Karzoug

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Karzoug

(Person)

Aliases

The Claimer
Tyrant of Xin-Shalast
Suzerain of Greater Shalast
Protector of Thassilon
Champion of the Rune Law

Titles

Runelord of Greed

Alignment

Neutral evil

Ancestry/Species

Human (Azlanti)

Class

Transmuter 20

Gender

Male

Homeland

Xin-Shalast, Thassilon

Organization

Runelords

Born

-5836 AR

Died

4707 AR (age 10543)

Images of Karzoug

Source: Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition, pg(s). 363

Karzoug (pronounced kahr-ZOOG) was the final runelord of greed and ruler of the Thassilonian realm of Shalast in the Age of Legend.

History

Karzoug as runelord, with his burning glaive.

Early enslavement

Karzoug was born in -5836 AR, during the reign of Runelord Haphrama, in the city of Malistoke as a slave to the lich Zinlun. Most details about his early life are unknown, removed from historical records by his command. At the age of 27, Karzoug tricked Zinlun into selling him to a cannibal in a fit of pique; he then killed his new master and used his gold teeth to become apprentice to the demon binder Thurbel.

Karzoug served Thurbel for seven years as a slave and lure for summoned demons, who killed him many times, but after every death Thurbel resurrected him. During this time, he learnt magical powers, rulership, and the exercise of power from the demons.

Deception and ascent

When Haphrama called for new apprentices in -5802 AR, Karzoug sabotaged one of Thurbel's conjurations, let the summoned demon devour his master's soul and looted his belongings. With this wealth, he impressed Haphrama enough to be chosen as an apprentice, and learnt much about transmutation from the runelord.

Karzoug found himself fascinated by the thinning of reality in Mhar Massif, and eventually secured an alliance with the almost-humans of Leng, who secretly taught him eldritch reality-warping powers in exchange for easier access to the Universe. In -5759 AR, Haphrama discovered Karzoug's plots, only to be killed alongside his other apprentice Vhage by a spell that the almost-humans taught Karzoug.

Reign

A year after succeeding Haphrama as runelord of greed, Karzoug razed his own home town of Malistoke and erased most details of his embarrassing early life as a slave. He also destroyed his first master Zinlun's lair, but failed to completely destroy the lich. In the same year, on the site where Malistoke once stood, Karzoug quarried miles of stone to build monuments, creating the Storval Deep.

During Karzoug's reign, Shalast grew in power and Xin-Shalast became one of the most breathtaking cities in Golarion, though this grandeur only benefited Karzoug himself and the nobles. He ruled with corruption and ruthlessness: he once ordered an entire city to be burnt because the local tax collectors were short a few silvers. He and Alaznist, ruler of Bakrakhan, were in a state of perpetual warfare, constantly battling at the border between their two realms.

In -5620 AR, Karzoug built the Cyphergate and murdered its engineer Draveenzi to ensure that no one but himself would know of its secret as a portal to the Dimension of Time. Karzoug devised an occult ritual to do so and travel to the past in the process, but never finished the research before Earthfall.

In -5353 AR, Karzoug established Guiltspur to serve as an embassy between Shalast and Leng. In -5319 AR, he achieved a triumph over his rival Zutha by stealing the Shard of Gluttony, which he then tasked the Dark Rider with guarding. By the end of his reign, Karzoug was the strongest runelord of greed to have ever ruled Shalast.

Earthfall

In order to survive Earthfall and the destruction of Thassilon, Karzoug used a runewell to create a demiplane sanctuary known as the Eye of Avarice. After she failed to create her own runewell, the runelord of envy Belimarius paid Karzoug an obscene amount of money and treasure and asked for his help. Karzoug accepted the payment, but he had no intention to aid a rival, so he gave her bad advice, and Belimarius never had the time investigating Karzoug's aid to discover his trap.

Awakening and death

In 4702 AR, the stone giant wizard Mokmurian accidentally triggered the runewell and awoke Karzoug. However, he was not yet capable of stepping out of the runewell, so he used his force of will to turn Mokmurian into his agent and spent the next five years gathering minions from the denizens of the ruins of Xin-Shalast. In 4707 AR, as Karzoug's runewell gathered enough power to allow him to manifest in flesh and blood in the Eye of Avarice, a group of heroes invaded it and killed Karzoug before he could properly return to the Universe.

Karzoug's soul travelled to the Boneyard after his death. Pharasma temporarily delayed his judgement because she knew that he was destined to be of use to another group of heroes. His soul eventually fell into the hands of the High Justice, who uses it to measure the weight of sin of other souls that fell into his hands.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.

Karzoug is mentioned in the following works:

WorkThis entity is best represented by this wikipage.	ReleaseThe release date or a partial release date.
King of the Storval Stairs	August 2012
Wrath of the Fleshwarped Queen	28 June 2017

Preceded by Haphrama

Runelord of Greed Lord of Shalast Karzoug -5759 to -5293 AR

Succeeded by none