Here Be Monsters 2: Meet the Judges

The judging panel for Here Be Monsters consists of three freelancers and RPG Superstar veterans, who select six finalists from among the submitted entries. Our esteemed guest judge joins us to comment on the Top 6 entries. The judges for Season 2 are:

Guest Judge: Adam Daigle

Adam Daigle is a developer at Paizo and works on the Pathfinder Adventure Path line of adventures. An avid monster maker, Adam has designed and developed hundreds of monsters for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Adam has also been a judge on RPG Superstar since 2014.

Mikko Kallio

Mikko Kallio started out gaming in the late 80s with the Red Box D&D. (He still mourns Aleena the Cleric). In 2014, Mikko was a top 4 finalist in Paizo's RPG Superstar contest, and a year later, he returned as a monster round judge. His freelance design work for Paizo can be found in more than a dozen publications, including Occult Bestiary, the 5-star adventure Ancients' Anguish, and the 5-star Player Companion Dirty Tactics Toolbox. Mikko is also a developer at Swords for Hire Development and the main organizer of the Here Be Monsters contest.

Jacob W. Michaels

Jacob W. Michaels has been gaming for 30 years, since he went on an expedition to the Barrier Peaks in the third grade. A newspaper editor in eastern Pennsylvania, he's a two-time finalist in Paizo's RPG Superstar contest, making the Top 16 in 2012 and 2014. He has written several five-star products from Raging Swan; published a five-star module, Ironwall Gap Must Hold, with AdventureaWeek.com; and had work in products from Paizo, Flying Pincushion Games, Jon Brazer Enterprises, Louis Porter Jr. Design and Rogue Genius Games. He started Swords for Hire Development with Mikko Kallio, with whom he runs the Here Be Monsters contest.

Mike Welham

Mike Welham has been gaming since 1979. The first RPG purchase he made with his allowance was the original Fiend Folio, which set him along the monster path. He translated his love for RPGs into an RPG Superstar victory in 2012, and he has written and contributed to a number of critically acclaimed works for Kobold Press, Paizo, Raging Swan Press, Rite Publishing, and Zombie Sky Press. He has also contributed a menagerie of monsters to the Mythopoeic Rambling blog (http://mythopoeicrambling.blogspot.com). Mike was a finalist in last year's Here Be Monsters and looks forward to being on the other side of the judging table.