Secundus, Human Fighter 8/ Rogue 1/ Barbarian 3

Secundus was a gladiator. But we was not a slave. His name wasn't really Secundus, he was Johannes, a talented, but only moderately successful leatherworker. He began life in a poor family, and had to resort to theft to feed himself. He never took more than he needed, not out of grace, or pity for those he stole from, but to reduce the chances he would be caught. No one would notice one missing bun, or apple, but take the whole basket, and the guards get involved. This didn't prevent him from being caught, however. He was never particularly talented as a sneak, but he could get away with swiping the odd thing while someone was distracted. When he was caught, it wasn't by the city guards, but by one of the local thieves' guilds. Johannes ended up having to work his debt off by doing odd jobs around the hideout, notably, by fixing people's gear. His ability to patch holes and refasten straps was unmatched by any of the thugs he worked for, although the only recognition he got for it was that all the leatherworking got dumped off on him. Eventually, as a young adult, he worked his debt away, and stayed on as a paid member of the guild. He began to enjoy going out at night to rough up the merchants, and was known to stay back to fight the guards, not because it was necessary, but because they put up more of a fight. He never killed any, at least not on purpose, because again, that would draw too much attention. He started to rely on wrestling techniques to subdue the guards, rather than just beating them senseless. From the robberies, and his work at the guild, he managed to save enough to start a small shop in one of the poorer areas. Johannes lived a quite normal life after that, preferring to stay with the less dangerous, honest work. But he started to drift back to the old days, the fighting. He would get in more arguments with customers, sometimes on purpose. We was aggravated, more often than not. He started going to the Circus. One day he realised the solution. He wanted to jump into the ring. He tracked down a lanista and demanded to be trained. Johannes, or rather at that point, Secundus, excelled at his training, learning to take hits, fight animals, and ride chariots. He became a master not only at subduing his opponents, but bloodying them up first, much to the delight of the crowds. He made his own armour, and wrapped himself in the hides of powerful animals, hoping to gain their strength. He kept up his double life, and was able to satisfy both his need for violence, and his need for stability. In the Circus, he was undefeated. 5e statistics

Stats: str: 20 (+5) dex: 14 (+2) con: 17 (+3) int: 9 (-1) wis: 12 (+1) cha: 12 (+1) HP: 46 + (7d10) + (1d8) + (3d12) (108.5 average) Hit dice: 8d10, 3d12, 1d8 AC: 15 Unarmoured, 13 leather armour Resistances: Non-psychic (while raging) Advantage on visible source dex saves, while not blind, deaf, or incapacitated Speed: 30' Proficiencies (+4): Armour, shields; simple/martial/improvised/unarmed weapons Strength, constitution saves, Acrobatics, Athletics (expertise), Performance (expertise), Perception, Intimidation, Sleight of hand Thieves' tools, land vehicles, sea vehicles Common, Thieves' Cant, leatherworker's tools Attacks (x2): Unarmed Strike: +9, 1d4 + 5 (+2 rage), grapple as bonus action Improvised weapon: +9, xdy + 7, (+1d6 SA) (+2 rage), grapple as bonus action Short Sword: +9, 1d6 + 7 (+1d6 SA) (+2 rage) Grapple/Shove: (advantage if raging), +13 Bonus Actions: Rage Grapple (after unarmed strike) +13 Second Wind: +1d10+8 hp Reaction: AoO Parry (M): reduce damage from a melee attack by 1d8+2 Riposte (M): after an enemy misses you, make a melee weapon attack and add 1d8 to damage Other: Action surge Precision attack (M): After rolling to attack, before determining success, add 1d8 Pushing Attack (M): on a hit, add 1d8 damage; large or smaller, str save vs. 15' push Trip Attack (M): on a hit, add 1d8 damage; large or smaller, str save vs. Prone Know your enemy: Determine relative power of an enemy after studying them for 1 minute. Ritual casting: Beast Sense, Speak with Animals. Strategy:

Opening gambit: Bonus action: rage. Take the attack action, attack with the shortsword. On a hit, attempt a trip attack. Replace extra attack with grapple attempt. This is a contest where you have advantage and +13 to the roll. Target is likely grappled and prone. All your friends in melee range have advantage on all attack rolls against them, target has disadvantage on all attack rolls. Also, they can't stand up. Turns while not grappling: unarmed/improvised attack (trip attack), grapple attempt bonus action, shove prone, or attack with shortsword. Turns while grappling: If they're not prone, knock them prone with advantage and a +13. Attack with the shortsword otherwise. Even if no one is near you, they are prone, giving you advantage, so you get your +1d6 sneak attack once per turn. If you're low on health, you can second wind, now that your bonus actions are free. Advanced techniques: Grapple -> move to chasm -> push 15' with pushing attack, or just shove them into chasm -> dead, or very, very injured. Strengths: Fighting a single monster. Everyone can move into melee range and beat them up with advantage, while rarely being hit because the monster has disadvantage. On a good turn, you can attack twice, with advantage, and deal a total of 3d6 + 18 damage, while granting your melee-range friends advantage on everything they do. You can suplex people off cliffs. Limitations: Can't grapple gargantuan monsters, can only grapple huge monsters if enlarged by the wizard. Horde fights are pretty much the hard counter to this build. info by class features Fighter 8: Dueling: +2 damage with a single wielded melee weapon Second wind: bonus action, 1d10 + 8 hp Action surge ASI 1 (+2 str) Extra attack ASI 2 (+1 str, + 1 con) ASI 3 (+2 con) Maneuvers (5d8): Parry, Precision attack, Pushing attack, Riposte, Trip attack Know your enemy Barbarian 3: Rage (3/day) – adv str checks/saves, +2 damage, resist all damage except psychic Unarmoured defense: AC = 10 + con + dex advantage on visible source dex saves, while not blind, deaf, or incapacitated Beast sense, speak with animals as a ritual. Rogue 1: +1d6 sneak attack Expertise Feats: Tavern Brawler +1 str 1d4 on unarmed strike After an unarmed strike or improvised weapon hit, grapple as a bonus action