The pride of the morning's fights was being led out now, on the far side of the stands - a massive hydra, its heads writhing and hissing as it struggled against the handlers' leashes. Anaxibius could feel the excitement of the crowd rising, a wave of sound and rustling motion, as they speculated on the strength of the beast and the tactics used to combat it. Money was changing hands up above, and the crowd's anticipation was beginning to turn to tension and worry as no champion appeared. Just a little longer...
Anaxibius abruptly burst forth from beneath the Champions' Gate, crossing the sands in an easy lope. The cornicens blew as he emerged into the full sight of the crowd, and cheers rose from the stands as they recognized their favorite. Anaxibius paused, raised his shield high, and spun his sword in a complex salute, and the cheers redoubled and echoed throughout the arena. "Anaxibius, ANAXIBIUS, ANAXIBIUS!!!!"
The thunderous cacophony beat at Anaxibius as he advanced towards the hydra, sword held at the ready. His face was expressionless, but his heart was singing - this was what he lived for, this was why he was the most celebrated warrior of the Empire. This was why he was a gladiator.
The Thyatian Gladiator is a prestige class taken by veterans of the arenas of the mighty Thyatian Empire. Not all fighters within the arena have this prestige class, but many of the most experienced ones do, focusing their combat skills on the specific weapons and tactics used in arena combat. A few other adventurers also learn the style of gladiatorial fighting, then use it in other endeavours elsewhere.
Note: This PrC writeup uses rules for Perform (Weapon Drill) and gladiatorial combat found in the Complete Warrior supplement. Refer to pages 131-132 of that book for rules information.
Requirements:
- Base Attack Bonus: +6
- Skills: Intimidate +6, Perform (Weapon Drill) +4
- Feats: Combat Expertise, Weapon Focus (any two weapons favored in the Thyatian arenas)
- Special: Must have defeated at least one opponent of CR6 or greater in a gladiatorial challenge.
Preferred Weapons: Though warriors of all types are welcome in the Thyatian arenas, there are a few weapons and combat styles that are preferred for general use. These include the long sword (spatha), short sword (gladius), dagger, gauntlet (cestus), spiked shield, halberd, trident, whip, and net.
Hit Dice: d10
Skills: 2 + Int skill points per level. Class skills are Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Perform (Weapon Drill) (Cha), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex).
:-) Jesper
Small quible, a spatha is a long sword, not short sword.
Excellent work! I like this PrC a lot.
Small quible, a spatha is a long sword, not short sword.
I believe a shortsword is called a gladius.
Excellent work! I like this PrC a lot.
Small quible, a spatha is a long sword, not short sword.
...wha th - GAH! Yes, the spatha is supposed to be a long sword, putting that weapon on the list of Preferred Weapons. Having two different names for a short sword is silliness, after all. Original post has been edited to fix the typo - thanks for the heads-up.
KoK had the Gladiator as a Base Class, but I think it fits even better as a PrC, especially when it has been suited for Mystara like this. Good work!
Håvard
Have you done up Anaxibius' stats using this PrC? It would be interesting to see. And btw, nice writing on the intro!
Good PrC there, eldersphinx. Makes me want to get the PCs back into the pit.
Have you done up Anaxibius' stats using this PrC? It would be interesting to see. And btw, nice writing on the intro!
Thanks for the comments!
No writeup yet on Anaxibius - tho he might look something like a Ftr8/Rog2/ThyGlad12 with this writeup, taking the PrC to early epic levels. Tho I actually got the idea to do this more as a PrC for Emperor Thincol - who'd be along the lines of Barb3/Ftr4/ThyGlad10/Exp8, and have a few tricks that really show off 3E. Dunno when I'll have that exactly finalized, tho.