Freaky Finns Edition

>What is Trench Crusade?
An alternate weird history 28mm/32mm tabletop skirmish game still in a pre-release playtesting phase but with the full release slated for this year. Based on the art and lore of Mike Franchina, whose illustrations you may have seen floating around on /tg/ for a several years now, and designed by Tuomas Pirinen, one of the original creators of Mordheim. It's grimdark, it's visceral, it's awesome, and it's very Blanchitsu.

>What Trench Crusade is not
TC not an excuse for you to discuss IRL religion, history that didn't occur in the game, culture war shit, or discord bullshit on /tg/. Keep it on topic.

>What's the QRD on the background?
The Knights Templar turned heretic and opened the Gates of Hell when they took Jerusalem during the First Crusade. Over 800 years later the war is still ongoing as technology has developed to a pseudo diesel-punk WW1 standard and a third of Humanity has sided with the Infernal Princes.

>How do I get started?
All the files are free online, but are split between the website and the discord. They have all been collected here for your convenience:
https://mega.nz/folder/70QH0BBa#Eg-blxYQKkY_C02wErnFTQ

>third party sources for making trenchers:
https://pastebin.com/YzXPVUAc

>Trench Compendium
Compendium: https://trenchcompendium.netlify.app/
Feedback Form: https://forms.gle/k44MxmJxWu3upDHT8

>Previous thread:
>>95990671

>Thread Question:
What appeals to you when pick a faction in a game? What drew you to /yourguys/ faction?

>>96168498 (OP)
Random tyranid converter and enthusiast response:
>What appeals to you when pick a faction in a game?
Cool monster designs, preferably a full monster faction, which is mostly lacking in TC.
Also "satanic" imagery of TC is very bland and surface-level, without actual esotericism. Sin-based fluff in Court fluff is very underwhelming and trite, especially for a faction that throws around terms like "goethic", would've preferred the Lesser Key approach which - while being also fairly pop culture - is still more interesting. I am waiting for Temple of Metamorphosis to maybe change that.
All the body horror also feels kind of on the cheaper side and all deviations from that are minimal. Exceptions I'd say are Chorister, Sister of the Transcendent Chrysalid, Pupal Seraphim and Angel of Transcendence. Other ToM designs feel like they lean into generic creepy crawly insect stuff too much, morphologically.
But I struggle to envision a good model to be made out of Angel of Transcendence, the design is wayyy too greebly, would look like a mess on tabletop from an elbows distance.

>>96168498 (OP)
>What appeals to you when pick a faction in a game?
I like the sheretic l
Legion and New Antioch. There just is something in man vs man in fantasy setting that gets me, even if there are fantastic races and monsters roaming the same world.

>>96168598
>Also "satanic" imagery of TC is very bland and surface-level, without actual esotericism.
Wow, it's as if the entire game is an aesthetic pastiche with no real depth.

>>96169064
>Wow, it's as if the entire game is an aesthetic pastiche with no real depth.
I mean my complaint was that the "good" factions have much more thought-out designs, pulling stuff from multiple branches of Christianity and whatnot, on top of various european, medieval and WW1 designs.
Meanwhile half of Franchina's monsters are kinda uninspired TEETH-TEETH-TEETH, CLAWS-CLAWS-CLAWS, GUTS-GUTS-GUTS body horror that frankly tries too hard, when I think body horror is more effective when it leans onto goofy/uncanny or focuses on particular distortions of certain body parts rather than raw predatory danger.
Also you're lucky to see some Lesser Key-esque iconography on regular evil troops but then again the demons themselves (or at least the Serpent, current de-facto demon faction) follow entirely different theming of regular ass Deadly Sins, which is lame.
(as a side note forgot to mention that the Pit Locust design is also quite good)

>>96168498 (OP)
>everyone can now take Fireteam dogs
When did this get changed? Looking forward using a dog to brace my Siege Jezzail
>TQ
Picked IS because the rules looked fun and nobody in my group already had them. I like taking an artillery piece in skirmish games, so Iron Wall are a great fit

>>96168498 (OP)
>What appeals to you when pick a faction in a game? What drew you to /yourguys/ faction?
Whenever I pick up a game the only thing I really check out is what the models look like because even if I can't play it I wasn't the models to be cool. I picked HL accordingly, war woof and Arty Witch are just cool sculpts

>>96168498 (OP)
Alright bois, weekend starts tomorrow who is playing games?
>home or flgs
>what are the bois rocking
>campaign style or skirmish
>ducat limits
In going to be introducing a buddy of mine who's been off the periphery of tabletop for a long time with a skirmish at 900d and 8g. He'll be playing heretic legion and either my buddy Biggy D will play NA or I'll play a bad HL list so the new guy doesn't get tabled

We're playing a campaign set on shores of the Baltic, so I've just thrown together a folk art inspired pattern to use as a symbol for my Grail playing friend whose warband comes from rural parts of Poland
Nothing amazing, but I'm hardly a graphic designer, so I'm still kinda glad how it turned out

We also have a Heretic Naval Raiding Party, a Papal State Intervention Force, a Tatar inspired Iron Sultanate warband, a Pride dedicated Court Warband and a Trench Pilgrim band from destroyed Gotland (in our story the current conflict started when a bunch of Heretic submarines managed to sneak to Gotland, completely sack and slaughter the island and open a minor hellgate there). Sadly nobody is playing Prussians, even though they would be very fitting.

We've played 8 battles in total so far. We all have very little to zero wargaming experience and it's the first campaign for all of us, but having lots of fun so far.

>>96172814
Neato, be sure to get some pictures of the models, I actually really like the different takes onf factions people have. Still want to hear what Black Grail and Dirge play like, Im a bit confused about how they progress a campaign, since 90% of their roster cant even wear equipment and you can start the campaign with all your elites fully geared.

>>96172919
Oh, we're playing on placeholders so far (a bunch of my minis from 40k and various board games to be specific), but we've actually just ordered the printing of some proper Trench Crusade minis a few days ago. Took as a while to get that done, since none of us has a 3d printer. Can't wait for them to arrive!

>>96172163
No games, since my army is not currently at hand. but I'll be visiting Ropecon this weekend. I'll try to get some photos and interesting stuff for the thread. Maybe I'll try to ask some stuff from Tuomas himself.

>>96172814
That is really cool logo

Compendium guy here. Just about content-complete and ready for public playtesting / the fixing-a-bunch-of-bugs-i-didnt-find phase. Should be posting the link soon.

I'll be fielding bugs and feedback mostly on the discord, since it helps me chase up specific people when I think the issue has been resolved, but i'll let you guys know when it starts of course.

I just primed my Heretic Legion, now to wait for the primer to cure while I settle on what color I want their uniforms to be.

>>96169472
>Picked IS because the rules looked fun and nobody in my group already had them
Same here.
In fact, I see few IS players in general, so I have room to expand my schtick without interlopers.
On the bad side, I have few examples to draw ideas from.
>>96172163
Wanted to throw down against my boy's HL, but I work the ENTIRE weekend.

>>96175769
Bless you dev-anon
Any features you're particularly proud of?

>>96176677
Just the sheer scalability of it.
The major issue with the compendium is that when major new feature types were introduced it required really hacky solutions - now I've pre-built a very complex system that allows for a huge volume of different stuff with minimal changes to the base system.

For example, in that screenshot of the alchemist ability, it does actually let you pick members of your warband and then those members will have the infiltrator keyword applied to them.

>>96178342
>Just the sheer scalability of it.
That's slick anon, I'm a dev by trade and I also appreciate making my life easier 6 months from now when I need to make a new seemingly minor change that is liable to break everything lol. But that's awesome man, it looks good

Isn't it a bit weird to have a SKIRMISH GAME set in a GIGANTIC WAR SCENARIO?

From the description on the setting you'd almost expect a 6mm wargame with hundreds of men per side going at it with gigantic tanks and artillery bombarding vast war-torn battlefields with overcrowded fences and swathes of no-man's land.

I wonder if the setting would be better off being centered around the ruins of a city instead, or something similar that fits the scale better.

It could also be set around commando elite operations, but this game rather focuses on commoners, filthy peasants and cannon fodder instead.

>>96168498 (OP)
>TQ
Assassin cabal is a really good fit for me. Tight, elite-heavy roster, flashy gimmick, great aesthetic, melee focused playstyle. It was a nobrainer really, luckily it is one of the weaker armies aswell, so I don't get flamed for being a rat most games.

>>96178474
>It could also be set around commando elite operations
So just play it that way in your group anon. They're your doods just so it goes how you want it, it's not like the warbands your playing aren't well funded. Shrine Anchorites, Heavy Mechanical Infantry, War Wolves, Praetors, etc. You could play Mammon for Heretics, Abominations flavored IS, MHI focused NA.

Hell the current way it plays is effectively special forces units going up against each other. The only times that's not really the case is when a player takes as many doods as they can.

>>96178474
Sort of agree, but I think the idea is that the trenches and frontlines of The War are so chaotic and labyrinthine that it's not uncommon for squads or companies to just kinda get lost and wander through them without any contact with much contact with their higher ups.

Also, while the setting might seem unfitting, most of the actual factions available do fit this smaller format:
>Trench Pilgrims are just small groups of random fanatics led to fight heretics and daemons by charismatic prophets
>Antioch and Sultanate are mostly on the constant defensive behind their walls, but often send forward small squads on various special assignments
>Court bands operate in independent hunting/raiding parties and probably don't even stay on Earth for too long
>Grail warbands are little more than groups of living corpses shambling around
>Heretic Legion probably operates more like a regular army, but I imagine they also have lots of small groups more interested in personal glory or riches

>>96178474
I think thats sort of the point unlike in 40k where you can field primarchs and other named characters in TC you and your squad are a bunch of no name grunts killing other no name grunts as brutally as you can for ultimately no real advantage while somewhere else battlefields are being torn apart by entire armies
its the trenches it make no real difference in the scale of the war if you drown your enemy in mud or if he guts you like a fish in the end this trench will swap hands again and again until revelations
that said the creators said they wouldnt be against a 6mm game or even a tank game of a sort but i kind of like the smaller aspect of it compared to other war games
fits the grimdarkness tone a little better i think than other similar wargames

>>96178474
You could just do that, WW1 wasnt all trenches. I rather like the idea of a scenario of playing in an abandoned rural village with something like a church or tower centerpiece.

>>96178474
Lore wise the game is quite fucked up, you expect huge frontlines, wide wastelands, then you look at the map and don't see anything of that.
>skirmish
It is almost ok if you want, almost almost ok.
You may consider the game as groups of commandos and raiders sneaking behind the enemy lines and getting objectives.

>>96168498 (OP)
>What appeals to you when pick a faction in a game? What drew you to /yourguys/ faction?
Lack of monsters.
I love when normal humans are fighting eldrict monsters

>>96169110
>Meanwhile half of Franchina's monsters are kinda uninspired TEETH-TEETH-TEETH, CLAWS-CLAWS-CLAWS, GUTS-GUTS-GUTS body horror
A lot of its "amazing" art looks like as the first unpolished concept throwed in a canvas.
Many of the human characters look like they are commissioned art that he's forcing himself to do because he has a deadline.

Got their uniforms painted, now to do the armor and all the details, then hit them with a wash.

>>96180322
The path of the beast being TEETH TEETH CLAWS MOUTH MAWS actually fits really well for them and I absolutely love the art we’ve gotten so far for that faction. What’s the issue with it aside from just needing more variety with the types of animals incorporated into the design?

>>96178474
I think that they could easily just make a full scale army game if the skirmish game proves to be popular enough. It could use epic scale or the existing miniatures

>>96168498 (OP)
Paint test for my troopers
Yeah I know my painting skills suck
I feel like it reads more like USGI than anything else

>>96180790
IMHO they should go 15mm if they will do a army game.

>>96180777
Two issues:
- too much (if everything is body horror nothing is body horror)
- lack of variety and identity

>>96180790
Epic scale would be neat, not enough people use it, and thats why it will probably be 28/32mm when they do it. Not that thats necessarily wrong of course, part of the appeal of TC is making your own stuff, its not exactly easy to make 15mm custom models and you would be rail roaded into using TC brand TC models.

You can still have scale with 28mm even, with historicals a lot of games use base size as a unit indicator rather than how many models are on the base, if you want a thrall unit to just be a tidal wave of thralls its for you to try and fit as many or as little as you want on a base, its still counts as "unit of thralls" and not "specifically 10 units of thralls with individual heal pools". If you want a human wave of men charging with bayonets just add more models to the base, if you want your commander to be a dioramma that is just one model on a fairly large base thats perfectly fine too.

Fresh off the Nike press

>>96183262
Mike press*
Love phoneposting. Anyway, bunch of TC stuff at Ropecon, fun to see.

>>96183340
>stigmatic nun
>chest plate variant
Why must the methodists ruin everything

>>96180341
Nice stuff, are they official?

>>96182760
Suitably grimy, I like it.
>>96183340
>TC cosplay already

>>96183340
Too bad the room where Tuomas held a speech was full. Otherwise it was pretty good. People were very excited.

>>96184073
Yup, pretty good cosplay too.

>>96184331
Need to see a whole warband out and about.
For Christ the Lion!

Why are the nuns topless

>>96184587
Drank Christ Blood and are currently tripping on the Voice of God. Being naked allows them to flagellate themselves quicker when post-battle AND pre-battle rapture comes upon them.

Imagine a holier-than-thou uncle that can back his shit up with actual facts, talking about great he is and you aren't; You've got a Stigmatic Nun.

>>96183340
>Wench Crusade

So what do you think is going on elsewhere in the world?
Is China managing to hold on or did they get colonized by demons?
Are the Aztecs now the ones being sacrificed on their pyramids by the demons?

>>96180322
This just feels like a "realistic" take on The First Beast in the same vein as those dumb, tryhard edgy "realistic" pokemon or kirby images

>>96183340
This bitch ain't fitting in any trenches

>>96184941
I'll fit in her trench, whether she wants me to or not.
>God Lube, when you need a hope in Hell to fit it

>>96184068
Yeah, they're from my kickstarter pledge that recently arrived.

>>96185159
Nice, may your victories over the servants of the Tyrant Lord be without limit, and your death swift,

>>96184328
You didn't miss out on anything really revalatory. Tuomas kept mentioning how they don't want to completely flesh out the setting to keep people's imagination going, but otherwise it was just a quick thing on how TC the game was made. Some interesting tidbits when it came to design choices and reasons for them, but honestly all just common sense if you want to build a good reputation with your customers
>>96184941
>>96185155
I prefer seeing authentic cosplays like hers instead of some Instagram thots with their ready made crap. The lady was super nice and chill, a nerd who actually cares about her hobby.

>>96185257
>I prefer seeing authentic cosplays like hers instead of some Instagram thots with their ready made crap
Why not both?
That said, cosplay from early in a fandom is oft a labor of love, rather than clout.
You ever see the pic of the girl cosplaying Vampirella back when in first released in the 70s?
>hint: nothing changed, the girl was 14

>>96184922
I see your brain has been poisoned. May I suggest touching some grass to detoxify?

>>96178413
The pain of having to retroactively add goetics to what was originally a tool for a different ttrpg left a scar.

Also, just exploration-location stuff left before its 'feature complete'.

>>96175769
What did you learn from this project that you're going to carry with you? Looking at your other posts I want to say forward-planning.

So the God in here is the Biblical/Abrahamic God, but not as omnipotent/omniconscious as he's portrayed in thr Bible?

>>96183340
Needs thigh plates and pauldrons

>>96186439
>as omnipotent/omniconscious as he's portrayed in thr Bible?
Have you read the bible? In the old testament he's not omnipotent nor omniconscious.
>So the God in here is the Biblical/Abrahamic God
Actually... we don't know, the lore is a bit everywhere.
The church claims to be in direct contact with god, muslims had some miracles that protected them from hell (iron wall), then there is the assassin sect, then there are pagans....
>God omnipotent
if he was why there are many hellsgates on earth?

>>96186439
short answer is yes to the best of our knowledge. It could simply be a prolonged Job situation and God will fix everything no problem if the writers decide to give conclusion to the setting.
But from what we have seen the direct intervention of Heaven aligned forces is absurdly powerful and humanity cannot exist in it it's direct presence.