have whittled the word count of this year's avalanche of wondrous item submissions down from several hundreds of thousands to a precious few thousand. As always, there's been an incredible amount of discussion and debate, finally elevating an impressive selection of 32 especially wondrous items. On behalf of the judges and all of us here at Paizo, I wanted to thank everyone who participated for making the judges' jobs at times so very, very difficult and deluging us with such a wide range and imaginative ocean of submissions.
So what's next? Why aren't we announcing the 32 at this very second? How can we contain our enthusiasm!? Well, it's hard, but will be all worth while, as between now and next Tuesday, last year's final four superstars (Eric Bailey, Kevin Carter, Neil Spicer, and Matthew Stinson) will be adding their voices to Sean's, Clark's, and my comments, prepping each for the first round of voting on January 26th. Exciting stuff! So tune in next Tuesday to see if your item made the cut and to help us choose this year's RPG Superstar!
I love RPG Superstar. I love reading the RPG Superstar threads, I love reading the new ideas, I love the discussions, arguments, and the passion involved in every post. There is a small side effect to RPG Superstar, however, that I'm not sure everyone is aware of: open call submissions for Pathfinder Society vanish.
What's that mean for you? Well, let's assume 500 people submitted to RPG Superstar (I'm not going to reveal the actual number). The odds that one of those 500 people will make it past the initial round is (rounded up) 1 in 16—not bad, but still kind of a long shot. It also means that more than 450 of you won't make it—it's just a mathematical fact.
Here's another mathematical fact: of the last 10 submissions I received for the open call, I accepted 2 of them. That's 1 in 5. Those are good odds. If you don't make it past round one of RPG Superstar (or, heck, round 2, 3, 4, etc.), don't give up! There's another avenue out there to see your name on a Paizo publication and that's the Pathfinder Society Organized Play open call. Give it a shot—the worst I'm going to do is say no.
This is just a reminder that the deadline to enter RPG Superstar 2010 is tomorrow—Friday, January 1st, 2010, at 2 p.m. Pacific Time. If you want to have a chance to show your designer chops and possibly earn the grand prize—a gig writing a 32-page adventure for Paizo—you must submit a wondrous item by the deadline!
In case you missed yesterday's announcement, Paizo is about to start the third annual RPG Superstar competition! Hundreds of hopefuls will swarm the Paizo server with proposals for magic items in Round 1, and Clark, Wes, and myself will read every single one of them in order to weed out all but the Top 32. Because the submission deadline is January 1st, that means we'll be working over the holiday break to get all of these done just to make sure we aren't overwhelmed in the last two weeks of Round 1 judging—and given how well the Pathfinder RPG is doing, we expect even more submissions than last year.
The contestants put in a lot of work on their submissions through the entire contest and do so under significant time pressure—in later rounds, they only have three days to create their entry—and the judges take that effort seriously. Clark, Wes, and I are living the dream (we get to work on RPG products) and this contest is a way for other people to get their foot in the door at doing the same thing. From Paizo's perspective, it's our way of finding new talent. Many finalists from previous RPG Superstar competitions have gone on to write for—or even work full-time for—Paizo and other game companies. We want the best talent working for us, and this contest is one way for us to find it.
The contest isn't easy. There are many challenges. And there's always a twist. The winner is someone creative, able to follow directions, think on his or her feet, and respond well to criticism. Do you have what it takes? Do you have the "designer chops"? Check out the contest rules. Submit a magic item. Expose your work to the critical eye of writing professionals and hundreds of other gamers. I dare you to do your best. Heck, I dare you to do better than your best.
The City of Glimmerhold from Clash of the Kingslayers
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
The Pathfinder module Clash of the Kingslayers by RPG Superstar author Leandra Christine Schneider takes place in and around the dwarven city of Glimmerhold. During the development of the adventure, the text ended up running a little long. To make some room, we dropped the map of Glimmerhold, as little of the combat action takes place in the city, and including the map wasn’t critical for running the adventure. However, the map (drawn by Rob Lazzaretti) is really cool, showing a pillared dwarven city in the middle of an artificial lake. So here it is, ready for exploration by curious PCs.
Warning: This map image is a potential spoiler for part of the adventure. If you expect to be a player in this adventure, avert your eyes!
Didn't Make the RPG Superstar Top 32? Try Pathfinder Society!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The 2009 RPG Superstar contest drew in hundreds of entries from around the world in a contest to crown the ultimate new roleplaying game design talent. It took the judges six weeks to reduce the mountain of entries to the 32 finalists and a handful of alternates. That means hundreds of you didn't make it into the RPG Superstar Top 32—that means that hundreds of you should submit for the Pathfinder Society Scenario Open Call!
You submitted to RPG Superstar not only hoping to win an RPG Design contest, but also hoping to get a chance to see your name on a Pathfinder Module sitting on the shelf at your local game store. Pathfinder Society Scenarios may not be sold in stores, but getting your name on one is no less prestigious—you get to see your name on a product being used in hundreds, maybe even thousands, of organized play tables around the world.
Alternatively, and perhaps even more importantly, being selected to write a scenario for Pathfinder Society Organized Play does one other thing for you: it gets your foot in the door. Write a good scenario, one that blows me away with its writing style, imagery, ideas, and maps, and I'll be in the editorial pit the moment after I read it saying, "This is the person you want for X assignment!" Writing a scenario gets you noticed, may get you additional writing work, and keeps you fresh in our minds when thinking of new talent to tap for new projects.
Our current open call runs through midnight tomorrow—plenty of time to get a submission in for at least one of them! I hope to see yours in the submission stack.
It's been many, many months since Leandra Christine Schneider won the first RPG Superstar contest, but we're finally almost there—her module, Clash of the Kingslayers, is going through its last bits of editing as I type this. To celebrate, check out some of the art from the adventure!
In early November Paizo challenged amateur game designers from around the world to show off their skills in a revolutionary online contest called RPG Superstar. From more than 850 submitted wondrous items, celebrity judges Erik Mona (Paizo's Publisher), Wolfgang Baur (Editor-in-Chief, Kobold Quarterly), and Clark Peterson (President, Necromancer Games) narrowed the field to 32 would-be RPG Superstars, and further rounds have narrowed that field in the intervening weeks.
The final round asked the four competing finalists to propose a 32-page GameMastery Module for ultimate publication by Paizo as the Grand Prize of RPG Superstar. Contestants Clinton Boomer (Macomb, IL), Rob McCreary (Prague, Czech Republic), Jason Nelson (Seattle, WA), and Christine Schneider (Neu-Isenburg, Germany) responded with four excellent proposals, each worthy of publication in its own way.
But there can be only one RPG Superstar, and in the end after the celebrity judges had a chance to offer comments and criticism and the general public had their final vote, one proposal stood out as the clear winner.
Congratulations to Christine Schneider for her victorious proposal, "Clash of the Kingslayers." Here's a brief description of the adventure from Christine's winning RPG Superstar submission:
This module will set the heroes against the gods' blind wrath in defence of a dwarven city-kingdom. During the course of the adventure the PCs will cross swords with dwarvish valkyries, fight giants freed from the underworld, unravel an ancient secret, and explore a remote monastery.
What starts as a casual dungeon crawl, will turn into a frantic pandemonium as the monastery is imbued with divine life to wage war on the city the heroes might choose to protect or even aid to destroy.
Ultimately, the PCs get the chance to slay not one, but three kings in attempt to end this madness and write the final lines of an ancient tragedy. This adventure is intended for characters of 10th-level and will yield enough experience to advance them to 11th-level or even half-way to 12th-level.
As RPG Superstar's Grand Prize, Paizo will contract Christine Schneider to write "Clash of the Kingslayers," which we will release as GameMastery Module S1 in January, 2009.
But you don't have to wait until January to reserve your copy! Head over to the new "Clash of the Kingslayers" product page here on paizo.com to preorder your copy of Christine's winning adventure! If you already subscribe to GameMastery Modules, "Clash of the Kingslayers" will arrive as part of your ongoing subscription.
On behalf of judges Wolfgang Baur and Clark Peterson as well as the whole Paizo Publishing family, congratulations to Clinton Boomer, Rob McCreary, Jason Nelson, and Christine Schneider.
Remember those names, folks. You'll be hearing from all of them in the months and years to come. Though the contest produced only one true RPG Superstar, it also turned up a huge number of fresh voices we plan to work with for a long time to come.
And I'd like to offer one final thanks to you, the readers of paizo.com and to anyone who submitted an entry to this year's RPG Superstar contest. The event has been enormously popular here on the site, and even the wizened old judges learned a thing or two along the way. Something this successful is certain to return, so in the meantime sharpen your pencils and start working on some wondrous items.
In the beginning more than 850 would-be superstars submitted their best wondrous items. We narrowed that down to our favorite 32.
From there things got more difficult. The art of game design involves both rules and flavor text, of course, but if you can't handle pure flavor text, no one is going to want to read your stuff. Round 2 was a pure flavor test, leaving you armed only with the quality of your ideas and the power of your writing.
Only 16 contestants survived the scrutiny of the general public to move on to Round 3. Because every good adventure needs a great villain, we asked you to show us your worst, and you came back with your very best.
With 8 designers remaining, we asked for three thematically linked monsters to test your ability to follow directions, the power of your ideas, and your ability to handle complex rules.
The 6 most popular contestants got to design an encounter, completing a series of tasks meant to test just about every individual element included in an adventure module.
Fitting, really, since the four remaining contestants will compete for the chance to write an original adventure for Paizo's GameMastery Modules line. So far every victory in this contest has granted you bragging rights around game tables and on the internet. No more.
The winner of this contest—the RPG Superstar—gets their foot in the door with an honest-to-goodness printed product with their name right there on the cover, and all of their beautiful ideas given form, maps, and illustrations right there on the printed page.
Accordingly, the final RPG Superstar challenge is to design a complete proposal for that winning module. As in previous rounds, the judges will comment on each entry and the general public will vote on their favorites.
The author of the submission that receives the greatest number of votes will be named the RPG Superstar.
The RPG Superstar will get a production deal for a Paizo GameMastery Module.
Note: As of Round 4, the schedule has been adjusted to give the judges an extra day to evaluate and comment on entries. Voting windows will now begin on Thursdays instead of Wednesdays.
Note: As of Round 4, the schedule has been adjusted to give the judges an extra day to evaluate and comment on entries. Voting windows will now begin on Thursdays instead of Wednesdays.
Silas McDermott was among the top 16, but elected to drop out of the competition before voting closed, allowing the 17th-highest vote-getter to advance.
The top 32 finalists have completed the assignment to design a country for Round 2, and the judges have weighed in—now it's up to you. Vote for up to five of the following:
Ever thought about trying to break into the gaming industry, but have no idea where to start? Now's your chance! Starting at the end of October, paizo.com will host RPG Superstar, the first adventure game industry design contest voted on by the fans, aimed at finding the newest talent in RPG design.
"With the end of the print editions of Dragon and Dungeon magazines, Paizo has lost a conduit to find new designers," says Lisa Stevens, Paizo's CEO. "We're launching a RPG design contest to give unknown talent a chance to get noticed!"
Starting on October 31, 2007, any eligible person will be able to submit an entry into the contest. For the open call, that entry will be a wondrous item using the 3.5 SRD. Each entry needs to be 200 words or less, and must include all of the proper mechanics and flavor. Judges will announce the top 32 entries on November 28; those contestants will advance to the first round of public voting, where they will be assigned a new design task and their entries will be posted on paizo.com for the public to read, critique, and vote on. The designers garnering the most votes will continue on to subsequent rounds, and the ultimate winner will earn a paid commission to write one of Paizo's upcoming GameMastery Modules!
Paizo has gathered together three judges to oversee the competition. Paizo's Publisher, Erik Mona, will share the spotlight with fan-favorite author and Kobold Quarterly publisher Wolfgang Baur, as well as Necromancer Games co-owner Clark Peterson. Each round, these judges will critique the entries before the public vote.
The fans themselves will decide which talented designers go on to the next round by casting a vote on paizo.com for their favorite contestant. Each round includes a six-day window for fans to discuss the entries and cast their votes. After the open call round ends, the next rounds will proceed as follows:
Top 32: Design a country
Top 16: Design a villain (complete with stat block)
Top 8: Design three thematically linked monsters
Top 6: Design an encounter
Top 4: Submit a full adventure proposal
The winner of the first RPG Superstar contest will be announced on February 20, 2008.
Complete rules and entry form are available at paizo.com/rpgsuperstar. Do you have what it takes to be the next RPG Superstar?
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