"Does anyone still play Chainmail (Gygax/Perren)?" Topic

Just curious… Planning a Black Prince in Middle Earth game this summer, wherein Edward will find himself beset by orcs in what he thought was northern France, and I find myself wondering if anyone else on TMP still plays with Chainmail…

Which version? The original, or the collectible game?

The original Gygax/Perren booklet medieval game with the fantasy supplement in the back, not the WotC collectible game.

The later one wasn't collectible, and Gygax certainly wasn't involved.

cool easy to use tables in the booklet – haven't used it in 20 years plus though!

Never played the later version, but I was under the impression it was a collect-the-minis type of thing. In any case, it's not the version I was hoping to talk about. Anyone using the old rules for medieval or fantasy games these days? I'm planning to move on to HYW scenarios after the fantasy game… Just need to buy some 1/72 French and spend more time painting…

It's on my gaming bucket list. I'll get to it one day I'm sure.

There is a gaming group in Delmarva/NJ that is currently using an adapted version of Chainmail as the core tactical rules for a Middle Earth campaign.

We are 14 turns in, and each turn takes about a month to play. The same group ran a larger version of the same campaign some time ago. That one ran for 5 years.

It's a pretty elegant rules system really. Straight out of the book there are some clunky aspects that need sanding down, but they're nothing insurmountable.

The jousting adjunct in the back is a better than average game all by itself.

Yes.

KPinder – sounds like fun! And Delmarva, you say? I moved to the Eastern Shore of VA last July, from NYC.

Agreed on the jousting rules – I've used them whenever a joust came up in RPG games.

What's your take on the clunky aspects, and how did your group go about sanding them down?

I have had it for many years and yes periodically I use the rules. I also use the jousting rules that can be found in it too. I think it should work well for the game you mentioned.

Hobbits are free!

Played the main rules back in the 70s and 80s (a very little bit). Nothing too great, other than the theme.

Loved the Jousting rules. A very different mechanic than other games. A (partially) grown up version of Rock-Paper-Scissor. Have always wanted to work with it in other game settings (but never really have).

I still kick myself for "loaning" the rules to this guy who turned it into a permanent loan. The jousting rules were among the best I have come across.

I remember it fondly, but found it was much easier to rework The Rules According to Ral to fit my biases.

You read my mind! Been thinking that the Gygax/Perren rules would make a good, quick, easy to run Convention Game.

Dyehard noted one clunk. Hobbits being free. We played a "straight out of the book" game once because one gamer chafed under the house modifications. We were all ankle deep in free hobbits which were quite dangerous given their rock throwing capability. We knew our enemy planned to spend a fortune in points on a dragon, so we invested in a relatively cheap Roc, which is their arch enemy. We flew our Roc off the table forcing the dragon to follow. We fielded large numbers of levy militia with pitiful morale, but attached a wraith to each whom they feared so much they couldn't fail morale. The rules we use are adapted from Chainmail and run two thin loose leaf binders full. It grew out of necessity to include sieges, waterborne warfare and extensive morale rules.

FYI, there's a message board dedicated to old-school (1970s) Dungeons & Dragons: odd74.proboards.com

It has a sub-forum devoted to Chainmail: link

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