#### 30 GLADIATORS ####
* A set of combatants for the ring *
Author: Willow Willis
Re-publication date: 2022
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## FREEMEN ###
Men and women who fight willingly, for fame or a little extra cash.
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1. The Death Wish
'Kill me. There is no other choice.'
This man desperately wants to die, but his religion forbids him from taking his
own life. Unfortunately, this includes simply allowing himself to be killed.
And even more unfortunately (for him), he's a really, really good fighter. He
participates in gladiatorial combat whenever there is an open spot, hoping that
one of the new recruits will finally prove his match. The Death Wish doesn't
like to cause unnecessary pain or suffering, but will relentlessly press any
opponent who seems to be holding back.
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2. The Trouble-Seeker
Participating in a death match is all sorts of illegal, but this young nobleman
has the money to bribe his way into the ring. Perhaps he wants to start a
scandal, or perhaps he was too sheltered as a child. Either way, he will soon
find out that a gladiatorial match is no game, and might need to be
rescued/sheltered by the party.
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3. The Pastor
'Repent or perish!'
A radical member of the Faith, this man participates in a weekly
sermon/death-match to help spread his faith. He will preach scripture - often
in a pithy, light-hearted manner - while dealing crushing blows with the 'Fist
of God' (a large, spiked mace). Many of his opponents are reluctant to hurt a
religious man, for fear of angering his god. If a fallen opponent repents, he
will convert the unfortunate sinner and spare his life, with the understanding
that he will come back to finish the job, if necessary.
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4. The Showoff
'I just have a gift.'
Some men are born fighters, and The Showoff is one of these. He's
independently wealthy and doesn't need the money - he fights purely for the
challenge and the roaring approval of the crowd. Whenever business is slow
(pirate ship, mercenary company, etc) and the wenches are cold, he will assuage
his boredom with a brutal death match (and perhaps some 'fan service'
afterwards). Watch out for his signature move - the Ten Slices of Fury. It's
a real crowd-pleaser.
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5. The Mascot
A symbol of national pride, the Mascot is usually scheduled for the opening
match. He enters the ring to the clash of trumpets, clad in a full-face mask
and traditional costume. The Mascot will often be matched against opponents
clad in the garb of conquered or soon-to-be invaded nations. He is not allowed
to speak, and his true identity is a strict state secret, but he is definitely
one of the best fighters in the nation.
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6. The Vigilante
'Justice has come. You will pay for your crimes!'
What started out as a personal quest to avenge his sister's murder turned into
a life-long mission for this ex-soldier. If a particularly repugnant criminal
fails to receive the death penalty and is instead assigned to the gladiators'
ring, The Vigilante will make sure that he never has the chance to earn his
freedom. He wears a full-face helmet to protect his identity, engraved with
the symbol of the God of Justice.
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7. The Professional
'It's nothing personal.'
An ex-gladiator who earned his freedom in the ring, The Professional found life
outside it's walls ill-suited to a man of his talents and temperament. With no
other job skills and little support from his estranged family, The Professional
returned to the ring to fight for coin. He's not a particularly flashy
combatant, and fights more defensively than the crowd likes, but he's useful
filler during a slow week.
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8. The Shapeshifter
A bestial man who thrills for the hunt, The Shapeshifter has found that men
make the most challenging prey. The Gladiators' Ring is about the only
socially acceptable way for him to indulge his appetites. He's often employed
as a third-match 'surprise' to delight the crowd, or as a way to shake up a
stand-off. His favorite trick is to enter with the other animals, catching his
opponents off-guard with his human-level intelligence or an unexpected shift to
a new form.
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9. The Heir
Daughter of a famous gladiator, this fighter entered the ring as soon as she
was legally able to do so, hoping to earn a little extra money to support her
aging mother and crippled father. She relies heavily on her father's
reputation, and has had much of his custom armor reforged to fit her smaller
frame. She never speaks, preferring to let her spear do the talking for her.
Depending on the setting, the Heir may be disguising the fact that she is a
girl, partly to secure placement in the more risky (and better-paying) matches.
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10. The Second Son
Overlooked and underestimated by the royal family, this prince sees the
Gladiators' Ring as an alternate path to power. Realizing that gladiators are
often more popular than politicians, he is slowly building up a name for
himself through mortal combat. The Second Son knows that there are few in the
ring who can hurt him (he has very expensive armor and has received the best
tutelage available), and can always bribe his way into an easier match if
needed. Several of his opponents suffered pre-match 'accidents' or were
drugged/poisoned to make them less capable than normal.
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11. The Doppelganger
'Who's it gonna be, eh?'
The Doppleganger is a rare creature, and this one knows how to exploit that
rarity to its own advantage. A consummate actor, he regularly hires his
services to the local Ringmaster to fill whatever role is required of him. For
a fee, you can pay to see your own worst enemy slaughtered for your
entertainment - the doppleganger can survive a surprising amount of damage,
simply by moving its internal organs around. The Emperor often uses this
service as a warning to his political opponents.
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### CAPTIVES ###
Slaves of the ring, these people belong to the Ringmaster and must earn
their way back to freedom by fighting in paid matches. The higher-risk the
match, the better their paltry commission.
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12. The Faithful
'Jessminia!'
This heartsick young man was captured by his noble lover's political enemies,
during a drunken night on the town. The lady has long since moved on, but he
has no way of knowing that. He has carefully etched her name into his sword,
and dreams only of returning to her arms. His battle cry is her name (which
makes many female audience members sigh). Over the months, he has made more
attempts at escape than any other gladiator left alive, and often bears fresh
welt marks across his back and face for his trouble.
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13. The Fool
'Eeep!'
He's not a fighter, and he knows it. The only reason he is still alive is
because he can make the crowd laugh with his cowardly antics. Will often
'stumble' into the arena, nearly impaling himself on his own weapon. The crowd
loves to shout conflicting advice at him, and he will attempt to follow ALL of
it. Has been beaten in every match up, but the victors have so-far been
forbidden from delivering the death stroke, due to The Fool's high
entertainment value.
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14. The King
This man was once great, and you can still see it in the set of his shoulders,
the lines on his face. A deposed leader from a conquered land, The King is a
real draw for the weekend crowd. He wears an iron crown that has been
permanently screwed into his skull, and is often forced to fight with poor or
inferior weapons. Still, he refuses to give into despair, hoping that his
victories in the ring will bring hope to his former subjects.
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15. The 'Queen'
An accidental eunuch with a taste for cross-dressing, The 'Queen' is one of the
more colorful characters you'll see in the show. He was thrown into the Ring
after repeated violations of the public decency laws. His success there is due
to his ability to combine feminine looks with an unexpected burst of masculine
strength, that catches his opponents off guard. Visiting gladiators have no
idea that the 'shrieking, mewling woman' can crush a trachea with 'her' bare
hands.
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16. The Half-Wit
'Not want fight -- not want fight!'
Big, dumb and gentle, The Half-Wit is a sad sight to behold. He hates the
ring, and must be dragged or prodded into it for each match, after which he
will huddle in place weeping with terror. That's where the rocks come in
handy. A favorite game of the audience is to pelt the Half-Wit with stones
until he snaps; the resulting rampages are impressive and often deadly for the
other combatants.
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17. The Adulteress
A hardened, wiry-framed woman, you can still see a hint of the beauty she once
was. Her former husband caught her in the arms of another man, and sold her to
the Ring after killing her lover. Despite the odds, The Adulteress has
survived a number of matches. She relies heavily on the terrain, using her
wits to lure other warriors into traps or weak positions before striking. It
is surprising how viciously she can kill.
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18. The Tribute
As is customary for many evil regimes, The Empire requires a yearly sacrifice
from each of its conquered territories, in the form of a youth or maiden.
These are either used for religious sacrifices, Minotaur fodder or gladiatorial
combat, depending on the whims of the current Emperor. The Tribute is one such
youth - fair of face and strong in body - that was lucky enough to receive
combat training in his home province before being selected. The gods seem to
favor him, for he has defeated several warriors far stronger and more
experienced than he.
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19. The Insane
'For I am come to deliver you into the Greatest of Wars! Rejoice!'
This man seems to genuinely believe that he is the God of Combat, come to the
Ring to reward and punish his believers. Unsurprisingly, he has developed
quite a rivalry with The Pastor, who denounces his ravings as 'blasphemous'.
To The Insane, the Ring is an altar of sacrifice and the audience is full of
adoring devotees; he will rant and rave semi-religious expressions at them
while declaring his own everlasting glory. Unfortunately for his opponents,
his insanity allows him to shrug off wounds that would be normally
incapacitating, and he has absolutely no fear.
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20. The Foreigner
There's one in every ring - an exotic warrior with strange eyes and coloring,
wielding a weapon both deadly and strange. The Foreigner doesn't speak the
local language and is beginning to despair of ever finding his way home again.
He views everyone with distrust, but he's smart and keeps his eyes open.
Anyone who speaks his language may find a willing accomplice or source of
information, especially if they can promise his freedom in return.
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21. The Sorcerer
This man had no right to survive more than a week in the Ring. He has no
combat training to speak of, and the Ringmaster expected him to go down in his
very first match. Instead, a strange series of unfortunate events keep
befalling the warriors who are matched against him, and he is acquiring a
reputation for 'devil's luck'. In reality, The Sorcerer has a latent magical
talent that expresses itself during times of extreme stress. He is completely
unaware of what he is doing.
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22. The Doomed
'Oh Sirius, Lord of Mercy, preserve me!'
Unlike The Sorcerer, this man has no tricks up his sleeve; he was just an
average wage-earner, sold into slavery after his nation was invaded.
Mid-thirties, strong but bent after years of hard labor, he has no chance of
winning his first match. The worst part is, he knows it. He will be
exceptionally eager to participate in any plan that offers him hope for escape.
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23. The Scarred
No one knows this guy's story; his tongue was removed by the man who sold him
to the Ring, years ago. The Scarred has been horribly and intentionally
disfigured, his face burnt and cut in so many places that there is no telling
what he used to look like. Someone obviously had a strong grudge against him,
though - the scars cover every surface of his body, and he is missing an ear
and several fingers as well. He is such an amazing fighter, however, that
there is a lot of speculation about his former identity.
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24. The Priest of Mathom
'Whenever's good. I'll be here!'
He's never seen a match. Well, that's not exactly true - he was scheduled for
one match, after he'd been in the Ring for several months, but it was canceled
after an enormous delay. His opponent's armor (The Pastor, that time) was
found to be infected with a strain of metal-eating fleas, and the tigers were
all suffering from some sort of stomach illness. Then the lock on his cell was
discovered rusted shut, and the key had gone missing to boot. Meanwhile, the
audience had grown restless and the Ringmaster decided to just reschedule the
Mathomite for a later date.
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25. The Monkey
More Aladdin than Conan, this man is a quick, agile fighter who prefers to go
into the Ring as lightly armored as possible. His insane climbing/jumping
skills allow him to tumble around the arena, evading his more cumbersome
opponents with ease. The Monkey is more adept with a sling than a blade, and
one of his favorite tricks is to pelt the other warriors from a high vantage
point, exploiting tiny weaknesses in their armor. He has killed more than one
foe by slipping a stone right through the eye-slit in their helmet. When
caught, he will try to play 'dead' until his foe makes an exploitable mistake.
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26. The Illusionist
Another one of the profession's rare female combatants, this woman was captured
and tried as a witch before being sold to the Ring for pure entertainment
value. She only knows a handful of minor illusions, and has had to rely on
temporary alliances formed with other prisoners to stay alive. Her magic can
make herself or an ally harder to see, or divert an opponent's attention at a
critical moment. The Illusionist intentionally plays up her reputation as a
witch, hoping to terrify some of the others into making fatal mistakes.
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27. The Wrongfully Accused
An ex-soldier who was tried for murdering a commanding officer, this man has
spent the past several years in the ring, trying to earn enough to win back his
freedom. He won't talk about his crime, because he is covering for the man who
actually killed the officer - a younger friend or brother who should have kept
his temper. He is one of the few captives who will volunteer for extra
matches, knowing that every fight he wins brings him closer to freedom and
family.
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28. The Elderly
One of the few veterans of the Ring, this man has survived more matches than
any man alive, but plays so conservatively that he rarely gets the big tips or
commissions he needs to earn his freedom. The Elderly seems to know everything
- his foes' win/loss records and their favorite tricks, how to get the best
bits of grub from the scraps thrown to them, etc. He can even make small
repairs to armor and keeps his own gear in far better condition than most.
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29. The Orc
A member of a race known for its battle prowess, The Orc is expected to live up
to that fearsome reputation in the arena. The Ringmaster likes to talk up his
many bloody victories in far-off locals, and dresses him in savage garb. Truth
is, he wouldn't have been captured at all if he were a good fighter. This
particular Orc was just support staff for the last orcish invasion - a simple
cook or day laborer. He speaks a few words of broken Common, and is smart
enough to play the role assigned him, knowing that a scared foe is easier for
him to defeat.
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30. The Centaur
The Centaur was actually considered part of the 'animal stock', until he made a
nearly-successful escape attempt from their enclosure. Even now, the
Ringmaster doesn't know exactly how to treat him. Sometimes, he is given a
weapon and pitted against a human opponent. At others, he is chained to arena
like one of the tigers, or made to enter through one of the animal enclosures.
Unlike the human combatants, The Centaur earns no pay and has no hope of
winning his freedom - a fact of which he is bitterly aware.