Taking a closer look at the Chainmail game has led me to place some long-standing features of D&D under the microscope. Chainmail as it was used in medieval wargames, prior to its shift into fantasy, has a concern with the physicality of the game world which appeals to me. It feels like some of this materialist essence was lost at the point wargames transitioned into RPGs. But was this outcome unavoidable?
I’ve decided to take a harder look at some of the staple features of D&D that have endured from the Original D&D onwards, to the extent of becoming ingrained in RPG culture. My angle is whether these contribute to a materialist role playing experience (you can see what I mean here), or instead distract from this by placing the character at the centre of the universe.
