Trench Crusade is a skirmish-scale tabletop miniatures game that will plunge players deep into a horrifying alternate timeline. During the Crusades a heretical band of Templars dared defy the Almighty and, casting aside their sacred vows, unleashed the forces of Hell upon the Earth. Over 800 years later, in the Year of Our Lord 1914, this brutal, merciless war between the forces of Heaven and Hell rages on. This is not just a fight for survival, but a cataclysmic struggle that will decide the very fate of humanity's soul.
The factions so far are (if im not mistaken) EDIT I copied a short overview of the factions from TVTropes
Principality of New Antioch: The armies of the fortress-city of New Antioch, serving as a bulwark of the Faithful nations against Heretic advances.
Trench Pilgrims: Disorganized groups of Christian pilgrims following prophets of the Lord to the front lines, the Pilgrims are a mix of volunteer soldiers and members of holy orders.
The Iron Sultanate: The soldiers of the Sultanate of Rûm, protected from the forces of Hell by the Iron Wall of Dhu al-Qarnayn. They make widespread use of alchemy in both their weapons and the takwin creations of the House of Wisdom.
Heretic Legions: The forces of the nations ruled by Hell on Earth, with conventional initiate soldiers supported by monsters manufactured in Hell's pits.
Cult of the Black Grail: The creations forged from biological matter by Beelzebub's Black Grail plague, and the few mortal cultists who embrace it.
As a small bonus some art for an Assassin of the Iron Sultanate. (The art for Trench crusade absolutely slaps) Artist name is Mike Franchina
To be fair, Allah provided the faithful with a massive wall for their protection. Meanwhile, the Christians are left scrambling to scrape remnants of Jesus for cloning abominations and gathering relics of saints to receive fragmented messages they desperately hope are from God.
Like Trench crusade is cool but its christanity is a perverse blapsphemy. (Which is fun mind you)
The faithful forces arent "good". The forces of hell are a lot worse though (Especially should they win etc). Thats my reading im not super deep into the lore (yet).
Its not even a case in which I would say the church is jetblack evil like the imperium in 40k. Like for example the forces of the church are mostly volunteers (to be fair in a setting with real life miracles you would bet religious zealotry would drive recruitment)
I wouldn't view it that way. First of all, there's no fascism in the world of the game and I'm not even sure the ideology of fascism was ever invented in the world of Trench Crusade. A better comparison would be the USA during WWII—certainly not "good," but I'm pretty sure many people, even on Hexbear, would give the USA critical support for their war against the Axis.
As for the faithful, their rigid religious beliefs blind them, leading to needless suffering in the name of a God they fail to truly comprehend. God in this context is more like a primordial eldritch being, not something that communes clearly with its followers or is all that benevolent.
One also needs to keep in mind that a lot of the lore so far is from the perspective of the church so unreliable narrators.
I read both of your responses and I think you make valid points.
I think I get where you're coming from. Grimdark settings are often problematic, and it's true that many fascists enjoy them. I can understand why people might find that off-putting or not be fans of them for that reason. It's kinda similar to Starship Troopers or Helldivers—both are meant as satire, but reactionaries either don't get the joke or simply don't care.
With that said, I'm pretty sure you could create a grimdark setting with good politics, it's just that, realistically, most people who create these settings fall somewhere on the liberal-to-conservative spectrum. As a result, they almost all end up with the same issues you've mentioned
I have to admit, though I've been a sucker for anything dark, edgy, and grimdark since I was a teenager, and that hasn't changed. As a minority in the imperial core, grimdark settings appeal to me because they depict a struggle without hope in a doomed world. But I think there's beauty in the struggle itself, even when hope is almost nonexistent. The idea of continuing to fight, even when there's little chance of success, resonates with me deeply.
That actually kind of rocks what the fuck is that game?
Copied from the offical page.
Trench Crusade is a skirmish-scale tabletop miniatures game that will plunge players deep into a horrifying alternate timeline. During the Crusades a heretical band of Templars dared defy the Almighty and, casting aside their sacred vows, unleashed the forces of Hell upon the Earth. Over 800 years later, in the Year of Our Lord 1914, this brutal, merciless war between the forces of Heaven and Hell rages on. This is not just a fight for survival, but a cataclysmic struggle that will decide the very fate of humanity's soul.
The factions so far are (if im not mistaken) EDIT I copied a short overview of the factions from TVTropes
Principality of New Antioch: The armies of the fortress-city of New Antioch, serving as a bulwark of the Faithful nations against Heretic advances.
Trench Pilgrims: Disorganized groups of Christian pilgrims following prophets of the Lord to the front lines, the Pilgrims are a mix of volunteer soldiers and members of holy orders.
The Iron Sultanate: The soldiers of the Sultanate of Rûm, protected from the forces of Hell by the Iron Wall of Dhu al-Qarnayn. They make widespread use of alchemy in both their weapons and the takwin creations of the House of Wisdom.
Heretic Legions: The forces of the nations ruled by Hell on Earth, with conventional initiate soldiers supported by monsters manufactured in Hell's pits.
Cult of the Black Grail: The creations forged from biological matter by Beelzebub's Black Grail plague, and the few mortal cultists who embrace it.
As a small bonus some art for an Assassin of the Iron Sultanate. (The art for Trench crusade absolutely slaps) Artist name is Mike Franchina
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I let the results speak for themselves
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To be fair, Allah provided the faithful with a massive wall for their protection. Meanwhile, the Christians are left scrambling to scrape remnants of Jesus for cloning abominations and gathering relics of saints to receive fragmented messages they desperately hope are from God.
Like Trench crusade is cool but its christanity is a perverse blapsphemy. (Which is fun mind you)
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When you try to invent a setting with forever war, fascism is inevitably going to be baked in.
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The faithful forces arent "good". The forces of hell are a lot worse though (Especially should they win etc). Thats my reading im not super deep into the lore (yet).
Its not even a case in which I would say the church is jetblack evil like the imperium in 40k. Like for example the forces of the church are mostly volunteers (to be fair in a setting with real life miracles you would bet religious zealotry would drive recruitment)
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I wouldn't view it that way. First of all, there's no fascism in the world of the game and I'm not even sure the ideology of fascism was ever invented in the world of Trench Crusade. A better comparison would be the USA during WWII—certainly not "good," but I'm pretty sure many people, even on Hexbear, would give the USA critical support for their war against the Axis.
As for the faithful, their rigid religious beliefs blind them, leading to needless suffering in the name of a God they fail to truly comprehend. God in this context is more like a primordial eldritch being, not something that communes clearly with its followers or is all that benevolent.
One also needs to keep in mind that a lot of the lore so far is from the perspective of the church so unreliable narrators.
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I read both of your responses and I think you make valid points.
I think I get where you're coming from. Grimdark settings are often problematic, and it's true that many fascists enjoy them. I can understand why people might find that off-putting or not be fans of them for that reason. It's kinda similar to Starship Troopers or Helldivers—both are meant as satire, but reactionaries either don't get the joke or simply don't care.
With that said, I'm pretty sure you could create a grimdark setting with good politics, it's just that, realistically, most people who create these settings fall somewhere on the liberal-to-conservative spectrum. As a result, they almost all end up with the same issues you've mentioned
I have to admit, though I've been a sucker for anything dark, edgy, and grimdark since I was a teenager, and that hasn't changed. As a minority in the imperial core, grimdark settings appeal to me because they depict a struggle without hope in a doomed world. But I think there's beauty in the struggle itself, even when hope is almost nonexistent. The idea of continuing to fight, even when there's little chance of success, resonates with me deeply.
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Iirc one of the non-hell factions farms jesus clones to eat, so it seems legit grimdark where everything is terrible for everyone.