PCs as Gladiators (CGH)

__TOC__
Although any campaign can support gladiators, a campaign devoted to gladiators will have a markedly different flavor. Not only must the DM prepare new and exciting arena games, but must also be prepared to deal with the constant intrigues. Though not as subtle as those in a templar's life, the intrigues involved in playing gladiators are nearly as pervasive.
==PCs as Gladiators==
One of the most important factors players must take into consideration when creating a gladiator PC is the PC's status. Is he a slave or was he once a slave? Is she a noble, a peasant, or somewhere in between? The range of distinctions can prove to be the difference between success and failure for a gladiator.
Naturally, each of these has benefits and drawbacks. A slave, for example, automatically receives a patron, and usually gains the benefit of free training and weapons. However, a slave is still a slave, and therefore must serve the whim of his or her master. A freeman, on the other hand, has to rely on his or her own ingenuity and connections to find these. At the same time, a freeman need not abide by the will of others (although the sorcerer-king and the templars might see things somewhat differently).
Likewise, nobles bow to no one but the few individuals who are their social superiors. Their ability to hire trainers and buy weapons is usually far greater than any other class. Their resources may be nearly unlimited in comparison. However, a noble, no matter his or her calling, is very unused to exertion and pain. Even those nobles who have trained in the harshest of environments are used to having things fall their way, and take defeat terribly. Also, their foes (for a noble has many) will take every opportunity to attempt to eliminate gladiator nobles, both in the ruling councils and in the arena. Additionally, nobles must usually take pains to hide their identities, for known nobles are naturally the first targets for many of the enslaved gladiators.
The majority of PC gladiators are going to be free, but not noble-born, either having been born free or recently freed from slavery. One might wonder why there are such large numbers of gladiators running around free when so many of them started their careers as slaves. There are quite a few possible explanations for this.
For example, perhaps they escaped from their masters in a brutal slave uprising, slaying their masters and fleeing into the desert. Perhaps they come from a militant slave tribe in the desert which has devoted itself to combat and weaponry skills, in order that they might never be dragged into slavery again. Or they might be simple villagers who have a natural aptitude for weapons, and who cannot resist the lure of the arena. In order to survive, they have been forced to sell their natural skills to the arena for the enjoyment of others.
Whatever the explanation, the player must furnish the DM with a reason why the gladiator PC is free, instead of a slave. Of course, the player can always take the option that the PC is currently a slave, and role-play the slavery situation for as much as it is worth. When the PC tires of slavery, the gladiator may always attempt to escape his or her bonds.