您的当前位置:首页 > Encyclopedia > 【david montgomery or aaron jones】Dungeons & Dragons makes a comeback: Is it possible to play a game of D&D in a day? 正文
时间:2024-09-29 08:13:55 来源:网络整理 编辑:Encyclopedia
Perhaps it was inevitable that it would end in blood and betrayal: The paladin lying dead on the flo david montgomery or aaron jones
Perhaps it was inevitable that it would end in blood and betrayal: Thedavid montgomery or aaron jones paladin lying dead on the floor, betrayed by the cleric, who had been evil all along; the thief deciding whether to trust the gnome sorcerer with the magic stone that could save or doom them all, the elf ranger unsure who to shoot — the ostensible bad guys or his own teammates.
For four of us, it was the first time we had played Dungeons & Dragons in more than a decade. Another of our group had never played, and was curious. The final player in our entourage hadn’t played in ages when I invited him, but snuck in a game beforehand, which turned out to be useful.
While I’ve known people who’ve played D&D regularly for years, it’s only lately that it’s seemed to come back into the popular vogue, mostly because of the 2014 release of the game’s fifth edition, which greatly simplified the rules. For years, the game seemed intimidating, necessitating mountains of rulebooks and degrees in mathematics.
“It’s a wonderful marriage between all of what you remember of (classic) D&D and what came after that,” says Garrett Colón of Westboro, who is the senior local coordinator for the D&D Adventurers League, which sets up official games for D&D’s owner, Wizards of the Coast (which is owned in turn by the Rhode Island-based Hasbro.) “The rules are light, and there’s not a lot of heavy number crunching. It gives you that accessibility without sacrificing something.”
That “something,” for many, is storytelling and role playing, which is often a main attraction: The opportunity to craft a giant adventure tale with a group of friends. Clearly, the changes to the system worked, because the buzz it generated was immense. First, it came from expected sources: Serious gamers and gaming/sci-fi websites such as i09 or Geek & Sundry. But then, the buzz started coming from unexpected sources: A local political activist, a local teacher, my brother-in-law. A mention on Facebook drew a torrent of interest and nostalgia.
"I have to restock the 'Player's Handbook' every week," says
Sorana Gatej, marketing manager of That's Entertainment in Worcester, which sells the game but does not currently host events.
Amid all of this, a question emerged: Was it possible for a bunch of people who have either never played or not played in ages to get the D&D Starter Kit and, using only that and the copies of the rules online, play a game in just one day?
“Absolutely,” says Colón. “It’s a really nice starting kit,” he says, noting that he’s seen it used to get both children and returning adult players up to speed quickly. “It doesn’t have some of the number crunching that it used to have. Once you start throwing the dice, it’s a lot more intuitive.”
David Neilander of New Britain, Connecticut, the manager of the Battle Standard gaming store in Auburn, says he’s seen a definite increase in interest in the game recently, including interest in the Wednesday night games organized by the store. Indeed, especially when the rules were released, demand for the game was outstripping the store's ability to provide: He had more trouble finding people to run games than he did finding people to play, with 15 people showing up at one point for a game that usually has a maximum of seven players. Now, he himself runs some games, as do other employees, and sometimes they have to split the players into two groups.
“People who wouldn’t normally play the game are getting into it,” he says, adding that some experienced players don’t like the new edition. “This one’s much simpler, much easier to get into. It caters to new players better.”
But let’s be honest: There’s still some number crunching, at least at the beginning. We used premade characters — some from the box set, others from the D&D website — and I rewrote their backgrounds to make the game more about interacting with each other than battling hypothetical orcs. That saved us some time, but it took us a while to relearn how to use the combat system — how to decide if your character hit the hypothetical orc, and how much damage you did — but after some discussion and misadventure, we got it all sorted. And once we did, things moved quickly.
We finished the first third of the game — a barroom brawl of my own writing — quickly, moving on to two parts adapted from the starter kit: A goblin ambush and then a quest into a dungeon to thwart a dragon’s evil plan. That’s where the betrayal and blood happened: The cleric had actually been a spy for a dragon-worshiping cult, and the thief, who had the stone they needed all the time, was having severe trust issues. By that point, even though there was still dice rolling, we were more lost in a story than we were lost in a math problem. The game took seven hours all told, but it flew by rapidly.
So yes, it’s completely possible to pick up the game cold and even play it in one day, although both Colón and Neilander recommend popping into a store and sitting in on an organized game. In addition to the Battle Standard, there are also organized D&D games at The Whiz in Westboro.
“The one that comes in the starter box takes a dedicated group of friends to get through the whole thing,” says Neilander. “In-store events, some last just a few hours, some longer … In the store, a lot are one and done," he said, adding that even in the ongoing games, "You can jump in, and it won’t feel like you’ve missed anything.”
Email Victor D. Infante at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @ocvictor.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette:
Dungeons & Dragons makes a comeback
View comments
Exclusive: StanChart says CEO Winters will stay to execute current strategy2024-09-29 07:37
Go-Jek raises $1 bilion in round led by Google, Tencent, JD2024-09-29 07:16
Toronto house prices, listings surge in April but sales dip2024-09-29 06:39
States' Settlement With Career Education Corp. Wipes Out $494M in Student Debt2024-09-29 06:21
As shown below, the results in the quarter materially changed the trend in two-year stacked comps for each of the banners, along with a significant acceleration for consolidated comps.
The increase in consolidated comps was the primary driver of an 8% increase in revenues to $6.3 billion. The company ended the quarter with 15,370 locations, up less than 1% year-over-year. This reflects a 7% increase in Dollar Tree units, offset by a 4% decline in Family Dollar units.
The top-line results at each banner flowed through to their respective income statements, with Dollar Tree gross margins and operating margins declining year-over-year while Family Dollar gross margins and operating margins expanded year-over-year. On a consolidated basis, gross margins contracted by 120 basis points in the quarter to 28.5%, reflective of a shift to lower-margin consumables, tariff costs and the impact of markdowns from the Easter headwinds at the Dollar Tree banner. The company saw slight operating leverage on SG&A from higher comps, with the net result being an 80 basis point contraction in operating margins to 5.8%, with operating income declining 5% to $366 million. This is not adjusted for $73 million of pandemic-related costs, such as PPE supplies.
In the first quarter, the company opened 85 stores (net of closures) and completed 220 Family Dollar renovations to the H2 format. Importantly, comps at renovated Family Dollar stores continue to outpace the chain average by more than 10%. On the call, management indicated that they plan on reducing both the number of new store openings (from 550 to 500) and the number of H2 renovations (from 1,250 to 750) in 2020.
Personally, given the fact that Family Dollar is seeing material benefits to its business from the pandemic with new or lapsed customers coming into its stores, I think the company should try to get more aggressive with its renovation plans, not less. On the other hand, you could argue that renovations cause short-term disruptions and limit their ability to fully capitalize on the business momentum they are currently experiencing.
As a result of fewer new stores and remodels, management now expects 2020 capital expenditures to total $1.0 billion compared to previous guidance of $1.2 billion. In addition, the company has temporarily suspended share repurchases. At quarter's end, the company had $1.8 billion in cash on its balance sheet compared to $4.3 billion in total debt.
Conclusion
In recent years, Dollar Tree has been a tale of two cities. While its namesake banner has generally delivered impressive financial results, Family Dollar has been a persistent underperformer. This quarter, those results flipped, and given what we've seen in the weeks since quarter's end, there's a decent possibility that we will see something similar in the coming months. As the CEO noted, the second quarter is off to a very good start at Family Dollar.
Here's the important question: how useful is that information is in terms of making future predictions about the business? Will recent success at Family Dollar translate into long-term success for the banner? The optimistic take is that new or lapsed customers, especially those visiting the renovated stores, could become recurring business for the banner. The pessimistic take is that they have experienced short-term success out of necessity as people went to any store that was open to try and find essentials like toilet paper and hand sanitizer that were largely out of stock throughout the retail landscape. From that view, many of these customers could abandon the retailer when life returns to normal. As Philbin noted on the conference call, early on [during the pandemic], folks needed us. Will people still shop as much at Family Dollar when it's no longer a necessity?
Personally, I do not place too much weight on the recent results. I will need to see incremental data points that indicate that Family Dollar has truly won sustained business from these new customers. While I still believe that the Dollar Tree banner is a well-positioned retailer with attractive unit returns, I'm not yet willing to say the same thing for Family Dollar. For that reason, along with the recent run-up in the stock price, I plan on staying on the sidelines for now.
Disclosure: None
Read more here:
Under Armour: A Tough Start to 2020
Walmart: Continued Omni-Channel Progress
Match: An Impressive Start to 2020
Not a Premium Member of GuruFocus? Sign up for a free 7-day trial here.
This article first appeared on
GuruFocus
.
Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Signs with DLTR. Click here to check it out.
DLTR 30-Year Financial Data
The intrinsic value of DLTR
Peter Lynch Chart of DLTR
View comments
‘FLTR’ ETF an Effective Countermove for Rising Rates2024-09-29 05:54
Thyssenkrupp in constructive talks with EU on Tata Steel JV2024-09-29 05:52
Fed's Powell - 'Muted' inflation gives room for wages to rise2024-09-29 05:45
EUR/USD Price Forecast – Euro Pulls Back And Recognizes Gravity Again2024-09-29 05:44
Taylor Swift Officially Announces The Eras Tour: All the Enchanting Details2024-09-29 05:30
Don’t Sell STEL Holdings Limited (NSE:STEL) Before You Read This2024-09-29 07:05
7 of Hillary Clinton’s Biggest Flip-Flops2024-09-29 07:03
Tesla Cuts Prices as Model 3 Deliveries Miss Estimates2024-09-29 06:31
5 Stocks With Decent Growth Potential to Watch Ahead2024-09-29 06:27
Popular Travel Apps Shared Detailed User Information With Facebook2024-09-29 06:18
Canada finance minister hopes investment drive will offer example to G72024-09-29 05:48
A Look At The Intrinsic Value Of Stamps.com Inc. (NASDAQ:STMP)2024-09-29 05:44
Morocco to suspend all travel to and from Italy amid coronavirus fears2024-09-29 05:35
Who Has Been Selling Virtusa Corporation (NASDAQ:VRTU) Shares?2024-09-29 05:35