Getting back to this article's title, the notion that Kyuss is dead is moot. He's no more dead than it is to say the Age of Worms happened. Or that Lolth died in Q1, or that Vecna and Kas really did destroy each other. In the game of D&D, classic villains always find a way back to the fore one way or another. Kyuss (or Dragotha) is a very cool villain that is no exception. To remove Iuz and replace him with Kyuss is tempting, especially when you consider how badly Iuz was handled in 3.5 (or for that matter, since Return of the Eight). While I agree that something should be done with Iuz, I'm not sure Kyuss is the answer. The AoW did a tremendous job with Kyuss and really delivered the goods (a rare thing these days), but I think he'd run the risk of overexposure as well if he became the new threat. Besides, Kyuss's cult more secretive than the tyrannical, (sort of) conquering cult of Iuz. In a sense, Kyuss is much more of a menace in the same way Tharizdun or Vecna used to be: in forbidden legends or hushed whispers. I'd be more inclined to replace one of those two with Kyuss than replace Iuz.
I thoroughly enjoyed this article. Having ran Age of Worms to completion it gives me heart to bring him back someday. Wll maybe not Kyuss, but definitely Dragotha who got an ignomious defeat IMC.
Also on that topic, Saint Kargoth gets a bad cameo as a disposable henchmen in Savage Tide. He would be another candidate for unlife-reoccurance.
Also on that topic, Saint Kargoth gets a bad cameo as a disposable henchmen in Savage Tide. He would be another candidate for unlife-reoccurance.
Very true. Like Dragotha, St. Kargoth is worthy of at least an entire module. It was such a waste of a great villain to throw him in ST like an afterthought.
In the near future of my campaign, Tharizdun is about to receive a thorough kicking that will remove him for a long time, possibly permanently (death by overexposure). Kyuss would make an interesting and, more importantly as you state, different major villain. Nothing beats a new flavour of evil.
Strangely, Iuz remains a credible threat - at least in the eyes of my players. He is certainly all the things you mention. But his sheer raging unpredictability, fits of insane temper coupled with ridiculous strategic decision making and occasional bouts of evil genius make him the biggest threat to the lives of all the people within striking distance. I can certainly see how this has made him something of a joke in a lot of campaigns-and I'm surprised that it hasn't in mine-but he's gone from strength to strength in terms of his fear factor. Do note, however, that the events in Expedition To Greyhawk Ruins have yet to transpire IMC.
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