24 October 2010

Running a Game Using Chainmail

I think it might be the fault of Scott (from Huge Ruined Pile), but I've been wanting to run a game using the Chainmail rules for the past week or so.

It's not an easy task, since I've never once run a game of oD&D with the "Alternate" rules that have become the d20 standard, let alone with a system that I've never used before, and that I'm having a hard time grokking. But I've got a couple of excellent resources, thanks to his post, and it can't be that hard when you've got multiple documents to pore over and then congeal into a mass of working rules knowledge. Kind of like that shit that gathers on top of your shower drain after you've had a long day's toil (and lemme tell you, after a good, hot day in the desert, you gather quite the pile), I'm hoping that if I search and read and bend my mind enough, I'll get enough understanding together to maybe set off the spark in other people.

After all, if you can't get enthusiastic about a game, how can you expect any of your players to follow that enthusiasm? They're not going to carry the game for you, no matter how very cool they are.

The game itself will probably be over some sort of VOIP connection, possibly Skype or Mumble if we can figure it out, and we might even have a campaign wiki to keep track of notes and stuff. I fully expect it to be more use to me than to them, since I fully expect to devote more of my time to writing articles and stuff than I expect anybody else to.

DMing- for when you have more spare time than you know what to do with.

5 comments:

  1. This is relevant to my interests. Please do report on how it goes.

    I was also pointed towards this game in my comments:

    http://stores.lulu.com/elflairgames

    Jason Vey is the gentleman who did the "Forbidden Lore" supplement about integrating Chainmail with OD&D, so I'm about to have a look through the free basic edition of his standalone rules, which are apparently d6-based and resemble a hybrid of OD&D and Chainmail.

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  2. Vey's Age of Conan books are honestly what inspired me to make the switch. I took a peek at his offerings when I heard about the Warriors of Mars book, then gravitated straight to Age of Conan. When that turned my head into mush, I delved directly into the Forbidden Lore book, which has done a good deal to turn Chainmail into something that I can nearly grok.

    I'll report on it as best I can, naturally, assuming I can get a stable group going. My initial test group size will probably be three, with any luck, which is just fine by me.

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  3. I can't help it! I'd always wondered about Chainmail, if for no other reason than it was supposedly the reason behind D&D. Then, I read that people have written little books about how to use it in D&D, also, here's how to play Conan using Chainmail and OD&D. How can I resist? My poor little mind can only take so much. :(

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  4. Same for me, chief.

    Nice A, by the way.

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