Chainmail is a medieval miniature wargame created by Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren in 1971, published by Guidon Games.
It is perhaps most notable for its "Fantasy Supplement" which contained additional rules for dragons, elves, wizards and heroes, as this variant led to the creation of Dungeons & Dragons. Rather than using Hit Points, the Fantasy Supplement handles more powerful combatants by declaring them immune to normal weapons (e.g. treants can only be harmed by fire and wizards are immune to normal missiles) or by requiring multiple simultaneous hits from normal opponents to defeat them.
In 2001, Wizards of the Coast reused the Chainmail name for the Chainmail Miniatures Game, a skirmish game specifically tied to D&D, set in a previously unexplored location in the World of Greyhawk called the Sundered Empire.
Chainmail contains examples of the following tropes:
- Cannon Fodder: Peasant units represent unwilling and untrained civilian recruits who are likely to have been "dragged into battle". They really don't want to fight, and must succeed on a dice roll to move or attack. If they're attacked by another unit they must also roll to see if they manage to defend - if not, they immediately panic and rout.
- Dumping on the Besiegers: The siege rules include systems for dropping rocks and boiling oil on attackers. Boiling oil is a simple One-Hit Kill for everyone in the target area; rocks kill the first person climbing a ladder and may kill the next two as well."Have some nice hot oil," said the smiling sergeant.
- Kill It with Fire: The Treants detailed in the Fantasy Supplement are invulnerable to normal missiles and melee attacks. However, they are vulnerable to fire and the rules explain that any normal troops, goblins or orcs in melee range can try to set a treant alight.
- Only in It for the Money: Armies can field unexpected unit types ("practically any kind of troops") by designating them as Mercenaries. The downside of this is that each turn a dice is rolled to check the unit's actions. On a six, there's a complication determined by a second roll - they may refuse to act this turn and demand more pay, may have accepted a bribe to switch sides, or might simply decide to abandon the battle and go home.
- Poisoned Weapons: Chinese crossbowmen are equipped with a very light repeating crossbow that fires poisoned bolts. Even with the poison, their attacks take a penalty compared to standard crossbows due to the weapon's low penetration power.