22/11/2021 Chainmail

Chainmail                                                     click thumbnails to enlarge

The progenitor of Dungeons & Dragons. Ostensibly a straight-wargaming rulebook for miniatures,
its "Fantasy Supplement" sparked a phenomenon.

Chainmail (Guidon Games) by Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren

Chainmail (TSR) by Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren

Originally published in rough form in an article entitled "Geneva Medieval Miniatures", which
appeared in the April 1970 issue of Panzerfaust.  Three months later, an edited version of this
"rough draft" appeared in Domesday Book issue #5 (July 1970).  The following month, the exact
same version would be published in the Spartan International Monthly of August 1970, as it was
bumped from the July issue for space reasons.  (Thanks to Jon Peterson for this info).
Chainmail (1st Ed)
The first two stand-alone editions were published by Guidon Games with a yellow cover.  Soon
thereafter, Gygax and Kaye formed Tactical Studies Rules, and future printings of Chainmail fell
under that auspice.

Whether the "Fantasy Supplement" to Chainmail formed the basis of D&D is a matter of some
disagreement between D&D's co-creators, Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax.

Arneson claims in Heroic Worlds that the influence of Chainmail in the development of the
Original D&D rules was in the Combat Matrix only (i.e., giving RPG characters and monsters "hard
statistics").  According to Arneson, Chainmail bears little resemblance to D&D whatsoever; "not a
hit point, character class, level, or armor class" anywhere.  Furthermore, Arneson states that a
series of naval combat scenarios, "The Braunsteins", were the critical foundation of his Blackmoor
campaign, and later, D&D. Chainmail (2nd Ed)

Gygax disagrees.  In Best of Dragon Volume 1, he notes: "...when the whole appeared in
Chainmail, Dave (Arneson) began using the fantasy rules for his campaign and he reported a
number of these actions to the C&C Society by way of articles.  I thought that this usage was quite
interesting and a few months later when Dave came to visit me we played a game of his amended
Chainmail fantasy campaign.  A few weeks after his visit, I received 18 or so handwritten pages of
rules and notes pertaining to his campaign and I immediately began work on a brand new
manuscript.  About three weeks later, I had some 100 typewritten pages, and we began serious
play testing... Dungeons & Dragons had been born."  Gygax quickly goes on to say that Arneson
was only given co-authorship of D&D for his "valuable idea kernels", and that D&D bears little
resemblance to the Blackmoor campaign.

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Further, as contributor Bruce Robertson notes, "I don't see how you can argue that D&D doesn't Chainmail
(3rd Ed, 1st prt)
draw heavily on Chainmail... 'fireball', 'lightning bolt', 'conjure elemental', 'phantasmal force', and
all the core monsters are in the 1971 edition -- along with an armor sequence that exactly matches
the one in D&D." 

The argument between Gygax and Arneson, we believe, stems from a lawsuit Arneson brought
against TSR in 1979, demanding royalties from the AD&D line of products.  Arneson was listed as
the co-author of the Original D&D rules, and as such, he believed he was owed a portion of the
proceeds from all things derived from that work.  It was certainly not advantageous for Arneson to
claim inspiration from Chainmail, a product authored by Gygax!  The outcome of that lawsuit was
never made public, but rumor has it that Arneson received a lump sum in exchange for ceasing
legal action.

Regardless to the degree Chainmail guided Arneson in his campaign, the influence of this little
Chainmail
yellow booklet on the eventual development of D&D is undeniable. (3rd Ed, 3rd prt)

Printing Information 

1st Edition

First (1971)
Published by Guidon Games -- no company address listed
62 total pages (47 numbered pages)
Binding is stapled
Cover is yellow-orange
Contrary to rumor, the 15-page Fantasy Supplement is indeed present
Chainmail
While this version has 12 more pages than later prints, this is almost entirely due to (3rd Ed, 7th prt)
the font size and formatting used.  In fact, this version contains only six spells, which
were expanded to 20 in later prints
Thanks to Bruce Robertson for this info, and to William Meinhardt for the scan

2nd Edition

First (1972)
Published by Guidon Games -- address of the company is Evansville, Indiana (on the
copyright page)
48 total pages (35 numbered pages); font size is now smaller and easier to read
Binding is stapled

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Cover is yellow-orange, but compared to the Second print of the 2nd Edition, is a Chainmail
(3rd Ed, 7th/8th prt)
heavier, parchment-like stock
Inside cover is white
Incorporated rule changes first published in the Domesday newsletter #13
 
Second (1972?)
Published by Guidon Games -- address of the company is Belfast, Maine (on the
copyright page)
48 total pages (35 numbered pages)
Binding is stapled
Cover is yellow-orange, but compared to the First print of the 2nd Edition, is rather
flimsy
Inside cover is the same color as the exterior (yellow-orange)

3rd Edition

First
Published by Tactical Studies Rules
44 total pages
Binding is stapled
Cover is now light silver
Cover has the GK (Gygax/Kaye) logo
Cover states 3rd Edition, and says "Tactical Studies Rules"
Cover lists the price ($5.00)
No Product Code on the front cover bottom left
Inside does not indicate any printing number
Contains references to Hobbits and Ents (quick check: table on bottom of page 28)
Thanks to T.S. McDuffie for help with this info
 
Second (Jul 1975)
Published by TSR
44 total pages
Binding is black-plastic spiraling
Cover is light silver
Cover has the GK (Gygax/Kaye) logo
Cover states 3rd Edition, and says "Tactical Studies Rules"
Cover lists the price ($5.00)
No Product Code on the front cover bottom left
Inside now indicates Second printing

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Contains references to Hobbits and Ents (quick check: table on bottom of page 28)
Thanks to T.S. McDuffie for help with this info
 
Third (Jun 1976)
Published by TSR
44 total pages
Binding is black-plastic spiraling
Cover is light silver
Cover has the Lizard logo
Cover states 3rd Edition, and says "TSR Rules"
Cover lists the price ($5.00)
No Product Code on the front cover bottom left
Inside indicates Third printing
Contains references to Hobbits and Ents (quick check: table on bottom of page 28)
Thanks to Kent Kelly for help with this info
 
Fourth (Mar 1977)
Published by TSR
44 total pages
Binding is black-plastic spiraling
Cover is light silver
Cover has the Lizard logo
Cover states 3rd Edition, and says "TSR Rules"
Cover lists the price ($5.00)
No Product Code on the front cover bottom left
Inside indicates Fourth printing
Contains references to Hobbits and Ents (quick check: table on bottom of page 28)
Thanks to Hussain Zaman for help with this info
 
Fifth (Jan 1978)
Published by TSR
44 total pages
Binding is black-plastic spiraling
Cover is light silver
Cover has the Lizard logo
Cover states 3rd Edition, and says "TSR Rules"
Cover lists the price ($5.00)
Product Code (6002) on the front cover bottom left
Inside indicates Fifth printing

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References to Hobbits and Ents have now been changed to Halflings and Treants
(quick check: table on bottom of page 28)
Thanks to Richard Humm and Ben Polson for help with this info
 
Sixth (Aug 1978)
Published by TSR
44 total pages
Binding is black-plastic spiraling
Cover is light silver
Cover has the Lizard logo
Cover states 3rd Edition, and says "TSR Rules"
Cover lists the price ($5.00)
Product Code (6002) on the front cover bottom left
Inside indicates Sixth printing
Contains references to Halflings and Treants (quick check: table on bottom of page
28)
Thanks to Jason Lotito for help with this info
 
Seventh (Apr 1979)
Published by TSR
44 total pages
Binding is black-plastic spiraling
Cover is now a noticeably darker silver
Cover has the Wizard logo
Cover states 3rd Edition, and says "TSR Rules"
Cover lists price ($5.00), although identical copies have been spotted with no price
Product Code (6002) on the front cover bottom left
Inside indicates Seventh printing
Contains references to Halflings and Treants (quick check: table on bottom of page
28)
This printing (and later printings) were originally shrinkwrapped; unknown if earlier
ones were
Thanks to Carlson Davis, Adrian Newman and Alan Popow for help with this info,
and to Carlson Davis for the scan
 
Eighth (Nov 1979)
Published by TSR
44 total pages
Binding is black-plastic spiraling

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Cover is dark silver

Cover has the Wizard logo
Cover states 3rd Edition, and says "TSR Rules"
Cover lists no price
Product Code (6002) on the front cover bottom left
Inside still indicates "Seventh Printing, April 1979" (though this is incorrect)
Contains references to Halflings and Treants (quick check: table on bottom of page
28)
Originally shrinkwrapped
 
Printings after Eighth are identical to Eighth in all respects, but have a white, photocopied-
look cover (they're essentially photocopies).

Auction Commentary

1st and 2nd Edition copies of Chainmail are extremely rare.  The value of 3rd Edition copies is
heavily weighted towards the front end, with First and Second prints often commanding much
higher prices than later prints.

Current eBay Auctions

Chainmail

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