The Unofficial Top 32 Guildhall with Golden Filigree

[Jeff Lee]

Chris Shaeffer wrote:

Alternates, remember! There is a statistical likelihood that somebody's going to submit late, so you'd better be just as psyched and prepared as everyone else. In fact, the underdog, dark horse thing could be an advantage in the long run.

So hop to it! Archetypes! Go go go!

*salutes*

Just as soon as they enable the submit button for us alternates, boss. I've sent out a PM about the problem.

[Steven Helt]

I don't think it's a problem. Alternates come in order, and so you have to be allowed to submit by the system. So the first alternate gets told "Bill dropped out, please submit your archetype at the submission tool now", and the second alternate gets "Larry submitted an item in just under eight thousand words, please use the submission tool to enter your archetype".

[Sean McGowan]

No, alternates follow the same deadlines that the top 32 do, and are thus supposed to submit within the same three days as everyone else. It isn't a 'submit if we tell you you advance' situation, it's a 'submit in case someone else screws up, at which point you'll advance' scenario.
It's good that Jeff & the others are following through on this, because it does sound like an accidental oversight.

[Steven Helt]

Huh. I know the comments made me nervous enough to check out the submission tool and make sure it was available. I guess I'd recommend all of us do that so there's no shenanigans on Friday!

[Nicholas Herold]

Steven Helt wrote:

Huh. I know the comments made me nervous enough to check out the submission tool and make sure it was available. I guess I'd recommend all of us do that so there's no shenanigans on Friday!

I know my heart jumped into my throat! But it's there. All is right in the world.

Good luck, everyone!

[Giorgios Abate]

Sean McGowan wrote:

No, alternates follow the same deadlines that the top 32 do, and are thus supposed to submit within the same three days as everyone else. It isn't a 'submit if we tell you you advance' situation, it's a 'submit in case someone else screws up, at which point you'll advance' scenario.

It's good that Jeff & the others are following through on this, because it does sound like an accidental oversight.

I thought we were supposed to wait or something since we still don't have the submission tool enabled at all. If it is an accidental oversight I'm guessing Paizo will fix it soon?

Back to working on my archetype then!

[Maurice de Mare]

'makes off with the filigree'

[Damien Mc Gurrell]

I'm currently polishing away and feeling around the shape of a monster just in case.

[Steven Helt]

two monsters almost done!3

[Joseph Kellogg]

I brainstormed some general ideas for monsters, but since we know nothing of the limitations or rules for round 3, I don't see the point in working on actual crunch. Do we know when those rules will be posted?

[Landon Cole]

Hopefully, I'm properly attuned now and I have a spare moment, so, a bit about me as per Matt's request. First off, a series of hat tips to the other 31 and the alternates. Looking at the other items people have submitted, I'm in some impressive company.

I'm originally from the South-West of England, but now live in St Neots, Cambridgeshire. My RPG experience is, ahem, a bit limited - I started playing over Skype about four years ago when some friends needed an extra person for their game. It turns out I quite enjoy it. I'm currently GMing Skull and Shackles over the internet, using Skype and Roll20, and I'm fortunate enough to play PFS most weeks in person, too, as well as running the occasional game in person or online.

I saw RPG Superstar last year and decided to have a go this year - I've already done much better than I could have expected or hoped and I'm looking forward to round two (and beyond...).

A big bom dia to Pedro - I was brought up in Rio de Janeiro in the eighties. Sao Paulo might be the biggest, but Rio is the Cidade Maravilhosa.

[Pedro Coelho]

Landon Cole wrote:

A big bom dia to Pedro - I was brought up in Rio de Janeiro in the eighties. Sao Paulo might be the biggest, but Rio is the Cidade Maravilhosa.

That is, indeed, true. I've been to Rio a few times and it's a very charming city.

[Marie Small]

Congratulations, gents!

Please keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times. I hope you packed the caffeine in a no-spill container. You'll need it on this rollercoaster. ;)

I'm looking forward to seeing the archetypes.

[Ziv Wities]

Oh, look! Here's Ziv, drinking by the bar! No, wait -- now that you focus your gaze, he's actually by the fire. No, that's wrong too -- he's hunched over at one of the tables, a mug of warm cider long grown cool, working away at his archetype!

Hiya, everybody :) Pleasure to be here. I'll introduce myself a little more completely when I have the time, but until then, just wanted to pop in and let people know I'm here too. Cheers - wishing fun and success to us all!

[Damien Mc Gurrell]

I’m from Dublin in the Republic of Ireland and currently living in the university town of Maynooth. I’d like to think I’m typical of Irish gamers and love the social aspects of gaming (read this as pints/pub).

I’ve been playing RPGs since the tender age of 13 and been GMing for not quite as long, but close to it. I adore devouring setting material and have a great fondness for the old D&D Planescape and Ravenloft settings.

I have entered RPG Superstar in the past couple of years and am excited to get as far as an alternate. Good luck to everyone, I really like archetypes and will be glad to see 32 new ones.

[Steven Helt]

Landon, Pedro: This summer I became a big fan of a Brazilian band called Bad Salad. Know 'em?

[Jon Haire]

I'm at work right now, but I thought I would stop by and say hello from Yukon, Oklahoma. I've been playing RPGs since 1986. My first adventure was the Keep on the Borderlands. My cleric did survive the Temple of Elemental Evil and I still have the original light blue dice from one of the early box sets.

The archetype is coming along splendidly, I hope to post it sometime tomorrow.

I hope everyone here is having as much fun as I am and I wish all of you good luck with your archetype!

[Steven Helt]

Jon - we have to find a way to get Greg Vaughn in on a game with us! Any other love from Oklahoma?

[Pedro Coelho]

Steven Helt wrote:

Landon, Pedro: This summer I became a big fan of a Brazilian band called Bad Salad. Know 'em?

Hadn't heard of them, but I went on and found some of their work on YouTube after reading your post. They seem pretty good, though I may not be the best judge since I don't know much about progressive rock. :P

[Andrew Marlowe]

Steven Helt wrote:

Jon - we have to find a way to get Greg Vaughn in on a game with us! Any other love from Oklahoma?

My wife and I played the intro to RotRl run by Greg Vaughn at Origins just before Runelords released. It was a blast, he ran a really fun table.

[Zachary Hensley]

Greetings to my fellow contestants! Since everyone else is doing the "get to know you" thing, I guess now is as good a time as any to get in on it.

I am 30 years old and I live in Troy, NY. I've been playing RPGs since 1991 and have been GMing for about 16 years across a variety of games. I am married with a 6-year-old daughter (who I taught to play Pathfinder thanks to the Beginner Box), currently unemployed (though I'm fairly certain that is apt to change later this week), and so incredibly excited to finally get into this exclusive club!

I recently discovered a detail that forced me to scrap my entire archetype concept and start over from the ground up. I'm sure I'll have something finalized before the deadline though!

[Joseph Kellogg]

I plan on just submitting the Hound Master archetype again. It is, after all, a proven crowd pleaser.

[Ziv Wities]

So, heya everybody! I'm Ziv. I've been following RPG Superstar ever since I heard of it, which was midway through the 2010 contest. I like contests full of voting and constructive critique and roleplaying brilliance, yes I do!

Let's see, some fun facts:

My religion requires me to submit contest entries at least 7 hours early:

I'm Israel, Jewish, and Orthodox. Contest deadlines, adjusted for local time, are Friday nights at midnight - but shabbat comes in before 5pm, and computers on shabbat are a no-no. I'm going to be relatively quiet over the weekends :P

I submitted my item while my wife was in the hospitol:

For the best of reasons: we've got a newborn son! He's a cutie, and, thank goodness, he has already developed the ability to sleep 6 hours straight at night (we understand many babies go until level 6 or higher before selecting this feat!).
Happily, by the birth, I already had the item mostly ready. When I went home nights, I put the finishing touches on it and sent it in.

I go nowhere without my Kindle:

Whatever I can load onto it, I do. I've just spent half an hour converting some vital material from my shiny Guide To The River Kingdoms into Kindle-compatible format, and last year I managed to convert the whole PRD into a handsome ebook (oy, that took some doing, and I'm not bothering to update it right now for the ARG).

I've also been catching up with my reading in a serious way - long, long walks with my newborn, plus e-books I don't need my second hand to turn pages for, have been helpful here. I've recently really enjoyed Nick Harkaway's Angelmaker (imagine Terry Pratchett writing a spy/suspense novel - the doomsday device is a swarm of clockwork bees; the secret agent carries a manic dog in her purse; the setting is modern, but features a mysterious Black Market, a society of undertakers, and the conflicting legacy of the protagonist's straight-and-narrow clockmaker grandfather and his magnificent-bastard gangster father), and Gregory McDonald's Confess, Fletch (one of those mystery stories where everybody is shady and suspicious, including the protagonist - and is simply perfectly executed). I've also read Robin Hobb's latest Rain Wilds book, which was rather disappointing, particularly since I enjoyed the first two volumes. Next up is The Lies of Locke Lamora, which I've heard some very good things about.

I am an academic officer and a gentleman:

I've just concluded my service as a programmer and computer-science guy in the IDF's academic reserves. I'm really looking forward to my first job in civilian life. Besides roleplaying, I participate in amateur theater, listen to classical music, and yell angrily at stupid radio advertisements.

[Jeff Lee]

*wanders in the back door, trailing an extension cord*

Don't mind me, we're just going to borrow one of your outlets.

*plugs the cord in and wanders back out*

[Steven Helt]

Ziv! That is a fun and interesting introduction! Best of luck to you!

[Joseph Kellogg]

So in looking through the winners, it looks like we've got representatives from Israel, Ireland, Brazil, England, Finland, and Australia. Did I miss any countries? That's quite a variety!

[Adam Blanchard]

Joseph Kellogg wrote:

So in looking through the winners, it looks like we've got representatives from Israel, Ireland, Brazil, England, Finland, and Australia. Did I miss any countries? That's quite a variety!

Canada here, specifically Toronto.

I'm happy to get into the top 32, rather surprised to make it actually, since the Goblet of Elements is the first and only magic item I've ever made.

I'm in the game dev field, specifically video games. Having done some work in both console games and mobile titles. Currently in the process of getting laid off so, I'm happy to have this to distract me, and do some game design.

Hopefully I can impress with my Archtype.

Good luck to everyone.

[Jacob W. Michaels]

Joseph, I think there are a few Americans as well.

[Ziv Wities]

Joseph Kellogg wrote:

So in looking through the winners, it looks like we've got representatives from Israel, Ireland, Brazil, England, Finland, and Australia. Did I miss any countries? That's quite a variety!

That is impressive!

"I'm Ziv, and my timezone is GMT+2..."
"HI ZIV!"

(Crud, it is weird referring to myself by my real name in these forums. This is gonna take some getting used to. Zivzivzivzivziv.)

[Joshua Kitchens]

Hi, I'm Joshua. You might remember me from such films as Bugbears: Argh! and Hairy Magus and the Deathly Secret Sorcerer's Fire of the Half-blood Phoenix Prisoner. /simpsons

Really though, I'm still here in the middle of Georgia (the State not the breakaway ex-Soviet country) just like I was last time. I'm curious how many of our Top 32 (and Alts) are from North Carolina though? We seem to always have at least a few every year. Must be something in the water.

[Joseph Kellogg]

I'm very close to North Carolina. It's about an hour drive to the border, and an hour and a half to Asheville, where I play PFS on the weekends I'm not organizing a local game.

[Maurice de Mare]

Joseph Kellogg wrote:

So in looking through the winners, it looks like we've got representatives from Israel, Ireland, Brazil, England, Finland, and Australia. Did I miss any countries? That's quite a variety!

Netherlands here and RPG superstar is a worldwide thing!

[Eric Morton]

Adam Blanchard wrote:

Currently in the process of getting laid off...

The word "off" makes this phrase much less funny than it seemed when I started reading it.

[Maurice de Mare]

My introduction bit

6th year I’ve entered and very happy to have finally secured a slot. 18-19 years ago I started gaming with ADND, moved on to 3E skipped 3.5 and did a very short spell of 4e before settling on Pathfinder. The last few years I’ve also been playing a great deal of Dark Heresy, which is incredible fun.

I’ve did some freelancing over the years (see profile) and I’ve done a whole lot of traps, haunts and monsters at koboldquarterly.com.

I had an archetype concept derived from pathfinder wikia content but the PDF’s showed me that is was a non-starter, archetypes are hard…

[Giorgios Abate]

Joseph Kellogg wrote:

So in looking through the winners, it looks like we've got representatives from Israel, Ireland, Brazil, England, Finland, and Australia. Did I miss any countries? That's quite a variety!

I am half Italian, half Greek, born and grown up in Venezuela ('till i was 14), and now I live in Greece (Been here since December 2002).

Not a lot of people play pathfinder here (and I'm always the GM when we do), Which is why I am thinking I should move!.

[Mike Kimmel]

Hi all! I posted a bit on my profile and I thought I'd copy it here as well as a way of introducing myself:

A few miscellaneous facts about me:

• I once ran an entire D20 campaign set in Candyland.
  
• The longest campaign I've ever GM'ed lasted about 8 years.
  
• My first character ever was an elf who couldn't speak.
  
• I was an alternate in RPG Superstar 2011.
  
• I've written a small amount of material for the third-party publisher LPJ Design. Mostly just lots of feats!
  
• I am a high school social studies teacher (in training).
  
• I live in Seattle, WA with my fiance, my younger brother, and a cat named after a Battlestar Galactica character.
  

[Andrew Marlowe]

Mike Kimmel wrote:

Hi all! I posted a bit on my profile and I thought I'd copy it here as well as a way of introducing myself:

A few miscellaneous facts about me:

• I once ran an entire D20 campaign set in Candyland.
  ....
  

Okay that's strangely awesome.

[Jacob W. Michaels]

Mike Kimmel wrote:

a cat named after a Battlestar Galactica character.

[/list]

Boomer?

[Christopher Dudley]

Jacob W. Michaels wrote:

Mike Kimmel wrote:

a cat named after a Battlestar Galactica character.

[/list]

Boomer?

My money's on Baltar.

Good to meet you all. I've been playing since I got the Red Box for my 11th birthday in 1981 (do the math). I've been playing pretty continuously ever since, as much as I can, in a wide variety of games.

I currently live in Laurel, MD, and I'm running two separate campaigns of Legacy of Fire (PF rules) every other weekend. One of those groups contains my wife and daughter, and my daughter's boyfriend. In addition to those games, I play in as many games as I can, including one run by my daughter's boyfriend alternating with my Legacy of Fire game.

For a very long time I was content to be a happy consumer of games, but have lately turned to producing, including working on my own game system (still in first mechanical draft) and hosting my own gaming podcast with a friend of mine. I'm gainfully employed as a software engineer, but creating game material has started to become quite enjoyable to me.

This is the second time I've entered RPG Superstar, the last year's entry being a rather sad little camp item that had very little game effect. I tried to learn from my design mistakes from last year, and I am hoping that this placement indicates that it paid off.

[George Cunningham]

Pretty sure that Isaac's from Auckland, New Zealand. We're rockin' it for the antipodes!

[Isaac Dunn]

George Cunningham wrote:

Pretty sure that Isaac's from Auckland, New Zealand. We're rockin' it for the antipodes!

That is correct! I'm Isaac. I've only reached the meagre age of twenty-three, so I'm here to make you all feel terrifyingly old because you've been playing RPGs for longer than I've been alive.

A little bit about me: I'm currently employed as a software engineer. I've been playing Pathfinder for less than a year, but it is the first system I've well and truly fallen in love with. I grew up playing Rolemaster (hey, we were kids, having a million charts for everything was cool), and then 4E on-and-off for a number of years.

I'm currently playing Hamlet in a production of Hamlet, and I just took out a lease on a new residence. Spare time? What's that? Some kind of wondrous item?

Needless to say, I'm deeply honoured to be lumped in with such creative folk, and I wish I had more time to go through and comment on all your items. Looking forward to seeing everyone's archetypes. Let's hope that pent-up inspiration resonating around this Guildhall (ooh, filigree!) is all manner of infectious.

[James Conder]

Hi All,

A bit more about me. Like Landon, I was born in South-West England, but I now live in Vietnam. I got into AD&D about the time my years hit double figures, and played a lot as a spotty teenager. My interest was rekindled a few years back, but I only discovered Pathfinder and RPG Superstar a year ago. This is the first time I've entered, and I'm absolutely delighted (and slightly terrified) to be in the top 32.

P.S. Congratulations to Ziv on recently becoming a father!

[Effie Schwartz-Craighill]

Quote:

I've only reached the meagre age of twenty-three, so I'm here to make you all feel terrifyingly old because you've been playing RPGs for longer than I've been alive.

Hah, I'm 22. Bet that makes you feel terrifyingly old!

So now that I've more or less pounded out my archetype -- or a draft thereof -- I'll take the time to say a couple things about myself.

Brief Bio:

I recently graduated from college. I currently work as a freelance web designer. I've had a passion for tabletop RPGs since before I really knew what they were, but didn't get a chance to really play them until college. I grew up with games like Realmz, though, so the design aesthetic of D&D such as there is one is fairly ingrained in me.

Pathfinder Experience:

I've played in a handful of campaigns and maybe three or four PFS events. I also have run two long-term campaigns — one, a fairly typical high-fantasy adventure that I used to introduce a couple friends to Pathfinder; the other, a homebrew abomination set in our world and our time, heavily inspired by gritty genre-subverting noirish magical girl series Madoka. I enjoy Pathfinder both as a storytelling machine and as a Game. I like the content, I like the numbers. I've been creating homebrew thingamajigs basically since I got my hands on Pathfinder.

Other PFRG design work:

I work on again/off again with fellow Paizo forumgoers Elghinn Lightbringer, Oceanshieldwolf, cartmanbeck, and Raiderrpg on a project called Multiclass Archetypes. It's very cool stuff (and saying that isn't really self-congratulatory as my role is fairly minor), so feel free to check it out if you like multiclassing.

Yep, that's me. It's great to be here, and it's great to be surrounded by all of you. There seems to be a lot of good energy in this place :)

[Nicholas Herold]

Hola!

I, like Isaac, am a young'un (ripe old age of 25). I'm currently a student teacher, and I've actually been designing D&D rules content (monsters, specifically) for slightly longer than I've played the game. My love of monsters is part of my love of all manner of living things, which has translated into a Master's Degree in Entomology and a position as a student teacher in middle school biology.

I've entered this contest every year since it started, and I'm very excited to actually have the chance to compete this year. Good luck, all!

[George Cunningham]

OK. Now that my first attempt at my archetype is done, a little about me...

I'm 36, Australian, and have been playing various RPGs since the Red Box - mostly D&D, but several others and even some tabletop wargaming. I stopped playing about ten years ago, but have been on the forums here for about three years whilst I look for a group so I can get back into it (still looking!). I love creating new characters and creating homebrew worlds.

[Mike Kimmel]

Jacob W. Michaels wrote:

Mike Kimmel wrote:

a cat named after a Battlestar Galactica character.

Boomer?

Yup! Not Baltar. That would be pretty awesome, though...

[Andrew Black]

Jacob Kellogg wrote:

Congrats everybody!

...Wait, NONE of the Jacobs made it in? Laaaaaame! ;)

But it seems there are three Mikes...seeing a trend beginning.

[Andrew Black]

Isaac White wrote:

That is correct! I'm Isaac. I've only reached the meagre age of twenty-three, so I'm here to make you all feel terrifyingly old because you've been playing RPGs for longer than I've been alive.

In my day we had to play D & D with just a red box, and we had to color in the numbers on our dice with a wax crayon...you don't know the hardship son. :P

[Effie Schwartz-Craighill]

Andrew Black wrote:

Jacob Kellogg wrote:

Congrats everybody!

...Wait, NONE of the Jacobs made it in? Laaaaaame! ;)

But it seems there are three Mikes...seeing a trend beginning.

I know a crazy amount of Mikes. I was once part of a particular blogosphere, and I was one of six or seven Mikes in that community. Prepare yourselves. We're coming.

[Nickolas Floyd]

A little about me.

I work in motion graphics for a national television channel. Nothing cool, unless you like shootin' guns and killing things (I mean... for real). I used to be a character animator for children's television, which was pretty cool. Now I have children of my own. Two teenagers and a set of four year old twins.

Since the first RPG Superstar we've lived in three states. Minnesota, Montana, and just last year we move to Illinois. Not really crazy about our new location, but at least I'm close to the big cons now. I just find the money and time to go.

I've been playing RPGs since the early 90's (started with the old D&D Rule Cyclopedia). Quit for a while to really get into playing competitive Magic the Gathering, but came back to RPGs in college. These days I run a twice a month, swashbuckling RPG of my own design based on the d20 system. I've been running it for over three years, and we have just changed the game from in person to over the internet with our recent move. I would love to play more, but the four kids keep me pretty busy. I do spend a good deal of time, after the twins go to bed, writing rules modules and creating campaign material for games I "plan on running someday." It is kind of a dream of mine to create games and to be a published writer. I did participate in NANOWRIMO this last November for the first time, but have put off finishing my novel for this competition.

Anyway, I'm super thrilled to have made the top 32 finally. I already had five River Kingdoms archetypes built and edited before they announced winners on Tuesday, just in case I made it. Now I just have to decide which is my best effort and get it posted. Good luck to everyone. I have a feeling this is going to be the hardest fought RPG Superstar yet.