It's RPG Superstar Time!

Monday, December 5, 2011

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.

As in previous years, the final winner of this year’s RPG Superstar will receive a contract to write a Pathfinder Module to be published by Paizo. Previous winning modules include Christine Schneider’s Clash of the Kingslayers, Neil Spicer’s Realm of the Fellnight Queen, Matthew Goodall’s Cult of the Ebon Destroyers, and The Midnight Mirror, by last year’s Superstar winner Sam Zeitlin, which is scheduled for release in February!

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!

Erik Mona
Publisher