Chain Devil's Dancing Chains

[cheshire_grin]

I didn't say it was actually made of chains, just that given the definition of a chain ("a series of (usually metal) rings or links fitted into one another to make a flexible ligament"), chainmail is very similar in form to a number of chains, all linked together to become a mesh.

I'm not sure where you're getting that it's a misnomer; Wikipedia says it's a neologism, but says nothing about being a misnomer.

Heck, if you look at the detail image (File:Chainmail detail.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) you can clearly see that the vertical rows look and are constructed very similarly to chains.

 

[Jhaelen]

I'm not sure where you're getting that it's a misnomer; Wikipedia says it's a neologism, but says nothing about being a misnomer.

It's my conclusion after reading the article that it's a misnomer: It describes how it looks rather than what it's actually made of.
The article itself only mentions it's a pleonasm and a neologism.

Heck, if you look at the detail image (File:Chainmail detail.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) you can clearly see that the vertical rows look and are constructed very similarly to chains.

Well _I_ cannot 'clearly' see that. I'm probably handicapped by knowing how those things are constructed.

But I'm already happy you've actually looked at the article. If your conclusions are different from mine, that's okay for me. Go ahead and let your chain devils animate those chain mails

 

[cheshire_grin]

I could see a DM ruling either way, which is fine. As a DM I would probably go with the "one chainmail = one chain, attacking the character wearing it" idea, just because it would make for an interesting combat.