Last updated November 25, 2008

General Questions | Entering the Contest | Voting

General Questions

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What is the schedule for the contest?

Round		Round Begins	Submissions Due	Fan Voting Begins	Fan Voting Ends	Winners Announced
1	Open Call: Design a wondrous item	12/5/08	1/2/09			1/20/09
2	Top 32: Create a villain concept	1/20/09	1/23/09	1/27/09	2/2/09	2/3/09
3	Top 16: Create a villain stat block	2/3/09	2/6/09	2/10/09	2/16/09	2/17/09
4	Top 8: Design a villain's lair with map	2/17/09	2/20/09	2/24/09	3/2/09	3/3/09
5	Top 4: Submit a full adventure proposal	3/3/09	3/13/09	3/17/09	3/23/09	3/24/09

The winner of RPG Superstar 2009 will be announced on March 24, 2009. All events are at 2PM Pacific time on the specified date.

What are the design topics for each round of the competition?

Open Call: Design a wondrous item
Top 32: Create a villain concept
Top 16: Create a villain stat block
Top 8: Design a villain's lair with map
Top 4: Submit a full adventure proposal

Are these topics going to be as open-ended as listed above?

No. We will provide a more detailed assignment as each round starts.

What rules system do designs in this contest use?

All entries in the RPG Superstar contest must conform to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beta Release (available as a free PDF at paizo.com/pathfinderRPG).

Who are the judges?

Paizo has gathered together three judges to oversee the competition. Paizo developer Sean K Reynolds will share the spotlight with fan-favorite author and Kobold Quarterly publisher Wolfgang Baur, and Necromancer Games' head honcho, Clark Peterson. Each round will also feature special guest judges; For the Open Call round, last year’s RPG Superstar Final 4—Christine Schneider, Clinton Boomer, Jason Nelson, and Rob McCreary—will provide their advice to this year's top 32 contestants. In the second round, best selling author Ed Greenwood will lend his expertise on villain creation. In round three, Pathfinder RPG designer Jason Bulmahn will help critique the villain stat blocks. Round four will feature star designer Monte Cook providing insight on the Top 8’s villain lairs. Finally, Pathfinder Editor-in-Chief James Jacobs will provide his feedback on the Top 4 adventure proposals.

What are the judges' duties?

During the first round, the judges will be responsible for selecting the top 32 Open Call entries. In subsequent rounds, the judges will critique each entry before the public vote begins.

Will the votes be viewable by the public?

No. At the end of each voting round, we'll announce the names of the contestants that will proceed to the following round; we may identify the most popular contestant for that round, but the number of votes any contestant received will not be announced.

What will the winner win?

The ultimate winner, as chosen by the public, will earn a paid commission to write one of Paizo's upcoming Pathfinder Modules!

Entering the Contest

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Who is eligible to enter the contest?

Because we are trying to discover new talent, anybody who has been published in the RPG industry in a significant way is not eligible to enter. If you have been employed full-time as a designer for a game company, you are not eligible. If you have received cover credit as an author of a hardcover RPG book, you are not eligible. If you have a cover credit on a printed Pathfinder or GameMastery product, you are not eligible. If you were one of the top 8 finalists of the previous RPG Superstar contest, you are not eligible. Everyone else is eligible to enter! You must have an account on paizo.com to enter the contest—visit secure.paizo.com/paizo/account to set up a free account.

How many times may I enter?

Each person is allowed one entry into the Open Call. If we find that someone has cheated by submitting more than one entry in the contest, they will immediately be disqualified and any prizes won will be immediately forfeited.

Will I be identified to the public?

Your Open Call submission will be presented to the judges anonymously. If you are selected as one of the 32 finalists, your full name will be displayed along with your submissions.

Who owns my entries in the contest?

All entries in the RPG Superstar contest will become the sole property of Paizo Publishing. If published, reasonable effort will be made to credit the original author.

How do I enter the RPG Superstar contest?

Write up a new and original wondrous item for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beta Release (available as a free PDF at paizo.com/pathfinderRPG). Then, after 2PM PST on December 5, 2008, log in to your paizo.com account, go to the RPG Superstar home page, and submit your entry. Entries must be received before 2PM PST on January 2, 2009.

What criteria will be used to judge the Open Call entries?

Entries will be critiqued on creativity, originality, usefulness, and adherence to the Pathfinder RPG rules. Entries will be presented to the judges anonymously, so do not put your name or any other personally identifying information in your entry.

What is the word limit for my Open Call entry?

Entries for the Open Call round of RPG Superstar must be 200 words or less. Entries that exceed this maximum will automatically be removed from the competition.

Can I use material from any published books in my entry?

You may use material from the Pathfinder RPG, any of the Paizo's Pathfinder products, and the 3.5 SRD as shown at www.d20srd.org. All other books are off limits (unless you're specifically directed otherwise in later rounds). Use of other content is grounds for disqualification.

Where are the official rules?

The official rules are here.

Voting

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Who can vote in the RPG Superstar contest?

During the Open Call round of the contest, the official judges will decide which 32 entrants go to the next round. In each subsequent round, each person with an account on paizo.com will be able to vote. You must have an account on paizo.com to vote in the contest—visit secure.paizo.com/paizo/account to set up a free account.

How do I cast my vote?

During the voting periods, log in to your paizo.com account and visit paizo.com/rpgsuperstar. You may only vote once per round, so make sure to look through all the entries before casting your vote! If we find that someone has cheated by placing more than one vote, those votes will be nullified.

Will I be able to comment on entries?

Absolutely! While our judges will give you their insights first, we expect that members of the paizo.com community will want to register their own thoughts on the entries, perhaps even trying to sway votes to their favorite designer.

What are the guidelines for messageboard conduct?

The messageboards on paizo.com are renowned for a friendly environment with knowledgeable and passionate members. We encourage anybody who posts to give the community their thoughts on each entry, but to do so in a constructive and non-inflammatory manner. Critique the submissions, but not the designer—personal attacks on the contestants will not be tolerated.