Press Release From Paizo
Top 16 Advance to Round 3 of RPG Superstar
Finalists to Design Original Monsters by End of Week
February 7, 2012 (REDMOND, Wash.) – Sixteen amateur game designers have advanced to Round 3 of Paizo Publishing’s RPG Superstar, the largest open-call tabletop roleplaying design contest in history. 2009 RPG Superstar champion Neil Spicer joined celebrity judges Clark Peterson, Ryan Dancey, and Sean K Reynolds to critique 32 original organizations designed by Round 1 finalists. In this round, fan votes determine who advances to Round 3, in which the Top 16 will design original monsters with full game statistics. All finalist submissions, complete with judge and reader commentary, are posted to the paizo.com messageboards.
“It’s always interesting to see how the competitors embrace each round’s challenge. Some play it conservatively, some appeal to a specific fanbase, and a few charge ahead to create something wild and innovative,” said judge and Paizo game developer Sean K Reynolds. “This year we had several traditional organizations like mercenary soldiers and seekers of lost knowledge, and unusual ones like a clan of succubus-geishas and a fleet of whale-riding pirates. As a judge, I’m always impressed with the creativity of the competitors—even the weird ones!”
The Top 16 finalists for RPG Superstar 2012 and their winning entries to date are:
Will Cooper (Auckland, New Zealand)
Ghostvision gloves, Stormsworn Company
Adam Donald (Toronto, Ontario)
Flask of Liquid Sunlight, The Red Bastards
Bob Drouin (Columbia, Maryland)
Figurine of Familiar Power, Fear, Fist and Flame
Andrew Marlowe (Cincinnati, OH)
Cayden’s Cup, Andoran Mercantile League
Jacob Michaels (Bethlehem, PA)
Haunting Glass, The Unfettered
Steve Miller (Raleigh, NC)
Night Monarch Vardo, Arcadian Interceptors
James Olchak (Raleigh, NC)
Rajah’s Silhouette, Cold Hearth Lodge
Tom Phillips (Fleming Island, FL)
Feywhisper Crown, Sisters of Chana-Zhol
Sam Polak (Apex, NC)
Moonlight Flute of the Ghost Hunter, Riders of the Black Steppe
James Raine (Fairfield, CA)
Spellbreaker Gauntlets, Besmara’s Chosen
David Ross (Petoskey, MI)
Clockwork Conscience, Dreamstitchers
Daniel Rust (London, England)
Elixir of Resurgent Flame, Anointed Choir of the Rapture
Chris Shaeffer (Lansfale, PA)
Scent of the Savored Sting, The Pure Line
Jacob Trier (Aarhus, Denmark)
Sunrise Shawl, The Maidens of Veiled Vengeance
Russell Vaneekhoven (Rancho Cordova, CA)
Chimaeric Mantle, The Foulgrip Rangers
Mike Welham (Kernersville, NC)
Raptoring Gloves, Monster Reformation Alliance
The Top 16 will now be required to design Pathfinder Roleplaying Game statistics for an original monster concept and submit their complete monster write-up by 2:00 PM Pacific time on Friday, February 10. On February 14, Paizo will reveal judge comments on all 16 submissions to the general public, who will then get to discuss the entries and vote for their favorites. Voting ends on February 20, and the Top 8 (by votes) will move on to Round 4.
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.
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.
Congratulations gamers.
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