Reading OD&D

 All the information below is taken from  Chainmail , except where noted: ARCHERS Morale:  4 (and check for instability due to excess casualties at only 1/4 losses) Move 9”, Charge 12", Missile Range 15" Attacks:  - in large-scale combat, does ranged attacks using the Missile Fire table and melees as  Light Foot; - in individual combat, according to the weapon used (usually a short bow). Defense:  - in large-scale combat, as  Light Foot; - in individual combat, according to the armor worn (usually none or leather armor).   Traits: Indirect fire.  Archers  can deliver high, arcing volleys, allowing them  to aim above the front ranks and target enemies behind them. Rate of Fire.  The amount of times an archer can fire per turn depends on what else the archer has done that turn: • If an archer does not move and are not in melee at the end of a turn, they may fire twice. • If they moved up to ½ normal movement (no charge) and are ...

  From Chainmail , page 11.

Religious Military Orders (High and Late Middle Ages) Typical units: Turcopoles ( Medium Cavalry ), Heavy Horsemen ( Knights ). Behavior: Knights of a religious order receive a +1 on all Morale dice and will never surrender, fighting on normally even if morale results call for it. Originally conceived as monastic communities, the first military orders included the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre and the Knights Hospitaller, founded after the First Crusade (1099). Their members would renounced worldly life to pursue religious devotion. Over time, however, some orders evolved into powerful and, at times, aggressive political and military forces. They were followed by the Order of Saint Lazarus (c. 1100), Knights Templar (1118), the Order of Montesa (1128), the Order of Santiago (1170), and the Teutonic Knights (1190). These warrior-monks combined monastic vows with armed service to defend Christian pilgrims and conquered territories during the Crusades. Most of the major crusades — the Fi...

 Saracens (Early, High and Late Middle Ages) Army composition: Saracen infantry are all are Light troops, a high percentage of which are Archers armed with short bows (15" range). Saracen cavalry is predominantly Light Cavalry, with elite units being Medium Cavalry . Behaviour: Saracens will take no prisoners from religious orders of knighthood (Templars, Hospitallers etc.). “Saracen” was a catch-all term used for Arabs and Muslims by Europeans. In the 8th century, Arab-Berber forces crossed into Iberia, opening the door to the Muslim takeover of Spain. From the 11th century onwards, Middle Eastern Muslims defended against the European Crusades. Saracen warriors on the cover of Chainmail . NOTE: The Saracens of Chainmail are represented in by two “monster” entries in OD&D: the Desert Nomads and Dervishes. The Desert Nomads seem to represent the “typical” Saracens. Rules-wise, they are similar to OD&D's Bandits in most aspects except for composition of forces. OD...

The full title game's full title is  Chainmail: Rules for Medieval Miniatures  and that tells us exactly what the game is: a toolkit for simulating medieval warfare on the tabletop. The cover illustration shows a crusader  knight  (perhaps a member of a religious military order ), clad in  chainmail and helmet , striking with a  sword  from horseback. Opposing him are figures that appear to be Saracens , equipped with  spears  and  shields , grounded and defensive against the knight’s momentum.

 All the information below is taken from  Chainmail , except where noted: HEAVY CAVALRY Morale:  Morale 9 (check for instability due to excess casualties only at 1/2 losses) Move 12" (Road Bonus 3"), Charge 18", Missile Range – Attacks:  - in large-scale combat, as  Heavy Horse ; - in individual combat, according to the weapon used. Defense:  - in large-scale combat, as  Heavy Horse ; - in individual combat, according to the armor worn. Traits: Impetus Bonus (optional).  Cavalry units receive an Impetus Bonus when charging into melee across smooth, level terrain or down moderate slopes. These troops add one extra die to their normal number of combat dice.  Cavalry Charge Shock (optional).  A defending unit must roll 2d6 to withstand a charge by mounted men. If it fails the required score, it retreats one move and a half and must rally. Required score to withstand a Heavy Cavalry charge: Peasants: 11  Light Infantry (including all Ra...

 All the information below is taken from  Chainmail , except where noted: MEDIUM CAVALRY Morale:  Morale 8 (if Knights, check for instability due to excess casualties only at 1/2 losses) Move 18" (Road Bonus 6"), Charge 24", Missile Range - Attacks:  - in large-scale combat, as  Medium Horse ; - in individual combat, according to the weapon used. Defense:  - in large-scale combat, as  Medium Horse ; - in individual combat, according to the armor worn. Traits: Impetus Bonus (optional).  Cavalry units receive an Impetus Bonus when charging into melee across smooth, level terrain or down moderate slopes. These troops add one extra die to their normal number of combat dice.  Cavalry Charge Shock (optional). A defending unit must roll 2d6 to withstand a charge by mounted men. If it fails the required score, it retreats one move and a half and must rally. Required score to withstand a Medium Cavalry charge: Peasants: 10  Light Infantry (includ...

 All the information below is taken from  Chainmail , except where noted: LIGHT INFANTRY Morale:  4 (and check for instability due to excess casualties at only 1/4 losses) Move 9”, Charge 12", Missile Range – Attacks:  - in large-scale combat, melees as  Light Foot  (add an extra die if armed with pike or halberd); - in individual combat, according to the weapon used. Defense:  - in large-scale combat, as  Light Foot; - in individual combat, according to the armor worn (usually none or leather armor, and possibly a shield). Traits: Pole Arm Defense:  Infantry troops formed in a close-order formation with pole arms can only suffer frontal melee casualties from troops armed with weapons that have an equal or greater range. Example: a mounted knight armed with a lance could attack a Halberd formation, but he could not attack a formation of Pikes, which are longer than lances. Point Cost (army creation):  1 (with pike, 2) Light Infantry vari...

All the information below is taken from Chainmail , except where noted: ARMORED INFANTRY Morale: 7 (usually; see variants below) Move 6", Charge 6", Missile Range – Attacks:  - in large-scale combat, as Armored Foot (add an extra die if armed with pike or halberd); - in individual combat, according to the weapon used. Defense:  - in large-scale combat, as  Armored Foot; - in individual combat, according to the armor worn (usually chainmail or plate, and possibly a shield). Traits: Impetus Bonus (optional). Armored Infantry units receive an Impetus Bonus when charging into melee across smooth, level terrain or down moderate slopes. These troops add one extra die to their normal number of combat dice.  Pole Arm Defense: Infantry troops formed in a close-order formation with pole arms can only suffer frontal melee casualties from troops armed with weapons that have an equal or greater range. Example: a mounted knight armed with a lance could attack a Halberd formation...

The “medieval theme” that underlies  Chainmail  and the original  Dungeons & Dragons  ( OD&D ) is loosely defined.  Chainmail  is a wargame meant to model combat between units of soldiers. And, for all of its innovations,  OD&D  grew directly from this framework. For this reason, the theme of both games is, at its core, a martial fantasy based on the Middle Ages. The "medieval world" implied by both games seems to be populated almost exclusively by armed and armored men locked in a perpetual state of conflict, where everyone is defined by their “fighting capability”. The game’s medieval setting is not a functioning society, but a higher-order military structure: the Fighter’s path leads inevitably to building a castle and raising an army, becoming a lord in a land where the primary relationship is that of commander and soldier. When non-combatants do appear, it is only through the narrow lens of the fighting-man’s purpose. Peasants in...

SWORDS In the Middle Ages, swords were typically double-edged and made of steel. Though often associated with status and chivalry, swords were practical battlefield weapons, used by knights and infantry alike in conjunction with shields or as sidearms when primary, longer weapons were lost. Typical length: about 70 to 100 cm (27 to 39 inches) for the blade, with rarer, longer variants such as longswords reaching up to 120 cm (47 inches) or more overall. Training required: several months to a few years of regular training. SPEARS A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a wooden shaft with a pointed head, usually made of metal. It was one of the most common weapons in medieval warfare due to its reach, simplicity, and effectiveness. Spears could be used for thrusting in close combat or thrown as projectiles, and they were especially effective in formations, where rows of soldiers could present a wall of points against advancing enemies. Typical length: about 2 to 3 meters (6.5 to 10 fee...

In  Chainmail (1971) , a typical mounted knight fights as  Heavy Cavalry   (Norman Knights, however, fight as  Medium Cavalry ) and a dismounted knights fight as  Armored Infantry .  Chainmail  knights seem to want glory on the battlefield above which translates to the rules as the following behavior: Knights' Behavior (Chainmail): During a battle, whenever there is an enemy within charing range of a knight unit, roll a d6: on a six, the knight follows orders normally; on any other result, the knight unit will charge that enemy regardless of orders unless a 6 is rolled on an obedience die.  If a knight unit can see other friendly troops moving toward the enemy, it will always charge an enemy within charging range. If multiple enemy types are within charge distance, Knights will target them in this order: 1. Other Knights 2. Any other mounted troops 3. Baggage or missile troops firing upon them 4. Armored Foot 5. Missile-armed troops 6. Artillery o...

WORN ARMOR Chainmail is armor made of interlinked metal rings forming a flexible mesh. It was widely used in Europe from antiquity through the Renaissance. HELMETS In the Middle Ages, many types of military and some ceremonial helmets were developed, most of them made of metal. The great helm, emerging in the late twelfth century during the Crusades, remained in use until the fourteenth century. SHIELDS A shield is a piece of armor held in the hand, sometimes strapped to the wrist or forearm. It is used to intercept attacks from melee weapons such as spears or from ranged projectiles like arrows. Shields are both for blocking and by providing passive protection by covering lines of attack during combat. (this post will be updated as the reading of  Chainmail  and  OD&D  progresses)

I am starting a project on this blog: to read the original, 1974 version of Dungeons & Dragons (OD&D) page by page, and see what insights emerge from the text itself.  OD&D's rules are notoriously scattered, with key mechanics dispersed across specific cases or unit descriptions rather than consolidated into general procedures. OD&D also assumes and all but requires familiarity with the rules of  the miniatures wargame  Chainmail . As a result, players must piece together the system by cross-referencing multiple sections, inferring general rules from narrowly defined examples. The project will unfold in two kinds of posts: - “Page reads,” which follow the books in order, examining each page carefully and taking it on its own terms; and -"Consolidation posts" that will, over time, gather everything the rules have say about a single topic (for example: "knights", "goblins", or "swords" into one place, even when that information...