Start Here: Reading OD&D, page by page

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 is scattered across multiple booklets.

We’ll begin not with OD&D proper, but with Chainmail (3rd edition), as it should give us a clearer foundation for everything that will follow. 

Bibliography:

• Gygax, Gary, and Jeff Perren. 1971. Chainmail: Rules for Medieval Miniatures. Guidon Games (A PDF version can be purchased here);
• Gygax, Gary, and Dave Arneson. 1974. Dungeons & Dragons: Rules for Fantastic Medieval Wargames Campaigns Playable with Paper and Pencil and Miniature Figures. Tactical Studies Rules (A PDF version  can be purchased here).