Trench Crusade

''Trench Crusade'' (stylized in all caps) is a miniature wargame and horror setting. It is a collaboration between horror artist Mike Franchina, sculptor James Sherriff, and former Games Workshop designer Tuomas Pirinen. Franchina has previously worked on ''Magic the Gathering'', ''Diablo IV'', and ''Path of Exile'', while Pirinen was the lead designer for ''Mordheim'', part of ''Warhammer Fantasy Battles''. ''Trench Crusade'' is crowdfunded.

The setting was conceived by Franchina in 2016, which was primarily explored through his art and written lore. In August 2022 Franchina and sculptor James Sherriff collaborated to produce a range of Trench Crusade miniatures, backed by a Kickstarter. After the success of the initial models being crowdfunded, Pirinen announced in May 2023 that he was working with Franchina to adapt the setting into a tabletop miniature wargame. A preview of the rules was released by Pirinen in June 2023. The game uses a 32mm scale.

The game is currently on Version 1.6.3, which released on April 18th, 2025.

Setting

The setting of Trench Crusade takes place in a hyper-religious alternate history world that splits from ours in the year 1099 after the end of the First Crusade. In which after the crusade's successful capture of Jerusalem from the Fatimid Caliphate, members of the Knights Templar were manipulated and corrupted by a demonic artifact. Following this, the knights would then open a Gate of Hell in Jerusalem, reducing it to a depraved pit of despair where Hell itself bleeds into the Mortal Plane, or Earth.

The setting takes place 800 years after the demonic invasion of Jerusalem and the Levant, in the year 1914. The western Middle East, Anatolia, Caucasia, Arabia, Egypt, and the eastern half of Saharan Africa have all fallen to demonic forces, split between various heretic factions. The lands fought between heretic and faithful forces have been utterly destroyed, lined with hundreds of miles of trenches with open fields of no man's land, taking inspiration from the First World War.

The faithful are split between alt-history versions of modern Abrahamic religions. All of Christianity, with few exceptions, has been unified under a single doctrine, New Syncretic Orthodox (NSO). Which is a zealous and dogmatic church with near complete authority over all Christian nations. The NSO borrows its design from Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions, with its headquarters in Rome. Though it is currently lightly written, Jewish organizations do exist within Trench Crusade, such as the Hebrew Knights.

Most of the Islamic world has coalesced into a single school, with most Muslims living within the borders of the Iron Sultanate, a realm within Persia and Mesopotamia. There, Muslims live in relative peace within the mysterious " Iron Wall", a gigantean wall placed by God (Allah) himself, which acts as a barrier against heretics and non-Muslims alike.

The world of Trench Crusade has the level of technology like that of a slightly modified Second Industrial Revolution, which includes more fantastical elements like alchemy, religiously divine engineering, and the blessing of items and materials. This also includes the social livings of a feudal system, with dukes, princes, kings, and emperors ruling various lands of peasants and soldiery.

Factions

The factions of Trench Crusade for both Heretic and Faithful alike are split between major factions and their sub-factions (also called Variants), fighting against one another in the Great War. These organizations send out warbands of 6-20 individuals on various missions out in the trenches of no man’s land to search for items of interest and fight enemy warbands, whoever they may be. While factions hailing from one side or the other may fight alongside each other, such as a New Antioch and the Iron Sultanate. When goals or differences clash, they too will fight one another relentlessly to complete their desires. Alliances appear and disappear quickly and are usually situational.

The Faithful are the people of humanity and their creations. Christians, Jews, Muslims, and even some Pagans belong to the armies of the Faithful. They may not always agree on things, but they all equally despise the forces of Hell.

*Principality of New Antioch — This major faction is based in what was the ancient city of Antioch, and is considered the first and last line of defense of the Christian faithful in the Heretic domains in the Levant. After the old city of Antioch was destroyed by an unknown infernal weapon, the nations of Christianity convened in the Sword Congress of Vienna. Together, in a collective effort, they would rebuild Antioch stronger than ever, but also use it to act as a central bastion for operations in the Levant and beyond. This new city-state, New Antioch, would become a multicultural, economic, and military hub for warbands coming and going from the earthly domains of Hell. People from all over the Christian world come to serve under the banner of New Antioch, renouncing previous citizenships to join its army. It is current reigning monarch is Duke Constantine XI, one of the most powerful men in the world. All due to him serving as the Supreme Commander of all Faithful forces. New Antioch has multiple sub-factions:
**Alba Assault Detachment — Hailing from the Independent Kingdom of Alba (modern Scotland), these Scottish warriors specialize in close-quarters combat and all out assaults. They come to New Antioch for riches to send home and revenge against the Heretic naval fleets that raid their shores. They often hold grudges and pick fights with their English peers.
**Red Brigade — Created in collaboration with Westfalia Miniatures, this military unit serves as a solemn yet zealous force who only take the deadliest of missions. Adorned in blood-red armor, they fight rigorously in honor of those who gave their lives before them. Knowing death follows where they go, they all take ‘Blood Pledges’ by presenting an item of a fallen comrade, only gaining membership by understanding death and loss. The Red Brigade has been completely destroyed multiple times in its history, so much so that they have a tradition with the reigning Dukes and Duchesses to restore it after such an event has occurred.
**Papal States Intervention Force — Coming from the Papal States in central Italy, rather than serve the Duke of New Antioch, they obey orders from the Supreme Pontiff himself. These Elite Soldiers are sent into various places to seek out items of religious significance to the Church, as well as eliminating Heretic leaders who are a danger to the Faithful.
**Éire Rangers — Originating from Éire (Ireland), these soldiers are masters of hit-and-run, ambushes, and general guerrilla warfare. The Éire have a bitter hatred of the worshipers of Hell, after a great many years of Naval Raiding and endless diseases spread by the Black Grail. Much to the dissatisfaction of the Church, these Rangers carry many Pagan rituals of their pre-church ancestors, such as adorning themselves with grisly battle trophies. Either way, New Antioch accepts them due to their skills in land surveying and the ability to live of the land in which they fight.
**Stoßtruppen of the Free State of Prussia — These Shock troopers, or Stormtroopers, come from a Prussia ruled by democracy, the only one of its kind in Europe. These Elite soldiers only come from the best of best in Prussia, requiring a recruit to be younger than 25, be unmarried, be highly athletic, and be shown to extreme aggression in battle. These stoßtruppen work in synchronized fireteams trained in combined-arms tactics. Of all of Prussia military units, the Stoßtruppen have the highest casualty rate.
**Expeditionary Forces of Abyssinia — These African warriors hail from the Solomonic Empire of Abyssinia (or Ethiopia). They are Masters of mobile warfare and taking on loose formations. While also fighting the demonic legions of Mammon in Africa alongside a coalition of African kingdoms, they send forces to New Antioch to fight their enemy in their heartland. In order to be accepted into the Expeditionary Forces, volunteers must take the dangerous pilgrimage to Abuna Yemata Guh, a church 8,500 feet (2,580m) up a mountain.

References

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Tabletop games
Apocalyptic fiction
Catholic Church in popular culture
Christianity in popular culture
Fiction about Catholicism
Hell in popular culture
Horror games
Islam in popular culture
Jerusalem in fiction
Knights Templar in popular culture
Miniature wargames
Fiction about transhumanism
World War I in popular culture