Top 10 Local Gladiators

Whether it’s in arenas or just in seedy fighting pits, you can usually find some kind of combat sport around town to watch, to bet on, or even to participate in. Gladiators often develop unorthodox fighting skills and use unusual weapons and armor. This allows them exceptions from the standard combat rules in some cases, and those will be noted. Here are the top 10 local gladiators you should know about.

1. Tihomir the Terrible (F0, 4 hp), half mail armor, no weapon, attempts to grapple opponents and on any hold may attempt a bite (normal hit roll required, 1d3 damage per round until the hold is broken or his opponent falls unconscious). If the hold is an arm lock, bear hug, or headlock, the bite automatically hits and biting damage is in addition to the normal damage of the hold. Prize: 6 sp
2. Matko the Mangler (F1, 5 hp), half leather armor, special weapon, attempts to grapple or overbear opponents. Against unarmed opponents, Matko always wins initiative. Armed opponents are not permitted an attack to keep Matko at bay. Matko's wrists are braced with wrapped leather thongs. If an opponent becomes stunned, he will spend one round unraveling one of the thongs, making a show of it for the audience, and on the following round will attempt to strangle his opponent from behind with the thong. This requires a hit roll (+4 bonus) and causes 1d4 damage per round, and can only be countered by elbow smash, flip or throw, or head butt results on the grappling table. Prize: 8 sp
3. Mean Jasmina (M2, 6 hp), half leather armor, jo stick + open hand attack, fights “two-weapon” style with the jo stick as the main weapon, open hand attack as the off-hand weapon. She is ambidextrous with 17 Dex and takes no penalty for either attack. Prize: 20 sp
4. Mitar the Madman (F1, 8 hp), half mail armor, spiked club, fights berserk gaining either +2 to hit or an extra attack each round, though counts as an “unintelligent” monster as it pertains to hit location. Prize: 30 sp
5. Aleks Alakrus (T3, 10 hp), leather armor, daggers, fights two-weapon style with two daggers (has 18 Dex so -1 penalty to off hand only) or may switch to “pummeling” using the daggers as pommels if that suits him. May attempt dirty tricks like throwing sand in his opponent's eyes. If the opponent is either stunned from pummeling or blinded by sand, Aleks will spend 1 round positioning himself for a two-dagger backstab attempt. The roar of the crowd negates his need to Move Silently to do this. Prize: 40 sp
6. Todor the Titan (F2, 12 hp), half plate armor, hammer, uses normal weapon combat. His main advantage is his 18/00 Strength. He appears in chains and shackles which breaks to display his great strength. An opponent who wastes no time charging in and has a 12” movement rate will automatically win initiative on the first round. Prize: 60 sp
7. Sonya the Slayer (F3, 15 hp), half plate + shield, broad sword, uses normal weapon combat. Her advantage is her great sword skill (attacks as 7th level Fighter with any sword, gaining both improved hit tables and multiple attacks). Prize: 100 sp
8. Veres the Venger (F3/M6 20 hp), half mail armor, bastard sword, alternates between using the bastard sword two-handed and holding the bastard sword in the off hand while using the on-hand for open-hand attacks. Prize: 150 sp
9. Boros the Butcher (F4 25 hp), half mail armor, battle axe, fights berserk gaining either +2 to hit or an extra attack each round, though counts as an “unintelligent” monster as it pertains to hit location. Prize: 250 sp
10. Papp “the Champ” Laszlo (F6, 30 hp), half plate + shield, broadsword, Papp initially enters the arena riding a horse-drawn chariot and will make three passes, hurling a javelin each time (-2 to hit due to the motion of the chariot), then on a fourth pass will throw a net before engaging in normal melee. If the net attack is successful, he will waste a round or two playing to the crowd, giving his opponent a good sporting chance of freeing himself. Prize: 50 gp and championship!

The half armors that are popular among gladiators provide normal protection only if the protected areas are struck. Intelligent opponents will try their best to aim for unarmored areas, so each attack has a 3 in 4 chance of hitting an unprotected area (AC 10) while the remaining 1 in 4 is up against normal protection (AC 3 for plate, AC 6 for mail). Creatures with less than human intelligence will strike randomly, half the time hitting a protected area, half the time an unprotected area. For the sake of convenience, the DM may use a weighted average. Half plate armor provides 8 AC vs intelligent opponents, 6 AC vs unintelligent opponents. Half mail provides 9 AC vs intelligent opponents, 8 AC vs unintelligent opponents. And Half leather provides 10 AC vs intelligent opponents and 9 AC vs unintelligent ones.

Half-leather is so light it doesn’t interfere with a monk’s natural AC, and so provides 1 additional point of protection against unintelligent creatures. Other half-armors do not interfere with the monk’s natural AC but do not provide additional protection either, except as it pertains to weapon vs armor type modifiers, if those adjustments are used.