Dungeons & Dragons Codexery

Chainmail (game)

Medieval wargame that inspired Dungeons & Dragons.

Further revisions appeared in The Domesday Book newsletter as the "LGTSA Miniatures Rules" in July 1970.[1] A second edition was published by Guidon Games in 1972.[2] TSR eventually bought rights to some Guidon Games back catalog and published Chainmail as their own product starting in 1975.[3] In 2001, Wizards of the Coast reused the Chainmail name for a skirmish game tied to Dungeons & Dragons.[4]

Monthly sales of one hundred copies made Chainmail Guidon Games' most successful product.[5] Between 1975 and 1985, Chainmail saw eight separate printings.[3]

Quick Facts

Subtitle
Rules for medieval miniatures
Designer
Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren
Publisher
Guidon Games; TSR, Inc.
Illustrator
Don Lowry
Years
1971–1985
Players
2–10
Playing time
6 hours
Skills
Strategy, tactics

Facts from the source article.

What the cited sources add

Creatures in the fantasy supplement were divided between Law and Chaos, drawing on Poul Anderson's alignment philosophies.[6][7] The 2018 book "Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana" by Ten Speed Press explains that the Chainmail cover art was inspired by a Jack Coggins illustration.[8][9] According to the 2010 McFarland & Company book "The Evolution Of Fantasy Roleplaying Games", the mass-combat rules drew heavily from Tony Bath's medieval systems and were designed for a 1:20 figure scale.[10][7]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Chainmail (game)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Shannon Appelcline, "Designers & Dragons: The '70s", Evil Hat Productions, LLC, 2014, p. 8–9; Shannon Appelcline, "Designers & Dragons: The '70s", Evil Hat Productions, LLC, 2014, p. 8–9; Shannon Appelcline, "Designers & Dragons: The '70s", Evil Hat Productions, LLC, 2014, p. 8–9; Peterson, "Zones of Control: Perspectives on Wargaming", MIT Press, 2016, p. 3–31 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Chainmail (game)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Harrigan, "Zones of Control: Perspectives on Wargaming", MIT Press, 2016, p. 762 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Chainmail (game)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Witwer, "Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: A Visual History", Ten Speed Press, 2018, p. 43 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Chainmail (game)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Chainmail Miniatures Game", RPG.net; "Dungeons & Dragons Chainmail", BoardGameGeek; "Świat Gier Komputerowych 2001-12", 2001-12-01 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Chainmail (game)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kushner, "Dungeon Master: The Life and Legacy of Gary Gygax", Wired.com, 2008-03-10 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Chainmail (game)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tresca, "The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games", McFarland, 2010, p. 60–61 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Open Library record, ISBN 9780786458950 ("The Evolution Of Fantasy Roleplaying Games"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Chainmail (game)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Witwer, "Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: A Visual History", Ten Speed Press, 2018, p. 10–15; Witwer, "Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: A Visual History", Ten Speed Press, 2018, p. 10–15; Witwer, "Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: A Visual History", Ten Speed Press, 2018, p. 10–15; Witwer, "Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: A Visual History", Ten Speed Press, 2018, p. 10–15 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Open Library record, ISBN 9780399580949 ("Dungeons & Dragons art & arcana"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Chainmail (game)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tresca, "The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games", McFarland, 2010, p. 60–61; Tresca, "The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games", McFarland, 2010, p. 60–61; Gygax, "Chainmail: rules for medieval miniatures", Tactical Studies Rules, 1975 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Chainmail (game) (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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