RPG Superstar™ 2012 Top 32 Revealed

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

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):

Chad Bartlett Gloves of Reconnaissance Alexander Bennett Dustings of Darkness Jim Callaghan Cloak of the Swashbuckler Will Cooper Ghostvision gloves Adam Donald Flask of Liquid Sunlight Bob Drouin Figurine of Familiar Power Anthony Guillotte Bottled Time Mark Hart Spellblight Cage Dan Jones Claw of the Crawling Spell Mikko Kallio Vexing Spirit Lamp Jacob Kellogg Cloak of Energy Reversal N. Edward Lange Sunblossom Thomas LeBlanc Metamorphosis Saddle David Ludwig Basilisk's Eye Sight Andrew Marlowe Cayden's Cup Benjamin Medrano Chalice of Eternal Fire Jacob Michaels Haunting Glass

Steve Miller Night Monarch Vardo Greg Monk Shadow Box Eric Morton Boots of the Phantom Staircase Joshua Murphy Gloves, Charlatan Jason Neals Binder of Unbound Forms Andrew Newton Sticky Pugfoot James Olchak Rajah's Silhouette Tom Phillips Feywhisper Crown Sam Polak Moonlight Flute of the Ghost Hunter James Raine Spellbreaker Gauntlets David Ross Clockwork Conscience Daniel Rust Elixir of Resurgent Flame Chris Shaeffer Scent of the Savored Sting Ian Studebaker-Grey Silhouette of the Phantasmagoria Jacob Trier Sunrise Shawl Russell Vaneekhoven Chimaeric Mantle Mike Welham Raptoring Gloves

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.