Need ideas for gladiators

[A2Z]

I will shortly be running my players through a gladiator game in the Dark Sun setting and I need to come up with a number of gladiators for them to face. I started with generic write ups for the novice and intermediate level gladiators but I need some more substantial NPCs for when the PCs get to more involved fights.

I'm looking for ideas on combos that'll make each individual fighter stand out a little bit. So far I have (all level 5):

a half elf grappling monk
a power attacking half giant
a dire flail wielding mul who focus' on trip attacks
a two short sword wielding sneak attacking ranger rogue
an attack buffing human psychc warrior
a halfling soulknife
a young desert giant with a large rock on a chain
a psion shaper to go against the party's psion

Unfortunately that's not nearly enough and I'm running out of ideas and don't really want to reuse the same styles. So, I don't really need people to write up whole NPCs (unless you really want to), I just need some ideas I can work from.

 

[Tonguez]

I created a gladiator who was a ghoul Psychic Warrior

using pointbuy and having Con as the ultimate dump stat was way kewl

 

[Nuclear Platypus]

a pair of halflings that only fight in tandem
martial artists using animal styles
a blind fighter preferring close combat tactics or go the mystic route (doesn't need to see so range doesn't matter as much)
thri-kreen (surprised there's no bugs)
a tattooed mul that speaks only in the 3rd person, always referring to himself as "the People's Gladiator"
another odd pair, halfgiant and a halfelf (halfling?) to compensate for the other's weaknesses
the child of one of the Sorceror Kings that's in the games for kicks (use an altered half dragon template?)
dwarf using escrima sticks / singing sticks
human / half elf master of the staff (think Kilik from Soul Calibur)

Borrow some ideas from movies, wrestling or fighting games and just file off the serial numbers. Kinda hard to do with the People's Gladiator tho. Maybe his former tag team partner / mask wearing legend, Mulkind? Nevermind.

 

[A2Z]

a pair of halflings that only fight in tandem
martial artists using animal styles
a blind fighter preferring close combat tactics or go the mystic route (doesn't need to see so range doesn't matter as much)
thri-kreen (surprised there's no bugs)
a tattooed mul that speaks only in the 3rd person, always referring to himself as "the People's Gladiator"
another odd pair, halfgiant and a halfelf (halfling?) to compensate for the other's weaknesses
the child of one of the Sorceror Kings that's in the games for kicks (use an altered half dragon template?)
dwarf using escrima sticks / singing sticks
human / half elf master of the staff (think Kilik from Soul Calibur)

Borrow some ideas from movies, wrestling or fighting games and just file off the serial numbers. Kinda hard to do with the People's Gladiator tho. Maybe his former tag team partner / mask wearing legend, Mulkind? Nevermind.

Some good ideas there. Although I don't think I'll use the Rock really. Teams are a pretty good idea. How about ideas to spice up the matches?

 

[Nuclear Platypus]

How about:

fighting is done on poles, possibly with flames below like the final fight in Iron Monkey
a variation would be on a tightrope / narrow surface over spikes, fire, etc.
King of the Mountain
Last Man Standing
Iron Man Match
Cage Match but with hugemongous spikes
gladiators vs animals might be interesting
for the morbid humor and just play bizarre, halflings dressed as clowns vs well armed noncombatants (enslaved nobles or whatever)
constantly changing terrain (I think Tyr's arena did that)