Retiarius
Prime Requisites: DEX and STR
Requirements: None
Hit Dice: 1d6
Maximum Level: 14
The most readily identifiable of all the gladiators, the retiarius, became popular in the pits of the Auran Empire, when he was paired against the Thrassian gladiators. Naked except for a loincloth, which was held in place by a wide belt; an arm-guard on his left arm, so the right would be less encumbered; and a shoulder-guard. The retiarius carries a weighted throwing net, a three-pronged trident, and a short sword or dagger which he held in his left hand. Still, the retiarius is the most lightly armed of the gladiators.
The retarius makes up for his lack of protective gear by using his speed and agility to avoid his opponent’s attacks, and waiting for the opportunity to strike. He first tries to throw his net over his rival. If this succeeded, he attacks with his trident while his adversary is entangled. Another tactic is to ensnare his enemy’s weapon in the net and pull it out of his grasp, leaving the opponent defenseless. Should the net miss or the enemy gladiator grab hold of it, the retiarius likely discarded the weapon, although he might try to collect it back for a second cast. Usually, the retiarius has to rely on his trident and dagger to finish the fight.
From their many battles with other gladiators retiarii are exceptionally skilled combatants. Retiarii make use of weapons such as the net, spear and dagger, but are also trained with the flail, pole arm, javelin, bola, swords and throwing flasks. They may wear chainmail armor. Retiarii may fight wielding a weapon and shield, wielding a two-handed weapon, or wielding a weapon in each hand, as desired. At first level, retiarii hit an unarmored foe (AC 0) with an attack throw of 10+. They advance in attack throws and saving throws by two points every three levels of experience (i.e. fighters). Retiarii also increase their base damage roll from successful missile and melee attacks by +1 at 1st level and by an additional +1 at 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 12th level.
A retiarius also has the ability to backstab as a thief of the same level. When backstabbing, the retiarius will receive an attack bonus of +4 and, if successful, deal additional damage for every four levels he has attained. A retiarius at 1st through 4th levels does double the normal damage, at 5th-8th levels does triple the normal damage, at 9th-12th levels does quadruple the normal damage, and at 13th level or higher does quintuple the normal damage. In addition, they may perform feats of acrobatics. In lieu of moving during a round, the retiarius may attempt a proficiency throw of 20+ to tumble behind an opponent in melee. The proficiency throw required for the tumble is reduced by 1 per level of experience the character possesses. If successful, the retiarius is now behind his opponent. The opponent loses the benefit of his shield, if any, and the retiarius can backstab his opponent (gaining +4 to his attack throw and bonus damage based on his level). Retiarius also gain a +2 bonus to saving throws where agility would help avoid the situation, such as tilting floors and pit traps.
A retiarius is skilled at holding two weapons, particularly the trident and net. When he is wielding two weapons he gains a +1 bonus to attack throws. Characters fighting with two weapons still make 1 attack, using the primary weapon, but they gain a +1 bonus to the melee attack throw from having the second weapon. Therefore a retiarius would receive a total bonus of +2. If the second weapon is magical, its magical bonus may be added to the attack throw (stacking with another weapon the way a shield stacks with armor), but not to the damage roll. Dual wielding does not give additional attacks.
Instead of making a melee attack, a retiarius may attempt to wrestle with his opponent, either physically or with his net. To wrestle an opponent, the retiarius must succeed on a melee attack throw with a -2 penalty. The opponent must then make a saving throw versus Paralysis with a -2 penalty. If the retiarius is significantly larger than the opponent, the opponent suffers a -6 penalty on his saving throw. If the opponent succeeds on his saving throw, he has shrugged off the retiarius or net. If he fails, he has been grabbed in a wrestling hold or entangled by the net. A retarius who has grabbed an opponent may perform a brawl, force back, disarm, or knock down action each round without having to make an attack throw so long as the hold continues (the opponent still receives a saving throw). A knock down or force back will end the hold, unless the retiarius chooses to move with his held opponent. Other combatants are at +4 on attack throws against the held or entangled opponent, and thieves may backstab him. The retiarius may also receive this bonus if he has used his net to wrestle. The held opponent may make another saving throw versus Paralysis each round to attempt to escape the hold.
A retiarius has suffered many wounds while fighting in the pits. What has not killed him has only made him stronger. Due to the retiarius’s superior resilience, if character is required to consult the Mortal Wounds table, the player may roll twice and choose the preferred result to apply. The character also subtracts his class level from the number of days of bed rest required to recover.
Retiarius Proficiency List: Alertness, Berserkergang, Blind Fighting, Bribery, Cat burglary, Climbing, Combat Reflexes, Combat Trickery (disarm, force back, knock down, overrun, sunder), Command, Dungeon Bashing, Eavesdropping, Endurance, Fighting Style, Intimidation, Labor, Martial Training, Precise Shooting, Riding, Running, Skirmishing, Skulking, Survival, Swashbuckling, Trapping, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus
Gladiator champion template: This pre-generated template represents a slave who earned his freedom in the pits. The template is ready for adventure. However, if your retiarius’s INT is 13 or greater, you may pick one or more additional general proficiencies before play if you’d like (see Starting Proficiencies in Chapter 4).
Proficiencies: Combat Reflexes, Survival
Starting Equipment: Ring mail, spear (trident), weighted net, backpack, dagger, 6 torches, tinder box, 50’ rope, 2 weeks standard rations, waterskin, leather sandals, serf tunic and pants, writ of freedom
Retiarius Level Progression
XP - Title - Lvl - Hit Dice
0 - Gladiator - 1 - 1d6
2,000 - Adventurer - 2 - 2d6
4,000 - Warrior - 3 - 3d6
8,000 - Fighter - 4 - 4d6
16,000 - Myrmidon - 5 - 5d6
32,000 - Champion - 6 - 6d6
65,000 - Hero - 7 - 7d6
130,000 - Paragon - 8 - 8d6
250,000- Warlord - 9 - 9d6
370,000 - Warlord 10th - 10 - 9d6+2
490,000 - Warlord 11th - 11 - 9d6+4
610,000 - Warlord 12th - 12 - 9d6+6
730,000 - Warlord 13th - 13 - 9d6+8
850,000 - Overlord - 14 - 9d6+10
Retiarius Attack and Saving Throws
Level Petrif. & Paralysis Poison & Death Blast & Breath Staffs & Wands Spells Atk. Thr.
1 15+ 14+ 16+ 16+ 17+ 10+
2–3 14+ 13+ 15+ 15+ 16+ 9+
4 13+ 12+ 14+ 14+ 15+ 8+
5–6 12+ 11+ 13+ 13+ 14+ 7+
7 11+ 10+ 12+ 12+ 13+ 6+
8–9 10+ 9+ 11+ 11+ 12+ 5+
10 9+ 8+ 10+ 10+ 11+ 4+
11–128+ 7+ 9+ 9+ 10+ 3+
13 7+ 6+ 8+ 8+ 9+ 2+
14 6+ 5+ 7+ 7+ 8+ 1+
Class Specifics
HD: 1
Fighting: 2
(2 custom powers= 300 XP)
Thievery: 1
Backstab (2 custom powers)
Custom Powers
Acrobatics
Backstab
Fighting Style: Two Weapons
Combat Trickery: Wrestle
Savage Resilience