32mm grimdark miniatures set in the horrors of the Trench Crusade.
Important note:
* THE PRE-ORDER STORE IS NOW CLOSED
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Shipping update
5 months ago
– Fri, Feb 23, 2024 at 02:18:53 AM
Greetings, pilgrims!
This is just a quick shipping update to let you know where we are.
As per the last update, the First Wave was being done manually by me (in my living room) just because of the delays – I have been sending as many out as I can, prior to the fulfilment centres having available slots again. It’s been a huge amount of work but we are getting there!
I have one final batch of minis I need to collect next week and these will be going to the US fulfilment centre as soon as I have done quality control and ensured we have everything bagged correctly per SKU (stock keeping unit – basically a way for the shipping centre to identify each item).
Really sorry it has taken so long to get here, but the pledges are being sent out now and over the course of the next couple of months (depending on where you are in the world, plus we have been sending in backer number order for fairness). Some people will have received theirs already, others are in the post and more are on their way!
Brazen Bull concept
Here is the latest concept art by Mike Franchina for the Sultanate faction in the upcoming Trench Crusade game – the Brazen Bull.
“It is with artillery that the Sultan makes his arguments known.”
Due to the protection afforded by the Iron Wall, the Sultanate has always maintained excellence in artillery. However, the siege guns and heavy mortars that defend Those Who Believe on the ramparts of the Wall are far too cumbersome for small expeditionary forces. Thus in the year of the Hijrah 821, Sultan Bayezid III commissioned a new creature of war to act as living field artillery.
To fulfil this decree the Jabirean scientists of the Royal Artillery House have laboured for centuries to perfect the divine art of takwin. In their secret laboratories they performed countless experiments, learning many precious and costly lessons in the process. They have devised many things, but none more clever or ingenious than the Brazen Bull, called Boğa by the soldiery of the Sultanate.
The Brazen Bull is a monstrous being of immense power and vitality, capable of tearing even the bastard child of a devil clean in half. The Sultan’s armourers equip the Bulls with heavy artillery that even the superhuman Janissaries cannot lift, let alone use in battle: flame cannons, volley guns and holy blades blessed by the Word of the Great Protector.
Encasing its mighty frame is exquisitely decorated bronze armour of thrice hardened scales, covered in talismans of protection and the Grace of the Creator. On the battlefields beyond the Iron Wall, the Brazen Bull is an awesome and terrifying sight. It is a single-minded, fearless walking bulwark, a tower and shield which the war parties of the Sultanate rally behind. Such is the power of their weapons that the very earth shakes with their pounding, disrupting the enemy advance even when they fail to slay their target.
Links
If you want to be kept in the loop about the Trench Crusade game (designed by Tuomas Pirinen, in case anyone missed that!), here are some links for you:
Thank you as always for your support and patience. We are almost there pilgrims!
Cheers,
James
Shipping update
6 months ago
– Thu, Jan 25, 2024 at 02:01:18 PM
Greetings, pilgrims!
I hope the New Year is treating you well. This is a quick shipping update and a straight up apology from me - I seriously underestimated how much time would be required to do the First Wave manually (please see previous updates for more details).
The First Wave is being done manually by me (in my living room) just because of all the delays - I really wanted to send as many out as soon as possible, prior to the fulfilment centres having available slots again (which is February/March). I massively underestimated how long it would take me to sort through all the First Wave miniatures - quality checking, picking, bagging, making boxes, packing, address labels, customs forms... I bit off a bit more than I could chew! ;)
One box of several hundred Trench Pilgrims, with rifles and tilt shields/ailettes (which are annoyingly difficult to pickup!)
And lots of other boxes of miniatures that have been checked, sorted and require bagging with their assorted limbs, weapons and bases!
So sorry for the delay! Some people will have received their's already, others are in the post and more will be sent next week. Then I am heading down to Zealot Miniatures to collect the final batch of miniatures and will be sending those to the fulfilment centres to get the Second Wave (and by far the largest wave!) sent out in February and March.
Really sorry about all of this. As mentioned previously, if it wasn't for SioCast delays, this would all have been done and sent out a month or more ago.
Thanks as always for your support and patience! We are almost there!
Cheers,
James
Playtest rules for the current miniatures
7 months ago
– Sun, Dec 31, 2023 at 09:01:23 AM
Brothers & Sisters! As the year draws to a close, we bring a small gift - playtest rules for the miniatures from this Kickstarter campaign!
These are available to hire for the Trench Pilgrims warband. They consist of:
The Witchburner General
Communicant anti-tank hunter
Mendelist ammo monk
Combat medic
Observer
These mercenaries are slightly different to hire, since you cannot pay for them in gold ducats, but must instead earn Glory Points with deeds of valour. These are explained in the Playtest Rules (see Glorious Deeds).
As per previous update, if you have any questions and/or feedback, please join our Discord (kindly hosted by 28 mag) here: Trench Crusade Discord.
Wishing all of you a very Happy, Healthy & Prosperous New Year!
Mike, Tuomas & James
Happy Holidays! Enjoy your R&R while you can...
7 months ago
– Tue, Dec 26, 2023 at 02:02:27 PM
Hallowed pilgrims! Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year to you all!
It is our pleasure to present to you the first draft of the Trench Crusade Playtest Rules. Thank you for supporting the game!
This first draft covers the basic rules, most common weapons, armour and equipment, one scenario, keywords used in the game as well as two warband lists, namely the blasphemous Heretic Legion and the crazed Trench Pilgrims! We suggest you start with the Quick Start section of the rules to familiarise yourself with the basics.
To state the obvious, these are not the final rules. They are missing explanatory diagrams and gameplay examples, campaign and exploration rules, supernatural powers, most of the warband lists and scenarios, terrain and miniature painting sections and much, much more. However, they should allow you to sample the game and learn its basics as we await the full release.
Neither layout nor the art presents the final quality, and due to the constant cycle of playtesting and revisions, there are bound to be mistakes as well as plenty of rules that are going to change in the course of development. Please bear this in mind as you acquaint yourself with these rules. Feedback is welcome, and the best way is to join the Trench Crusade Discord channel and post your questions and comments there. We will strive to answer them to the best of our ability.
We plan to release more playtest rules in the near future (including rules for all the models released in the initial Kickstarter), as well as more scenarios, warbands and rules for campaigns. We will also revise the core rules when they change during development and share these with the community as well.
The best way to keep abreast of all the latest developments is to sign up to our newsletter at: www.trenchcrusade.com
I hope you’ll enjoy your time with Trench Crusade. I firmly believe it is the best ruleset I’ve written in my 27-year career as a professional game designer.
Tuomas Pirinen
First Wave – Shipping commences!
8 months ago
– Sat, Dec 09, 2023 at 07:03:56 AM
Anointed! Come hither for news from the Front…
I managed to collect the First Wave from Zealot Miniatures yesterday and am going to be packing as many as I can this weekend, then shipping them out on Monday/Tuesday. I am away from Wednesday 13th December (family holiday – rather needed if I’m being honest!) until after Christmas, at which point I will recommence shipping of the First Wave.
I will then be collecting the Second Wave in January – this will consist of all remaining miniatures (taking us up to around 18,000 in total). These will then be heading to our fulfilment centres in order to be shipped out in February/March (please see previous update).
The fairest way I can think of shipping these is in backer number order. This means that Kickstarter backers will get their miniatures shipped out first, whilst late backers who pre-ordered through BackerKit will be in the Second Wave.
I am just going through the first batch – stock taking and some extra quality checking – today (Saturday 9th), but we have in the region of 4000 miniatures ready for the First Wave. And with that said, here is what 4000 miniatures looks like!
And here are some photos I took at the Zealot Miniatures workshop yesterday. As you can see, there are a lot of miniatures! I also got to witness a live casting of communicants in the SioCast machine - and you can see the results in the open mould below.
Lots of Trench Crusade miniatures on the bench (and in the crates below). These are ready to be snipped from the sprues which will be recycled in Zealot's new grinder to make more pilgrims. Huzzah!
Ammo monks awaiting deployment...
Some of the smaller parts are being hand-cast in resin (due to being slightly too thin for the SioCast, which tends to cool down - and harden - before it reaches some of the narrower extremities of the mould.
Freshly cast Communicants, spawned from the birthing vats of New Antioch!
Final reminder for those who have yet to complete the backer survey!
I have just sent out a final reminder to the few people who have not yet managed to fill out the BackerKit survey. Please, if you have yet to fill this out - or you are not sure if you have or not - please do get in touch! You can send me a message here on Kickstarter and I will assist in any way I can.
Locking addresses
As we are now commencing shipping, we will be locking addresses shortly. If you have any problems, or are planning on moving soon, please let me know (again, a Kickstarter direct message will be fine).
In other news…
Work on the Trench Crusade skirmish game continues apace. Playtesting, rules tweaking, sculpting, more art, lore writing… there is a lot happening! We have a first draft of rules that will be ready very soon for you, our wonderful backers, to try out before anyone else. This will consist of game rules, starting a warband, sample warbands, weapons, equipment and a scenario. Watch out for an update on this very soon!
Mailing list
We have also launched our Trench Crusade landing page for the forthcoming skirmish game (being designed by the legendary Tuomas Pirinen, for those who didn't already know). Here you can sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know about the latest updates, including game development, art, lore, sculpts and more!
