Chainmail First EditionA set of supplementary rules used back in 1970 to adapt ancients-era miniature war games to the battles found in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings turns out to have provided inspiration and a source of material for the first edition of Chainmail, itself a precursor to Dungeons & Dragons. These rules, developed by Leonard Patt for the New England Wargamers Association, were recently rediscovered by author Jon Peterson in an obscure newsletter from the time, The Courier. Peterson’s careful analysis demonstrates how Patt’s rules for wizards, heroes, dragons, and fireballs were borrowed by Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren for the Fantasy Supplement of Chainmail.