The Gladiator
The gladiator lives for the thrill of the fight and roar of the crowd, whether in massive colosseum in front of hundreds of roaring fans or in a rowdy tavern brawl over a dice game gone wrong. Gladiators are often glory hounds, seeking adventure in search of fame and fortune.
As a gladiator, making the bloody act of combat a spectacle for the masses can be a matter of life or death. To do this, gladiators perform dramatic acts while fighting, both to excite the crowd and to distinguish themselves from other gladiators. To determine your character's theatrics in combat, you can roll a d8 and select the result from the table below, select one from the table, or come up with your own.
| d8 | Gladiator Theatrics |
|---|---|
| 1 | You always pose dramatically and make a speech after an opponent is defeated. |
| 2 | Your fighting style resembles dancing, rhythmically circling and striking your opponents. |
| 3 | You wear a costume of a beast or monstrosity while you fight, imitating its savage and brutal way of fighting. |
| 4 | You constantly insult and demoralize your opponents, criticizing their every misstep in dramatic fashion. |
| 5 | You fight with an unusual weapon or fighting style, such as with a spiked chain, or with a trident and net. |
| 6 | You boast at length before and after fighting about your past victories. |
| 7 | You play up the exoticness of your race or place of origin, incorporating it into your armor, weapons and costume. |
| 8 | You showboat in the midst of combat by deliberately making mistakes, such as dropping your guard or frivolously flourishing your weapons. |
Unless otherwise stated, your saving throw for your abilities is:
Ability Save DC
Bonus Proficiencies
As a gladiator, you are as much of an entertainer as a fighter.
When you take this archetype at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in Performance. If you are already proficient in Performance, you can instead gain proficiency in Persuasion, Deception or Intimidation.
Credit: 'The Gladiator' Assassin's Creed Revelations; Ubisoft
Combat Theatrics
Your self confidence and panache not only sways crowds to your side, but bolsters you and your allies and intimidates your foes in the midst of combat.
At 3rd level, you can do one of the following as a bonus action on your turn:
- Bravado: You make a dramatic speech or flourish that bolsters your confidence and inspires your allies. You gain 1d10 + your fighter level in temporary hitpoints. All friendly creatures within 15 ft. of you gain half of the temporary hitpoints you gained from this ability if they can see and hear you. While a creature has these temporary hitpoints, they are immune to the frightened condition and any effects causing the frightened condition are suppressed as long as they have them. These temporary hitpoints last for 1 minute.
- Psyche Out: You make a display of skill and strength that intimidates your enemies and shakes their confidence in their ability to defeat you. All creatures of your choice within 15 ft. of you must make a Charisma saving throw. If a creature fails, whenever they make an attack roll against you, they subtract 1d4 from their attack roll and when you make an attack roll against that creature, you add 1d4 to the total. This effect lasts for 1 minute or until you are incapacitated.
Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again. Starting at 10th level, you gain an additional use of this ability before resting.
Crowd Pleaser
You know how to work a crowd to your favor. Whenever you show off your abilities, you are sure to gain some admirers.
At 3rd level, when you participate in combat or an athletic competition for an audience, you can make a DC 15 Performance check at the end of combat or the event. If you succeed, all creatures in the audience that can see and hear you treat you more favorably unless hostile to you or otherwise pre-disposed to dislike you. When you succeed on the check, you can also select a number friendly members of the audience that you can see up to your Charisma modifier. The targets must make a Charisma saving throw. If a target fails, you have advantage on Charisma checks against that target for 1 hour.
King of the Ring
At 7th level, your ability to work the crowd and generate new admirers improves as your abilities and list of deeds grow. You gain the following benefits:
- You gain proficiency with one of the following skills: Persuasion, Deception or Intimidation. If you are proficient with all three skills, you instead gain proficiency with Charisma saving throws.
- When participating in combat or an athletic competition for an audience and you are declared the winner, you have advantage on the Performance check to use your Crowd Pleaser ability and you can target a number of creatures double your Charisma modifier.
- When a target fails their Charisma saving throw against your Crowd Pleaser ability, they are instead affected for 12 hours and will also actively promote you and your abilities positively to anyone willing to listen while affected.
Credit: 'Joshua' Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones; Nintendo
Dramatic Spirit
When the odds are against you, you can draw upon your inner desire to surprise the crowd and exceed expectations to overcome the odds.
At 10th level, when you fail a saving throw or miss an attack roll and there are least two allied creatures or an audience who can see and hear you, you can gain a bonus to that saving throw or that attack roll equal to your Charisma modifier, possibly causing the saving throw to succeed or attack to hit.
You can use this ability three times. You regain all uses of this ability when you finish a long rest.
Gladiator's Challenge
Always seeking new ways to show off your abilities, you have learned a way to challenge your foes to fight you and only you, allowing you to get all the glory in defeating them single-handedly.
At 15th level, you gain the ability to compel your foes to fight you. You can cast the spell compelled duel without expending a spell slot. When you cast compelled duel by using this ability, the spell does not require concentration, you can target a number of creatures equal to your Charisma modifier within range and any creature that fails their initial Wisdom saving throw against this ability also cannot actively your allies with harmful effects that require them to make a saving throw unless you are also a target. For example, an enemy mage can still target your allies with the fireball spell as long as you are included in the area of effect.
The spell ends when you are incapacitated or when the spell ends itself as per the spell description. You can use this ability a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1), after which you must finish a long rest before using it again.
More Drama! More Action!
Despite having reached the pinnacle of your fame, you still maintain an endless desire to entertain and achieve greater glories in your name.
At 18th level, when you roll initiative without any remaining uses of Combat Theatrics remaining, you gain one additional use of the ability. Additionally, your Combat Theatrics abilities improve:
- Bravado: The range on this ability increases to 30 ft. All creatures that gain temporary hitpoints from this ability have advantage on all saving throws.
- Psyche Out: The range on this ability increases to 30 ft. The penalty on enemy attack rolls against you and the bonus to your attack rolls against affected creatures increases to 1d8.