Are you ready to be a Superstar?

I'm nervous...even trying to put my idea from my head to the screen makes me nervous!

You may want to say anyone doing that DQs themselves even if it's NOT their item.

I could see someone saying "can you believe someone submitted a sword of Hitler killing???" or asking some sort of clarification question about an item, etc. etc.

You're basically asking for a rule that says "no discussing any entries during the voting period." I don't think we want that rule (even if we could enforce it, which would be very very difficult to do).

I think that allowing the public to vote during Round 1 while still letting the judges have final say on who makes it to Round 2 is a great idea. Every year there are more and more submissions and it can't be easy going through that many items over Christmas.

Good luck everyone!

I just want to thank Paizo for once again putting on this great contest! Thank you! Good luck everyone!

So Superstar has crept up on me once again... but round 1 voting?! o_O

Best of luck to everyone and make your items Superstar-worthy! And congratulations once again to Paizo on the round one voting; we all get a peek behind the curtain this time.

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

I want to start voting NOW... :P

Good luck everyone!

This round one voting by the public thing has got me really interested too, to say the least. :)

You know, I think this public voting thing will keep folks from complaining too much about that the judges are looking for the wrong thing.

If the public doesn't like it, chances are neither will the judges.

Additionally, this might also save the judges some time on wading through a thousand entries all on their own.

Way to delegate!

I'm excited!

Holy crap, it's the time of year already. *gets to work*

I have been revving up for this one for a couple of weeks now and already had my wondrous item plotted... here goes nothing.

Hm, I never thought of whether or not I'd be allowed to participate in RPG Superstar this year. Oh well, at least its great fun reading everyone else's things!

Yay for it being THAT time of year again. I think in a lot of ways I enjoy the excitement and anticipation of the submission period even more than the weeks of the competition itself. Not that I don't love seeing the creativity on display during the various rounds, but there's something super enthralling about seeing the entire community doing the online equivalent of eagerly bouncing up and down.

I'm also ridiculously excited (and maybe a bit frightened...) at the thought of getting to see all (or as many as I can power through) the possible entries. (At least all the ones that don't shoot themselves in the foot and get DQ'd.) Finally we all get a peek behind the curtain and get to see what joys and horrors the judges have been experiencing every year!

And I'm happy to see the archetype round back again. I felt it was a bit maligned last time around (admittedly, I had a horse in that race, so I'm biased...) but with several years of official products introducing buttloads more ATs, giving the community as a whole a much more solid grasp of the concept, I think it's very likely the top 32 this year will do an admirable job of quelling any naysayers.

Best of luck to the upcoming class of '13!

It would appear that to make up for the loss of Neil Spicer as a judge, Paizo found the only entity that could even possibly match Neil's output: the entire fan base.

Nice!

EDIT: removed question until after I finished with the FAQ & Rules

Good luck everyone! short time so get cracking :)

Standing around the braai and discussing RPG Superstar - that's what summer's all about. I'm really interested in the archetype round. I'm happy to see that it's back and I can't wait to see what 2013 can do with ATs.

Good luck everybody!

We will be using a Condorcet method for determining the results, most likely via Schulze beatpath strength calculation.

Beatpath Strength Calculator

Description
When this string of 1's and 0's is run on a server, it tabulates all Round 1 Superstar votes. If studied by a character using a read code spell while doing so, the beatpath strength calculator immediately imparts upon that character an understanding of the vagaries of the Schulze method of Condorcet vote tabulation.

In addition, whenever this item's possessor provokes an attack of opportunity for moving through a threatened area (hereafter referred to as a "beatpath"), the possessor immediately knows the Strength score of each opponent that attacks the possessor for moving along that beatpath.

Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, summon code monkey; Cost minimum wage

Ooooooh, I still shudder when I think about my entry for the Archetype round in 2011. Ouch.

Best of luck, everyone! I can't wait to see what you have up your nasty little sleeves.

1) Will the items be voted on as submitted, without any changes made to them?

2) Will the judges winnow out any submissions before voting begins?

Was going to participate, then read the rules. :P No way I'm letting my personal information get out of my control that easily.

Hm, I never thought of whether or not I'd be allowed to participate in RPG Superstar this year. Oh well, at least its great fun reading everyone else's things!

Unless your books are hardcovers, you quit your teaching job, or you've done some design work for Paizo, you are still eligible.

Oh man, last year I managed to talk myself out of submitting...good thing I kept it handy! In fact, the voting this year leaves me even more excited; even if I don't manage to make it, a voter might think it snazzy enough to give it a try!

Trying my hand at it for the third year in a row. I've got a good feeling this year! Last year, I was one of the runners-up, so I think I've got a decent chance this time around with what I learned then. Here's hoping!

I think this two-tiered first round is a brilliant idea. And I think it's going to be really fun voting!

Wish I had the time this year to make the attempt -- but I'll be following the process very closely so that I can prepare for next year!

1) Will the items be voted on as submitted, without any changes made to them?

2) Will the judges winnow out any submissions before voting begins?

1) Yes. We aren't editing the items at all.

2) We don't plan to reject any items before voting unless they violate the contest rules (such as an item that's a wand rather than a wondrous item, or an item that goes over word count, or one that has obscene content).

Good luck, everyone! I hope to see a lot of entries this year, and I think public voting is a cool twist on the first round.

After submitting a wondrous item every year of the competition, I'll have to resist submitting an item this year. ;)

Was going to participate, then read the rules. :P No way I'm letting my personal information get out of my control that easily.

It seem every year, someone posts something along these lines, or expresses concern about the fact that your submission automatically becomes Paizo's property. And - I don't really get it.

The point of this contest is to win the chance to write a module that is going to be marketed and sold across the world with your name on the cover. That's going to be hard to market without the right to say: "Hey, you should buy this module, it is written by this awesome writer who won the RPG Superstar."

The second you make Top 32, you become public property. Your name is displayed on the RPG Superstar page and spread in press releases. Everyone voices opinions about your work. And since having a paizo.com account is required to enter, Paizo already have much of your personal info.

I guess the point is, if you don't trust Paizo with your personal info, then yes - this contest is not for you. But neither is working professionally in the RPG industry in any way, shape or form.

I did a not so little dance for joy when I saw the archetype round.

Yeah, I actually really like doing archetypes :)

I'm guessing archetypes have been done in the past? Sounds from some people's comments that it might have been one of the more... interesting rounds. What was it like?

Was going to participate, then read the rules. :P No way I'm letting my personal information get out of my control that easily.

I'm also baffled. Mammoth, what rule(s)are you referring to?

I'm guessing archetypes have been done in the past? Sounds from some people's comments that it might have been one of the more... interesting rounds. What was it like?

Archetypes were in the 2011 contest, and since they were still new, there were a few missteps and entries the judges did not like (I'm understating it just a little). It was similar in some respects to the reactions during 2012's organization round. :)

Old Mammoth wrote:

Was going to participate, then read the rules. :P No way I'm letting my personal information get out of my control that easily.

I'm also baffled. Mammoth, what rule(s)are you referring to?

Most likely these:

3. By entering this contest, the contestant authorizes the use, without additional compensation, of his or her name, likeness, voice, photograph, and municipality of residence for promotion and/or advertising purposes in any manner and in any medium (including, without limitation, radio broadcasts, newspapers, and other publications, and in television or film releases, slides, videotape, distribution over the internet and picture data storage) which Paizo Publishing may deem appropriate.

Here is a link to the archetypes from 2011, if you want to do some "homework." :)

Archetypes were in the 2011 contest, and since they were still new, there were a few missteps and entries the judges did not like (I'm understating it just a little). It was similar in some respects to the reactions during 2012's organization round. :)

I thought the organizations were much better received, though maybe my memory's playing tricks on me. I think there were a lot more rules issues with the archetypes, but I'm planning on going back and re-reading them when I get a chance. (I'm disappointed that it seems like the rules for that round have disappeared, since I'd have liked to look at those as well, but maybe I just need to look for them harder.)

It was similar in some respects to the reactions during 2012's organization round. :)

What are you talking about, Mike - everyone LOVED our organizations, didn't they?

2011's round 2 rules

Take-away Lesson from the 2011 Archetypes Round:
Hound Master, Hound Master, Hound Master.

Take-away Lesson from the 2011 Archetypes Round:

Hound Master, Hound Master, Hound Master.

Woof!

Mike Welham wrote:

It was similar in some respects to the reactions during 2012's organization round. :)

What are you talking about, Mike - everyone LOVED our organizations, didn't they?

Now that you mention it, the judges had a unanimous opinion about the Monster Reformation Alliance. :)

Jacob Trier wrote:

Mike Welham wrote:

It was similar in some respects to the reactions during 2012's organization round. :)

What are you talking about, Mike - everyone LOVED our organizations, didn't they?

Now that you mention it, the judges had a unanimous opinion about the Monster Reformation Alliance. :)

Who cares about what the judges think when you have the love of the people - that's more true this year than any other.

Old Mammoth wrote:

Was going to participate, then read the rules. :P No way I'm letting my personal information get out of my control that easily.

I'm also baffled. Mammoth, what rule(s)are you referring to?

I think the change in round 1 might be a part of the fear. The readers/public/voters get to see the item submitted, without any screening. Normally this only happens if you a) make the top 32, or b) you personally request feedback. The entry should be anonymous so no way to connect item to person, but there are a lot of folks who did not request feedback from the judges.

Thanks, Mike! I figured they were here somewhere.

Take-away Lesson from the 2011 Archetypes Round:

Hound Master, Hound Master, Hound Master.

Everyone loves dogs (except Jonathan Hickman apparently). This is what I always tell other editors editors when I want to put a dog picture in the paper.

Good luck to everyone! I recommend (having done the archeytpe round) that you start work on your archetype submission as soon as you submit your item. There isn't a lot of time between when you find out that you've made the Top 32 and when the next round is due. You also will probably lose a day caught up in the initial excitement. Read through all the archetypes in the APG, the Ultimate books, and the Advanced Races Guide (all available here on the PRD) to get a feel for what has already been done. Next, read through all 32 2011 entries to understand where mistakes where made. For example, while my saboteur submission did relatively well, I screwed up listing out his skill points which I didn't have to do because I hadn't changed them from the ranger's original entry. That would have given me a few more words that would have helped clarify one of my abilities that had caused a little confusion (stupid semi-colon wasn't enough). Use this time wisely (and maybe even get a little play testing in).

Oh, I have no problem with my name being published, in the unlikely event I would make it that far. The problem I have is with my photograph and municipality of residence being freely circulated. It is a different thing to say "written by this awesome writer named XX," than "written by this awesome writer named XX who looks like this and lives in XX".

I guess that if I would live in a larger city I would feel different about it. But right now... I guess I am a little paranoid. :P

(:P in the context of my previous post meant "mildly disappointed". I mostly use it as a way to "soften" the message when it could be perceived to be more blunt or strong than I had intended. For example, the :P in this post is supposed to clarify that while I recognize that I might be more untrusting than the average Joe, I do not intend to convey the reader the impression that I have a personality disorder.)

Cool enough. To date, pics are only used in the 'meet the judges' column if you win and become a guest judge :) You can worry about that bridge later. Enter now. 'Tis fun! :)

Read through all the archetypes in the APG, the Ultimate books, and the Advanced Races Guide (all available here on the PRD) to get a feel for what has already been done. Next, read through all 32 2011 entries to understand where mistakes where made.

This scares me about doing too much too early, as some of the archetypes in Ultimate Magic appear to be at odds with some of the 2011 rules and judges' advice, and the 2011 word limit looked like it made some classes particularly tough. Really want to see what changes or is clarified in the 2013 rules, if anything.

I was going to make a post about that actually. I've heard from some freelancers that the rules for formatting archetypes have changed a bit, since Paizo still wasn't sure how to best present them when they were first released. Now with a few years experience behind them, they are following some slightly different rules.

My question was going to be, and is now, if we could get a short summary of the things that have changed so we are a bit more aware.

Heck, even if I don't get into the Top 32 I'd still love to see how they've changed over time.

We will be using a Condorcet method for determining the results, most likely via Schulze beatpath strength calculation.

Wooo, Schulze!

(Serious, not mocking.)

I'm guessing archetypes have been done in the past? Sounds from some people's comments that it might have been one of the more... interesting rounds. What was it like?

It was a bloodbath! Ryan called my Varisian Carver archetype "a ham-handed butcher" and Sean actually used the word "Argh" in his critique.

It took me days to stop weeping blood. :-)

John Bennett wrote:

Read through all the archetypes in the APG, the Ultimate books, and the Advanced Races Guide (all available here on the PRD) to get a feel for what has already been done. Next, read through all 32 2011 entries to understand where mistakes where made.

This scares me about doing too much too early, as some of the archetypes in Ultimate Magic appear to be at odds with some of the 2011 rules and judges' advice, and the 2011 word limit looked like it made some classes particularly tough. Really want to see what changes or is clarified in the 2013 rules, if anything.

Having done this once, I strongly suggest a list of possible archetypes for the classes with some notes on how you'd "make it happen." That way you at least have an idea and can get enough info down to see if it will work. For that matter, I strongly suggest jotting down your ideas for all the rounds - just in case. ;)

I waited until the Top 32 were announced, spent two of the three days allotted trying to make an archetype work, then had to switch to the one I submitted. It was (understandably) panned.

Getting your thoughts and running through a few ideas will help in the long run. You can then tweak to the requirements for the round, and you'll have more than one or two ideas to run with when you're thrown a curveball.

At least, that's what I learned after the judges dedicated a "please be kind" thread to kick off the 2011 archetype round. :P I think that hurt more than the actual critiques. Then again, I could have blocked it from my memory. ;)

Well, it's getting close to 2am here in the UK, time to go to bed and sleep. Let the posts build up for breakfast reading :)

I mean, guys, do you Paizo people have any idea what you do to our sleep patterns in December?

*Closes browser*

*Shutdown*

*Walk away*

-twitch-

*Falls asleep on the stairs*

>.<