CHAINMAIL is once again available for purchase in pdf form on DrivethruRPG. $5. Holmes used Chainmail as one of his sources for Basic, and he included some rules from it that don't appear elsewhere in OD&D, for example Parrying.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17010/Chainmail-Rules-for-Medieval-Miniatures-0e
I am glad to hear this. I have been fiddling around with some ideas for using Chainmail centered OD&D for con games and I only have a really bad, really old, scan of the document.
ReplyDeleteThat's great news - I'm a big Chainmail fan, in and of itself as a fantasy wargame engine; one of my side projects is giving it a reformat / reqrite for clarity (based on some experiences playing it and discussion in the G+ Chainmail group).
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of carrying over interesting stuff from Chainmail.. I've never seen anyone try using the magic rules from it. Basically, in Chainmail each type (level) of magic user gets X number of spells; each spell has a complexity level, and any magic user can try to cast any spell - with a chance of success based on their level vs complexity. Would be interesting to try that in Holmes since by the book there's a 3+1 level cap (which would align exactly with Chainmail's "4 level" magic user scaling).
On a side note, for those of you interested in Chainmail (whether in relation to OD&D / Holmes or on its own as a fantasy miniatures war game) this is the link to the G+ Chainmail group: https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/106687730309102626587
ReplyDeleteDo we know which edition of Chainmail we're getting? There were changes in each.
ReplyDeleteJonathan Becker, I'm assuming TSR Chainmail 3rd edition (as opposed to, say, Guidon Games' 1st edition) since that was the most popular edition in terms of numbers of units sold. But I haven't had a chance to check out Drivethrurpg, will take a look at it later from home.
ReplyDeleteIt is 3rd edition, 7th printing, April 1979
ReplyDeleteThanks Will Tijerina!
ReplyDeleteI had a copy of this in latter 70s, which I bought thinking it would blend right in with my Holmes set and MM. Sold in a game Con flea market purge in the early 90s, IIRC. Definitely one of those pieces I soon and always wish I'd kept.
ReplyDeleteIt took me years of studying and reading other pamphlets on how to play Chainmail ("Philotomy's Musings" f'rex) that led to one day when I simply picked up my copy of it and suddenly grokked it completely. So much easier to use than any edition of "Battlesystem" and even leaves the overcomplicated but hatful of ideas "Spells & Swords" in the dust!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for the day when I release a horde of 5th edition barbarians against my players and then whip out the original Chainmail rules to resolve the encounter! ;)
Ha! Awesome!
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