The skies shall darken, the ground
shall open up and the screams of
the damned shall echo through
the ages.
- Novae Revelationes 99:24, Trench Crusade
Greetings friends of the Caesura, and welcome back to your Friday dose of The Art of Caesura!
I hope you are well, and I'm sending loads of positive vibes your way, especially if you need them today (and you will after reading of the awesome Grimdark horrors ahead).
Last week we left off looking at my plans and aspirations for Hive Fleet Klendathu, and today I had planned to show you the test model that I have painted for this Starship Troopers-inspired Tyranid force. However, something cool is afoot, and it's kind of time-sensitive...
That's right - there's a Kickstarter (which has now raised over 2 million dollars!) for a very Grimdark miniatures skirmish game and it is due to end on Tuesday, so I decided to reschedule things on the blog a little to draw your attention to this before you miss your chance.
I am talking about Trench Crusade!
The best places to jump into Trench Crusade are with its lore and art direction, and then we shall look at what the game is all about and the luminaries behind it. I will warn you that both the story and art are quite mature and so you may consider this as a warning to those who are not fans of body horror. As a final piece of housekeeping, all images, quotations and videos are taken from the Trench Crusade Kickstarter and website (both linked at the bottom) and I do not claim to own any of them.
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I do like these "alternate timeline" narratives, and while this ground has been well trod in the past [by the likes of Wolfenstein, Doom, Hellboy, and even Reichbusters (all franchises that I adore)], Trench Crusade definitely has its own identity; and I think the reason for that is due the core team that created it.
When you first encounter Trench Crusade, it is the art style that draws you in. It is both stark, yet detailed; often sparce, yet horrifying. Unlike Warhammer 40k (another franchise that I adore), there are exceedingly few "fight scenes", hardly any big battles depicted. Instead, this action is replaced by stillness in the artwork which is even more foreboding and, in some instances, truly horrifying. It really elevates the role of the viewer from passive spectator to actively filling in the gaps with your imagination.
The legend behind the art direction - and indeed the creator of Trench Crusade - is none other than Mike Franchina (who lent his artistic genius to Blizzard (Diablo 2, 3 and 4), Fatshark (Vermintide, Darktide) as well as having worked on Path of Exile 2 and also Magic: The Gathering. This guy is a serious heavy hitter, and until recently, he has just been working on Trench Crusade in his spare time!
The incredible artwork is lovingly brought to life (or at least to the third dimension) by James Sherriff, a sculptor who is legendary for having co-created 28 Magazine (if you are unfamiliar with this, but are into Grimdark miniatures, please drop what you're doing right now, stop reading this blog post, and click the link to check out this free magazine, you can thank me later!) and having worked with John Blanche, sculpting the miniatures for his Morderin range.
The creators of Trench Crusade have always held as one of their core tenants that you are encouraged to kitbash your own miniatures and that you can treat Trench Crusade as miniatures agnostic. However, with this Kickstarter they are finally releasing their own miniatures (physical and STL) that you may purchase if you so wish. Here you can see examples of some of the Trench Crusade Miniatures (which, by the way, are being 3D printed in ABS resin rather than made from injection-moulded PVC which should make them both durable and detailed):
New Antioch is the main human coalition, the regular humans (like Warhammer 40k's, Imperial Guard (Astra Militarum).
The Heretic Legion would be most similar to 40k's Chaos Undivided.
The Iron Sultanate are another human faction, but make great use of alchemy to enhance their more elite forces.
Nurgle, but not jolly.
The final human faction, they are like Cawdor from Necromunda - numerous but (mostly) low quality troops.
Following The Seven Headed Serpent allows you to pledge to one of the 7 Deadly Sins, given you unique spells dependant on your choice.
So, as you can see, the art and miniatures look totally rad (and very heavy metal), but what about the game?
Oh, didn't I mention? The game is designed by Tuomas Pirinen, you know, the guy who CREATED Mordheim and Warhammer 6th Edition, as well as having worked for EA, Ubisoft, Remedy, and Playstation. Serious chops!
The team have pledged that the rules will always be available free online. Although they are still a work-in-progress, you can find the most recent rulebook here.
While I have not yet played Trench Crusade, I have been seriously deep diving into it and the rules look like they perfectly match the theme. It is played on a 3'' x 3'' or 4'' x 4'' board and uses alternating activations (I go, you go).
One of the main mechanics is that standard rolls (the game uses D6s) typically use 2 dice. If your guy is better than average then you add more dice and take the result of the best two (typically aiming for 7-11 with 12+ being a crit). If your model is hampered (they are wounded / their target is behind cover etc.) then you still add more dice, but now you take the result of the worst two dice.
The rules seem quite elegant, fun and hectic - even if you stack loads of bonuses and get to roll 5 dice, you could still roll all 1s and 2s! This swinginess will be familiar to fans of Mordheim, and really brings to life the chaos of trench warfare.
Oh yes, and in case all of that wasn't awesome enough, Warhammer fans will be ecstatic to hear that John Blanche, Paul Bonner and Dave Gallagher have contributed artwork (John Blanche has even created a guide to painting the War Wolf!); Graham McNeill and Gav Thorpe will both be penning stories in the rulebook; and Andy Chambers will be creating a special character!
I hope you have enjoyed this look at Trench Crusade! I am not affiliated with them in any way (a boy can dream!) but I just wanted to draw your attention to this awesome-looking game.
I will leave you with a bunch of resources for Trench Crusade:
And I shall see you right here next week, and every Friday, on The Art of Caesura!
Reading: Parable of the Talents - Octavia Butler
Next Week:
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