“Monster-bait? Oh, I’m sure you can do worse than that. Go on, give me something I haven’t heard before!”
”…“
Seriously, you think I’m going to be intimidated by the likes of you? I assure you, sweetheart — I’ve faced worse.”
- A conversation overheard between gossip reporter Provocateur and the famed Gladiator Second Wind.
While every fight in the main Championships is Monster-on-Monster, these are not the only fights in the Arena.
For the brave, the foolhardy, the incorrigibly reckless Monster-bait, and for the entertainment of the more bloodthirsty fans, there are… the Gladiatorial Fights. One human, one Monster.
“Scraps looks confident, but we’re about to find out which Monster she’ll be facing… the gates are opening… AND THE CROWD GOES WILD! IT’S NONE OTHER THAN MECHANOCEROS, THE VERY FIRST MONSTER SHE TRAINED! AND IT LOOKS HUNGRY!”
- Commentator Scrum during the Blood Frenzy series between Seasons XXXIV and XXXV.
Gladiatorial Fights are less flashy than the usual Monster v Monster matches - the human contender not having the special powers that make Monsters so exciting to watch, and the Monster often being a weaker, greener, or less aggressive specimen.
Subsequently, the audiences these fights draw are often much smaller than those for the headline Monster Fights, which makes them generally a more intimate experience. For a popular Championship Fight, the Arena seats are packed to the rafters, and… well, for those, you need binoculars to make out what's going on.
Still, despite the lack of League-topping Monster powers, Gladiatorial Fights can be more… visceral. Once a Gladiator and their Monster opponent enter the Arena, the gates are locked, and they aren't leaving until a victor is declared. Maimings and deaths are common, but not inevitable - the Monsters chosen for these fights are usually selected to be beatable. Just about.
If you're really, really good, you might walk away.
On the other hand, if you've been really, really bad, the Network might just have a say in which Monster you're fighting.
“Did you hear about Chip? Apparently, he’s turned Monster-bait. Insists it’s by choice, but I don’t know… I heard he got into debt with some pretty nasty people last Season…”
A conversation held across a poker table.
Successful Gladiators - those who survive a fight, and those few who come back for more - are the best of the best. Surviving as a Gladiator is a chance to put a lifetime of training to the ultimate test. It's a hell of an adrenaline rush, they say, to have the whole Arena cheering for you - not your Monster, you. And the glory that comes with a win, too… some people will risk anything for fame.
Often, Gladiators are Monster Hunters, using their hard-earned skills at fighting and outwitting Monsters. Or Trainers, looking for a more direct kind of glory. People who know Monsters well enough to figure out their weaknesses and exploit them, to fight them effectively or to improvise traps from the resources in the Arena itself.
Sometimes someone will train specifically to become a Gladiator. That's the kind of daring that wins you Fans, though your career is likely to be short, if dramatic.
And then there are those Gladiators who never wanted to enter the Arena.
The disgraced and the desperate, looking for one last shot at glory.
The misanthropes and undesirables thrown into the Arena by enforcers of those they've displeased to make something of themselves or be dragged out in pieces. Untrained, unprepared - they're exactly what the term “Monster-bait” was coined for. They might not go down in history, but at least they provide some training opportunities for the Monsters pitted against them.
Those who survive - and put on a good enough show - might just redeem themselves. Or they might be thrown back in, next time around. Champions have been made that way, but so have a lot of corpses.
“But of course we say that OUR shining example of ULTIMATE ATHLETICS in the Gladiatorial Fights simply HAS to be the famed Gladiator RIVET, who just few seasons ago beat Oroborous in a bloodless - gasp! - fight. Who can forget watching Rivet leading Oroborous a merry enough chase that it inadvertently tied itself into a constrictor knot? Now that's what we call a PLOT TWIST!”
- 'Pro' Marmaduke Antalan, 'Gladiators of Season XXXVI: Who to Watch?' from the fanzine Blaze
What do they do? Fight.
It's not that simple, of course. Fighting Monsters is a specialised skill, and a Gladiatorial Fight is the ultimate test of it. Each successful Gladiator has a different approach. Perhaps they have a good eye for a Monster's weaknesses, a good turn of speed and skill at dodging, a signature Archaeotech weapon and the skill to make good use of it, or the quick-thinking skills to use the Arena itself against a slower, less clever Monster.
Usually, Gladiators put as much effort as any Trainer - more, since their lives are on the line - into figuring out the individual strengths and weaknesses of every Monster on the roster, and devote themselves to tactical studies. Others hone their own bodies above anything else.
And some just run, try to hide, scream, and break down in tears.
