Hello, I use this site for mostly character building and an easy way to keep track of monsters, I recently got ToA to DM for some friends interested in playing (I'm a first time DM with first time players). I used these stats for a gladiator they  (a wizard and a ranger) faced at level one. Seeing CR5 was worry some so I nerfed almost everything (HP > 56, AC > 13, STR >14, etc...) and ignored Brute. I thought this would make a satisfying encounter where the player's characters took damage to show the player's they weren't invincible, but also allowed them to experiment with their characters' ranged/melee capabilities effectively. The rouge dealt 40 damage with two short swords in 3 turns (with fair dice rolls 8-15 using +5 mod), which ended the encounter (the goal was to make the gladiator submit) and the wizard failed to do anything at all.

Obviously not the result I was hoping for, so I wanted to ask for some advice on how to avoid this happening in the future.

Background: Being first time characters they didn't prepare well out of the gate, they didn't ask S****a for money so they needed an earning opportunity before their 10 GP were devoured by their comfortable lifestyle. I let them roll the dice, confident that a quest would come up, They declined the first one, which didn't involve money up front and accepted this one where they were paid a total of 50 gp to rough up the gladiator (this was their first encounter and ended them in a position where they got in trouble with local authorities or the gladiator). 

Are there ways I could have better modified the gladiator to have the fight I hoped for?

Personally, I might have chosen a lower CR monster and given it the gladiator abilities I liked. Using the Combat Encounters Difficulty section on p.82 of Dungeon Masters Guide, it looks like a 100 - 150 exp monster would be a medium to hard fight for a pair of level 1 characters. 

Or I might have just used the gladiator as it is and fudged the combat to be tough but not deadly - make him only attack once most of the time because he was toying with them, or after they hit him a few good times he would stop fighting since he respected their effort and ability. 

As DM the world is yours, so bend it to your will! 

Half Dragon alteration = Resistance (type) + wyrmling breath weapon (keep that written separately).

Can a Gladiator use Shield Bash as one of the three melee attacks it has with Multiattack? Or does it consume the whole action to use?

dead

I would say it could use Shield Bash as one of the three, as it is considered a "Melee Weapon Attack."

Gladiator can and should use Shield Bash as one of the three melee attacks. Start with shield bash, knock the enemy prone, and then the last two attacks are at advantage. 

Another way to adjust encounters as you go is to prepare some “back up” enemies you can throw in if needed, like maybe the gladiator has some allies he can call, or the city guard hears the fight and joins in. It can be difficult to have a balanced fight at low levels with only one tough boss, since low level characters have so few hit points and could be easily “one shotted” by a tough boss, but at the same time if they can throw all their resources at one enemy, it is hard to keep a weaker boss alive, so having the option of expanding the number of enemies is helpful. For example, I created an encounter with an undead boss who is using the gladiator stats, and if the fight was going too easy for the party then I planned for the boss to raise some skeletons from the many old bones laying around the room. Multiple targets make a party have to think a little more strategically than when they can just throw everything at one monster. The other trick is to have follow up encounters, like the back up shows up right after the boss dies. These encounters teach parties that they have to conserve their resources and think ahead, like not burning all their spell slots in one encounter each time.

Quote from nonbiri >>

Another way to adjust encounters as you go is to prepare some “back up” enemies you can throw in if needed, like maybe the gladiator has some allies he can call, or the city guard hears the fight and joins in. It can be difficult to have a balanced fight at low levels with only one tough boss, since low level characters have so few hit points and could be easily “one shotted” by a tough boss, but at the same time if they can throw all their resources at one enemy, it is hard to keep a weaker boss alive, so having the option of expanding the number of enemies is helpful. For example, I created an encounter with an undead boss who is using the gladiator stats, and if the fight was going too easy for the party then I planned for the boss to raise some skeletons from the many old bones laying around the room. Multiple targets make a party have to think a little more strategically than when they can just throw everything at one monster. The other trick is to have follow up encounters, like the back up shows up right after the boss dies. These encounters teach parties that they have to conserve their resources and think ahead, like not burning all their spell slots in one encounter each time.

I’ve heard this called a “quantum ogre”

I did some random comparing and discovered that the Gladiator has a very similar stat block to a young copper dragon.  (The only big divergence is that the dragon is much more Intelligent)

Hand him a martial weapon (warhammer) and medium armor (breastplate), and the humanoid beats the dragon’s AC and DPR by 1.

Of course, the dragon can still fly, but it shows that like the Thug and the Bandit Captain, the Gladiator is just a gear swap away from a higher CR.

This guy just murdered the guy who thinks he can take on everyone no problemo. It was fun to DM that one!!

Quote from Dr_Frederick >>

I did some random comparing and discovered that the Gladiator has a very similar stat block to a young copper dragon.  (The only big divergence is that the dragon is much more Intelligent)

Hand him a martial weapon (warhammer) and medium armor (breastplate), and the humanoid beats the dragon’s AC and DPR by 1.

Of course, the dragon can still fly, but it shows that like the Thug and the Bandit Captain, the Gladiator is just a gear swap away from a higher CR.

 You haven't included the fact that the dragon has this thing called a breath weapon (and an additional saving throw Prof, as well as a damage immunity), which is what makes them so deadly. The dragon has a dpr of at least 51 (assuming breath weapon only hits 2 creatures), leaving it 12 above the gladiator w/ a Warhammer. 

How can the Gladiator make two ranged attacks? Does he have a whole bag of spears? Or is that just in case you want to modify it or have it pick up another weapon?

Quote from BeetrootMcKinnley >>

How can the Gladiator make two ranged attacks? Does he have a whole bag of spears? Or is that just in case you want to modify it or have it pick up another weapon?

 

 

Beyond 20

 

 

 

 

 

 Carrying a bundles of spears in your shield hand is surprisingly common, historically speaking.

Quote from Thunder5077 >>

Quote from Dr_Frederick >>

I did some random comparing and discovered that the Gladiator has a very similar stat block to a young copper dragon.  (The only big divergence is that the dragon is much more Intelligent)

Hand him a martial weapon (warhammer) and medium armor (breastplate), and the humanoid beats the dragon’s AC and DPR by 1.

Of course, the dragon can still fly, but it shows that like the Thug and the Bandit Captain, the Gladiator is just a gear swap away from a higher CR.

 You haven't included the fact that the dragon has this thing called a breath weapon (and an additional saving throw Prof, as well as a damage immunity), which is what makes them so deadly. The dragon has a dpr of at least 51 (assuming breath weapon only hits 2 creatures), leaving it 12 above the gladiator w/ a Warhammer. 

 You correct, I forgot to take into account that the breath weapon is AoE.  Good catch.

Quote from llaagstrongbone >>

AC 12 for studded, +2 for the Dexterity is AC 14.

Plus another for the shield is 15, so a +1 shield or armor to get to AC16, right?

In Storm Lord's Wrath, this guy is a former pirate and a storm-cult leader with a skilled smith as a girl-friend, so I gave everybody wave-and-lightning themed weapons, and this guy 3 wicked spears and armor with lightning bolt stud heads, with a shield shaped like a wide lightning bolt.

 Shields are +2AC in 5th Ed.  To be honest, at CR 5 and 14 Dex, I always upgrade them to some type of medium armor.

Your problem is that a level 1 character has a +5 mod. 

 Commoner: 4 hit points, 10 AC, +2 to hit, 2 DPR. Gladiator: 115 hit points, 16 AC, +7 to hit, 39 DPR.

 Maybe they should pull down those Gladiator stats just a LITTLE....

This looks like a great creature to add to an arena! You can customize it to suit your needs and leave it as is if you're satisfied!

these guys are overall CR 3 because my party of 7 level 3's fought 9 of these and very easily won. It consists of 1 paladin 1 sorcerer 1 ranger 1 fighter  1 bard and 2 clerics