# D&D Sci Coliseum: Arena of Data

*This is an entry in the 'Dungeons & Data Science' series, a set of puzzles where players are given a dataset to analyze and an objective to pursue using information from that dataset.*

[*Complexity Rating*](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/6QfatwCcmuaDBNeDv/d-and-d-sci-scenario-index)*: 4/5*

**STORY**
=========

The Demon King rises in his distant Demon Castle.  Across the free lands of the world, his legions spread, leaving chaos and death in their wake.  The only one who can challenge him is the Summoned Hero, [brought by the Goddess Herself](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/FjgS5mZCQedarYdCb/d-and-d-sci-june-2022-a-goddess-tried-to-reincarnate-me-into) from a distant world to aid this one in its time of need.  The Summoned Hero must call together all the free peoples of the world under their banner, to triumph united where they would surely fall separately.

And what is the Summoned Hero doing now?

Well, right now you are staring in disbelief at your companions' explanation of the politics of the Sunset Coast.

Apparently, little things like a Demon King attempting to subjugate the world are not enough to shake them from their traditions.  If you want them to listen to you, being the Summoned Hero is not going to suffice.  Instead, they conduct all their politics based on gladiatorial combat in the Arena of Dusk.

![](https://39669.cdn.cke-cs.com/rQvD3VnunXZu34m86e5f/images/bab95ad69c6362f5dc4e776718a1d23dad186b13124a04ac.jpg)

The crowd is cheering!  That makes this representative government!  (You would make fun of them more, but given what you remember of your home world's elections you aren't actually certain they're doing worse than you.)  Image created using OpenArt SDXL.

The good news is that the Four Great Houses of the Sunset Coast will gladly listen to you, and maybe even join you against the Demon King, if you can defeat their Champions in gladiatorial combat.

The bad news is that you are...not really suited to gladiatorial combat.  Neither your class nor your isekai cheat powers[^9p6vkxicuel] are especially good at physical fights.

The good news is that you have accumulated by now a large retinue of ~~vagabonds and misfits~~ loyal party members who will gladly fight on your behalf.

The bad news is that even your party members who are good at fighting still seem somewhat outclassed by the Champions.

The good news is that, as any adventuring party should, you have accumulated various magical items, wholly legitimately looted from various places: dungeons, bandits who made the mistake of being your random encounter on a trip between cities, ~~buildings that looked like they might be~~ thieves' guilds, manifestly corrupt local governors who attempted to have you arrested for **no legitimate reason at all**...ahem.  In any case, you have accumulated various magical items to equip your party members with.

The bad news is that the Four Great Houses have **more** magic items to equip their Champions with.

The good news is that you've gotten your hands on a [dataset](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aphyer1992/dndsci_arena/refs/heads/main/gladiator_output.csv) containing the history of combats in the Arena.  With this, you're hopeful that you can choose how to assign and equip your party members for the best possible odds against the Champions!

~~The bad news is that it sounds like this will require a lot of work~~  The **even better** news is that it sounds like this will give you the opportunity to do a lot of fun Data Science!  Hooray!

[**DATA**](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aphyer1992/dndsci_arena/refs/heads/main/gladiator_output.csv) **& OBJECTIVES**
===========================================================================================================================

*   Your adventuring party has the following martial party members:
    *   Uzben Grimblade, a Level 5 Dwarf Ninja.[^27196yd613k]
    *   Varina Dourstone, a Level 5 Dwarf Warrior.
    *   Willow Brown, a Level 5 Human Ranger.
    *   Xerxes III of Calantha, a Level 5 Human Monk.
    *   Yalathinel Leafstrider, a Level 5 Elf Fencer.
    *   Zelaya Sunwalker, a Level **6** Elf Knight.
*   You also have some magical items to distribute among them.  You have seven magical items total, one each of:
    *   +1, +2, +3 and +4 Boots of Speed
    *   +1, +2 and +3 Gauntlets of Power
*   You need to choose who will fight each of the four opposing champions:
    *   House Adelon's champion is a Level 6 Human Warrior with +3 Boots of Speed and +1 Gauntlets of Power.
    *   House Bauchard's champion is a Level 6 Human Knight with +3 Boots of Speed and +2 Gauntlets of Power.
    *   House Cadagal's champion is a Level **7** Elf Ninja with +2 Boots of Speed and +3 Gauntlets of Power.
    *   House Deepwrack's champion is a Level 6 Dwarf Monk with +3 Boots of Speed and +2 Gauntlets of Power.
*   Your goal is to maximize the number of champions you defeat.
*   For each opposing champion, you need to choose and equip one of your party members to fight them.  You cannot send the same party member to fight two champions, nor can you equip the same item to two party members.
*   For example, a solution could be:
    *   Give Uzben the +4 Boots of Speed and the +3 Gauntlets of Power and send him to fight House Adelon's champion.
    *   Give Varina the +3 Boots of Speed and the +2 Gauntlets of Power and send her to fight House Bauchard's champion.
    *   Give Willow the +2 Boots of Speed and the +1 Gauntlets of Power and send her to fight House Cadagal's champion.
    *   Give Xerxes the +1 Boots of Speed and send him to fight House Deepwrack's champion.
    *   Do not send Yalathinel or Zelaya to fight at all.
*   To assist in this, you have a [dataset](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aphyer1992/dndsci_arena/refs/heads/main/gladiator_output.csv) with the records of past fights in the Arena.  Each dataset shows the two fighters that took part, what their levels/races/classes/magical items were, and which one won.

**SECRET BONUS OBJECTIVE?**
===========================

*A strange piece of paper appears out of nowhere and falls into your hands.  You try to read it, but most of it is damaged beyond recognition.  You get a sudden feeling, though, that what it says is very important.  Did it come from one of your isekai cheat powers?  Was it revealed to you by Enlightenment, or sent from the future by Temporal Distortion?  Or is the Goddess putting another finger on the scales?  *

> **If you ??? ??? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ???? ??????? ???? ??????? ???? ??? ???? responsible ??? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ??? House.  ??? ???? ???? ??? lasting enmity, ??? ?????? ???? ???????? ???? ??? ???? ?? ??? ???? ??????? ?? ?? ????? ?? ????????? ?? ??? ???? your honor ?? ????????? ???? ?? ???? ??? ???? ??? ??? friendship ???? ?? ??? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ?? ?????**

I'll aim to post the ruleset and results on October 28th (giving one week and both weekends for players).   If you find yourself wanting extra time, because you found this scenario late and want a chance to attempt it yourself, or just because you end up a bit rushed/busy with other commitments and would be happier to have a extra week, comment below and I can push this deadline back.

As usual, working together is allowed, but for the sake of anyone who wants to work alone, **please spoiler parts of your answers  that contain information or questions about the dataset.  **To spoiler answers on a PC, type a '>' followed by a '!' at the start of a line to open a spoiler block - to spoiler answers on mobile, type a ':::spoiler' at the start of a line and then a ':::' at the end to spoiler the line.

  
 

[^9p6vkxicuel]: Perhaps you should have spent a bit longer choosing your powers. 

[^27196yd613k]: When you met him, you remarked that you had never seen a dwarven ninja before.  He smiled and said 'Exactly.'