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What can I say, I like the villains... How big a role will Karzoug himself play in this AP? My players absolutely love to hate Vanthus in STAP, and their many encounters with him really helps to drive that. Will Rise of the Runelords do something with Karzoug beyond just the final encounter of the campaign? In my experience, you need to make the players really hate the villain to get "closure", otherwise the final encounter becomes somewhat anti-climactic. It would be a real help if the players are constantly taunted by the villain from the point they learn about him, such as through projected images (he could even make a personal appearance to see the adventurers who have created so many problems... and leave some minions to fight) or they could come to fight one of his simulacrums... anything to give him a presence really.
I'm also a history fan so I'd love to see more information about ancient Thassilon and the Runelords.
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In the most recent entry in the runelords campaign journal, the PCs loot a jewelled ranseur from a statue of the villain. This happens in the middle of Burnt Offerings.
I suspect the connections to the villain won't be so obvious up-front, however. His backstory has him as a high level threat throughout the campaign, unlike Vanthus, who had legitimate reasons for gaining power.
Creative Director
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Karzoug will indeed have various cameos/interactions with the PCs before the final showdown, although some of them are going to be pretty subtle. As for Thassilon, the first Pathfinder has a nice big article about the history of the ancient empire, so you should be good to go from the start.