Gladiator Combat Exoskeleton - Technical Readout Vehicle Annex page 185
When first seen, the Gladiator was one of those few units that do exactly what it says on the tin. Built to fight in the Class One league of the mechanized fight pits of Solaris VII, the original Gladiator was tailored for that task and that alone, being little more than a death trap outside the artificial confines of the arena. From this limited beginning, a new variant is finally breaking the mold, based upon a custom version owned by one of the stars of the circuit and tweaked further to suit the troops of the Inner Sphere instead of the cheering crowds.
The Gladiator was first published in Technical Readout Vehicle Annex, and has now been re-published in the revised version of the Readout. Along with the general editing, and some new units and variants, the revision expands upon the stats for many units described in the original Readout. In the case of the Gladiator, a design quirk and manufacturer details have been added and we also have a suggested manipulator configuration.
Introduced in 3056 by Solaris Arms, better known for their custom BattleMechs than for their lowly combat exoskeleton, the basic Gladiator isn't really much to look at when compared to militarized PA(L)s, let alone full-sized battle armor. The suit is only capable of moving at the speed of an unaugmented human and also lacks any built-in ranged weaponry. The Gladiator does mount the maximum armor for an exoskeleton, which isn't saying much in battlefield terms if we're being brutally honest, plus it must also be noted that the suit lacks environmental sealing, which would also limit its combat potential outside of the artificial confines of the arena.
The Gladiator's main feature is its twin modular equipment adaptors, which allows it to be fitted with any manipulator types, even twin Heavy Vibro-Claws, thanks to the 200kg capacity remaining after accounting for the bare chassis. The fluff in Technical Readout Vehicle Annex does mention the use of various melee weapons as well, which technically can't be wielded under the Total War rules, but I strongly suspect that most arena fighters agree to follow the RPG rules instead, otherwise they'd be unable to harm each other. The original Readout didn't actually assign any standard manipulators, which can be awkward for players who want to use strictly canon units, which is a problem addressed in the revised Readout with the choice between either a twin armored glove configuration or one that combines a battle claw with an industrial drill.
With the bare minimum mobility for powered armor, moving on the ground at a mere one Movement Point per Turn, wrapped in an all but negligible two points of armor, the Gladiator is neither going to win many foot races nor withstand much more than harsh language. The latter probably leads to short and bloody matches in the arena, which perhaps makes the proles sated and happy, but in the BattleTech game your best use of a Gladiator is as an initiative sink or - if you're feeling particularly frisky - a spotter. Assuming the use of at least one armored glove, you could equip the suit with an infantry weapon, however even the most powerful guns will inflict relatively little damage with a successful attack due to the small size of powered armor units. With the right manipulators and no small measure of good fortune, a Gladiator unit might find itself in the position to inflict an Anti-'Mech attack, which can be very satisfying if you get lucky with the dice rolls. Of course, such satisfaction is unfortunately likely to be short lived for the Gladiator squad.
Solaris Arms did try to sell the Anti-'Mech capability when offering the Gladiator to the militaries of the Inner Sphere, but the company found no buyers and so the design languished in the arenas of Solaris VII. Despite being restricted to such a limited market, Solaris Arms produced at least one known variant in 3076, albeit one that was produced solely for their most prized fighter. Published in Experimental Technical Readout Gladiators and operated by Abasi Oteke, a twenty year veteran and star of the Class One circuit, "The Spider" is really just a custom refit rather than a true variant, but it does eventually help the Gladiator to break free from its shackles and escape the confines of the Games.
Removing the modular equipment adaptors, the Spider possesses a fixed armored glove on its right arm, while the left as a Battle Vibro-Claw. The Vibro-Claw allows the Spider to inflict damage during Swarm attacks as well as during melee combat with other infantry, while the glove retains the ability to carry an infantry weapon. Not content with these changes to the suit's "armament", Solaris Arms also upgraded the ground motive capability and added Mechanical Jump Boosters, thus providing a limited jump capability. Now able to run three Movement Points or leap thirty meters at a time, the Spider is much more mobile than the basic model, to the point that it now makes for a marginally viable urban scout.
Invented by the Lyrans and first seen in larger form on 'Mechs, the Jump Boosters do at least allow the Spider to generate a Target Movement Modifier when both running and jumping, but the limitations of the system mean that the prevent the suit from making an Anti-'Mech attack in the Turn that they're used, plus they don't provide any cushioning effect for falls.
With the same armor as the base suit, the Spider's last customization is the installation of Magnetic Clamps. More commonly used by military suits to hitch a ride on non-Omni 'Mechs and vehicles, Oteke used the clamps to cling to any handy metallic structures in the arenas, allowing him to drop onto his foes as they pass by underneath, hopefully catching them by surprise. This tactic appears to be the origin of the refit's nickname.
During the Jihad, Oteke fought for the Solaris Home Defense League to help oust the Blakist occupiers of Solaris VII, losing a leg in the process and thus finally ending his fight career. Solaris Arms also suffered, losing all of its manufacturing plants and having donated, willingly or otherwise, most of its ready inventory. Unable to stay in business, the company folded and its technical databases were bought by StarCorps, a recent entrant to the world of combat powered suits. The new owners decided that the Spider, appropriately modified for military use with consultancy assistance from Oteke, would be an excellent sales prospect in the post-Jihad world. With reduced construction capability throughout the Inner Sphere, as well as tightened budgets, potential buyers were far more willing to consider fielding mere PA(L)s and Exoskeletons instead of more capable but more expensive Battle Armor.
Introduced in Technical Readout Prototypes and dubbed the Gladiator-S, the refined and mass-produced version of the Spider is still designated and designed as an Exoskeleton rather than a PA(L), which is unusual for a suit intended for military use. While it has the requisite armor, the Gladiator-S lacks an Extended Life Support system, which means that it cannot be used in hostile atmospheres or vacuums, a weakness that could have been avoided by simply building it as a PA(L) instead. Other than an Exoskeleton chassis having a lower Tech rating and easier availability, there's no other difference between it and a Powered Armor (Light) chassis, so there's really no reason for the Gladiator-S to be an Exoskeleton.
The Gladiator-S went on sale in 3084, using footage of Oteke's fights in the arena and against the Blakist invaders to help market the design, but oddly enough StarCorps have decided to limit production. As of Technical Readout Prototypes, the design is mostly sold to small mercenary units, primarily those with corporate contracts in what are described as semi-hostile environments. Presumably the latter refers to the likelihood of being shot at rather than dangerous atmospheric conditions given the lack of Extended Life Support.
The improvements to the Gladiator-S over the original Spider are relatively modest, consisting of forearm-mounted Anti-Personnel Weapon Mounts as well as an increase to the ground speed. The latter doesn't improve the ability to generate Target Movement Modifiers, but being able to move a fourth hex each Turn can obviously be very useful at times.
As noted above, the original Gladiator can be used as an initiative sink and spotter, and occasionally might manage an Anti-'Mech attack, but that's about it for standard BattleTech scenarios. With the right manipulators, the suit can technically be a decent marine boarding unit, able to achieve up to 3.25 points per suit, bizarrely making it superior to an IS Standard armed with a Small Laser, the latter suit providing just 2 points each. Yet again this highlights the somewhat silly nature of the marine boarding system if you look too closely, considering that during BattleTech scenarios the IS Standard could one-shot kill the Gladiator at up to 90 meters, while the Gladiator would require five Turns at melee range to kill its foe. Both the Spider and Gladiator-S provide only 2 marine points, but personally I still consider that to be too generous.
The Spider's manipulator configuration provides an example of probably the best all round setup, offering some melee capability - including the ability to attack other infantry - as well as being able to wield weapons up to and including the Man-Portable Plasma Rifle. The glove/vibro combo loses out on pure melee performance compared to twin vibro or twin magnetic manipulators, but being able to actually shoot an opponent at up to 270 meters away, depending upon the weaponry carried, shouldn't be discounted. More importantly, wielding an infantry TAG instead of a gun effectively allows the Gladiator to "wield" a far bigger hammer if the appropriate fire support is available.
The paired AP Weapon Mounts fitted to the Gladiator-S don't add any extra capability under the Total War rules, given that only a single weapon may be fired each Turn, but many players allow different weapons to be installed on each mount, each covering a different role. One such mix might be an ER Laser Rifle on one arm for long range fire, a M42B for greater short range firepower on the other, and then an infantry TAG wielded in the glove. The increased ground speed and limited jump capability of both the Spider and Gladiator-S make them more viable combatants, at least in cities, but the lack of armor and limited heavy firepower still restrict their performance compared to real Battle Armor.
Whether as a flavor piece or for the simple entertainment of fielding such a unit, the Gladiator family isn't likely to be a common player choice, matching its limited in-universe deployment. With the Gladiator and its variants you get what you pay for, and with such a low BV and CBill cost, it should not be of any surprise that you're not buying yourself a game breaker when you add them to your force.
Next up:
- Kopis
- Gorilla
- Smoothdavid
- Tunnel Rat