Gladiators

Gladiators are the slave warriors of the known world, specially trained for brutal physical contests. Disciplined in many diverse forms of hand-to-hand combat and skilled in the use of dozens of different weapons, gladiators are the most dangerous warriors of Fälgorna.

A gladiator must have a Strength of at least 13, Dexterity of 12 or greater and Constitution of 15 or more. A gladiator who has a Strength score (his prime requisite) of 16 or more gains a 10 percent bonus to the experience points he earns. A gladiator can be of any race.
Gladiators can have any alignment: Good, Evil, Neutral, Chaotic or Lawful.

A Gladiator can use most magical items, including potions, protection scrolls, most rings, and all forms of enchanted armor, weapons, and shields. He abides by all warrior restrictions that apply.
Gladiators use a d10 to roll hit points and advance in level using the experience table for rangers and paladins.

Gladiators have the following special benefits and restrictions:

• A gladiator is automatically skilled in all weapons — he never suffers a non-proficiency penalty when using a weapon, even one that is new to him.
  
• A gladiator can achieve grand mastery with multiple weapons provided he has sufficient skill points. As a reward for their years of training and discipline, gladiators are the ultimate masters of weapons and are able to achieve grand mastery more quickly than the fighter. A gladiator may achieve mastery at 4th level, high mastery at 5th level and grand mastery at 8th level.
  
• A Gladiator can make one attack per level on creatures with one or fewer HD or levels.
  
• A Gladiator is an expert in unarmed combat. He receives a four point modifier to punching, wrestling and martial arts attack rolls, which he can use as a plus or minus to his roll after it is made. The gladiator may consult the Punching, Wrestling or Martial Arts Results Table while making this decision.
  
• A Gladiator learns to optimize his armor when he reaches fifth level. He conditions himself to use his armor to its best advantage, dodging and moving his body in such a way that opponents are confounded by his armor and shield. Provided the gladiator is wearing armor, his Armor Class is reduced by one for every five levels to a maximum of -6 (-1 at 5th-9th level, -2 at 10th-14th level, -3 at 15th-19th level, -4 at 20th-24th level, -5 at 25th-29th level and -6 at 30th level and beyond). This benefit does nothing for Gladiators who aren't wearing armor. Some magical items (like a ring of protection +2), do not count as armor, while others (such as bracers of defense) do. This skill does not work in combination with the nonweapon skill of the same name.
  
• A Gladiator attracts a number of followers equal to his twice his Charisma when he reaches ninth level. The followers arrive in the same manner as for fighters. At least half of these followers will always consist of other gladiators who have come to study his fighting style and "learn from a true master."
  
• A Gladiator is usually brought up in slavery; nobles and gentry are never Gladiators. To reflect this the Gladiator subtracts 60% from his initial Social Class roll.

Gladiator Kits

The following kits are described in The Complete Gladiator’s Handbook. These kits are only available to the gladiator sub-class. All gladiator kits have the following additional recommended skills: Arena Acting, Dirty Tricks, Massage, Tactics, Taunting, Weakness Identification, Armor Optimization, Weapon Improvisation, Endurance, and Gaming.