Paizo Publishing today announced the finalists for RPG Superstar, the largest open-call tabletop roleplaying game design contest in history. The paizo.com community cast over half a million votes to sort the best gamer-submitted wondrous items using the rules from the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, available in stores and in electronic form at paizo.com. Judges Wolfgang Baur, Clark Peterson, and Sean K Reynolds selected the best 32 items from the highest-voted wondrous items. The Top 32 wondrous items are now on display at paizo.com, complete with judge commentary and additional comments from 2012 RPG Superstar finalists Steve Miller, James Olchak, and Tom Phillips, and winner Mike Welham. Gamers are invited to contribute their own comments to the entries.
"RPG Superstar is the only gaming contest of its kind—the opportunity to get industry professionals to scrutinize your work and give you the opportunity to join Paizo's stable of talented freelance writers," said judge and Paizo game developer Sean K Reynolds. "This year we have a great mix of new faces and competitors from previous years, and the incredible voter turnout in Round 1 means the gaming community has been involved from the very start of this competition. Congratulations to this year's Top 32, and good luck in the contest's next challenge!"
The Top 32 finalists (and their winning wondrous items) for RPG Superstar 2013 are (in alphabetical order):
2013's alternates are Giorgios Abate, Jeff Lee, Damien McGurrell, and Garrick Williams.
The Top 32 will now be required to design a concept for a class archetype to the specifications of the RPG Superstar judges and submit that concept by 2:00 PM Pacific time on Friday, January 25. These Round 2 submissions will be revealed to the general public on Tuesday, January 29 with judges' comments and the public will then get to discuss the entries and vote for their favorite. Voting ends on February 4 and the Top 16 by votes will move on to Round 3.
The ultimate winner of RPG Superstar, announced April 2, 2013, will write an adventure for Paizo's Pathfinder Module line to be published in early 2014. The 2012 RPG Superstar champion module, Mike Welham's Doom Comes to Dustpawn, releases in April 2013.
