Top 8 Advance to Round 4 of RPG Superstar™

Finalists to Design Original Encounters by End of Week

Feb 21, 2012, 02:00 pm

Eight amateur game designers have advanced to Round 4 of Paizo Publishing’s RPG Superstar, the largest open-call tabletop roleplaying design contest in history. Celebrity judges Sean K Reynolds from Paizo, Necromancer Games president Clark Peterson, Goblinworks CEO Ryan Dancey, and RPG Superstar 2009 winner Neil Spicer critiqued the Pathfinder campaign-setting-specific creatures from Round 3 before public vote determined the 8 semifinalists.

“I'm really impressed with the results so far,” said Sean K Reynolds. “The monster round had many excellent submissions, and several of them are practically ready for publication. Each round we see the voters selecting the most talented competitors for the next challenge, and the best designers step up and meet that challenge.”

The Top 8 finalists for RPG Superstar 2012 and their winning entries to date are:

Adam Donald - Toronto, Ontario Round 3 Pyrebloom   Round 2 The Red Bastards   Round 1 Flask of Liquid Sunlight Steve Miller - Raleigh, NC Round 3 Necrotic Reef   Round 2 Arcadian Interceptors   Round 1 Night Monarch Vardo James Olchak - Raleigh, NC Round 3 Hushfoot Bocan   Round 2 Cold Hearth Lodge   Round 1 Rajah's Silhouette Tom Phillips - Fleming Island, FL Round 3 Slaughterhound   Round 2 Sisters of Chana-Zhol   Round 1 Feywhisper Crown

Sam Polak - Apex, NC Round 3 Ravenous Gorgewort   Round 2 Riders of the Black Steppe   Round 1 Moonlight Flute of the Ghost Hunter Daniel Rust - London, England Round 3 Laru   Round 2 Anointed Choir of the Rapture   Round 1 Elixir of Resurgent Flame Russell Vaneekhoven - Rancho Cordova, CA Round 3 Witchbole Willow   Round 2 The Foulgrip Rangers   Round 1 Chimaeric Mantle Mike Welham - Kernersville, NC Round 3 Phasic Ravager   Round 2 Monster Reformation Alliance   Round 1 Raptoring Gloves

The Top 8 will now be required to design a location in the Pathfinder world of Golarion, complete with rules for an encounter using monsters drawn from Paizo's new Pathfinder Battles prepainted miniatures line (produced in cooperation with WizKids). Contestants must submit their entry to Paizo by 2:00 PM Pacific time on Friday, February 24. These Round 4 submissions will be commented on by the four regular judges plus special guest judge Mark Moreland, whose responsibilities as developer for Paizo's Pathfinder Society and Pathfinder Modules lines give him hands-on experience with encounter design every day.

After the judges have added their comments, Round 4 submissions will be revealed to the public on February 28, followed by a one-week period for playtesting. Voting begins March 6, 2012, and ends March 12. Paizo will announce the top 4 entries on March 13, 2012.

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 for RPG Superstar 2012, 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 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.