Gladiator

Practitioners of the Gladiator sphere are experts at fighting with flair and style in order to manipulate the emotions and actions of their enemies, their allies, or the crowd. The gladiator understands that winning is a mental game; if you can convince your enemy that you should be feared, the battle is half-finished already. When you gain the Gladiator sphere, you gain 5 ranks in the Intimidate skill, plus 5 ranks per additional talent spent in the Gladiator sphere (maximum ranks equal to your total Hit Dice). If you already have ranks in Intimidate you may immediately retrain them, but you do not get to retrain when only temporarily gaining talents, such as through the armiger’s customized weapons class feature.

Boast

As long as you have martial focus, after confirming a critical hit, reducing an enemy to 0 or fewer hit points, or succeeding on a combat maneuver, you may perform a boast as an immediate action. Talents with the (boast) descriptor grant additional options for your boast. Each boast may only use one of these talents. Some boasts affect other creatures; a creature must be able to see or hear you and have an Intelligence score (not Intelligence (-)) to be effected. Boasts have a range of close (25 ft. + 5 ft. per 2 ranks in Intimidate you possess). When you gain the Gladiator sphere, you learn the following boast:

Prowess (boast)

You may roll the next weapon attack you make before the end of your next turn twice and take the better result.

Demoralization

Some talents in this sphere have effects that allow new ways to make Intimidate skill checks to demoralize enemies or grant new options against demoralized foes. These talents carry the (demoralization) descriptor. When you gain the Gladiator sphere, you learn the following (demoralization) ability:

Strike Fear (demoralization)

As a full-round action, you may expend martial focus to make an Intimidate check to demoralize all targets within 30 ft. of you who can both see and hear you. You may choose to take a -10 penalty on the check; if you do so you do not have to expend martial focus. Associated Feat: Dazzling Display.

Gladiator Talents

Derision

When a creature misses when targeting you with an attack roll or fails on a combat maneuver against you, you may perform a boast as an immediate action.

Fan Favorite

You may perform a boast as a free action even when it is not your turn whenever you succeed on a saving throw against an effect originating from a hostile creature.

Master of Fear

You no longer need to expend your martial focus when using your strike fear ability, and may use your strike fear ability as a standard action rather than a full-round action.

Self Confidence

You may perform a boast as a standard action to recover your martial focus. Doing so does not require the normal triggering condition for a boast.

Theatrical Boast

The range of your boast increases to medium (100 ft. + 10 ft. per rank in Intimidate you possess).

Trash Talker

You may expend your martial focus when making a boast to apply two (boast) talents.

Uncowed

You gain a morale bonus equal to 1/2 your ranks in Intimidate to the DC of any check to demoralize you (minimum 1) and gain a +1 morale bonus on all saves against fear effects. For every 5 points of base attack bonus you possess, the bonus on saves against fear effects increases by +1.

When a creature attempts to Intimidate you and fails, or when you succeed on a save against a fear effect, you may expend martial focus to make a demoralization check against the creature who initiated the effect.

Boast Talents

Bloodthirst (boast)

Success spurs you to keep up the assault. You may make an attack against an enemy within the area of your boast using a wielded weapon as part of your boast.

Caper (boast)

Your extravagant and unusual display confounds your foes. Until the start of your next turn, any creature within range of this boast that attempts to target you with an attack roll must make a Will save or lose their attack, though if making a full attack may still direct any remaining attacks toward other targets. If they targeted you with a spell, the spell or the portion of the spell targeting you is lost. Once a creature succeeds on a Will save against this ability, it is immune to your use of it for 24 hrs.

Distracting Display (boast)

By calling attention to yourself, you allow your allies to slip from view. Allies other than yourself within range of this boast may immediately make a Stealth check even if they are observed until the end of your next turn. You may not benefit from the Stealth skill until this duration expires. You may choose to activate this boast as a standard action without the normal requirements for activating a boast.

Exemplar (boast)

Your allies within range may roll their next attack or combat maneuver check before the start of your next turn twice and take the better result. You do not benefit from this reroll.

Inspiring Pose (boast)

One allied creature within range may make a new saving throw against any ongoing effect they are currently suffering from that normally grants a saving throw using the original DC, even if they have already failed the initial save and would not normally be granted another. For every 4 ranks in Intimidate you possess, you may affect an additional ally. Failing this additional save does not progress the effects of poisons, diseases, or similar effects that are normally incurred on a failed save.

Menace (boast)

Hostile creatures within range of your boast cannot voluntarily move closer to you unless they succeed on a Will save. This lasts until the start of your next turn. This is a mind-affecting fear effect.

Steel Braggart (boast)

You gain DR/- equal to half your ranks in Intimidate (minimum 1) until the start of your next turn. This damage reduction stacks with any other damage reduction you possess.

Demoralization Talents

Cow Enemy (demoralization)

When you deal damage or succeed on a combat maneuver check against a creature while using the attack or standard action, you may make an Intimidate check to demoralize that creature as a swift action.

Coward’s Bane (demoralization)

You may roll twice and take the better result on the first attack of each round targeting a creature suffering from your demoralization.

Daunting (demoralization)

When a creature that is under the effects of your demoralization misses you with an attack or fails on a combat maneuver check targeting you, they provoke an attack of opportunity from you.

Frightful (demoralization)

You may escalate the effect of fear effects when you use the Intimidate skill to demoralize by increasing the demoralize DC. You may make a shaken creature frightened by increasing the DC by +10 and a frightened creature panicked by increasing the DC by +20. You must choose to apply this DC increase prior to making the check.

Piercing Fear (demoralization)

You may expend martial focus as part of an Intimidate check to demoralize to overcome a creature’s defenses, treating immunity to fear and mind-affecting effects as a +5 DC increase to the check’s DC (the DC only increases by +5 once, regardless of if the creature has immunity to both fear and mind-affecting effects).

Spectacle (demoralization)

Any time you confirm a critical hit or reduce an enemy to 0 of fewer hit points, you may use your strike fear ability as an immediate action.

Legendary Talents

Aura of Fear (demoralize)

Prerequisite(s): Gladiator sphere, Intimidate 7 ranks.

All hostile creatures that come within close range (25 ft. + 5 ft. per 2 base attack bonus) must make a Will save or be shaken for as long as they remain within the area of effect, +1d4 rounds. Once a creature has succeeded on this save, it is immune to your use of this ability for 24 hrs. If the creature is already shaken, it instead becomes frightened. Frightened creatures become panicked. Creatures with more Hit Dice than you are immune to this effect.

This is an extraordinary (fear) effect. You may suppress or resume this ability as a free action. This ability ceases to function if you are stunned, paralyzed, unconscious, dead, or otherwise incapacitated.

Burn the Chaff

Prerequisite(s): Gladiator sphere, base attack bonus +10.

Whenever you make a melee attack (including attacks of opportunity) against a target with a CR less than half your BAB that is suffering from a fear effect, your attack is an automatic critical hit. The target must pass a Fortitude save (DC 10 + damage dealt) or die.

Deafening Clangor

Prerequisite(s): Gladiator sphere Strike Fear demoralization, Shield sphere, Intimidate 5 ranks.

Whenever you perform the strike fear demoralization, you may choose to strike a shield you are wielding with a weapon or limb to produce a deafening clangor. All targets (excluding yourself) within your strike fear range must pass a Fortitude save or become deafened for 1d4+1 rounds. You may warn your allies as a free action to cover their ears and protect them from the effects of the deafening clangor, but doing so gives enemies a +5 bonus to their saving throw against this effect.

Nightmare Fuel

Prerequisite(s): Gladiator sphere, Intimidate 10 ranks.

Whenever you successfully demoralize a target or the target fails a Will save against a fear effect originating from you, you may expend your focus as a free action that may be taken even when it isn’t your turn to force the target to pass a Will save or become permanently afraid of you. While the creature sees your or otherwise becomes aware that you are within 60 ft. of it, it becomes shaken until 1d4 rounds after it no longer believes you are nearby. This effect is permanent until removed by a break enchantment, heal, limited wish, miracle, wish spell, or similar effects. This is a mind-affecting fear effect.