The Za-Khazi Run

[*i]

The Za-Khazi Run

 

Author: Jeff Vogel

Difficulty: levels 17-30

Version: 1.0

 

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Composite Score: 3.3/5.0

 

Best: 0.00% (0/15)

Good: 46.67% (7/15)

Average: 33.33% (5/15)

Substandard: 20.00% (3/15)

Poor: 0.00% (0/15)

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Edited February 10, 2015 by SylaeBot
Automated Sybot edit; worker IPB::csrThread/IRIDIUM

[Nioca]

THE ZA-KHAZI RUN

 

SUMMARY - The third pre-packaged scenario, and undeniably the worst of them. Fortunately, that still means you get a quality scenario. It just isn't nearly as good as the other three pre-packaged scenarios. The plot is simple: Deliver a package to Fort Caviler before the fort falls to evil sliths. You have 2 weeks to navigate a river known as the Za-Khazi Run, and therin lies the problem: it's wild and full of things that consider you lunch. Or worse.

 

Unfortunately, it has quite a few problems. Combat difficulty varies to the point of absurdity, loot balance is on the high side, the terrain encourages exploring, and there's no real pressure on you to finish before the deadline. The plot appears at the beginning, mostly disappears for the rest of the scenario, then reappears at the end. And it drags at the end. Basically, the scenario is one long string of filler dungeons. On the plus side, it looks good and flows smoothly.

 

 

NOTABLE POINTS

* 14 Day time limit

* Wildly variable combat difficulty, from moderate to hair-pulling

* Lots of combat

* Lots of loot.

* Plot moves slowly

* Beautiful scenery and town design

 

 

Enjoyment - Average

This scenario can easily be described by one word: "Meh". The premise starts exciting, but quickly fizzles out once you realize that the scenario mostly consists of dungeon crawls, several of which are unrelated to your mission (or the plot, really). They're enjoyable dungeon crawls, but a scenario based on a time limit really needs to keep the pace up. This did... not. The time limit does serve one practical purpose: it stops you from visiting every dungeon. While this may seem like a bad thing, by the time you're reaching the end, you're hoping for a reprieve from the constant dungeon crawling.

 

The scenario plods along at a leisurely pace, with nothing really happening unless you get overly distracted by the various dungeons and lose track of time. Otherwise, it's quite easy to make it within 14 days.

 

There are good points as well, though. Fights didn't get overly repetitive; most of them required you to employ different tactics, and generally required more than just blindly running up and smacking an enemy. And the scenery... good lord, the scenery. The scenario has quite a lot of eye-candy when it comes to outdoor and town design. But other than that, don't expect overly much in the way of entertainment.

 

And the Poppy Shrooms... Well, let me just say there's a reason I go for the special item that protects you against them every single time I play this scenario.

 

 

Plot - Substandard

There's not much I can say when it comes to plot. Mostly because you could lift what exists of one right out of the scenario and it wouldn't harm it much at all. Weren't paying attention when Yale told you about your mission? Don't worry! It never has any real bearing on what you do anyway. As mentioned earlier, the plot disappears for pretty much the entire scenario, reducing it to one dungeon crawl after another. In other words, it's an excuse plot for why you're leisurely rafting down a river and kicking the crap out of the local fauna.

 

Of what there is, it's alright. However, it's nothing inspired. War with sliths, run down a river and perform a rescue before a fort falls. Now, this could still be interesting if it was carried over into the actual main part of the scenario. But no, it just serves as the starting point and the denouement, and nothing more.

 

 

Combat - Average

Combat was intriguing and fun. If you want to get an idea of the variety, take a look at the scenario's folder and count the number of creature scripts there. Yeah, you get critters that spit acid, critters that paralyze, critters that cast spells, critters that turn into more critters when killed, critters that drain life, critters that are capable of knocking even the sturdiest character into next week... The list goes on. The combat gets mixed up enough that it avoids getting overly tedious. Which is good, considering there's enough combat in this scenario to satisfy even the most combat-happy players.

 

There's just one catch. The difficulty of the combat varies. Massively. Some fights, you don't have to enter combat mode to deal with. Others will hand you your party's collective butts on a golden platter again and again. If you were to quantify and graph the difficulty of the scenario at various points, you'd have something that'd look more like blueprint for a rollercoaster. Some of it winds up a little outside what any L18 party should have to deal with, such as the the Haakai (L40, with four difficult monsters backing it up), Khoth (L50, with two persistantly regenerating golems), or *shudder* Dark Wyrms (L30 but likely capable of defeating the former two). Each of these is optional, but unless you've played this scenario before, you'll need to fight one of them. Invulnerability Potions, Capture Mind, and Slow are your friends. Because the combat difficulty... isn't. And the frustration caused by the difficult combat, followed up by the tedium caused by some of the easier combat, hurts this scenario.

 

On a side note, this scenario makes me wonder whether the designer has a thing for worms. Seriously, we've got Wyrms, Pit Wurms, the Wurm Queen, Dark Wyrms, Slimy Worms... Three places dedicated to worms (Blood Glee Clan Basement, Pit of Wurms, and Wormy Hollow, respectively)... Half of the combat in this scenario is worms!

 

 

Design - Good

This scenario's shining point. With fifteen outdoor sections total, it's difficult to make every single one appealing, and not repitious. But it's done, and the result is excellent. It flows smoothly, there's very few hang-ups anywhere. Town design works well and flows smoothly, dialog (or what little there is of it) is clean and typo-free, and the puzzles mostly work. It's generally designed well, it doesn't have bugs... My only complaint is that some things are made somewhat counter-intuitively (the password undead come to mind, with the password in some random cave). But other than that, it functions well.

 

 

Graphics - Good

Not outstanding, but very nice nonetheless. Tons of eye candy and small touches everywhere serve to liven up an otherwise somewhat dull scenario. Everything looks either very realistic or pretty. Moods are set well by the appearance of towns and outdoor sections. A few custom graphics are used, though I do wish there were more used. This scenario could use a few more unique graphics for it. Additionally, the poppy shrooms didn't quite look right. Other than that though, make sure to take in some of the scenery.

 

 

Scripting - Good

Nothing cutting edge, but then, this is a pre-packaged scenario. Still, there were several script-driven abilities employed by enemies. A custom ability was coded in, though you had to earn it. And there was several nice touches added in here and there (the sparklers, for one). Overall, the scripting in this scenario is employed very effectively.

 

 

FINAL VERDICT

----[rating]AVERAGE[/rating]----

[*i]

Za-Khazi run is an interesting concept. It's very linear (the outdoors map is a straight line) and you have an urgent mission to complete with a time limit. Everything is good? Right?

 

Sadly, this scenario is just a series of dungeons that are very loosely connected. The bulk of the scenario is almost totally divorced from the reason you are doing the thing. Furthermore, there is very little immersion. I had this vital mission to complete in a limited time, but I never felt rushed or any sense of urgency. Rather, I would just progress through the series of plot points with the knowledge, in the back of my mind, what the goal is. In short, a scenario needs to pull you in, this utterly failed in this respect.

 

Like all of Jeff Vogel's scenarios, the coding is done well and the combat is interesting. There are even a few optional fights (e.g. Khoth) that can give a player a run for his or her money. Unfortunately, the technical wizardry does not outweigh the lack of immersion.

 

Rank: [rating]Substandard[/rating]

[La paix]

I must agree with Nioca and Stareye. When I first played this in BoE, the beginning really got me excited. It sounded like a great idea and an urgent adventure. As you now know, it did not quite live up to initial expectations.

 

Indeed, this immense line of water is little more than a vast expanse of seemingly unconnected dungeons. It is almost as though the designer had lots of ideas for dungeons and decided to lump them all together here. This scenario has plenty of variety. Perhaps even too much, but you will surely be kept busy. One minute you're destroying a clan of giants, and the next, you're consoling heartbroken unicorns. I think this scenario is kept interesting by its variety, but the plot is easily lost in the whirlwind of slightly random dungeons. To me, it is impressive that the combat can still remain interesting and fun for so long.

 

Being designed by Jeff Vogel, this scenario is fraught with elegant scripting and eye-candied world design. There is certainly a lot to look at. However, like when reading this review, you will grow weary near the end of the scenario. In the end, I think that The Za-Khazi Run is worth playing, it is just not Jeff Vogel's greatest work.

 

My Rating: [rating]Average[/rating]

 

p.s. Glad to see the CSR moving over!

[S M Adventurer]

Well, since now I'm no longer playing BoA with a God Party, maybe now I can judge scenarios better, at least on the combat standpoint.

 

Well the Za-Khazi Run was a fairly interesting scenario. There were many interesting surprises hidden deep within.

 

Although I felt that time limit, which in the change from BoE to BoA was reduced, was a bit too restricting. It was 21 days in BoE and now it's 14 days in BoA. Not that it wasn't that hard to get there in time, but I would have liked more time to explore and do side quests.

 

From what I have seen, I suppose the scenario was designed well. I liked the Opal Citadel, which was well designed and had some strategic combat. I really liked the statues coming to life part on the way to the Melora Opal.

 

Morog's realm was pretty interesting, although surprisingly I got clipped by a laser trap while exploring Morog's castle and my Nephil priest died. Then I accidentally hit the save button right after he died. An annoying bit I found after that was there was no healer in Morog's castle. I understand that it's probably for atmosphere but isn't the town in Morog's castle supposed to be some kind of refuge?

 

So, I had quite the conundrum. Use the Character Editor or play the whole rest of the scenario (which would be very hard) without my priest? I chose the former. I feel a bit distressed about it, but it's fine. I may replay it completely and try not to let it happen again to clear my conscience.

 

The scenario does have a lot of replay value considering it's likely you can't see everything in it in one playthrough. I guess that bumps up the rating a little.

 

Summarizing the review: It was a decent scenario which could have been better if it had a less strict time limit and a healer in Morog's Castle. It's worth a replay or two probably just so you can do all you can in it. After that, not so much.

 

Rating: [rating]Average[/rating]

[Tyranicus]

From an unknown reviewer on the CSR:

 

It's much better than in BoE. It's also still much worse than the other scenarios.

 

[rating]AVERAGE[/rating]

[Tyranicus]

From TM on the CSR:

 

The first good thing I noticed was the Deep Crawler graphic, half-way through the scenario. This scenario, much like its predecessor, is bogged down with illogic errors up the wazoo. Some interesting bits (the ghouls in the Spiraling Crypt, for example), but nothing stands out. Heck, there isn't even a single sequence in the entire thing. You don't even SEE the humans beat off the sliths with wands, much less join them. What a horribly nonsensical, mundane and otherwise brutally irritating scenario- A horrible way to begin BoA.

 

[rating]SUBSTANDARD[/rating]

[Tyranicus]

From VCH on the CSR:

 

As my review has diapered I will just say ZKR is better than most people say. I thoroughly enjoyed it. So I rate its [rating]GOOD[/rating]ReSPek.

[Tyranicus]

From an unknown reviewer on the CSR:

 

I enjoyed this scenario, only because I took it for exactly what it was meant to be.

 

1. Plot is not meant to be important. This is a hack and slash through a long and dark tunnel filled with scary and powerful monsters. An undead lord, some unicorns and a dragon at the end should not be judged as elements of a medocre plot, but rather essential elements of a hack and slash mission.

 

2. The time factor exists only to provide a sence of urgency; for a person playing the scenario for the first time, this urgency is very apparent, because one really does not know how much free time they really have. The urgency sets the mood for a long and dark tunnel trek, rather than actually limiting the player in the amount he can accomplish in those 14 days. Also, an experienced player looking only for treasures in the scenario can completely disregard the time element, and simply fight the sliths at the end, forfeiting worthless gold but gaining unique items.

 

3. Vogel's scenarios do not pretend to show a mastery of the Blades engine, even though he designed it. Blades is meant to be a creative medium, and most will agree that it is purchased for the wide variety of scenarios that will eventually be available rather than for the four that the designer included. The original scenarios were meant to give a taste of the possibilities that the Blades engine could provide, rather than fully explore these possibilities. This goal was achieved in Za-Khazi, VoDT and the Small Rebellion, showing Blade's versatility as a hack and slash, full fledged linear RPG, and choice-based game. (Diplomacy, of course, was just thrown in to give players of BoE something new.)

 

4. Za-Khazi run was very true to its original Exile/Avernum roots; unlike the other scenarios, which take place on random, secluded areas within the much despised Empire, this takes place in the Avernum, which makes it far more meaningful to fans of the original series. Unlike the other original scenarios where you fight for (or against) an all powerful Empire, Za Khazi allows the player to again fight for Avernum (and even against the Empire, at athe Opal mines.) It makes use of many of the elements that made Avernum appeal to me to begin with; powerful, recurring dragons, darkened crypts, and the hatred of the The Man and sense of exile from the Unicorns. And of course, there are only rewards for slaughtering all of the pseudo-friendly denizens. Having thrown myself into the original Avernums and Exiles on many occasions, I enjoyed this scenario much more than the above-ground ones. The setting is just so more familiar.

 

So, for accomplishing its goal as underground hack and slash mission that was marketable and provided a sampling the Blades engine, I give the Za-Khazi Run a rating of [rating]GOOD[/rating].

[Tyranicus]

From an unknown reviewer (possibly someone names Sushi?) on the CSR:

 

My deleted review was much more in-depth, but eh. The plot (race to deliver supplies to an outlying fort in Avernum!) is entirely detached from the action (casually raft down a totally unknown cave area). I give it a rating of [rating]GOOD[/rating]: competent, sizable, but we expect more.

[Tyranicus]

From an unknown reviewer on the CSR:

 

Hey Sushi!

 

My rating seems to have disappeared. Fortunately, it was a short one and I remember it fine.

 

BoE version: Decent dungeons, no story.

BoA version: Better dungeons, still no story.

 

It's an improvement, but doesn't fix the fatal flaw.

 

I suppose, in light of Sushi's comments, I should elaborate. After all, there are scenarios with no real story that I enjoyed a lot (AC2, Back to Normal). Yes, a scenario can certainly be made, and made well, without the story being the main point. However, they should have a point of some kind. Za-Khazi, I suppose, was intended to appeal in the same way as the original trilogy did. Explore, build up your party. Trouble is, with Blades there's an infinite amount of exploring and party-building that can be done. We know the world, we know the engine. Tossing a bunch of dungeons together doesn't work anymore.

 

A scenario needs something more than lazily-made terrain and combat to work well. Some sort of spark that makes it unique. A Small Rebellion (BoE version at least) focussed on and developed the thing that made it special. Za-Khazi didn't. Thus, it's not much more than a string of dungeons that the average newbie could make.

 

[rating]AVERAGE[/rating]

[Tyranicus]

From miluk on the CSR:

 

Not bad. I don't remember what I wrote last time.

 

Anyway, it kept me interested.

 

The story (I shall call it that despite differing opinions) is good enough for my standards. A lot of stuff is told along the way and it expands the world nicely, which mediocre scenarios in my opinion don't tend to do very well. For me, this detail is probably the biggest thing that separates it from being just some dungeons and fights scattered around.

 

Some dungeons are still a bit uninteresting but most were nice enough.

 

EDIT: I more or less agree with Sushi's review. The time limit annoyed me the first time I played this scenario (the BoE version of it) but it didn't feel too constraining this time, so this time I won't take points away for it.

 

[rating]GOOD[/rating]

[Tyranicus]

From Thralni on the CSR:

 

Apart from the fact that this scenario is based on a timelimit, which i hate, I don't have anything to say, really. It did what it had to do, no less, no more. I can't really care about seeing them fighting Sliths or not, and I thought that it actually was all quite logical: you row down the river because you have an important package to deliver, and on your way all kinds of abstacles are placed. isn't that exactly what one would expect?

 

So, [rating]GOOD[/rating]

 

it's just that I hate time limits.

[Tyranicus]

From an unknown reviewer on the CSR:

 

It wasnt my favorite, but I liked having a time limit for a change. Normally I have all the time in the world, even when theres a plague ravaging the countryside, or a demon loose. You have to balance out the desire to explore with the ammount of time you have to deliver the wands. Dont cry about the plot being bad, because this scenario isnt for the plot. The wands were just a set-up for an exploration scenario through uncharted territory, and the mood is a nice mysterious one. You dont see the soldiers battling the sliths because a scinematic wouldnt do it justice and would take a lot of time to make, and if they made it a combat it could be boring or changeable by the player (such as attacking the troops or something). As it stands, its a pretty good scenario, especially since its at my favorite level range.

 

[rating]GOOD[/rating]

[Tyranicus]

From BainIhrno on SV:

 

 

I absolutely loathed the time I spent playing it, everything is annoying. The plot is bad as well.

 

[rating]SUBSTANDARD[/rating]

[Tyranicus]

From Enraged Slith on SV:

 

I could have sworn that I rated this one (along with the other starters).

 

A lot of people dislike this scenario for some reason, though I'm not really sure why. This scenario definately had the potential to be a lot better, but I don't think that detracted from the product we ended up with. Weak MacGuffin aside, the exploration factor in this scenario is probably the best in all of BoA and the time limit ensures that you can't see it all in one playthrough. This is easily the most interesting (and flawed) of the standard scenarios.

 

[rating]GOOD[/rating] because I enjoyed it