I think Wargames Reearch Group rules came first (about 1969) which is how I personally discovered serious wargaming... along with simpler authors such as Don Featherstone and Terrry Wise. I think it might be fair to say Chainmail was one of the very first dedicated medieval and skirmish systems :-)
oh gosh yes absolutely. Sooo many good names from my pioneering days of the hobby (and before). Luckily I bought most these books when I was still young and never lost them... phew :-)
Thanks for watching! The Jousting rules state that the joust is over if either or both riders are unhorsed. The table shows that any "injured" result is accompanied by an "unhorsed" result. By default, an injured knight is also unhorsed and then out of the joust. If you wanted to simulate ongoing combat, you could apply a -1 to the Man-to-Man Melee Table to simulate the fight between the now dismounted knights with any subsequent injury killing an injured knight. I hope this was helpful.
I have heard that in a melee only the front row actually fights and the 2nd 3rd row etc cannot be considered unless wielding pikes, pole arms etc. I haven't seen specifics in the rules for this. Was this something that was just expected for historical accuracy? Or would you just include all the men in that unit for dice rolls regardless of actual reach? Also as figures "die" how to determine which to remove? Likely a random front row soldier in a melee. Is that just the defenders choice? Thanks so much really enjoy the video and am gearing up to expirament with Chainmail soon.
Thanks for the question. The rules state (page 15) that only the first rank can fight a melee. This seems makes sense since the figure scale is 1:20 and the ground scale is 1" = 10 yards. The Man-to-Man rules (page 25) make the issue of weapon length more specific. As far as casualties are concerned, they would all have to come from that first rank of soldiers (randomly selected or defender's choice). Page 16 (Miscellaneous) addresses how the ranks would be filled as the melee progressed. Have fun playing the game! Grognards rule!
I would like a better explanation on formations and facing etc. If I have a formation of minis in "line" or "column" and want to adjust to another formation what's the "anchor point" of the change? Moving minis around could be too easy to fudge. Especially when implementing " square" formation. Maybe there are other wargames rules that have top-down images of formations and how to change formations. Would I just use the center of the formation as the base point? I plan to use 28mm minis on round bases.
Thanks for the question! Chainmail was not very specific on many rules which is one reason why early miniatures games relied heavily upon referees. The movement rules on pages 9, 10, and 11 give no specifics on "pivot points". As a referee, I would allow the player to choose the point upon which new formation would be created. If the individual models had enough movement to complete the change, the maneuver would be considered a success. This would allow for the maximum tactical options with a minimum amount of "fudging". Later games such as TSR's Battlesystem give better rules, examples, and top-down diagrams / images to make the movement of troops in formation more clear. I hope this answer proved helpful.
Thank you so much for putting in this much effort in explaining this original game!
You are welcome! Thanks for watching!
Correction: Law and Chaos came from Poul Anderson, not Leiber. See “Three Hearts & Three Lions”, Anderson’s novel.
Thanks for the correction! Michael Moorcock had a hand in it as well.
I think Wargames Reearch Group rules came first (about 1969) which is how I personally discovered serious wargaming... along with simpler authors such as Don Featherstone and Terrry Wise. I think it might be fair to say Chainmail was one of the very first dedicated medieval and skirmish systems :-)
sorry, excuse the typos. Wargames Research Group :-)
Let us also recognize David Wesely's contribution to the hobby. Thanks for the response!
oh gosh yes absolutely. Sooo many good names from my pioneering days of the hobby (and before). Luckily I bought most these books when I was still young and never lost them... phew :-)
With jousting, I assume that once a knight is injured, he is unable to continue jousting in the next ride?
Thanks for watching! The Jousting rules state that the joust is over if either or both riders are unhorsed. The table shows that any "injured" result is accompanied by an "unhorsed" result. By default, an injured knight is also unhorsed and then out of the joust. If you wanted to simulate ongoing combat, you could apply a -1 to the Man-to-Man Melee Table to simulate the fight between the now dismounted knights with any subsequent injury killing an injured knight. I hope this was helpful.
@@rpayne2987
Yes, that clarifies things nicely for me. The suggestion for Man-To-Man combat is well thought out. Thank you.
I have heard that in a melee only the front row actually fights and the 2nd 3rd row etc cannot be considered unless wielding pikes, pole arms etc. I haven't seen specifics in the rules for this. Was this something that was just expected for historical accuracy? Or would you just include all the men in that unit for dice rolls regardless of actual reach? Also as figures "die" how to determine which to remove? Likely a random front row soldier in a melee. Is that just the defenders choice? Thanks so much really enjoy the video and am gearing up to expirament with Chainmail soon.
Thanks for the question. The rules state (page 15) that only the first rank can fight a melee. This seems makes sense since the figure scale is 1:20 and the ground scale is 1" = 10 yards. The Man-to-Man rules (page 25) make the issue of weapon length more specific.
As far as casualties are concerned, they would all have to come from that first rank of soldiers (randomly selected or defender's choice). Page 16 (Miscellaneous) addresses how the ranks would be filled as the melee progressed.
Have fun playing the game! Grognards rule!
I almost forgot, there is also a reference to weapon length on page 40 (Combat Tables) that makes the weapons used of some importance.
I would like a better explanation on formations and facing etc. If I have a formation of minis in "line" or "column" and want to adjust to another formation what's the "anchor point" of the change? Moving minis around could be too easy to fudge. Especially when implementing " square" formation. Maybe there are other wargames rules that have top-down images of formations and how to change formations. Would I just use the center of the formation as the base point? I plan to use 28mm minis on round bases.
Thanks for the question! Chainmail was not very specific on many rules which is one reason why early miniatures games relied heavily upon referees. The movement rules on pages 9, 10, and 11 give no specifics on "pivot points". As a referee, I would allow the player to choose the point upon which new formation would be created. If the individual models had enough movement to complete the change, the maneuver would be considered a success. This would allow for the maximum tactical options with a minimum amount of "fudging".
Later games such as TSR's Battlesystem give better rules, examples, and top-down diagrams / images to make the movement of troops in formation more clear.
I hope this answer proved helpful.