I've been looking forward to working on the Return of the Runelords Adventure Path since the very start. As development on Rise of the Runelords wrapped up over ten years ago, we started a tradition that's lasted ever since—the inclusion of a tiny little message at the end of the sixth volume's legal text. In Rise of the Runelords, this message simply read, "The runelords will return." Likewise, in the sequel to Rise of the Runelords, the last volume of the Shattered Star Adventure Path teased, "Sorshen lives!"
Now, with Return of the Runelords, we finally get to see the payoff to these hidden messages, as well as wrap up the epic storyline that began with a now infamous goblin raid on the little town of Sandpoint. If you've played through either Rise of the Runelords or Shattered Star, you'll find a lot of callbacks in Return of the Runelords to events, characters, and treasures that first debuted in those earlier campaigns, and you'll even be able to see what became of prior PCs who played through those earlier games!
Illustrations by Ekaterina Burmak
But even if you haven't played these prior campaigns, there's plenty of reasons to play Return of the Runelords. This Adventure Path features longer adventures than most volumes, with the final installment being the longest adventure we've ever run in an Adventure Path volume! This increased length allows us to cover every level from 1st to 20th, without using Mythic Adventures to speed level progression along (as was the case in Wrath of the Righteous, the only other Adventure Path we've published that reached 20th level), but also pits your PCs against some of the most infamous and dangerous villains of the Pathfinder Campaign Setting.
So... if you think you've got what it takes to stand against the runelords, now you'll have a chance to prove it!
James Jacobs
Pathfinder Creative Director
