OD&D Resolving Combat with OD&D using Chainmail rules against non-Chainmail monsters?

[Kai Lord]

Hello, I know that most who play OD&D simply use the "Alternative Combat Method" that syncs up with pretty much every version of D&D/AD&D up until 3E but I've been reading through both the OD&D and Chainmail rules and have been trying to wrap my head around the idea of going full Chainmail for combat as referenced by Book I Men & Magic. What I'm wondering is how the game expects players and referees to adjudicate combat with monsters that were not listed in the Chainmail "Fantasy Combat Table." For PC's M&M gives a "Fighting Capability" Chainmail equivalent for each class and level so we know where they stack on the Fantasy Combat Table. But where does say a Beholder or a Purple Worm fit in? I've combed through the books and Reference Sheets to see if there's a chart listing the Chainmail Fighting Capability of all the new monsters but so far haven't found anything. Does such a chart exist or is that one of the many things that Gygax & Arneson assumed that each gaming group would simply write up their own rules for?

 

[Mannahnin]

I believe they assumed you would expand the FCT, basing relative strength on the ones which were included.

As a note, Daniel from Bandit's Keep on YouTube has some videos, including live streams, of him running OD&D using Chainmail-based combat. They may be of interest and useful to you.

 

[Kai Lord]

Thanks Mannahnin!

 

[overgeeked]

There’s a few resources floating around, including Compleat Chainmail, a 41-page PDF on Grey Elf. There’s also various blogs and forum threads.

Using Chainmail with OD&D

In this post I want to do my best to thoroughly cover using the Chainmail rules to handle combat in Original Dungeons and Dragons. At least, to cover the necessary rules to get a handle on the…

gelatinouscubism.wordpress.com

[OD&D] Using Chainmail combat | Dungeons & Dragons / Fantasy D20 Spotlight

Okay, as I'm sure a lot of people have worked out for themselves, attempting to use Chainmail combat with OD&D--as was apparently intended--is something of a mess. I have two core issues that hopefully someone can answer. The first: as characters rise in levels, they attack as "Man + 1, 2 Men...

forum.rpg.net

OD&D with Chainmail combat is a radically different game | Dungeons & Dragons / Fantasy D20 Spotlight

I recently pulled out my OD&D materials (little brown books, original City State modules, etc.) for a relaxing bit of nostalgia and collectable pawing, and was once more pulled into the puzzle of figuring out how you were supposed to play the game using Chainmail combat instead of the method we...

forum.rpg.net

https://odd74.proboards.com/thread/2099

Chainmail Combat in OD&D

I've always used the "alternative combat system" when playing OD&D, as it's the one my players and I are most familiar with, but I've often ...

grognardia.blogspot.com

 

[Thondor]

Well this made me pull out my copy of "Champions of ZED: Zero Edition Dungeoneering." It attempts to present a "what if Gygax and Arneson's vision were a little more unified, and they had a good editor."

One of the things it does is present 3 methods of combat resolution, which is neat. It's relatively small bestiary lists things like
Giant Eagle - Attack 4 Lt Hrse, Defend 4 Hvy Hrse
Wraiths - Attack Hvy Foot, Defend 4 Hvy Foot

I've always meant to give the 2d6 methods in it a go.