Paizo Announces RPG Superstar™ 2012 Top 32

Finalists to Design Original Organizations by End of Week

Jan 24, 2012, 02:00 pm

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 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 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.

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.

For a complete schedule of RPG Superstar, including rules and a FAQ, 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 currently the best-selling tabletop roleplaying game in hobby stores. 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 nine years since its founding, Paizo Publishing has received more than 50 major awards and has grown to become one of the most influential companies in the hobby games industry.