I'm new to DnD and I'm creating a gladiator (fighter or barbarian) for an upcoming Dark Sun Game, and I liked the idea of using nets and spears.
The Players Handbook implies that net and spear users should have a good dexterity score.
Should I reconsider my main weapon choice?
Best Answer
Nope, that's a perfectly reasonable choice. Here're a couple of ways to build a net-and-spear character. (Which is a great archetype.)
Fighter
Choose fighter if you want to be more about controlling the battlefield than doing damage. I think the net works somewhat better here -- nets, like fighters, are all about control.
You'd probably want to take the tempest fighter build, which improves your two-weapon skills. Use a spear in your main hand, and the net as your offhand weapon. Consider the Net Training feat: with that, every time you hit someone with your net you'll slow them, which is a big part of what arena fighters traditionally get out of nets. You could also look at the Binding Style feat, which specifically allows you to immobilize a target when you hit it with your net and the Dual Strike power.
It's useful to have a high Dexterity, but in this context "high" means something more like 14 or 16; you don't need to get it up to 18.
I wouldn't, by the by, use the arena fighter build from the Dark Sun book itself. It's an interesting build but it's about improvised weapons; since you have specific weapons in mind it's not as good a fit.
Barbarian
Barbarians are about damage, and the net is not a very damaging weapon. Still, if that's the way you want to go, it'll work reasonably well. You'd want the whirling barbarian build, which is designed for barbarians with two weapons. Net Training is still a good feat, but not as important as it would be for the fighter, because it's a control-oriented feat rather than a damage-dealing feat.
General
Don't get hung up on the names of the classes. This is probably obvious, but if you want to play a fighter who comes from a barbaric tribe and thinks of himself as a barbarian, that's totally legitimate. D&D doesn't always make that as clear as I'd like, so I always take the chance to remind people.
The Gladiator theme is awesome for either the fighter or the barbarian. That goes without saying too, I know, I'm just being completist.