Professional Gladiator (Character Kit)

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==Professional Gladiator==
When the arena fills on Blood Day, it is the professional gladiators that the crowd has come to see. The appearance of these strong, capable warriors never fails to draw the crowd to its feet. Different gladiators appeal to different circles in the crowd. Some professionals are loved for their mastery and artful use of weapons, others for the brutality they employ to crush the life from their opponents.
The professional gladiator is at the pinnacle of her field. She has learned the gladiatorial arts and has spent considerable time and effort on becoming the best. The special ability score requirements are the same as the gladiator class. High Strength and Dexterity scores are preferred.
A professional gladiator on Athas is a free person who has trained and entered the arena with aspirations of glory, wealth, and fame. Those who wish to enter the gladiatorial arena must first gain the sponsorship of an important person or house within the city. The sponsor generates interest and betting on the new gladiatorial combatant. Sponsors put their reputations on the line when taking on a new gladiator—rumors and misinformation about new gladiators spread like quicksilver.
New blood generates additional interest and excitement in the upcoming games. Sponsors bribe city templars to get their newcomers into impending arena matches. The heftier the sponsorship, the higher in the combat hierarchy a professional may rise. If the new gladiator does not perform well in the arena, or is humiliated by his opponent, the sponsor can expect retribution from the templar.
Role: In Athasian culture, gladiators represent the dreams and difficulties of Athasian lives. The harshness of daily life is embodied in what the gladiators face each time they enter the arena. The ability to overcome adversity, and to win glory and riches, are things the people of Athas dream of always. 
Secondary Skills: Gladiators may receive any secondary skill by choice or random die roll. These are skills learned prior to becoming a gladiator.
Weapon Proficiencies: The professional gladiator gams an automatic proficiency in all weapons. This is the result of years of training. In addition, professionals tend to specialize in multiple weapons.
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Bonus Proficiencies: (Warrior) Armor Optimization (automatically gained at the 5th level), Endurance. A gladiator is free to choose any warrior nonweapon proficiency. The proficiency is attributed to early days, before turning professional.
Equipment: A gladiator is free to use any and all weapons, except poison. "Vears of weapons training and physical combat create an unwritten code of honor between professional gladiatorial combatants. These weapon masters believe that strength and steel should decide matches, not cheap tricks or deception. Poison is for cowards and bards (the same thing to a professional gladiator), not professionals.
Special Benefits: Professional gladiators may specialize in any number of weapons, provided they have enough slots available. A gladiator must spend two slots to specialize in any melee or missile weapon except the bow, which requires three slots. Professional gladiators transcend the rule that limits specialization to fighters. They are also expert in unarmed combat, gaining a 4 point modifier on punching and wrestling attacks (the plus or minus may be added or subtracted after the roll).
Special Hindrances: Professional gladiators are both revered and reviled on Athas. In the final days before a large arena tournament, professional gladiators are considered celebrities. Their prominence grows in direct proportion to the amount of money bet on trie match. They are skown off at parties given in their honor, and it is not unusual to find childrens' drawings of their favorite gladiators on the city walls and in back alleys. The names of some are whispered with a reverence usually reserved for sorcerer-kings.
Fanatical followers may do anything, even kill, to see their idols in action. This time of glory is also the time when the professional gladiator must be on guard, lest he fall victim to pre-game tampering by a zealous templar or one of his agents. A gladiator cannot win if he does not make it to the arena.
Wealth Options: A gladiator may seek to make considerable sums in the arena. Professionals may make huge amounts of money in a single game, assuming their fame and ability is up to professional standards. Even more can be made if he and his sponsor bet correctly on the outcome. The only drawback is that he must survive in order to collect.
Races: Anyone may become a professional gladiator. Thri-kreen, because of their tremendous unarmed attacks, and muls, because of their physical strength and endurance, tend to be the dominant PC races of professional gladiators.
Special Notes: Professional gladiators have many different personality types. They may be cold, calculating killers, or oppressive bullies. Others are gentle, and may even have a sense of humor. They may be former military conscripts who know no other lifestyle, or they may have families and even grandchildren. But when the final sword stroke falls, they know that only one gladiator can walk out. This makes professional gladiators savage opponents in the arena, no matter what their personalities.
Famous and Infamous:
* Rogow the Ruthless: Never gives or asks for mercy. Human male. Weapon specialist, halberd. Draj.
* Camla the Cunning: Believed to have killed her fighting partner after losing a match. Raam.
* The Magnificent T'sor: Lifts impaled victims above his head following the end of the match. Half-giant male. Draj.
Category:Character Kit
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