Superstar 2014: Top 32 Revealed!

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Paizo Publishing today announced the finalists for RPG Superstar, the largest open-call tabletop roleplaying game design contest in history. The paizo.com community cast over half a million votes to sort the best gamer-submitted wondrous items using the rules from the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, available in stores and in electronic form at paizo.com. Judges Judy Bauer, Patrick Renie, and Russ Morrissey selected the best 32 items from the highest-voted wondrous items. The Top 32 wondrous items are now on display at paizo.com, complete with judge commentary. Gamers are invited to contribute their own comments to the entries.

"This year's RPG Superstar competition is off to a great start. It's a unique to get RPG industry professionals to scrutinize your work, with the end goal of join Paizo's stable of talented freelance writers," said host and Paizo game designer Sean K Reynolds. "This year's competition has many new faces, but some familiar ones from previous competitions as well. As was the case last year, the public voting on the wondrous items has selected the best items for the judges to review—the zeal and dedication of the Paizo community shows a real commitment to making RPG Superstar a continuing tradition of gaming excellence. Congratulations to this year's Top 32, and good luck in the monster design challenge!"

The Top 32 finalists (and their winning wondrous items) for RPG Superstar 2014 are (in alphabetical order):

Andrew Marlowe Round 1 Scourge Vial Andrew Shumate Round 1 Charlatan's Symbol Andrew Umphrey Round 1 Choker of the Siphoning Scorpion Brian Lefebvre Round 1 Evergreen Seed Pouch Brian Duckwitz Round 1 Voidspun Lenses Brian Fruzen Round 1 Groundbreaker Cloak Bryan Jones Round 1 Hedgewall Seed Pouch Calder Rooney Round 1 Stormcrusher Gauntlets Casey Clements Round 1 Patternward Spectacles Christopher Wasko Round 1 Bonedancer Bodhrán Clay Clouser Round 1 Nightsbane Quiver Emmanuel Greene Round 1 Crest of the Fallen Iain Reid Round 1 Goblet of Liquefied Cognition Jacob W. Michaels Round 1 Poltergeist Knot James Casey Round 1 Gossiper's Gourd Jesse Southwick Round 1 Quicksilver Gloves

Joseph Kellogg Round 1 Ironmorph Dust Kalervo Oikarinen Round 1 Murktouch Cloak Kenneth Elliott Round 1 Bosun's Call Mark Nordheim Round 1 Horned Helm of the Wild Stag Michael Patrick Round 1 Bog Boots Michele La Barbera Round 1 Familiar's Soulstone Mikael Sebag Round 1 Amulet of Reverse Incantation Mike Kimmel Round 1 Earthbind Boots Mikko Kallio Round 1 Deck of Falling Houses Peter Jhansen Round 1 Death Mask Robert Brookes Round 1 Spirit Window Sam Harris Round 1 Star Cinder Terry Dutton Round 1 Fetish of the Frog Queen Tyler Beck Round 1 Deck of the Hellwasp's Sting Tyler Cowart Round 1 Jar of Mottled Clay Victoria Jaczko Round 1 Bitter Widow's Veil

2014's alternates are Rich Malena, Robert Hetherington, and Tyler Coveney.

The Top 32 will now be required to design a monster to the specifications of the RPG Superstar judges and submit that concept by 2:00 PM Pacific time on Friday, January 24. These Round 2 submissions will be revealed to the general public on Tuesday, January 28 with judges' comments, and the public will then get to discuss the entries and vote for their favorite. Voting ends on February 3 and the Top 16 by votes will move on to Round 3.

The ultimate winner of RPG Superstar, announced March 11, 2014, will write an adventure for Paizo's Pathfinder Module line to be published in early 2015. The 2013 RPG Superstar champion module, Steven Helt's Tears at Bitter Manor, releases in March 2014.

Sean K Reynolds
Host, Designer, Former RPG Superstar Judge