OHS Pathfinders – RPG Superstar
By: RJ Wheatley
The OHS Pathfinders have created monsters! Yes. You read that correctly, monsters! But who are the OHS Pathfinders? They are the school’s TTRPG (Table Top Role-Playing Game) Club, sponsored by Mr. Adkins. So monster’s?? Let us explain…
The Pathfinders have been running a competition for the past two months called “RPG Superstar – OHS.” Mr. Adkins states that in this competition, the students have had to design a monster for the TTRPG game Pathfinder that is played in the club. Students were tasked with using the same rules & design expectations that a professional writer in the industry is expected to use. After two months of hard work, the winners were announced at their past Club Day B Meeting. And Mr. Adkins had a surprise in store for his students. He brought in publishers from the TTRPG industry, Mark Seifter and Stephen Glicker, to announce the winners & comment on the monsters that his students made! Cue the drumroll…
Taking home bronze for the competition was sophomore Samuel Kravets. In second place, earning the silver distinction was sophomore Staley Farmer. And the gold winning, overall champion, was Claire Brown, who is also a sophomore! Congratulations to these three on their awesome designs!
After announcing the winners, Seifter, one of the designers of the Pathfinder game system, and Glicker, who runs the RPG Superstar competition, spoke with the students about TTRPG.
With regards to their designs, Seifter told the students, “If you want to stand out, you need to make a strong concept for the monster, but it must have a formatting that resembles the other monsters.” Seifter got into the industry because there’s no theme that’s required; you could be anyone, any job, any race. When he was entering for the job, he had no expectation of winning anything.
Glicker, who entered the industry through his work on video games, as well as Harry Potter, Disney projects, and more, said he wanted to work on Pathfinder and expand the player count. Glicker says he doesn’t like that people say it’s the same as Dungeons and Dragons (arguably the most well-known TTRPG of all-time. He said, “It’s either the same or completely different”, as he recommended students try different games. Glicker believes that “when teaching new people, the rules don’t matter.”
Mr. Adkins, who founded the OHS Pathfinders last school year, encourages all students to “take your shot and enter the competition; you’re probably going to lose, but you’ll learn from that loss.” He added, ”TTRPG is a great place that allows people to be creative with the many ways they can create worlds and the stories that come with it. It can also allow you to create new bonds with your friends through the adventures you’ll bond over with your character.”
If you’re interested in joining the OHS TTRPG next year, be sure to talk to Mr. Adkins! Everyone is welcome!
