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:
Happy Holidays! Enjoy your R&R while you can...
4 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!
4 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!
Right, the Witchburner is giving me a funny look, I’d better get back to work…
See you in the trenches!
James
Assassin of the Iron Sultanate by Mike Franchina.
Casting & New Fulfilment Schedule
5 months ago
– Thu, Nov 30, 2023 at 05:25:13 AM
Blessed pilgrims!
A quick update…
Casting & New Fulfilment Schedule
Zealot Miniatures have been hard at work in the foundry and I should be able to collect a large batch (1000 copies of each miniature) next week. These will be sent out in the First Wave commencing December.
I am away for Christmas from 13th December (a much-needed family holiday!), so will ensure that I can get as many sent out before then as possible. I will recommence shipping of this first wave in January.
The Second Wave should then be ready to collect later in January, around half of which I will personally deliver to Spiral Galaxy Games (EU and RotW fulfilment) who will be able to ship February/March. The rest will be sent to Ironheart Artisans for US backers (I am just waiting to hear back from them to see when their next available shipping slot will be, but hopefully March at the latest). Unfortunately the dreadful delays caused by SioCast (see previous updates) had a terrible knock-on effect with literally everything, including our shipping companies who had to cancel our original slots and attempt to fill them with other work.
Your remarkable patience during these challenging times is truly praiseworthy, and we deeply appreciate your unwavering support. I must admit, the past three months have been quite stressful. We want to express our gratitude to all of you for standing by us, trusting us to fulfil this campaign.
Glad tidings, pilgrims!
6 months ago
– Tue, Oct 31, 2023 at 05:52:28 AM
Anointed ones! A messenger arrives bearing glad tidings… The SioCast thermoplastic has finally arrived! Forge monks of New Antioch have been roused from prayer and assigned to their manufactory posts… casting has now recommenced at the Zealot foundry! Praise be.
Your patience through these trying times has been incredible – your stalwart support so much appreciated, you cannot imagine. Not gonna lie, it has been pretty stressful these past three months waiting for the plastic to arrive, especially not knowing when it was likely to appear (after numerous promises of “next week” from SioCast). So thank you all for standing by us and for trusting us to get this campaign fulfilled. :)
I’m just waiting to get some new timescales from Zealot Miniatures and am also keeping the fulfilment companies (Spiral Galaxy Games and Ironheart Artisans) informed throughout. This delay unfortunately, if understandably, had a knock-on effect with them, since they blocked out shipping time slots for us which they have subsequently had to try to fill up with other work.
Once I have the new timescales, I can talk to Spiral and Ironheart about their next available shipping slots. I will update everyone as soon as I have more info on that, but Ironheart (US fulfilment) have informed me that their next available slot is currently in December. The SioCast delay has had such a knock-on effect, it is most vexing. Apologies once again – be assured the miniatures are coming!
+++
Also in this update:
STL link closing tomorrow
Our first painted 3D prints
A special announcement…
STL link closing tomorrow (1stNovember)
Our small gesture of gratitude to our long-suffering yet faithful backers (the download link for six Trench Crusade miniatures) will be closing tomorrow, 1st November. If anyone has had any problems downloading/accessing the files, please get in touch and I will do my best to assist.
As per the previous update, all we humbly ask is that you do not share the STLs. These are for backers’ personal use only. Here’s the link again for anyone who missed it. We hope you enjoy them!
We have our first painted 3D prints from a backer!
Pilgrims! Behold the righteous zeal of one of our flock! Bastian (abyshaii on Instagram) has downloaded, printed and painted the Communicant and Ammo Monk! Witness their splendour and weep with joy, pilgrims, as they march to the front to lay waste to all that is unholy.
Communicant and Ammo Monk painted by Bastian (abyshaii on Instagram).
Special announcement: Dave Gallagher joins the Crusade!
We are excited to announce that the titanic legend Dave Gallagher (Dave Gallagher Art) will be creating some artwork for Trench Crusade!
Dave really needs no introduction. He spent years making some of the most memorable Warhammer, 40K and Mordheim artwork (Mike is particularly partial to his weird but wonderful Empire citizens). Dave has a truly unique imagination and we are blessed he has agreed to make some artwork for us.
This is a teaser of Dave’s artwork for the Trench Crusade rulebook – much more to come!
++Art by Dave Gallagher++
Page furniture for the forthcoming Trench Crusade rulebook by Dave Gallagher.
That is all for now, pilgrims. Apologies once more for the delays but thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support, fortitude and understanding! You all rock.
Casting update
6 months ago
– Thu, Oct 19, 2023 at 01:19:08 PM
Trench pilgrims! News from the Front…
In this update:
SioCast delays
A small gesture from us
Locking shipping addresses
The Lion of Jabir
Artillery Battery by Artem Demura
SioCast delays
In our last update, we mentioned that SioCast had delayed a large order of thermoplastic for Zealot Miniatures (our caster) to continue casting the many thousands of miniatures required for Trench Crusade. Zealot placed this order almost THREE MONTHS AGO now, but they are still waiting for SioCast to send it. This is most vexing and probably very disappointing for you to hear – it certainly is for us! We can only apologise profusely for the long delay caused by them. It is totally out of our hands (and our caster’s) which is so frustrating.
SioCast have been pretty vague and disappointing in their replies, and we have often had to wait for responses to multiple emails, with excuses ranging from staff vacations to disruptions in SioCast’s operations (apparently due to “changes in their purchasing and logistics department”). They assure us that they have resolved these matters now.
SioCast’s CEO emailed Zealot last night to apologise for the delays and he said that the material will be shipped out today (19th October). SioCast are in Spain, Zealot are in the UK, so hopefully this will take no more than a week. Let us hope that this time, the shipment actually arrives (a previous shipment was apparently returned at customs) and there are no customs delays.
This all sadly amounts to a further extension to the timeframe, I am extremely sorry to say. We are extremely frustrated by SioCast’s poor customer service and can only apologise – once again – for yet another delay. If we could source the thermoplastic from elsewhere, we would, but it is a special formula devised by SioCast to work specifically with their machines. This means we have no choice but to order material from them – there is simply nowhere else to get it.
We have updated our fulfilment centres accordingly – Spiral Galaxy Games (UK, EU & RoW) and Ironheart Artisans (US) – regarding the SioCast delay. This obviously has a knock-on effect with our shipping centres, since they blocked out time slots for us, which they understandably now have to try to fill up with other work. The knock-on effect caused by the delay has been wearisome for everyone.
All this means that, whilst I originally planned to go to Zealot a while ago to collect a first batch of miniatures, I am still not able to do this as we still need close to 10,000 miniatures from this first batch to send to our fulfilment centres. Rest assured that as soon as they are ready, I’ll be zooming down to Zealot to collect them, quality check them and then send the entire batch on to the fulfilment centre. I will of course update you again when I have more information. Rest assured, you WILL get your miniatures!
A small gesture from us
Because you have all been such amazing, patient and understanding backers, we wanted to offer a small something to say thank you. It is not much, but please find a download link below for six miniatures for our glorious backers (communicant, ammo monk, combat medic, witchburner, trench pilgrim and observer). These are unsupported STL files, so if you’d like to print them (for personal use only, of course!) then feel free – you’d just need to add the supports yourself for your specific 3D printer.
All we ask is that you please do not share them. These are for backers’ personal use only. We will leave the Dropbox link open until the end of October, which should hopefully give you time to download them. We hope you enjoy them!
Locking shipping addresses
Just a little heads up, pilgrims. We haven’t locked shipping addresses yet, since production has not quite finished, but we will be looking to lock addresses nearer the time when we are ready to start shipping. This gives anyone who may be moving over the next couple of weeks a bit of time to change their address. When we are ready to lock, we will update you here, plus you’ll get a 48 hour notification email from BackerKit.
And now for a new concept by Mike for the forthcoming Trench Crusade skirmish game…
Lion of Jabir
In the fabled Sultanate of the Iron Wall, deep beneath the golden gardens of Damascus, through the Cavern of the Sleeper, and past the Seven Gates of Potentiality, are the vast laboratories and metaphysical factories of the Alchemists.
Using the mysterious Jabirean process called takwin, the alchemists are able to create artificial life, and produce all manner of strange and wondrous beasts and automatons to delight the masses of the souk and grace the gardens of the Sultan.
Deeper still, in the darkest and most secret reaches of the alchemy complex, past the Seven Hidden Gates of Actuality, are the sanctums where the art and science of takwin is honed to its most keen and deadly purpose. Here they make the dreaded Lions of Jabir.
Named after the deadly hunters of the plains, the Lions of Jabir can take many forms, not all of them leonine. Each one is a unique masterwork, and they are grown according to the skills and artistry of the Jabirean scientist that created them. The esoteric arts the alchemagi employ are learned through study of forbidden Books of Solomon, and many alchemists are killed when their experiments fail or run amok. However, the Lions are in desperate demand by the army of Sultanate, so the program continues, regardless of cost and casualties.
Creating the Lions of Jabir is extremely difficult, and there are endless variables to consider. Because of this the Lions are often malformed in some way. Though still magnificent hunters in war, their malformations often cause their existence to be one of constant physical pain and suffering. The truly tragic cases are the Lions created with human-like intelligence, who are wracked with existential dread as they realise the horror of their unnatural origins.
In battle the Lions of Jabir are deadly threats and are used as a vanguard of the host of the Sultanate. The Sultan himself has a hunting pack of seventy-seven enormous Lions of Jabir that guard him day and night, and accompany him on the battlefield. The speed and ferocity of the Lions is nearly unmatched, and some even have strange powers granted by their alchemical birth. Many have armour melded with the flesh and fashioned from alchemical metals, etched with cryptic seals and sigils, and richly embellished by the Alchemists to hide the defects in their creations.
++Art by Mike Franchina++
A Lion of Jabir.
Well, that’s it for this update. Sorry again for the delays but thank you so much for your support, patience and understanding! We’ve had so many messages of support it is truly humbling. You are amazing.
