Arena of Khazan - what did you like about it?

[koraq]

Since another thread slipped into this subject, here it is...

Arena of Khazan seems to be the most popular solo, and often people talk about it very fondly. Since I think it sound a bit "thin" I want to hear what made it great.

Let's hear!

[castiglione]

I thought it was thin as well - to me, RPG's were always more about exploration than combat (I'm one of those guys who liked mapping Buffalo Castle or Labyrinth or Sword for Hire more than fighting monsters).

However, it's a great compilation of how you could "sexy up" basic T & T combat using your imagination and SR's.

[rlotze]

Well yeah, this isn't exploration, it's strictly combat.
But the mechanics of how it works is bloody brilliant.
It doesn't get old because if you survive, the rewards are great. Not to mention the great variety of monsters that you can go up against. The AP are quite a bit low though, and so while making it through 3 fights (if you're going for the minimum) can give you a good amount of cash, it's not going to go far in leveling you up.

But most of all, for me the novelty is how great the mechanics are and how they make it so that two fights are just never the same. In a regular solo, following the same 'path' can get quite tedious, but in the Arena, you just never know what to expect.

[rlotze]

I should mention that I find it hard to stop at three fights. I know that I should, but the temptation to go for more is just far too great.

[zanshin]

Oh yes, and 8, 9 and 10 are real killers...

Its also nice because it scales well, pretty much any level of experience character can have a go at it and will be challenged due to the escalating threats.

[koraq]

I was just going to mention that about scaling. Thanks to eBay I now have a copy, and have been playing it a bit. Stopping at three fights? No way!

But, I have earned quite a lot of cash after five fights but not been all that challenged yet. I wonder how hard this solo would have been had Boozer written it...

[mahrundl]

So, Koraq, what have you fought so far?

I agree that fights 8, 9 and 10 are the big ones. Although you can fight those creatures in the earlier fights, it's more likely that you'll be dealing with lower-end foes.

If you haven't read 'Ten Days in the Arena of Khazan' by one K. St. Andre, I recommend it. Not only does it follow the career of Carver of Gull in the Arena, it also throws in various snippets of information about Trollworld and its history.

[koraq]

'Ten Days' do sound like an interesting read, indeed.

Due to my die rolls, I've mostly fought orchs. I kind of expect it to explode in my face anytime soon like most other deathtrap solos I've played.

[mahrundl]

So far as I can recall, the orcs in 'Arena' do not ever get to the point of exploding. ;D

Some of the wizards might...

[lionrampant]

Arena of Khazan was a great way to build up characters intended for solo play, because if things went your way you could have lots of money and some pretty awesome items, too. Granted, I have left scores of PC corpses on the bloodied sands of the arena, but that's the risks!

It's not my favorite solitaire, but it is easy to run lots of characters through it, so it has gotten used a lot as a "tester" for new characters, at least those intended for combat.

[koraq]

Explode! I need to play it more!

Yeah, it's beginning to look like my delvers from now on is all going to the Arena for basic battle training.

[mahrundl]

Well, explode may be a bit of an exaggeration... but there are definitely things going bang!

[zanshin]

And always remember your piccolo...