Actually, fuck it, I'm at work again and all is quiet, so let's have a basic review of Gladiatrix:
Gladiatrix is a series of three modules for NWN, using a fair amount of hakpaks for custom content. There was a crazy amount of effort put into this, I really need to make that clear. For production values alone, it wins serious points.
Fair warning:
Now, it's a Sexytime game. By which I mean it uses custom skins so people are properly naked when the "armour/clothes" slot is empty, and boobs are just that little bit bouncy. I'm okay with this. Also there are animated sex scenes (admittedly, all of them are optional, but you're supposed to fuck *someone* in the first one so you can get their "good ending"). There are also text-based scenes for various things, and not all of those are optional.
The sex content, honestly the text isn't bad but the game wasn't designed with virtual boning in mind so it looks a bit derpy, especially given the shadows effect that causes every character to look like they have a moustache or Sting* make-up if they're not highlit by the cursor.
Also, basically all armour you ever wear will be hilariously skimpy, but I'm okay with that. For what it's worth, most men are put in skimpy garb and women wolf-whistle at them, so it works both ways there. That's actually kind of refreshing.
Related to the above... prepare to lose your gear. A lot. Now you always get it back (apart from confiscation of potions in the first game) eventually, but they constantly take all your gear, and that was annoying enough at the start of HotU and they only did it once. The number of times you're captured as a plot thing is annoying, too, especially when you get to levels where that shit should not be happening.
Anyway, the game has some requirements: you have to be a level 1 human female fighter to play the first game - they enforced that so that you can equip any martial weapon, armour or shield (note: they force-equip you sometimes and the base game doesn't allow you to equip stuff without proficiency, the PRC adds that option). This isn't too terrible in the video games, and you can multiclass out as much as you like, but keep in mind the fact that you can't take more than three classes total, so you can't be a Fighter/Bard/Dragon Disciple/Weapon Master or whatever.
How to be annoying, continued:
Also, the first game really has a hard-on for telling you what you're allowed to equip. When you're in the training academy (the first chunk of the game) they give you your weapon and armour and you'll goddamn like it. Protip: if you added the PRC and took ranks in Craft Weapon, you can just make your own weapons. Do this. Instead of "Training Sword: -2 damage" you can have "Your favourite type of weapon: Masterwork, no damage penalty". And then you can craft another one every time they strip you. After that, in the "arena" chunk of the game, they tell you what your armour is (but you can potentially win a special suit that then becomes your new default) and you get a few weapon choices (all of them sword-based, no Scimitar/Falchion/Rapier options so Critmeisters need to craft their own). For the special missions, again, they go "Here is your magic armour, like it. Or use the special armour you won in the arena. Here is your magic weapon (and shield if relevant), fucking like it." But you can grab decent stuff from corpses. Also, for what it's worth, you get a decent amount of "Cast X 1/day" items.
Oh, for the record, when you are reduced to Near Death, you drop prone and are unable to move but have a Sanctuary effect. They then remove that when the contest is over. Problem: this still applies when you are in serious battles, at which point it doesn't matter if you regenerate your HP, you're stuck like that so reload. Also if a companion dies, it's game over, reload.
Anyway, the first chapter is the most restrictive, and it's a bit annoying like that. Also, don't quote me on this but I think it's possible to actually lose class features when it strips your gear off near the end: class features gained by the PRC are mostly added as Bonus Feats, but some (like Swordsage casting) are also added as part of a "PRC Skin" item (which is invisible, equipped and can't be moved). When it takes all your items away, it even takes your PRC Skin. You can see it in the box full of your items (have fun rearranging your inventory!), but you can't take it out of the box.
Some positive notes, however: the actual time of day in-game matters, as there's a clock and everything, and some places are only open at certain hours. The unique gear you get is at least interesting sometimes, and you don't have to win every contest, because it's a gladiator arena. I mean, you want to, for GP and XP and all that, but the game isn't over if you lose that. Also, when they send you on missions, you'll typically have 4-10 different fights, and each of these fights is a different thing. So when you're trapped on an island, you get: leopards, bear, man-eating gorilla, assassin vines (new), oozes, giant scorpions, stirges (new), giant centipedes (new), crazy half-ogre. You're not likely to get bored.
Once we get into Gladiatrix 2 though (you're around level 10-12), things get better:
You're handed a rod of resurrection so that you can Resurrect dead allies. Excellent.
They let you actually keep your own gear - they don't even loan you a weapon and armour that you have to return, it's just yours and you can buy other stuff. They do lend you a magic amulet at one point so you can fake being a Wizard, and honestly, if you wanted to export your character then and go into the regular games (requires modding so your character is visible), I would totally understand. I mean, Summon Dire Spider, Blade Barrier, Acid Arrow, Fireball, one or two defensive spells, and True Seeing, all 1/day. Kaching.
There's actually some investigation and infiltration, and the world starts becoming more interesting. By the way, I hope you like GIANT monsters.
Oh, the two new companion characters are a pain. One is a Good-aligned Cleric who is a prissy goody-two-shoes, the other is an annoying Evil-aligned guy who basically just wants you to suck his dick, and the two hate each other. Yes you have to take them both along.
By the way, SWIMMING. It introduces an underwater section where you actually swim around (and fight sharks).
Chapter 3 is pretty epic.
Now you're around level 15-16 at this point, and the game takes you to 20-21. Mostly your XP for everything has been story-based, with bonuses for completing optional things successfully, so the difference should only be 2-3 levels. You're now a proper hero, and you're out there to win allies for WAR.
The exotic locations are pretty rad, and you get to fight a whole variety of monsters. This includes mind flayers as you get to go to the UnderdarkEverdark. Also Colossal creatures, and the aforementioned Honey Badger. You get to pretend to be a Drow priestess at one point, so you once again get an awesome item that casts a bunch of spells per day, and it stops working once you return to the surface, so again I understand if you want to export your character to the normal game with it. Nevermind the other gear you get that hands out Bonus Feats (and can be used past returning to the surface).
The character interaction isn't too bad this time around, and you might even feel a bit sorry for some of them.
Overall I'd say that it's pretty awesome but does have its problems, and I feel that it'd do better without the sex. I know, Koumei is saying that.
*The Icon Sting, from WCW/TNA wrestling, not "the singer who can have marathon sex sessions and that's literally all I know about the guy".