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.

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.