D20x5 Gratuitous Gladiators

Gladiators are coming back. This is my late 21st century prediction.

D20	This Gladiator Is Armed With...
1	A trident and weighted net.
2	A trio of barber juggling-daggers.
3	A sword that seems too big to be practical.
4	A greatclub studded with iron knobs shaped like angry faces.
5	A spear and shield, both designed with unicorn motifs.
6	A mace with a hollow head and internal brazier that billows colourful smoke.
7	Something like a halberd, with more edges and pointy bits than seems necessary.
8	Bladed cestuses (cestii?).
9	A lasso and a short, wide chopping sword.
10	A hooked axe and spiky buckler.
11	Manticore spikes and an atlatl sturdy enough to be used as a bludgeon.
12	A brace of pistols more decorative than functional, shaped to make a sound like a tiger’s roar when fired.
13	A set of bolas heavy enough to act like flails in the right hands (this gladiator’s hands are right).
14	A glaive with an oil-siphon on one end and a sparking butt on the other.
15	Chains tipped with claws.
16	A pair of bladed war-fans.
17	A poleaxe with a head at each end.
18	An urumi.
19	A set of javelins with rockets built into the heads.
20	Something between a beartrap and a boxing glove.

D20	This Gladiator Is Armoured With...
1	A skirt and crown of peacock feathers, with treated leather beneath.
2	A coat of bronze scales polished to a mirror-sheen, each scale inscribed with the name of a gladiator who died in the arena.
3	A massive, multi-piece mask that protects their face, shoulders, and torso.
4	Nothing but a shiny coating of oil.
5	A chainmail cape.
6	A round helmet covered in spikes, and a bulbous codpiece covered in the same.
7	Old, pitted bracers and greaves.
8	Wolf-skin leather armour designed to look like a pack is dragging the gladiator to ground.
9	A frogskin bodysuit still slick with psychedelic slime.
10	A vest and skirt of metal-and-wood segments, painted with scenes of battles and parties.
11	A breastplate, helm, and greaves that cover only the front half of their body.
12	Comically oversized pauldrons engraved with images of giants holding up the sky.
13	A live, thick-scaled serpent coiled around their body.
14	Mats of ivy densely woven into a green suit.
15	Steel plates secured by piercings through their skin. Protects them well, but every impact brings agonizing tears.
16	So many amulets, talismans, and periapts you can’t quite see them underneath it all.
17	Fishleather stretched over a rattan frame to resemble the fins and crests of a lionfish.
18	Tin bell-plates that ring pleasingly when struck.
19	Heavy bronze half-plate decorated with relief-sculpture scenes of their own violent deaths.
20	Spikes strapped across their body like a bear-hunting suit.

D20	Before Becoming A Gladiator, This Gladiator Was...
1	A slave captured from a now-conquered people.
2	A heretic condemned to death, yet impressed the crowd enough to receive more condemnations.
3	A noble who could only cure their ennui by risking life and limb.
4	A compulsive gambler whose debts caught up with them.
5	A soldier’s child disqualified from military service for their unfit mentality.
6	A simple farmer dissatisfied with their lot in life.
7	A bodyguard who failed to protect their charge and was subsequently sued into pennilessness.
8	A student of history who longed to live the bloody battles they read about.
9	A wizard defeated by a rival, then partially lobotomized and sold to slavers.
10	A young orphan, plucked off the streets and raised to be the ideal fighter.
11	An architect whose magnum opus collapsed, and so they were put to deadly work until their weregild was paid.
12	A scout who misreported an enemy’s movements and afterwards willingly became a gladiator to cleanse their shame in blood.
13	A theatrical actor who felt they weren’t getting enough attention for their art, and settled for fame in the arena.
14	A court jester. They’re doing the gladiator thing as an involved, extended bit.
15	A freak of nature, a monstrous birth too strong and brutal to do anything else.
16	A confection seller who catered to the crowds of the arena and finally couldn’t resist a taste of the action.
17	A war veteran who wanted the killing without the drudgery of campaigning.
18	A temple acolyte who believed they could gain the favour of senior priests by dedicating their victories to the faith.
19	A physician seeking to perfect their work by inflicting injuries rather than healing them.
20	A dancer who suffered a sickness that robbed them of the more beautiful part of their grace.

D20	This Gladiator’s Vice Is...
1	Weird sex with weirder people.
2	Memory-regressing drugs that bring them back to the time before they became a gladiator.
3	Beating the helpless young of the same animals they face in the arena.
4	Listening to people recount their own fights back to them for hours on end.
5	Exercising until they pass out from exhaustion.
6	Eating all of what or who they kill in one gluttonous sitting.
7	Shit-talking their opponents, making grand boasts they can’t back up.
8	Making secret appeals to bloodthirsty gods.
9	Rigging fights to take cuts from illegal betting rings.
10	Taking pupils under their wing and training them with a fatal flaw only this gladiator could exploit.
11	Treating their weapon like a lover, sleeping with it, whispering sweet nothings to it, and the like.
12	Sadistically playing with their enemies like a cat with its prey.
13	Obsessively studying more successful gladiators then emulating their lives and mannerisms in an attempt to capture their power.
14	Blowing their pay on gladiatorial memorabilia. Famous fighters’ equipment, body parts, and suchlike.
15	Contrarian disobedience of the will of the crowds.
16	Patronizing artists to make works depicting them heroically, and hosting exhibitions of the same.
17	Attracting entourages of marginal figures.
18	A pointed aversion to thinking deeply about anything outside the arena.
19	Constant, morbid ruminations on death and the fragility of life.
20	Holding grudges beyond all reason.

D20	This Gladiator’s Career...
1	Has just begun.
2	Is approaching its end as age slows them down.
3	Peaked a while ago, and they’re attempting to stage a comeback.
4	Is buoyed by their private sponsors.
5	Has started recovering after a near career-ending injury.
6	Dragged them back to fight after a brief retirement.
7	Has left them so far undefeated.
8	Has made them a fan-favourite for their crowd-pleasing antics.
9	Took off explosively, and they’re taking greater risks to maintain that momentum.
10	Is in the midst of transitioning to more of a coaching role than a fighting one.
11	Has has them play a supporting role to more senior fighters, and they’re hungry for their shot at the limelight.
12	Has had to rely on even more gimmicks and unconventional matches than usual to maintain public interest.
13	Has just about collected them enough funds to purchase their retirement.
14	Is about to drop as they’ve been paid off to take a dive.
15	Is the only thing they’ve got going. They have nothing else, desire nothing else.
16	Is being driven behind the scenes by something unearthly.
17	Is a joke to the crowds.
18	Is mostly hype, with few actual accomplishments.
19	Is being sabotaged by a rival of theirs.
20	Has been statically mediocre for as long as anyone cares to remember.