D&D GROUND AND SPELL AREA SCALE
by Gary Gygax


 

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Dragon 15	-	Best of Dragon, Vol. II	-	Dragon

The differences between the indoor ground scale, 1” = 10 feet,
and the outdoor measure of distance, 1" = 10 yards causes considerable confusion and misunderstanding amongst DMs and players alike.
This ambiguity will be fully taken care of in ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, but it is also worth discussion here for the
benefit of those readers who do not obtain the new game, as well as to
examine the root cause of the problem. Here is how it all came about.
Under cover date of 1 July 1970, I published the last issue of the
Castle & Crusades Society (an affiliate of the International Federation
of Wargaming) newsletter, DOMESDAY BOOK (#5). Therein was
printed the "Lake Geneva Tactical Studies Association Medieval Miniatures Rules — the progenitor of CHAINMAIL. These rules had a
ground scale of 1" = 10 yards. About this same time, I began having
the LGTSA play a rough set of fantasy rules which were eventually included as CHAINMAIL’s “Fantasy Supplement”. The medieval rules
contained a brief mention that mines were possible only when a campaign (long-term, map and paper game with table top battle resolution)
was being conducted. However, when CHAINMAIL appeared in 1971,
its section on sieges contained a paragraph telling readers to conduct
tunneling and counter-digging operations on paper, with a neutral third
party acting as judge. When Dave Arneson took this concept into the
“dungeons” of his Castle & Crusade Society medieval campaign castle,
Blackmoor, he used a one-third smaller ground scale. This change was
quite logical, and it was retained when I wrote D&D.
Ground scale and figure scale seldom agree due to the area of
available playing surface. At 25mm (1”) to 6’, a stout English longbow
would have a range of about 105"! Note that is actual distance on the
playing surface. Heavy crossbows and siege machinery (catapults) are
worse still. Upping the scale to 1” = 10’ doesn’t help all that much, for
we still have an effective longbow range of over five actual feet. Now,
all miniatures rules also deal with a time scale, and this must be such as
to allow for maneuver, movement, and combat over the playing surface. While a high movement rate is possible if the time scale is relatively long, this disallows any formation changing or maneuvering.

There are, therefore, three scales to deal with, figure scale, ground
scale, and time scale.
    A ground scale consideration is most important, for playing area is
    the most limiting factor. A 1" = 10 yards scale gives a sufficiently
    large scale area for conducting typical medieval battles if a 5’ X 10’
    table top or floor area is available.
    A time scale of 1 game turn equalling 1 scale minute allows for historic movement, fire, and combat.
    Figure scaling is the least important. The size of the casting dictates
    what scale is used: if 54 mm, 40 mm, or 30 mm size figures are used,
    the actual surface that a figure occupies dictates that a 1:20 scale
    ratio be used, i.e. about 1” x 1” of table top is taken up by the casting of a foot soldier, and this is 10 x 10 scale yards. 25 mm figures
    fall just a bit short, and if a 1:20 scale is to be used, figures should
    be base mounted at 1” per foot figure, 1½” x 3" for horse. 15 mm
    figures are perfect for a scale of 1: 10.
As there are considerable distortions in existence on the table top
(consider a 25mm figure being 30’ tall if measured by ground scale),
some very strange things heppen when the ignorant or deceitful player
attempts to use the D&D outdoor scale for magic range and area of effect without considering ground and figure scale. Len Lakofka was
kind enough to point out to me what happens if the yards of effect of a
spell are converted to feet in a game where a 1:1 ratio is used, viz. 1"
equals 6 scale feet. A huge area can be covered with webs from a lowly
magic-user’s second level spell. Of course this is ridiculous, as the 1" =
10 yards scale only applies in cases where all other scales are in proportion. Imagine the movement rate of figures — a heavily armored manat-arms would travel 30” per round, light cavalry 120”! If one scale is
tampered with, all of the others must be adjusted accordingly in order
to retain a reasonable, balanced, and playable game. Let us go back to
the origination of D&D again and discuss the concepts used therein in
relation to CHAINMAIL.

CHAINMAIL, being a set of medieval miniatures rules, was carefully grounded on historical evidence. It attempted to provide the
groundwork for simulations of historical battles using -miniature figurines. The “Fantasy Supplement” was an outgrowth of the medieval
rules and the “Man-to-Man Combat” (1 figure to 1 actual combatant)
section I also devised for conducting battles of several different campaigns I ran for the LGTSA. All of the fantastic people and monsters
were discussed in terms of CHAINMAIL. Spell ranges and areas of
effect were scaled to CHAINMAIL. Saving throws were devised to
match the combat abilities of creatures, which were in turn meshed with
the troop types normally included in CHAINMAIL. As D&D grew
from CHAINMAIL, it too used the same scale assumptions as its basis.
Changes had to be made, however, in order to meet the 1:1 figure ratio
and the underground setting. Movement was adjusted to a period ten
times longer than a CHAINMAIL turn of 1 minute, as exploring and
mapping in an underground dungeon is slow work. Combat, however,
stayed at the CHAINMAIL norm and was renamed a melee round or
simply round. As the object of the game was to provide a continuing
campaign where players created and developed game personae, the
chance for death (of either character or monster) was reduced from that
in CHAINMAIL, so that players could withdraw their characters from
unfavorable combat situations. Missile ranges were reduced by onethird (from scale yards to scale feet because of the confined area of play
and the conditions prevailing, viz. low ceilings, darkness, narrow passages, etc. The range and area of effect of each magic spell was adjusted accordingly, for the 1:1 ratio had to be considered, as did the
conditions of the area of activity and the ranges of normal missile
weapons. (Remember that D&D was developed as a game, and allowances for balance between character roles and character versus monster
confrontations were made.)

For about two years D&D was played without benefit of any visual
aids by the majority of enthusiasts. They held literally that it was a
paper and pencil game, and if some particular situation arose which demanded more than verbalization, they would draw or place dice as
tokens in order to picture the conditions. In 1976 a movement began
among D&Ders to portray characters with actual miniature figurines.
Miniature figure manufacturers began. to provide more and more
models aimed at the D&D market — characters, monsters, weapons,
dungeon furnishings, etc. Availability sparked interest, and the obvious
benefits of using figures became apparent: Distances could be pinned
down, opponents were obvious, and a certain extra excitement was
generated by use of painted castings of what players “saw”. Because of
the return of miniatures to D&D, the game is tending to come full
circle; back to table top battles not unlike those which were first fought
with D&D’s parent, CHAINMAIL’s “Fantasy Supplement”, now occurring quite regularly. Unfortunately, the majority of D&D enthusiasts did not grow up playing military miniatures, so even the most obvious precepts of table top play are arcane to them. Distorting the area of
effect of a spell seems to be an excellent idea to players with magic-user
characters, and many referees do not know how to handle these individuals when they wave the rule book under their nose and prate that
scale outdoors is 1” equals 10” yards.

More unfortunately, the blame for the possible ignorance of player
and Dungeon Master alike rests squarely on my shoulders. It would
have been a small matter to explain to everyone that the outdoor scale
must be used for range only, never for area of effect, unless a figure
ratio of 1:20, or 1:10, is used, and constructions (siege equipment,
buildings, castles, etc.) are scaled to figures rather than to ground
scale! If ground scale is changed, movement distances must be adjusted. If time scales are changed, both movement and missile
fire/spell casting must be altered. Furthermore, if 30 mm or 25 mm figures and scale buildings and terrain are not used, then the area of effect
must be adjusted proportionately. I ask your collective pardon for this
neglect, and I trust that the foregoing will now make the matter clear.
There are distortions of scales in D&D and ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS as well. Despite distortions, each meshes with
the other to make the game an enjoyable one.