THE GLADIATOR (by Xeno Dunnellon of the Shire of the Far Woods) Garb: Gladiators favor utility over appearance. Thus they will wear only garb that is adequate for the weather (to remain decent and to keep from freezing or burning up), but will wear armor instead if they possess it. Weapons: Any unusual melee weapon such as a trident, sickle, tonfa, or chijikiri is preferred, although Gladiators are free to use common ones. Part of the Gladiator's appeal is his use of exotic weapons. An "exotic" weapon for the purposes of the Gladiator is defined as any weapon that does not appear on pages 19 and 20 of the handbook. Reeves have the final say about what constitutes exotic. Gladiators can use any weapon, but being lower class folks they can't afford much, therefore they can't afford more than one Red weapon (drusi excluded) or any weapon-relics. If the Gladiator does choose to wield a Red weapon, it *must* be an exotic one -- it will become his "signature" weapon, in other words. Gladiators also prefer to get close and personal, so all missile weapons are prohibited except for nets, bolas, and rocks. Gladiators have several weapons unique to them: the Net, Bolas, Cestus, and Drusus (detailed below). These are subject to the same things as any other weapon except where otherwise stated. If one of the Gladiator's unique weapons is destroyed, he has to return to base and retrieve a "new" one just like anyone else. Lastly, being poor means that they can "retrieve a new weapon" up to six times per actual weapon they bring to battle. Thus if a weapon is destroyed or otherwise abandoned by the Gladiator six times, it is gone from the game permanently. Note that this includes the Gladiator's unique weapons. The Drusus does not count as separate from the weapon it was created from, and destroying the Drusus counts as one destruction of its parent weapon. Armor: 1 point of armor initially, but eventually up to 3 points. Shield Any. A Shield may be destroyed up to three times until it is permanently gone from the game. Lives: 3 (A gladiator's life is a short one). Notes: The Gladiator is the fighter's entertainer. He fights not only for the sake of the fight itself but also to entertain the bloodthirsty crowds. For this reason, they should always seek to make a big show of everything, being courageous and preferring opponents who present a challenge versus those who are too easy or impossible to kill. Gladiators will always fight members of the other fighting classes first, starting with those of equal or approximate level, and only engaging the non-fighting classes when they are the only ones left or when it is overwhelmingly advantageous or necessary to do so. Gladiators like to play around with their victims, prolonging combat as much as possible for the entertainment of the spectators. Levels: 1st May wield one cestus. May wear up to 1 points of armor. Arena once per game. 2nd May wield two cesti. Drusus once per game. 3rd Gains one Bolas. May wear up to 2 points of armor. Arena once per life. 4th Gains one Net. Drusus once per life. 5th Gains one additional Bolas (2 total). May wear up to 3 points of armor. 6th Either one more Net (2 total) OR one more Bolas (3 total). One additional life (total of 4). Weapons: Bolas - The Bolas is represented by a dark gray ball which should have no less than three streamers on it (representing the entangling balls attached to it). Only a solid hit by a Bolas counts; touch from a streamer is considered to be an ineffectual "near miss". To use a Bolas, the Gladiator must recite "Preparing" x3 prior to throwing it, to simulate readying the bolas' cords and whirling the bolas to a high speed. A person hit by a Bolas in the torso or either arm is considered to have had the Bolas bind his arms to his chest; he may not swing his weapons, or actively block in any way, until the bolas are cut away by someone hacking at his upper body 10 times. He may still run freely. A person using any shield larger than a buckler is immune to arm or torso strikes by a Bolas. A target hit in the leg(s) is assumed to be held in place. He may not move from the spot he is at until he is freed. He may actively defend himself, or even free himself: assuming his arms are free, he may free his legs if he or someone else hacks at them 10 times. A person who has a weapon hit by a Bolas, the weapon is entangled and is useless until someone recites "untangle" 10 times over the weapon. Note that if a player's weapon is entangled, the player himself is unaffected. When someone is freed from a Bolas, the Bolas is destroyed (its cords were hacked). On the other hand, freeing a weapon will not destroy the Bolas, making it recoverable and reusable by the Gladiator. Barbarians are totally immune to the Bolas. Monks' weapons are immune to the Bolas and are immune to arm-strikes if they are 4th level. Bolas themselves are considered thrown weapons although they do no damage directly. Bolas are reusable (throwing a Bolas and missing does not destroy the Bolas). If a Bolas is indeed destroyed, the Gladiator can return to base to retrieve a new one (assuming he can still do so). Only one object (weapon or person) may be affected by a bolas at any one time. Attempting to free a person with a Fireball will kill the person additionally unless they have some form of protection from the fireball. Cestus - The Gladiator may take a dagger-length weapon and make it a Cestus. It may be used in either a stabbing or slashing motion but is considered a Bludgeoning weapon with a permanent non-magical Stun Weapon ability. Therefore any hit (whether with a stabbing or slashing motion) from a Cestus is considered a subdued blow but the Cestus will not do damage normally. If Bludgeon is cast upon it, the Cestus does damage as a normal blue weapon; if Enchant Weapon is cast upon it, the Cestus will kill with any hit. Whereas swords have an implied basket hilt which protects the hand from all hits, the "basket hilt" of the Cestus extends all the way to the elbow. Cesti protect the forearm in the same way that basket hilts protect the wrist; forearm invulnerability simulates this protection. Barbarians are totally immune to the Cestus' subdued blow, though they will be affected normally if the Cestus has had Bludgeon cast upon it. Drusus - The Gladiator may take a single short sword and make it a Drusus. To do this, he must draw a whetstone completely up and down the length of the blade 25 times (once each direction counts as one), after which he ties a red ribbon around the blade. For a 100 count the short sword counts as a Red weapon in every way except that it will not destroy shields. After the 100 count is over, the Gladiator should remove the ribbon as soon as possible to prevent confusion. Net - The Gladiator may take a single brown hash-marked ball (which should be twice as large as a normal spell ball) and use it to simulate a Net. If a person is struck, the Net immobilizes him so that he cannot move or attack or cast any but verbal magic. Nets cannot be damaged by bludgeoning or piercing weapons, but slashing weapons will destroy a Net in one blow. Thus Targets immobilized by a Net will be directly affected by any piercing or bludgeoning weapon, but any slashing weapon will destroy the Net in one blow and will free the victim. This leads to two interesting situations: Enemies of a victim may poke or bash the entrapped player with impunity, but hacking at the hapless victim will merely free them in one hit (unless they can get another hit in quickly enough), while the victim's friends need only hack once to free them (but hit them twice or hit them with any other weapon type and they've hit their friend). Anyone may free the victim from the Net by standing directly next to him and reciting "I free you" 10 times, while doing nothing else except reciting (attacking or defending oneself results in having to restart the count). The victim may free himself from the Net after a 100 count as well. Neither someone freeing the victim in this way nor the victim freeing himself destroys the Net (except for Barbarians, see below). With respect to Nets, non-color-coded weapons are considered to be the type of weapon they resemble most closely with the following exceptions: sword-shaped weapons without cross guards are considered smashing weapons (clubs or maces) and sword-shaped weapons with cross guards are considered slashing and stabbing weapons (swords). The Net is reusable, cannot do damage, and is neither a slashing, stabbing, or smashing weapon. Nets cannot be Bladesharped, Bludgeoned, Enchant Weapon'ed, or Hardened. It cannot be destroyed by non-flaming arrows (any arrow will still affect anyone trapped in a Net). Any exposure to fire, flame, or fire-based attack will destroy a Net unless the Net is enchanted with Protection from Flame. A Gladiator may have only one person trapped simultaneously for every Net he possesses. If a person's weapon is hit by a Net, it is entangled and rendered useless (similar to the Bolas' effect) until someone recites "untangle" 10 times over the weapon. Having a player's weapon entangled does not mean the player himself has been entangled, only disarmed. The Monk's ability to parry thrown weapons does not extend to Nets. Immunity to traps does not extend to being trapped by a Net, but Protection from Projectiles will provide immunity. Barbarians, while not totally immune to Nets, will only be trapped by a 10 count, but will automatically destroy the Net after they free themselves (they literally rip the Net into pieces in the process). Abilities: Arena - A Gladiator may challenge any fighter of equal or greater level or any monster to an Arena duel (Gladiators cannot challenge members of their own team or any neutral monster without a Reeve's permission). If the fighter or monster freely accepts, Arena begins, and any fighter of equal or lesser level within twenty feet of the Gladiator becomes enthralled by the spectacle and cannot do anything but watch nor be acted upon until Arena ends either with the death of one of the participants or the duel is declared by both to be a draw. If the fighter or monster declines the challenge, Arena is not used up. Only melee weapons may be used by the two participants while dueling. Monks of 3rd level and above are immune to being charmed by Arena. Any Bard enthralled by Arena will feel compelled to entertain either by playing their instrument or by providing a running commentary. No one beyond those initially affected by Arena may be enthralled by the duel, although they may still watch (but they can still be attacked). Arena is identical to Honor Duel in all other respects (save the requirement of yellow ribbons for the two participants).