Hello again.

RPG Superstar was Paizo Publishing’s quasi-annual RPG writing competition, and first ran from 2007 to 2015. Its exact format and number of rounds varied (though it standardized opening with the creation of a magic item for the first round), and the winner was given an chance to write an adventure for Paizo. It was one of the most popular, most-entered RPG design contests, and developed an extensive community on the Paizo forums, as well as launching the career of numerous freelancers (many of them runners-up, rather than winners).

It was fun, frantic, fantastic, and a ton of work for both the crew running the contest and the entrants (who often had very little time to complete extensive challenges in later rounds). I was the host for the last two RPG Superstar seasons Paizo ran, which was an honor. I met a lot of great folks, got accepted by the Superstar community, and even learned a few things about good game design. And then, as all good things must, it ended.

Years passed. Editions changed. Actual play podcasts came into their own. The stars aligned.