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Oft-requested features arrive in time for the holidays!

Competition Starts December 4, 2009 on paizo.com

"Curse of the Riven Sky" First Pathfinder RPG Design for Third Edition Co-Creator

Six New 20-Level Classes to Debut Free Online

RPG Superstar Finalist to join Pathfinder staff

Game Accessories to be released under the GameMastery brand

New Address and Phone Number Go Live Friday

Monthly metal miniatures releases to support Paizo's new Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

All Preordered Copies Now in Distribution Channel, New Print Run to Arrive in Early November

Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook Sold Out!

All Preordered Copies Now in Distribution Channel, New Print Run to Arrive in Early November

Ten days before the launch of their much-anticipated Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook, Paizo Publishing today announced that the first print run of the book has sold out, with all preordered copies on their way to stores for an August 13 release. With preorders more than five times greater than for any previous product in Paizo's seven-year history, orders for the Core Rulebook continue to mount even as the company speeds to produce another print run. Paizo.com has retained enough copies to handle all paizo.com subscriptions and pre-orders. Customers who have not already placed a pre-order with paizo.com or their game or book retailer are encouraged to seek out a copy immediately following the book's retail release, as supplies are expected to run out well before the arrival of a second print run in early November.

"We thought we had printed enough to last us at least until the end of this year, but skyrocketing demand from our customers and distributors has us reprinting already," Lisa Stevens, CEO of Paizo said. "We have a healthy amount heading to Gen Con, but we think even those will go fast, so don't delay in picking up your copy!"

The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook is the first release in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game line of hardcover tabletop RPG rulebooks. Clocking in at a whopping 576 pages and at a weight of more than four pounds, this $49.99 rulebook is the newest incarnation of the 3.5 version of the world's best-selling roleplaying game. Playtested by more than 50,000 players over the last year, the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook is the most hotly anticipated tabletop RPG release of 2009. A massive electronic download file ($9.99) will remain available at paizo.com.

"The phenomenal support of the constantly growing community of Pathfinder RPG players has been a staggering sight to behold," said Paizo Publisher Erik Mona. "To sell out a hugely ambitious print run before the release date just goes to show what an immense audience this game will enjoy in the years to come."

The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook can be found wherever gaming products are sold or can be purchased directly from Paizo Publishing via paizo.com.

ABOUT PAIZO PUBLISHING
Paizo Publishing®, LLC is a leading publisher of fantasy roleplaying games, accessories, board games, and novels. Paizo's Pathfinder® line of rules, adventures, sourcebooks, and campaigns combines decades of game design experience into one evocative system compatible with the 3.5 rules. Paizo's GameMastery® accessories offer easy-to-use tools aimed at improving the tabletop RPG experience. Titanic Games™, Paizo's board game imprint, unleashes fun, challenging games like Kill Doctor Lucky™ and Yetisburg™ that appeal to both families and casual gamers alike. Paizo's Planet Stories® line of science fiction and fantasy novels promise thrilling adventure of the like not seen since the legendary pulps. Paizo.com is the leading online hobby retail store, offering tens of thousands of products from a variety of publishers to customers all over the world. In the seven years since its founding, Paizo Publishing has received more than a dozen major industry awards and has grown to become one of the most influential companies in the hobby games industry.

Paizo Gives PDFs Some Love: 35% Off!

Use promotional code "PDFLove" during order checkout

April 8, 2009

We at Paizo Publishing understand how important PDFs have become to most roleplaying gamers. We know that PDFs allow you to easily carry around a large library of books on your laptop, PDA, or cell phone. We know that PDFs are great for searching for that piece of obscure information. We know that PDFs are a great way to keep out-of-print products available. And we know that PDFs provide a great way to check out new products.

At paizo.com, most of the roleplaying books we publish are available in both print and PDF editions. We take pride in the high quality of our PDFs and think that they are some of the best in the industry. And we would love to show you how cool they are by allowing you to buy our Pathfinder PDFs for 35% off the regular retail price through the end of April. This offer includes Pathfinder Adventure Path PDFs, Pathfinder Modules PDFs, Pathfinder Chronicles PDFs, Pathfinder Companion PDFs, and Pathfinder Society Scenario PDFs.

Just add the Pathfinder PDFs you would like to buy into your cart, and when you are checking out, type the promotional code "PDFLove" in the appropriate box. The 35% discount will be applied to your Pathfinder PDFs at that point. You can use this code as many times as you like until the end of April, and feel free to share this code with your friends.

We also invite you to check out the FREE PDF products available at http://paizo.com/store/downloads/free. These include several of our own products, such as the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beta, our adventures Hollow's Last Hope and Revenge of the Kobold King, and our Player's Guides for Rise of the Runelords and Curse of the Crimson Throne, as well as dozens of PDFs from other publishers.

We would also like to remind you that subscribers to our Pathfinder Adventure Path, Pathfinder Modules, Pathfinder Companion, and Pathfinder Chronicles lines get FREE PDFs when the corresponding print editions of their subscription products ship just another way in which we thank our customers for their support!

So drop by paizo.com and check out all of the downloads we offer at http://paizo.com/store/downloads. The digital age is here, and we are proud to be your provider of amazing digital products for years to come.

Paizo Announces New System for Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

New "d21™ System" and Dice in Stores This August

Paizo Publishing today unveiled new details of the exciting new rules system that will form the basis for their upcoming Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. The newly christened "d21™ System" uses a new 20-sided die that's numbered from 2 to 21.

"Using the old d20 die, you could roll a 20, but where can you go from there? Where?" asked Lead Designer Jason Bulmahn. "Nowhere. Exactly. With the new d21™ System, now you can roll a 21—one higher."

Paizo will release new d21™ dice along with the new Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook in August 2009. "We're confident that people will enjoy the added excitement afforded by the d21™ System," insisted Publisher Erik Mona. "It's clearly better than games that use d20 dice, because it uses dice that can roll one higher."

For more about the d21™ System and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, visit paizo.com/pathfinderRPG.

APRIL FOOLS!

OK, so we're not really using the d21 System as the engine for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. But here are 21 ways we've improved the core 3.5 fantasy system for the upcoming Pathfinder Roleplaying Game:

1. Grappling a monster no longer requires you to have a master's degree in combat rules with a minor in spatial mechanics.

2. Using a polymorph spell does not require 3 different FAQ documents, 4 bestiaries, and a mountain of house rules.

3. Clerics can actually cast their prepared spells instead of converting them into healing.

4. Bards don't suck. Now they can make you die with laughter.

5. Monks don't suck. When they use flurry of blows they actually hit.

6. Paladins don't suck. Smite evil lasts until your target is dead.

7. Rangers don't suck. You really do not want to be a ranger's quarry.

8. Sorcerers don't suck. Bloodlines give you a host of cool powers and abilities.

9. There is now a reason to wear medium armor. With a good Dexterity score, you can get an AC of 19 by just wearing a breastplate.

10. Building the skill list of a rogue 5/barbarian 3/assassin 2 now only takes about 2 minutes.

11. Use Rope is gone. Climbing a wall requires only one skill check.

12. Spellcasters do not have to spend a bunch of ranks on Concentration (or any other skill) to be able to cast their spells in the middle of combat.

13. At high levels, a fighter can cause a character to become blinded and stunned with a critical hit.

14. At high levels, a paladin can cure a character that is blinded and stunned with a touch.

15. Curses, diseases, and poisons are now something that the players want to avoid contracting.

16. Putting together an encounter only requires you to add up the XP totals of the monsters you are using.

17. You do not have to wear a Christmas tree of magic items to be a successful adventurer. Monsters are designed with normal characters in mind.

18. Creating magic items now comes with the risk of making a cursed item if you are not well-prepared and careful.

19. You never, ever have to "de-level" your character.

20. With more healing and reusable abilities, the 15-minute adventuring day is a thing of the past.

21. You don't have to scrounge through secondhand bookstores to find the rulebooks. The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game releases on August 13th, 2009 in game stores everywhere.

ABOUT PAIZO PUBLISHING
Paizo Publishing, LLC is a leading publisher of fantasy roleplaying games, board games, and speculative fiction. Paizo's Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is the most highly anticipated tabletop roleplaying game release of 2009, with more than 50,000 playtesters and a game system over 30 years in the making. Paizo's Pathfinder® game lines support the Pathfinder RPG with a variety of adventure scenarios, campaigns, and exciting settings. Paizo's GameMastery® accessories offer easy-to-use tools that improve the play of any fantasy roleplaying game. Titanic Games™, Paizo's board game imprint, unleashes fun, challenging games like Kill Doctor Lucky™ and Yetisburg™ that appeal to families and casual gamers. Paizo's Planet Stories® presents classic tales of science fiction and fantasy alongside cutting edge works by today's best authors to create an essential library featuring the finest in speculative fiction. Paizo.com is the leading online hobby retail store, offering tens of thousands of products from a variety of publishers to customers all over the world. In the six years since its founding, Paizo Publishing has received more than a dozen major awards and has grown to become one of the most influential companies in the hobby games industry.

Neil Spicer Voted RPG Superstar™ 2009

Contest-Winning Adventure to be Printed by Paizo

After five rounds of intensive competition, amateur game designer Neil Spicer has won RPG Superstar 2009, the largest tabletop roleplaying game design contest in history. The popular vote of paizo.com's more than 100,000-strong fan community chose Neil Spicer's Realm of the Fellnight Queen Pathfinder module submission over the final-round submissions of competitors Eric Bailey, Kevin Carter, and Matthew Stinson. Spicer will receive a contract to write the full adventure, which will be released by Paizo in January, 2010.

Paizo challenged amateur game designers from around the world to show off their skills in RPG Superstar 2009, the second season of Paizo's search for great undiscovered game designers. Regular judges Wolfgang Baur of Kobold Quarterly, Clark Peterson of Necromancer Games, and Paizo's own Sean K Reynolds narrowed a field of hundreds of open call submissions to 32 would-be RPG Superstars, and guest judges including Ed Greenwood, Jason Bulmahn, Monte Cook, and James Jacobs, plus last year's Top 4 contestants Clinton J. Boomer, Rob McCreary, Jason Nelson, and original RPG Superstar Leandra Christine Schneider provided their advice as the contestants answered each new challenge.

In the final round, we asked this year's Top 4 to propose a 32-page Pathfinder Module for use with Paizo's upcoming Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Contestants Eric Bailey (Wakefield, Massachusetts), Kevin Carter (Aliso Viejo, California), Matthew Stinson (Jacksonville, Florida), and Neil Spicer (Waxhaw, North Carolina) responded with four excellent submissions. Neil Spicer's Realm of the Fellnight Queen emerged victorious after a week of public comment and voting at paizo.com. Spicer's winning adventure is currently available for preorder at paizo.com.

"On behalf of our judges as well as the whole Paizo Publishing family, congratulations to Eric Bailey, Kevin Carter, Matthew Stinson, and Neil Spicer," said Paizo Publisher Erik Mona. "Though only one earned the title RPG Superstar 2009, you'll likely be hearing from all of them, and from other RPG Superstar 2009 contestants, in the months and years to come."

RPG Superstar will return in 2010.

ABOUT PAIZO PUBLISHING
Paizo Publishing, LLC is a leading publisher of fantasy roleplaying games, board games, and speculative fiction. Paizo's Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is the most highly anticipated tabletop roleplaying game release of 2009, with more than 50,000 playtesters and a game system over 30 years in the making. Paizo's Pathfinder® game lines support the Pathfinder RPG with a variety of adventure scenarios, campaigns, and exciting settings. Paizo's GameMastery® accessories offer easy-to-use tools that improve the play of any fantasy roleplaying game. Titanic Games™, Paizo's board game imprint, unleashes fun, challenging games like Kill Doctor Lucky™ and Yetisburg™ that appeal to families and casual gamers. Paizo's Planet Stories® presents classic tales of science fiction and fantasy alongside cutting edge works by today's best authors to create an essential library featuring the finest in speculative fiction. Paizo.com is the leading online hobby retail store, offering tens of thousands of products from a variety of publishers to customers all over the world. In the six years since its founding, Paizo Publishing has received more than a dozen major awards and has grown to become one of the most influential companies in the hobby games industry.

Paizo Releases Pathfinder Compatibility License

Community Use Policy also released

Paizo Publishing, LLC announced today that it has released two new licenses—one that will allow publishers to market products designed for use with Paizo's upcoming Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, and another that allows the Paizo community to create and share original content based on Paizo-owned intellectual property.

The Pathfinder Compatibility License will give professional and non-commercial publishers the ability to market products created for use with the upcoming Pathfinder Roleplaying Game with a specially designed logo. While the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is published under the terms of the Open Gaming License (OGL) from Wizards of the Coast, this new license allows publishers to distinctively indicate that their products are compatible with the new Pathfinder Roleplaying Game rules.

"We are fully behind the OGL that Wizards of the Coast created for the 3.5 version of the world's most popular roleplaying game," said Paizo CEO Lisa Stevens. "The Pathfinder Compatibility License is our way of giving back to a publishing community that has already given so much to the open gaming movement."

The Paizo Community Use Policy allows non-commercial users to create content compatible with most of Paizo's products, and to share that content with others. A package of logos, illustrations and other content is available for free to users who sign up for an account on paizo.com and register their content there. Paizo will maintain a registry with links to this community-generated content, allowing easy access to the wealth of material being created by Paizo's community.

"We have a very enthusiastic community," says Victor Wertz, Paizo's Technical Director. "With this policy, Paizo is making it easier to create original content based on our products, and we're making it easier for them to find other community-created content."

For more information on the Pathfinder Compatiblity License, go to paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/compatibility. For more information on the Paizo Community Use Policy, please visit paizo.com/communityuse.

ABOUT PAIZO PUBLISHING
Paizo Publishing®, LLC is a leading publisher of fantasy roleplaying games, accessories, board games, and novels. Paizo's Pathfinder® Roleplaying Game, the result of the largest open playtest in the history of tabletop gaming, is the most hotly anticipated RPG release of 2009. Pathfinder Adventure Path is the most popular and best-selling monthly product in the tabletop RPG industry. Paizo.com is the leading online hobby retail store, offering tens of thousands of products from a variety of publishers to customers all over the world. In the six years since its founding, Paizo Publishing has received more than a dozen major awards and has grown to become one of the most influential companies in the hobby games industry.

Paizo to Host PAIZOCON 2009 in June

Guests of Honor Include Monte and Sue Cook, Eva Widermann

Paizo Publishing, LLC will host PAIZOCON 2009 at the Coast Bellevue Hotel in Bellevue, Washington June 12–14, 2009. The small, intimate convention gives YOU the opportunity to meet, greet, and game with some of the best and brightest of hobby gaming's veteran authors, artists, publishers, and designers. Guests of Honor at this year's show include Monte Cook and Sue Cook, the creative minds behind Malhavoc Press; and superstar artist Eva Widermann. Other guests include Wolfgang Baur (Kobold Quarterly), Clark Peterson (Necromancer Games), Greg A. Vaughan (Skeletons of Scarwall), Michael Kortes (Entombed with the Pharaohs), and artist Kieran Yanner (Pathfinder Bestiary). The entire Paizo Publishing staff will be on hand to answer questions, run exclusive Pathfinder events, and play games with attendees.

PAIZOCON 2009 features three days of gaming, panels, workshops, and fun! A 3-day badge costs $30, and attendance is capped at 250 attendees. You can register for PAIZOCON 2009 online at paizo.com/paizocon. When you register, be sure to sign up for Saturday night's Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Preview Banquet ($5), where Paizo will show off advance copies of the hotly anticipated Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and the accompanying Pathfinder Bestiary, and each attendee table will feature at least one special guest. Special room rates at the Coast Bellevue Hotel are available. Call 1-800-716-6199 and ask for the PAIZOCON room block. Be sure to book by May 21, 2009 to qualify for the special rate.

"We are all very excited about PAIZOCON 2009," said Paizo Events Manager Joshua J. Frost. "Not only do we want to share our future products with our customers and messageboard community, but we are looking forward to the opportunity to game with the folks who have become the heart of Paizo Publishing: our readers."

In addition to special guests and banquets, PAIZOCON 2009 will feature the debut of four new Pathfinder Society adventures and a raft of unique gaming experiences provided by the Paizo staff and the convention's many special guests. Keep your eye on paizo.com/paizocon for more details as they develop!

ABOUT PAIZO PUBLISHING
Paizo Publishing®, LLC is a leading publisher of fantasy roleplaying games, accessories, board games, and novels. Paizo's Pathfinder® Roleplaying Game, the result of the largest open playtest in the history of tabletop gaming, is the most hotly anticipated RPG release of 2009. Pathfinder Adventure Path is the most popular and best-selling monthly product in the tabletop RPG industry. Paizo.com is the leading online hobby retail store, offering tens of thousands of products from a variety of publishers to customers all over the world. In the six years since its founding, Paizo Publishing has received more than a dozen major awards and has grown to become one of the most influential companies in the hobby games industry.

4 Finalists Named for RPG Superstar™ 2009

Ultimate Winner Will Have Adventure Printed by Paizo

From a field of hundreds, only 4 finalists remain in this year's RPG Superstar™, the largest open-call tabletop roleplaying design contest in history. Industry legend Monte Cook (Malhavoc Press, Dungeon Master's Guide) joined celebrity judges Sean K Reynolds (Paizo), Wolfgang Baur (Kobold Quarterly), and Clark Peterson (Necromancer Games) to critique the villain lair submissions of the 8 Round 3 survivors, and a public vote resulted in 4 submissions advancing. The finalists are currently working on a complete proposal for a 32-page adventure using the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beta Playtest Edition rules, currently available as a free download on paizo.com. Members of the paizo.com messageboard community will vote for their favorite proposal, with the winner being named RPG Superstar 2009. The winning proposal will be published in Paizo's Pathfinder Module line in early 2010.

The Top 4 finalists for RPG Superstar 2009 and their winning entries are:

• Eric Bailey (Wakefield, Massachusetts, USA): Hecaetaeus, Sanctum of the Colossus; Vashkar, the False Maharajah; Varrush, Master of the Palace of Abundance; Lens of the Runethief

• Kevin Carter (Aliso Viejo, California, USA): 26 Paper Street; Malgana the Twistwood Witch; Spider Hook

• Neil Spicer (Waxhaw, North Carolina, USA): The Legendary Playhouse Theater, Sartel Bollen, Mistress of the Headless Caravan; Gulga Cench, Scion of Cyth-V'sug; Last Leaves of the Autumn Dryad

• Matthew Stinson (Jacksonville, Florida, USA): The Abandoned Carnival at the Bumpy Apple Orchard; Sartel Bollen, Mistress of the Headless Caravan; School of Eyes

The Top 4 will now be required to design a proposal for a 32-page Pathfinder Roleplaying Game module by 2:00 PM Pacific time on Friday, March 13. These Final Round submissions will be commented on by our three regular judges plus our guest judge, Pathfinder Editor-in-Chief James Jacobs. On March 17, the entries will be revealed to the general public, who will then get to discuss the entries and vote for their favorites. Voting ends on March 23.

The ultimate winner of RPG Superstar, to be announced March 24, 2009, will write a Pathfinder Module to be published in early 2010. Clash of the Kingslayers, the module written by last year's RPG Superstar champion, Leandra Christine Schneider, has just been released for sale.

For a complete schedule for RPG Superstar 2009, plus rules and FAQs, visit paizo.com/rpgsuperstar.

ABOUT PAIZO PUBLISHING
Paizo Publishing®, LLC is a leading publisher of fantasy roleplaying games, accessories, board games, and novels. Paizo's Pathfinder® Roleplaying Game, the result of the largest open playtest in the history of tabletop gaming, is the most hotly anticipated RPG release of 2009. Pathfinder Adventure Path is the most popular and best-selling monthly product in the tabletop RPG industry. Paizo.com is the leading online hobby retail store, offering tens of thousands of products from a variety of publishers to customers all over the world. In the six years since its founding, Paizo Publishing has received more than a dozen major awards and has grown to become one of the most influential companies in the hobby games industry.

WorldWorksGames to Create 3D Pathfinder Terrain

Regular Releases Bring Adventure Path Encounters to Life

Paizo Publishing, LLC, creators of the popular Pathfinder series of tabletop fantasy roleplaying adventures and accessories, today announced a partnership with WorldWorksGames that will bring three-dimensional terrain sets to gaming tables around the world. Pathfinder Terrain will detail key encounter areas from the Legacy of Fire Pathfinder Adventure Path, with a terrain kit for each adventure. Each full-color downloadable PDF-format Pathfinder Terrain kit retails for $16.99, and will be available for purchase at paizo.com in late February 2009 and at other quality online retailers shortly thereafter. Additional releases are scheduled on a monthly basis.

The first release, Ruined Undercrypt of Kelmarane, supports the first Legacy of Fire adventure, "Howl of the Carrion King," by Paizo Publisher Erik Mona. "It's really amazing to see my dungeon come to life in glorious three dimensions," says Mona. "Gamers are going to flip with excitement when these kits hit the table. All of us at Paizo are absolutely thrilled with the quality WorldWorksGames has put into their Pathfinder Terrain kits."

WorldWorksGames is well known as an early innovator in the gaming terrain market, producing a wide range of terrain genres. An early adopter of the now popular Adobe PDF format, WorldWorksGames has established itself as one of the premier "print-build-PLAY!" terrain makers.

For further updates and or a complete catalog listing please visit paizo.com or worldworksgames.com.

ABOUT PAIZO PUBLISHING
Paizo Publishing®, LLC is a leading publisher of fantasy roleplaying games, accessories, board games, and novels. Paizo's Pathfinder® line of adventures and Pathfinder Chronicles™ campaign setting support materials combines decades of game design experience into one evocative system compatible with the 3.5 rules. Paizo's GameMastery® line offers easy-to-use tools for game masters of any fantasy roleplaying game to improve their gaming experience. Titanic Games™, Paizo's board game imprint, unleashes fun, challenging games like Kill Doctor Lucky™ and Yetisburg™ that appeal to both families and casual gamers alike. Paizo's Planet Stories® line of science fiction and fantasy novel reprints promises a master class in the genre aimed at building the greatest fantasy and science fiction library ever assembled. Paizo.com is the leading online hobby retail store, offering tens of thousands of products from a variety of publishers to customers all over the world. In the six years since its founding, Paizo Publishing has received more than a dozen major awards and has grown to become one of the most influential companies in the hobby games industry.

17 Finalists Advance to RPG Superstar Round 3

Contestants Now Fleshing Out Winning Villains with Game Stats

Seventeen amateur game designers have advanced to Round 3 of Paizo Publishing's RPG Superstar, the largest open-call tabletop roleplaying design contest in history. Forgotten Realms creator and gaming legend Ed Greenwood joined celebrity judges Sean K Reynolds (Paizo), Wolfgang Baur (Kobold Quarterly), and Clark Peterson (Necromancer Games) to critique the villain concept submissions of the 32 Round 1 survivors, and a public vote resulted in 17 advancing submissions. The finalists are currently working on game statistics for their villain concepts, using the Beta Playtest edition of the forthcoming Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, available as a free download on paizo.com. All finalist submissions, complete with judge and reader commentary, are likewise posted to the paizo.com messageboards.

"RPG Superstar is a great idea that is not only fun for the participants," said guest judge Ed Greenwood, "it benefits everyone in the industry: gamers who can glean ideas from the creative submissions for every round, participants who can fine-tune their design skills to become game designers, and game companies who can use those new designers. I am honored to take part in this, and I found it a lot of fun, too; I got to read a lot of great ideas!"

The Top 17 finalists for RPG Superstar 2009 and their winning entries are:

Eric Bailey (Wakefield, Massachusetts, USA): Varrush, Master of the Palace of Abundance; Lens of the Runethief

Matt Banach (Champaign, Illinois, USA): Rustin Harp, Ringleader of the Lost Carnival; Master's Perfect Golden Bell

Joao Beraldo (Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil): Boemundo, Unliving Oblivion; Heart of Oblivion

Joshua Blazej (Simi Valley, California, USA): Derinogen, Aristocratic Mage; Hurricane Gloves

Kevin Carter (Aliso Viejo, California, USA): Malgana the Twistwood Witch; Spider Hook

Randy Dorman (Pittsfield, Maine, USA): Hecataeus, Master of Constructs; Helm of the Golem Master

James F.D. Graham (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada): Count Falconbridge, Fate's Adversary; Mongoose Claw

Trevor Gulliver (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada): Bracht Darkhouse, The Flesh Peddler; Horn of the Dark Hunt

Carl Klutzke (Carmel, Indiana, USA): Sharina Legendsinger; Boundary Chalk

Jacob Manley (New Hampton, New Hampshire, USA): Volner Tain, the Thrice-Damned Disciple; Dust of Weighty Burdens

Eric Morton (Normandy Park, Washington, USA): Aelfric Dream-Slayer; Veil of the Midnight Vigil

Vladislav Rashkovski (Bulgaria): Kardam, the Burning Khan; The Scarlet Legionary Banner

Philip Snyder (Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, USA): Ssyth'ek, He Who Devours Demons; Temporal Bracers

Neil Spicer (Waxhaw, North Carolina, USA): Gulga Cench, Scion of Cyth-V'sug; Last Leaves of the Autumn Dryad

Matthew Stinson (Jacksonville, Florida, USA): Sartel Bollen, Mistress of the Headless Caravan; School of Eyes

Doyle Tavener (Richmond, Texas, USA): Kar-en-haris, Grand Master of Spies; Desna's Triptych of Threefold Wisdom

Mark Thomas (Brooklyn, New York, USA): Lord Jeroim Borloz, the Diamond Dragon; Hammer's Bane Torc

The Top 17 will now be required to design Pathfinder Roleplaying Game statistics for their villain and submit their revised, complete villain entry concept by 2:00 PM Pacific time on Friday, February 6. These Round 3 submissions will be commented on by our three regular judges plus our guest judge, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game author and Paizo Lead Designer Jason Bulmahn. On February 10, the entries will be revealed to the general public, who will then get to discuss the entries and vote for their favorites. Voting ends on February 16, and the Top 8 (by votes) will move on to Round 4.

The ultimate winner of RPG Superstar, to be announced March 24, 2009, will write a Pathfinder Module to be published in early 2010. Clash of the Kingslayers, the module written by last year's RPG Superstar champion, Leandra Christine Schneider, has just been released for sale.

For a complete schedule for RPG Superstar 2009, plus rules and FAQs, visit paizo.com/rpgsuperstar.

ABOUT PAIZO PUBLISHING
Paizo Publishing®, LLC is a leading publisher of fantasy roleplaying games, accessories, board games, and novels. Paizo's Pathfinder® line of adventures and Pathfinder Chronicles™ campaign setting support materials combines decades of game design experience into one evocative system compatible with the 3.5 rules. Paizo's GameMastery® line offers easy-to-use tools for game masters of any fantasy roleplaying game to improve their gaming experience. Titanic Games™, Paizo's board game imprint, unleashes fun, challenging games like Kill Doctor Lucky™ and Yetisburg™ that appeal to both families and casual gamers alike. Paizo's Planet Stories® line of science fiction and fantasy novel reprints promises a master class in the genre aimed at building the greatest fantasy and science fiction library ever assembled. Paizo.com is the leading online hobby retail store, offering tens of thousands of products from a variety of publishers to customers all over the world. In the six years since its founding, Paizo Publishing has received more than a dozen major awards and has grown to become one of the most influential companies in the hobby games industry.

Paizo Announces RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32

Finalists to Design Villain Concept by End of Week

Paizo Publishing today announced the finalists for RPG Superstar, the largest open-call tabletop roleplaying game design contest in history. Judges Sean K Reynolds, Wolfgang Baur, and Clark Peterson 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 Beta Playtest Edition, available free from paizo.com. The Top 32 wondrous items are now on display at paizo.com, complete with judge commentary and additional comments from 2008 RPG Superstar finalists Clinton Boomer, Rob McCreary, and Jason Nelson and winner Leandra Christine Schneider. Gamers are invited to contribute their own comments to the entries.

"The quality of submissions was way up this year. It was really hard to choose only 32 from all the excellent entries," said Clark Peterson, one of three RPG Superstar judges. "I cannot wait to see how this year's contest goes. The winner will be a Superstar for sure—there can be only one!"

The Top 32 finalists for RPG Superstar 2009 are:

Andrew Judd (Denton, Texas, USA): Key of Closed Doors

Carl Flaherty (Poway, CA, USA): Lordly Pavilion

Carl Klutzke (Carmel, Indiana, USA): Boundary Chalk

Casey Smith (Davis, California, USA): Maw of Urgathoa

Craig Johnston (Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia): Dazzler

Doyle Tavener (Richmond, Texas, USA): Desna's Triptych of Threefold Wisdom

Elizabeth Leib (Cleveland, Ohio, USA): Haunted Shoes

Eric Bailey (Wakefield, Massachusetts, USA): Lens of the Runethief

Eric Morton (Normandy Park, Washington, USA): Veil of the Midnight Vigil

Gerald Andrews (Gardner, Massachusetts, USA): Spell-Catch Gauntlet

Jacob Manley (New Hampton, New Hampshire, USA): Dust of Weighty Burdens

James Graham (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada): Mongoose Claw

Jeffrey Scott Nuttall (Los Angeles, California, USA): Twintone Flute

Joao Beraldo (Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil): Heart of Oblivion

Joshua Blazej (Simi Valley, California, USA): Hurricane Gloves

Kevin Carter (Address TBD): Spider Hook

Kurald Galain (United Kingdom): Withering Hourglass

Lucas Jung (Dayton, Ohio, USA): Ethereal Tether

Mark Thomas (Brooklyn, New York, USA): Hammer's Bane Torc

Matt Banach (Champaign, Illinois, USA): Master's Perfect Golden Bell

Matthew Morris (Columbus, Ohio, USA): Bracelet of Shields

Matthew Stinson (Jacksonville, Florida, USA): School of Eyes

Mike Speck (Address TBD): Blightlady's Bread

Neil Spicer (Waxhaw, North Carolina, USA): Last Leaves of the Autumn Dryad

Paul Worthen (Willington, Connecticut, USA): Ancestral Reliquary

Philip Snyder (Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, USA): Temporal Bracers

Randy Dorman (Pittsfield, Maine, USA): Helm of the Golem Master

Stefan Schulz (Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany): Abyssal Spurs

Trevor Gulliver (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada): Horn of the Dark Hunt

Victor Spieles (Eastpointe, Michigan, USA): Cirroc's Marvelous Crossing

Vladislav Rashkovski (Bulgaria): The Scarlet Legionary Banner

Wesley Lee (Address TBD): The Dread Trinket

The Top 32 will now be required to design a concept for a villain to the specifications of the RPG Superstar judges and submit that concept by 2:00 PM Pacific time on Friday, January 23. These round two submissions will be commented on by our three regular judges plus our guest judge, New York Times best selling author Ed Greenwood. On January 27, the entries will be revealed to the general public, who will then get to discuss the entries and vote for their favorites. Voting ends on February 2, and the Top 16 (by votes) will move on to round three.

The ultimate winner of RPG Superstar, to be announced March 24, 2009, will write a Pathfinder Module to be published in early 2010. Clash of the Kingslayers, the module written by last year's RPG Superstar champion, Leandra Christine Schneider, has just been released for sale.

For a complete schedule for RPG Superstar 2009, plus rules and FAQs, visit paizo.com/rpgsuperstar.

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