NEWS: Trench Crusade Updates: New Miniature Designer, Spanish Edition, How to paint the Troops and more - Trench Crusade.

Hail Mighty Readers and Followers of the Luck Gods Math Rocks,

We've had an update from the Trench Crusade Team and couldn't wait to bring it all to you.  Whether its where to find them at Spiel Essen, get the results of your Operation Leviathan battles in, catch up with their latest Miniature Designer, Israel Gonzalez, see some new lore and of course learn about where to get the Spanish Edition of Trench Crusade.  Here's what they had to say:

Operation Leviathan:

Operation Leviathan is a worldwide campaign for Trench Crusade, which will run from September 7th to October 19th 2026.

You can take part from anywhere in the world, and the results of Operation Leviathan will have real, irreversible consequences on the world of Trench Crusade…

Submit a report

Spiel Essen

Next month, Trench Crusade will be at Spiel Essen 2026, from October 22-25! We’ll be in Hall 1 on booth 1E211 with Archon Studio. You’ll be able to play a demo of the game, and get your hands on our minis and merch.

And most exciting of all, you’ll be able to check out the amazing entries for the Crimson Chalice painting competition! There have already been over 100 entries registered via the Crimson Chalice page, and we can’t wait to see them in person.

If you’re attending Spiel Essen this year, drop by and say hi to the team!

Israel Gonzalez joins the crusade!

We’re delighted to welcome Israel Gonzalez to the Trench Crusade team as our Head of Miniatures! 

With over 13 years spent at Games Workshop, Israel has worked on some of the most iconic ranges, armies and game systems in wargaming.

He’s also a true hobby enthusiast who not only enjoys doing his own conversions, painting and wargaming with friends, but has also won Gold in some of the main international miniatures art competitions, including World Model Expo!

He’s now bringing his wealth of experience to Trench Crusade, leading our Miniatures Department in model design and the development of new ranges.

We asked him for a few words, and here is what he had to say:

“I feel honoured to be entrusted with making models that do justice to this incredible universe and lore! Getting to work with some of the living legends of the industry, the people I used to read about in magazines as a kid, is just amazing. Everyone is super talented, and I can’t wait to show you what we’ve been working on!”

You can check out Israel’s work on his Instagram account.

The Pillar of Jonah

The Year of Broken Trinity saw total war unleashed upon the Levant, and though the Faithful were able to stave off disaster, it was only at terrible cost. Holding the Levant was critical to the world’s survival, and understanding that it was wiser to fight Hell far from their own shores, the Papal States spent years constructing an immense convoy fleet and assembling vast stockpiles of war materials.

The convoy launched amid great ceremony, and its flagship, Immacolata, was captained by the Supreme Pontiff, Pope Leo XIII, himself aided by his Communicant bodyguard, May-He-Never-Know-The-Touch-Of-Neither-Blade-Nor-Bullet. The sheer scale of the resupply efforts had not gone unnoticed, however, and no sooner had the convoy set sail than it came under attack from the Heretic wolfpacks. Under Leo XIII’s bold command, the convoy successfully fought its way eastwards, fending off every attack until passing the Cyprian Gate.

Thus far, raids had come from surface ships, but scores of Heretic submarines lay in wait just off the Alexandretta coastline. Hundreds of hag-torpedoes struck the convoy, sinking dozens of ships in the first moments. Yet more followed and the slaughter was unimaginable. Within the hour, every vessel in the fleet had been sunk or crippled, with the survivors gunned down as they clung to the burning wreckage. Immacolata was captured by Naval Raiders and the Pope taken prisoner aboard the submarine Livyatan. The shattered remains of the Papal fleet washed up along the northern coast around Alexandretta, creating a graveyard of wrecked ships that became known as the Carrion Coast.

After three days and three nights, the crippled Livyatan surfaced north of Alexandretta at the Pillar of Jonah, an abandoned airship lighthouse of the Aeronautica Pontificia. Just before it sank to its final doom, a gigantic figure disembarked, clad in the blood-soaked remains of papal vestments stitched together in a crude cassock. He bore a colossal recoilless anti-submarine gun ripped from the deck of the Livyatan across one broad shoulder and marched through the surge tide of wrecks to the shore, for this was May-He-Never-Know-The-Touch-Of-Neither-Blade-Nor-Bullet, the only survivor of the Immacolata. His teeth were red with holy blood, for he had, under instructions from Leo XIII, devoured his master to prevent the heretics from torturing him or, worse, twisting him to the cause of evil. The holy flesh of the Pope melded with the divine blood of the Communicant to fuse them into a singular being of immense power and schizophrenic piety, a being who now went by the name Never-Know. He had fought his way free of captivity and slaughtered the crew of Livyatan, his mind afire with the clamour of the heavenly choir and the all too mortal thoughts of the consumed Pope.

Never-Know climbed the Pillar of Jonah and repaired its beacon, before beginning his lonely vigil watching over the sacred remains of his lost fleet. Having already elected a new Pope, the Holy Curia no longer considered Leo XIII the Supreme Pontiff, but as his essence lived on in the flesh of a sacred Communicant they were unable to completely forsake what Never-Know had become. So the Aeronautica Pontificia sends regular airships laden with the supplies needed to keep the lighthouse functional as well as the meagre necessities required to maintain the Communicant’s body. Though nearly a decade has passed since the destruction of the supply fleet, Never-Know still vigorously defends the beacon, using ordnance provided by the Papal States to lace the lands around his lighthouse with lethal traps and his modified anti-materiel rifle to destroy any who approach without the proper obeisances and catechisms.

For more lore please click here.

PAINT THE WORLD OF TRENCH CRUSADE

Trench Crusade has one of the most recognisable visual identities in miniature gaming. Mud-soaked uniforms. Weathered steel. Equipment stained by blood. Heraldry worn by endless war. 

Recreating that atmosphere can be intimidating. Crusade Se7ens removes the uncertainty with official colour schemes developed alongside the Trench Crusade team. Every palette has been carefully curated to capture the character of the setting while making it easier to achieve authentic results from your very first miniature.

To read more and to see the painting tutorial please go here.

And Finally:

Trench Crusade in Spanish

Spanish-speakers, your time has come! We’re teaming up with Spanish distributor Miniaturama to translate all Trench Crusade products into Spanish. If you’re a Spanish retailer and would like to stock Trench Crusade products, you can reach out to Miniaturama by email at info@mtmdist.com

You can already find Spanish products for sale and pre-order on www.goblintrader.es

¡Y a todos nuestros jugadores españoles, bienvenidos a las trincheras!

More News as we get it.

Thank you

ThunderMouser

NEWS: Warmachine Wednesday has tons on the horizon - Steamforged Games

Hail Mighty Readers and Followers of the Luck Gods Rocks,

Prepare thyselves today is the last chance to pre-order with the bonus the mega Bundle for Menoth's Covenant of the Flame (released 27th October), for Warmachine from Steamforged Games, with so many boxes, its going to be tough to pick which is your favourite.  There's also news for next weeks update and of course don't forget to check out the events near you.  Here's what they had to say:

Answer the Lawgiver’s call – Menoth army bundles end today

If you've been on the fence, today's your last chance to get your hands on the mega bundle for Menoth's fiery new army, Covenant of the Flame. 

Not only does the bundle get you the Command Set, the Revenger warjack set, the Crusader warjack set, and all three army boxes (shipped as they release), it also gets you a set of exclusive Four Gifts cards in the Classic Edition colourway that's only available with bundle pre-orders direct from our store, plus a free set of heavy and light warjack options to give you even more ways to customise your army.  

Pre-orders for the direct bundle end today (September 30). If you're planning to pick up the army, this is your sign. Embrace salvation. 

Your local game stores may still have the bundle available after today, plus they have their own exclusive variant of the Four Gifts cards! (It's up to the individual stores how they distribute those cards, so make sure you check in with them before ordering.)

Here's a quick rundown of what's included:

Defenders of the Flame command set

The Covenant of the Flame gets its first taste of battle with Defenders of the Flame, a ~30-point Command Starter led by Feora and packed with everything you need to begin your march in Menoth’s name.

Leader of the Covenant of the Flame, Feora is a herald of a new era for her people, rooted in the purity of the past. Conflagration follows in her wake as she steps into the fray as a living engine of destruction. 

Releasing alongside the Command Set are the Crusader Heavy Warjack and Revenger Light Warjack, giving you even more holy machinery to bring to the battlefield from day one. The first Four Gifts of Menoth cards also arrive with this release.

Releases October 27, 2026.

Scourge of the Unbeliever army box

Somewhere between righteous fury and absolutely no patience for heretics sits Scourge of the Unbeliever. If Malekus knows one thing for certain, it's that for those that persist in blind heresy and deny Menoth’s embrace, there can be only scouring flames and godless ashes.

This army box contains a fully playable ~50 point army led by pious warcaster Malekus, Word of Truth. Add a hefty dose of holy fire to your Covenant collection. Releases November 24, 2026.

Bastions of Faith army box

When subtlety fails, bring the bastions. Bastions of Faith includes another self-contained ~50-point army, this time led by Stallos, Shield of the Righteous. A traitor-turned-proud defender of the faith, few are as dedicated to the resurrection of the Protectorate as this guy. 

Field Bastions of Faith in Command and Skirmish-level games or combine with other army boxes for a fiery 100-point army of your own holy creation. Releases November 24, 2026.

Heralds of Perdition army box

And finally, the Covenant’s march reaches its zenith with Heralds of Perdition the third army box with its own fully playable ~50-point force.

An assassin that pierces the darkness with the light of the Lawgiver, Thyra has long since devoted the ashes of her tragic life to the Flameguard order. Not all who serve Menoth walk in the light, and Thyra ensures no blasphemers can escape into the shadows. 

Releases January 19, 2027.

Rules for Heralds of Perdition land today in the free Warmachine app, meaning the gameplay for every model in the bundle is already live for all your army planning needs. We've even been dropping videos on Warmachine socials covering those rules, so if you want less read, you can watch on Facebook or Instagram. 

The army bundle ships in waves as the sets release, so you won't need to wait 'til January. Pre-orders for the army bundle close today (September 30). The flame is lit. Will you answer the call?

Extreme Feora has entered the chat

Speaking of Feora, we were BLOWN AWAY by this incredible paintjob:

A variant of the Covenant of the Flame warcaster, Extreme Feora has been painted by the incredibly talented Will (@lika_paints).

Holy Menoth, is this good. And the best part?

You can get your hands on this Extreme Feora sculpt yourself, because she's included in the October pack for Warmachine 3D Tribe subscribers!

Simply subscribe to the Tribe now and you'll receive the STL file tomorrow to have a go at printing, and painting yourself.

Extreme Feora's not the only thing included in the October pack. Head to Warmachine 3D to see what else is heading your way this month.

Coming next week

Protectorate of Menoth might be taking centre stage, but there’s plenty more coming to Warmachine.

Warmachine app — Steamroller update

Along with today's Covenant of the Flame rules drop, today's app release comes with some minor Steamroller updates on painting and conversion guidelines. This includes:

• Updated model painting guidelines (for events that already enforce painting requirements)
• Updated model conversion policy (to account for conversion parts available through Warmachine 3D)
• Adding more specific rules governing new release legality*
• Including previously omitted standard text (such as the rules around fielding one or two army lists)
• Updating the Calculating Army Value rules to be clearer and account for off-table models (this one does have very mild gameplay implications for how scores are recorded at the end of a game)

*We'll be adding a page to the website in the near future that clearly lists official release dates to help clarify when models become tournament legal

(The downloadable Steamroller PDF will be updated next week to include the above changes, which will be live in the app version from today.)

Upcoming Warmachne Events:

There are tons of excellent events coming up around the world for Warmachine, and you can find them on Longshanks! 

Just head to the dedicated Warmachine events page and filter by location to see what’s on near you.

Las Vegas Open

Roll dice in the world’s most famous dice-rolling city! 

Warmachine will be in full swing at this year’s Las Vegas Open from October 1–4, with multiple casual and matched play events happening throughout the weekend. 

Find out more and get your tickets here.

Warmachine World Team Championship

Teams around the world are gearing up for the Warmachine World Team Championship in October! 

An incredible community-run event powered by global players and committees, the World Team Championship is an epic annual showing of skill, sportsmanship, and community spirit.

This year, Poland has taken the torch and will be running this flagship event from October 10-11 in Warsaw. 

For the latest updates on solo events, streaming, and other ways to get involved, follow the Warmachine WTC page on Facebook or check out the committee website. 

US Lock and Load 2026:

Join the team behind Warmachine in St Louis from November 5-8 for three glorious days of Steamroller tournaments, Grand Narratives, Frontlines events, Iron Arena pick-up games, painting sessions, game development and lore seminars, live reveals in one of our legendary Warmachine preview streams, an Iron Gauntlet Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ), and the esteemed Iron Gauntlet US 2026 Finals!

To learn about the Swag and get your ticket please go here.

Europe Lock and Load 2027

Lock & Load EU is coming back, and we’ve got new dates! We’ve updated the dates for our next European Warmachine weekend, so mark your calendars for July 16–18, 2027. Three days of tournaments, events, hobby, lore, reveals and plenty of time to roll dice with the Warmachine community. We’ll have more details to share as we get closer, so keep your eyes peeled and start planning your trip to Lock & Load EU 2027!

More news as we get it.

All the best,

ThunderMouser

KICKSTARTER UPDATE: The Mad Kings Ire - Converge Games

Hail Mighty Readers and Followers of the Luck Gods Math Rocks, 

We've just had an update from our friends over at Converge Games in regard to their Kickstarter project "The Mad Kings Ire" Here's what they had to say:

Firstly Thank you so much to all of you that have backed, we truly couldn’t have gotten this far without you! The Mad King’s Ire development continues at a fast pace, we are now in the finishing touches stage and it won’t be long before manufacturing begins, and good news here! If you haven’t already it is not too late to back! Head to our Pledge Manager on Hive and you still have a chance to back at the Kickstarter discounted price and get all the extra goodies as well! The pledge manager won’t be open forever, so, if you are thinking about it, get over there before the pledge manager closes! Late Pledges are available via Hive. Get your copy of Shattered Destinies - The Mad King’s Ire for up to 47% OFF Testing Complete! I am pleased to say after hundreds of hours of testing and demos, all content is complete, and every piece of content has been tested and adjusted/nerfed/buffed where needed. We’ve changed the worst offending Ire Cards that would all but guarantee to end your run in failure, and buffed up some of the worst performing skills. There are still a crazy amount of powerful combos of skills and items to discover, and I’m sure there are some that we haven’t even considered. I can’t wait to see all the build ideas you put together during your adventures once we get The Mad King’s Ire to your tables! This one, we kept in the game. A combo of two Escalations (which make the game harder), and one skill, can mean you’ll be dropping bombs on your foes with regularity. Just make sure it is fully upgraded, or shout a warning to your allies before you blow everything up! Final Checks Underway Final proofreading and adjustments are now being finalised, we should have everything complete and ready for the manufacturers by the end of the week! We are on track with our timeline, we will continue to keep you updated if anything changes! Rulebook revamp! We’ve updated the rulebook based on testing and feedback and our amazing graphic designer is busy redesigning the layout to improve the look and readability! I’ll include a link to the new rulebook in the next update! We’ve added some surprise extras! Although our Kickstarter didn’t quite hit our £50,000.00 Stretch Goal, we added it anyway! We felt the Game Organiser was far too good quality of life not to include, we want you to be able to get The Mad King’s Ire to the table as often as possible and we don’t want the barrier of a lengthy set up. With the organiser you can be ready to begin your adventures in 2 minutes! We also added 8 new items to the Twisted Traps expansion - because we could! Including a couple of clockwork pals and some ways to mitigate the danger of the new trap mechanic! So if you've been putting it off...here's a FINAL reminder... Get The Mad King’s Ire NOW for up to 47% OFF before it's too late! Backing our campaign will take less than 3 minutes and will get you The Ultimate Dungeon Crawler. A fast paced, quick to set up and play, character building adventure like no other! We put our hearts and souls into creating and designing The Mad King’s Ire - and we want you to know that your support is what fuels our fire and makes this community possible.  We hope you’ll choose to continue supporting us today, and experience not only our amazing game, but join our amazing community at Converge Games.

Claim your copy now!

Finally, a massive shoutout to all our amazing backers! Thank you all again for following us for so long and supporting us during our launch. We can't wait to get Shattered Destinies - The Mad King’s Ire to your doors and on your tables, it won’t be long now!

You can also see our interview with Glenn Phillpot here and learn a little more about him and Converge Games.

All the best,

ThunderMouser

INTERVIEW: Pre-Campaign Interview with Leon Richardson about Rangers of a Broken World - Leon Richardson and Evil Hat Productions

 

Hail Mighty Readers and Followers of the Luck Gods Math Rocks,

We're always keeping an eye out for something not only different but delves into the players imagination with positive messages added.  This project, coming soon to Backerkit (Monday 12th October 2026), being published under the Evil Hat Productions banner, is a game where various aspects of mental health are presented within and also give players the chance to really delve into their characters so that they not only get to know them intimately but also look forward to replaying them in future adventures as they seek to make the world better for the inhabitants.

As such we couldn't wait to talk to the game creator Leon McDonald to get under the skin of this project and to learn more about the creation:

Totally Pawsome:  How would you surmise Rangers of a Broken World in one succinct paragraph?

Leon Richardson: Rangers of a Broken Word is a TTRPG about blessed survivalists who take care of humanity as the world rebounds from an apocalyptic disaster. The player characters, the titular Rangers, use survival skills, teamwork, and a free-form magic system to fight back against the ghostly remnants of the world's trauma, the unearthed weapons of the Last War, the ruthless Noble Demons, and more.

TP:  What is the key selling point of your game?

LR:  I think that varies depending who you talk to! A lot of players love the fridge-poetry style creative magic system, a lot of people are responding really well to the gorgeous art, and some people are excited about a hopeful post-apocalyptic setting where people take care of each other! My personal favorite thing about it is the sense of freedom.

TP:  You've mentioned in another interview that you utilised your mental disabilities to help create the various aspects of the classes, how would you say this has helped you in dealing with your own problems and how do you feel the game would aid others?  For example, is it designed to make dealing with mental illness more accessible or to help others understand what people who suffer go through?

LR:  I designed this game so that characters with disabilities are no big deal - there are no penalties or workarounds necessary. You can just say your character is disabled. I want players, both abled and disabled, to see disabled heroes in the game not as outliers, but just as people with the will to help others. 

Because the characters are survivalists who have endured hardship, many of them will have associated traumas and injuries. This is, in the game's lore and the game's mechanics, no big deal. The characters' stats describe around how they solve problems, not their body or their mind. A person with a disability can play a character with the same disability easily, so someone who wants their character to represent them will, I hope, be happy with the game's systems!

As for myself, the Enduring Legionnaire, a class that can experience symptoms very much like depression if they overuse their necromantic abilities, is my absolute baby. Perhaps working on it reminded me that I can be heroic even when I feel hollow inside.

TP:  Is Rangers of a Broken world a complete game in itself or how would you incorporate the classes into another title such as D&D?

LR:  Rangers of a Broken World is its own complete game! I hope people find the mechanics approachable and satisfying, and I've included a lot of GM reference material to help people feel confident experimenting with a new game. 

TP:  What do you think Rangers of a Broken world offers that no other game out there does?

LR:  I mean, there are a lot of roleplaying games! So, I'm sure if you look you'll find other games that are similar. But, I'm proud of the magic system. I've described it like "fridge poetry" - players take one word, called a Spell Note, from their own character sheet, and another from the GM's list describing the environment. They then have a two-word phrase like "Liberating Sunlight" or "Vicious Green" and they and the GM work together to decide what it means and how much Scatter it costs them. Players seem to enjoy coming up with creative and lovely ways to approach problems, and it brings me a lot of joy when I GM.

TP:  Having written under various company names and now having written for Evil Hat, what do you think is the key lesson you've learned when you sit down to create something new?

LR:  I stand by the adage "finished is better than good". I daresay my greatest strength as a creator is the diligence to sit down and write a project out from start to finish. Once it's finished, then it can be refined and edited and perfected. But, you can't do any of that if all you have is an idea. 

Rangers of a Broken World, I might say, was playtested in the podcast Sword of Symphonies for years! So, it's gone through a lot of refinements since I came up with the idea in the first place. But, turning it from "idea" to "draft" is the beginning of that process. 

TP:  Rangers of a Broken World, deals with characters utilising "blurring" and "scattering" as key mechanics, how do you feel they help the player craft their characters identity?

LR:  Blur and Scatter are measures of how much the character is "outside" their body. When they cast spells, they push their wills outside their body to have an impact on the outside world. Their will doesn't entirely return - Scatter is a measure of how much of them is left outside. It's similar to dissociation, one of my own mental health symptoms. 

Blur, on the other hand, increases as the character uses abilities from their special ally. For example, the Legionnaire I mentioned earlier blurs into the dead, until they feel like they might be dead themselves. 

Both of these help a player envision their character's interiority, and the ways their Ranger may be reacting emotionally and mentally to their adventure!

TP:  The artwork within has a very Art Nouveau feeling to it, was this a conscious decision to help the immersion of the mental aspects of the game or was it just pure coincidence?

LR:  I wanted an Art Nouveau vibe partly because it is dreamy and ethereal, and partly because the game is also about a connection to nature. Art Nouveau, with its organic shapes and nature themes, was a wonderful way to drive home this naturalistic theming visually, and our graphic designer (the peerless Cris Viana) immediately knew what I was after and brought it to life!

TP:  What do you think will attract players to keep returning to the game?

LR:  My hope is that players will be able to get attached to their characters, characters that are wounded and flawed and vulnerable and lead rich inner lives, enough to keep returning to the game again and again!

TP:  What can you tell us about your future projects?

LR:  I'm constantly working on things! I'm working on a blatant Shin Megami Tensei fangame about the casino at the end over everything, a linoprint Tarot deck, a podcast about games that my friend and I make up, and a visual novel! I also study calligraphy in my free time. My friends tease me about being a workaholic, and I can't say they're wrong, but it's just my personality, I suppose.

Thank you,

ThunderMouser