RPG Superstar 2013
RPG Superstar 2013 began on December 4, 2012 and ran through April 3, 2013.1 The judges for the popular contest's fifth year included Sean K Reynolds, Kobold Press publisher Wolfgang Baur, and Necromancer Games publisher Clark Peterson, as well as guest judges Jason Bulmahn, James Jacobs, Rob Lazzaretti, and the top four contestants from RPG Superstar 2012, Steve Miller, James Olchak, Tom Phillips, and Mike Welham.2
In a change of procedure from previous years, the public was allowed a glimpse of the entire submission pool in this year's contest and voted on randomized pairs of submitted wondrous items, resulting in the each item being ranked for easier analysis by the judges. The process was a resounding success, and nearly half a million votes were cast over the course of first round's voting.3
- See also: RPG Superstar
Results
On April 2, 2013, competitor Steven T. Helt was declared the winner of the contest, his Round 5 entry ("The Golden Watch") earning the most votes during the week of public polling. The renamed Pathfinder Module, Tears at Bitter Manor, was released in March 2014.
Each of the runners-up had the opportunity to write a Pathfinder Society Scenario. Paizo published the RPG Superstar finalists' works as the three-part Destiny of the Sands arc, with Scott Fernandez's A Bitter Bargain released in January 2014, Matt Duval's Race to Seeker's Folly released in February 2014, and Pedro Coelho's Sanctum of the Sages released in March 2014.
Top 4
On March 12, 2013, the Top 4 finalists in the 2013 RPG Superstar contest were revealed. The Top 4 contestants were each tasked with writing a proposal for a 64-page Pathfinder Module, to be decided by the public in a secret vote held over the course of an entire week.
Contestants advancing as far as the Top 4:
Pedro Coelho Scott Fernandez Matthew Duval
Top 8
On February 19, 2013, the Top 8 contestants in the contest were announced, the results of a week of public voting on their Round 3 swamp monster submissions. Each competitor in the Top 8 was challenged to create a Golarion location, an encounter, and map to be playtested and voted upon by the public to determine the year's Top 4 competitors.
Contestants advancing as far as the Top 8:
Clay Blankenship Nicholas Herold Michael Eshleman Michael Pruess
Top 16
On February 5, 2013, 16 competitors advanced to the Top 16 after a week of public voting on their Round 2 River Kingdoms archetype submissions. Each competitor was then tasked with creating a Bestiary-style monster entry for judging during Round 3.4
Contestants advancing as far as the Top 16:
Charlie Bell Shawn Kowalke Landon Cole Maurice de Mare Sam Harris Rorik Moore-Jansen Joseph Kellogg Kalervo Oikarinen
Top 32
Of the hundreds of contestants who submitted wondrous items for round 1 of the contest, the following contestants were selected as the Top 32 entrants. Announced on January 22, 2013, each of these contestants submitted an archetype suitable for the River Kingdoms region of the Pathfinder campaign setting for public voting to determine the Top 16.5
Contestants advancing as far as the Top 32:
Jobe Bittman Zachary Hensley Matt Blackie Mike Kimmel Adam Blanchard Joshua Kitchens James Conder Mark Nordheim George Cunningham Guy Russell Christopher Dudley Chris Shaeffer Nickolas Floyd Isaac White Jon Haire Ziv Wities
Alternates included:
- Giorgios Abate
- Jeff Lee
- Damien McGurrell
- Garrick Williams
References
- ↑ Paizo Publishing, LLC. (December 4, 2012). Paizo Publishing Kicks off Search for 2013's RPG Superstar, paizo.com.
- ↑ Paizo Inc. (December 2012). Meet the Judges, paizo.com.
- ↑ . The Paizo Community is a Collective Judgernaut!. Paizo blog, 2013
- ↑ . RPG Superstar Top 16 Announced. Paizo blog, 2013
- ↑ Paizo Publishing. (January 22, 2013). RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32 Finalists Revealed, Paizo News.
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