Gladiator

Gladiators are characters that often come from the Arena Fighter background and learned the art of war by fighting for their lives for the entertainment of blood-sport fans.

They are skilled in unusual martial weapons, they know how to protect themselves with minimal armor, and they are adept at fighting dirty. They also have a flair for the dramatic that gives them bonuses to certain skills.

Gladiators need not continue fighting in the arena to gain this martial archetype—they may have won their freedom, escaped captivity, or might have never been enslaved in the first place—though they may choose to return to the arena to fight to win fame and glory.

Armored While Armorless

At 3rd level, your Armor Class is calculated the same as that of a monk (AC = 10 + Dexterity modifier + Wisdom modifier). This increases by +1 every time you receive another martial archetype feature (levels 7, 10, 15, and 18, to a maximum of +18).

Dirty Fighting

At 7th level, you can attempt to distract an opponent in order to deal additional damage. As an attack action, you may make a contested skill check against your opponent, using one of the following skills: Deception, Intimidation, Performance, or Persuasion. If successful, your opponent allows their guard to slip for a moment and you add either your Strength or Dexterity bonus (whichever one you do not usually use) to the damage. If you fail this contest, your opponent figures out that this is a ploy and they add their Strength or Dexterity bonus (whichever one they do not typically use) to their Armor Class.

Tactical Adjustment

At 10th level, you have learned to avoid being flanked by your enemies. If you are fighting an opponent and one or more opponents move to threaten you, you may move 5 feet. in any direction as a reaction without provoking an opportunity attack. This adjustment is made after your opponent’s move but before they attack. The square you move to must be threatened by at least one less creature than you would have had to fight before taking the tactical adjustment. You may do this even if you have already taken your full move for the round.

Improved Dirty Fighting

At 15th level, you haves mastered the art of throwing your opponent off guard during battle. You now receive Advantage on your Dirty Fighting checks.

Improved Armored While Armorless

At 18th level, you have mastered the ability to be protected without armor. You gain a +2 to your AC, and the maximum AC you may have is now 20.