RPG Superstar™ 2011 Top 8

February 15, 2011

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:

• Artus Nemati (Oviedo, FL) — Varstrius, Connoisseur of Living Dolls
      Charlatan (Rogue)
      Mirrored Lantern of the Pious Seeker
  
• Cody Coffelt (Boise, ID) — Lyell, Deacon of Ash
      Hound Master (Cavalier)
      Flask of Five Fifths
  
• Ethan Day-Jones (Ireland) — Drayden D'Arteros, Prince of Knives
      Exalted Armsman (Cleric)
      Eye of the Void
  
• Jerall Toi (Port Elizabeth, South Africa) — Tarvin Haddon, Agent of the Grim Harvestman
      Tengu Blademaster (Fighter)
      Phlebotomist's Gloves
  
• John Bennett (Rochester, NH) — Meneena, Derro Bard
      Saboteur (Ranger)
      Cocoon Cloak
  
• Sam Zeitlin (Arlington, VA) — The Gentleman Knave
      Still-Water Meditant (Monk)
      Book of Night Without Moon
  
• Sean McGowan (New York City, NY) — Lady Rosiline Mistandre, Razor of Crownsgate
      Evangelist (Bard)
      Singing Bowl of Redoubled Clarity
  
• Trevor Merback (San Diego, CA) — Ankradula the Sane
      Impaler (Fighter)
      Bag of Holes
  

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.

Hyrum.