Theldren

Theldren is an elite dwarf who hangs out at the arena Ring of the Law in Blackrock Depths. He is part of of several gladiators which he participates along with in the arena.

Background
Theldren was apparently once a member of the mercenary-company The Veiled Blade. After the failed attempt at (completely) killing Lord Valthalak, Theldren left the company with a piece of Lord Valthalak's amulet and became a gladiator for the Dark Iron dwarfs in Blackrock Depths. According to Anthion Harmon, another of the former members of The Veiled Blade, Theldren beat him to an inch of his life when Anthion tried to retrieve Theldren's amulet-piece as Anthion had realised the curse behind it. As such, Theldren is a very violent and egoistic dwarf. Not either concerned with honor and good sportsmanship, he is unwilling to participate in a fair fight. Still, he is a bit of a hot-head and will rush into a fight if his family's honor is being mocked.

It is unknown if the gladiators Theldren fight alongside with are also former members of The Veiled Blade. It is however implied that Theldren is their leader by how the Brazier of Invocation: User's Manual refers to them as "his goons" (see #Trivia), as well as how the Banner of Provocation is specifically designed for luring him out.

Strategy
Theldren and his fellow gladiators can be summoned using a Banner of Provocation. The Arena Spoils will be lootable after their defeat.

Theldren's team of gladiators includes:
 * Lefty - a Gnome Rogue (or Monk?)
 * Rotfang - a Gnoll Rogue
 * Malgen Longspear - a Centaur Hunter (with pet Gnashjaw, a hyena)
 * Va'jashni - a Troll Priest
 * Volida - a Forsaken Mage using frost-spells
 * Snokh Blackspine - a Quilboar Mage using fire-spells
 * Korv - a Tauren Shaman
 * Rezznik - a Goblin Engineer who uses different devices

Notice that not all his gladiators can join him at the same time. He is always accompanied by four of them, and it is random which of them it is. If a player wish to fight all of them, it will require at minimum 2 fights with Theldren (only one fight may be fought each Blackrock Depths-run, thus instance will have to be reset). The fight with Theldren and his gladiators is unique compared to many other boss-fights. While most bosses found in 5-man instances know on average 2-3 abilities, the members of Theldren's group know about 6-7 each. Many of the abilities are also used by player-controlled classes, rather than being unique abilities specific to a unique NPC as with most other bosses. This makes the members of Theldren's group similar to real players. Furthermore, the varying purposes of their abilities (some are CC, some are AoE, etc.) and the apparent class-roles of the members both in visual looks and acting (Va'jashni is a priest healer, Volida is a ranged mage DPS, etc.) makes Theldren's group resemble a organized group of real enemy players, almost as when in an Battleground. Because of this, some players claim that the fight is more PvP-like than PvE. This may be intended as Theldren and all his gladiators are also immune to taunts, which is one of the most basic features of PvE while almost nonexistent in PvP.

This style of encounter was later repeated in The Burning Crusade with Priestess Delrissa in Magisters' Terrace, and in Wrath of the Lich King with the Faction Champions in Trial of the Crusader.

Quests

 * The Challenge (quest)

Loot

 * Top Piece of Lord Valthalak's Amulet (Quest Item)

Quotes
Aggro:
 * say
 * say
 * say

Trivia

 * It seems he owned a runeblade once.
 * Fighting him was part of the Dungeon 2 questline which was removed in Cataclysm. Players who have the Banner of Provocation from it should still be able to summon him, but as the quests to obtain it were challenging before The Burning Crusade and technically pointless to do afterwards (due to the quest rewards being outdated), few players are likely to possess this item.


 * Theldren is mentioned in the book Brazier of Invocation: User's Manual. This is given to the player along with a Brazier of Invocation as rewards later in the the Dungeon Set 2 quest line. What is being described is how a player completing the quests will keep the Banner of Provocation and may use it to summon Theldren and his gladiators in Blackrock Depths as many times as he/she wants.

"As a side note, because I know that you'll be interested in knowing, the Banner of Provocation can be used in similar fashion at the arena in Blackrock Depths. Be sure to teach Theldren and his goons a lesson for me every time you get a chance when you're there."