Editing Gladiator (section)

==DnD==
In [[Dungeons & Dragons]], gladiators first appeared as a variant [[Fighter]] class from ''[[Dark Sun]]'' in the [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] game. While the ''Dark Sun'' fighter got lots of social powers revolving around leading armies and attracting followers, the gladiator stood out as the meanest bitch on the block in an edition where the fighter was already the king of combat.  

The Athas Dot Org update of Dark Sun to third edition made Gladiator a weird class that got a bunch of random exotic weapons, a good reflex save, some support abilities, passable skill points per level and variant bardic music. They'd probably be a [[Tier System|very low Tier 4 or high tier 5]]. The [[Dragon Magazine]] update said they're just Fighters with particular builds.

This would later be remade into a character theme in 4th edition, whilst [[Dragon Magazine]] would have articles on playing gladiator-themed characters in general, for both 3rd edition and 4th edition. Returns in 5th edition as an alternate for the Entertainer Background that grants Proficiency in Acrobatics and Performance, as well as, oddly, a disguise kit and a musical instrument that can be replaced with a more traditional weapon like a trident.  ''[[Pathfinder]]'', naturally, gave the fighter an archetype that focuses on gladiatorial combat, and one sourcebook features a whole system of "Performance Combat" centered around gladiatorial contests.

In 5e the Gladiator comes back with a variant background for Entertainers. Rather then a more traditional entertainer, singing or music of the like, you can be a Gladiator, a show fighter. You can swap out your musical instrument for a ''inexpensive but unusual weapon, such as a trident or net'', and you can use your feature to find places to fight for money.