CHAINMAIL's Origins - Part 1 - Weather

Exploring the mechanics and prose that show up in CHAINMAIL by Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren

Consider Chainmail (and the OD&D control weather spell) as giving no realistic guidance on how weather impacts the tactical situation. There are some older wargames that provide a slightly better system. For example, Wessencraft gives us a system in Wargamer’s Newsletter issue 109 from April 71. Notice how it affects more than just movement & fatigue.

Tony Bath, in his book on campaigns, gives us these rules for the impact of weather on movement. We can also see forest and grass fires in these rules under Intense Heat.

And Phil Barker gives us these rules in WRG version 3 from September 1971:

Chainmail did not add weather rules until 2nd edition published in 1972 (and some of us can prove it now). The rules are very crude and the weather is just a bit too changeable. (If you’ve played using these rules, you know - go ahead and comment below). Gygax (a subscriber and contributor to Wargamer’s Newsletter) basically did a rewrite of Wessencraft’s system, but there is a reference to fires (Bath) and seasons (Barker).

Btw, Gygax also lifted Wessencraft’s mercenary system from Issue 94, January 1970 of Wargamer’s Newsletter. More on that next time!

Originally published on Substack on March 25, 2026.