Trench Crusade Carcass Front
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1914 never arrived. Demons are fought in the trenches. And you decide which side to be on.
What it's about
Year of our Lord 1914. Eight hundred years of war with Hell.
In 1099 a group of Templars committed the ultimate heresy: they opened a gate to Hell in the heart of Jerusalem. Eight centuries later, the war between Heaven and Earth is still ongoing, trapped in grey trenches where mud, blood, and miracles blur together. Trench Crusade is the grimdark skirmish wargame by Tuomas Pirinen (Mordheim designer) and Mike Franchina (illustrations for Diablo IV and Magic: The Gathering).
Carcass Front is the definitive starter box: two complete warbands of 700 Ducats, a 96-page campaign manual, terrain, an A2 poster map, dice, and introductory rules. Choose whether to lead the Procession of the Sacred Affliction — pilgrims blessed by illness — or the Heretic Naval Raiders, coastal predators armed with blessed bullets and rusty blades.
The rules are and always will be free. Here you pay for the box, the buildable miniatures with multiple options, the narrative campaign The Path to Leviathan for two players, and the 2 to 8 player map for those who want to build an entire war.
Alternating activation, free actions, 2d6 against 7. Each model decides its turn, every hit can be fatal — even from the last soldier in the trench.
The secret of Trench Crusade in a nutshell
No hit points. Hit and the opponent rolls an Injury Roll: they can fall to the ground, be removed from play, or accumulate Blood Markers that your next hit turns into an execution.
From gameplay experience
Trench Crusade: Carcass Front
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · based on rulebook v1.0, system analysis and gameplay experienceWhat's in the box
Everything you need to open the gates of Hell
Procession of the Sacred Affliction
Pilgrims blessed by illness, martyrs who walk despite their wounds. Complete 700 Ducats warband, ready for combat.
Heretic Naval Raiders
Coastal predators armed to the teeth. Bullets inscribed with blasphemies, mobility, and infiltration. The other 700 Ducats warband.
96-page Campaign Manual
Two complete campaigns — narrative for 2 players and map for 2-8 — expanded lore, scenarios, and introductory rules for beginners.
A2 Map + terrain + dice
Premium poster map to track the warbands' advance, terrain pieces, dice, ruler, and record sheet. Everything to start right away.
You assemble, you paint, you play. And one day someone at the table will say: "do you remember that time my pilgrim killed your Praetor with a Risky roll?". That's the evening Trench Crusade builds.
🎲ComponentsComplete Carcass Front content
📖RulesEnglish · Official free PDF
A game in five moments
What happens on the table
Not the rules. The experience.
Your warband enters No Man's Land
You've spent a week assembling and painting the models. Now you deploy them on the table among craters, barbed wire, and cathedral ruins. Your opponent sets up theirs. A haze of incense and blood — the game hasn't started and the story is already there.
The first Injury Roll
One of your soldiers shoots. 2d6, roll against 7, success. The opponent makes an Injury Roll: double six. Bloodbath. Their Praetor — the most expensive model in the warband — falls to the ground with three Blood Markers. No one is breathing normally anymore.
The chain move
Alternate activation, one choice each turn. A pilgrim charges, a Raider infiltrates, an Artillery Witch throws a bomb. Each action opens a reaction: this is where the game becomes a chess match with dice — and with someone screaming in pain.
The Morale Check that changes everything
Half of your models are Out of Action. You roll the Morale Check. You fail. The warband is Shaken — every Success Roll becomes Risky. Another failed test and the war is lost. The table freezes at the die trembling in your hand.
End of the mission, start of the campaign
Someone flees, someone wins, someone truly dies — in a campaign, Out of Action models can leave permanent scars. Wounds, Glory Points, earned Ducats are noted. That warband is yours for weeks. And the next mission is already on the table.
How to play
The flow of each turn
Four moments that repeat until the end of the scenario. Simple to understand, brutal to master.
Players activate one model at a time, taking turns. There is no "our" or "their" turn — each move is a reaction to the previous one.
Each model can use any action — Move, Shoot, Fight, Dash, Special — in any order you choose, as long as each is used only once per activation.
Every test requires two six-sided dice: 7 or more is a success, 12 is a critical. Risky actions stop you immediately if they fail — and that's when the game gets tense.
No hit points: when you're hit, you make an Injury Roll. The result determines if you fall to the ground, take Blood Markers, or are removed from play directly. Your opponent can spend your Blood Markers to worsen your subsequent rolls.
Why it's different from other wargames
Six mechanics that make it unique
Alternate activation, always reactive
You don't wait ten minutes for your opponent's turn. You move a model, they move theirs, you react. The table stays alive every second — no one looks at their phone.
Blood Markers: pain becomes a weapon
Every wound marks you but doesn't eliminate you. Your opponent accumulates those markers on your model until they have enough for a Bloodbath — and that's the hit you'll remember for a long time.
Bozoes vs Heroes — always on the edge
Even the lowliest soldier can kill the opposing Praetor with a 12 on the Injury Roll. The system keeps everyone relevant — no model is untouchable, no one is useless.
Campaigns that matter
In a campaign, Out of Action models can truly die. The warband grows from scenario to scenario with Glory Points, permanent wounds, and new recruits. The stakes are never just one game.
Grimdark lore written like a novel
Eight hundred years of alternate history, factions with opposing theologies, artifacts, and cursed saints. Carcass Front adds 96 pages of world — each warband has a distinct narrative voice.
Free rules forever
Factory Fortress has promised that the complete rulebook will remain free to download. Here you pay for the box, the miniatures, and the campaign — not the right to play.
How it ends
Win the objectives. Or break the enemy.
Each scenario has its own victory conditions — territories, relics, targets. But the game can end much earlier if you break your opponent's morale.
Victory
- You complete the specific scenario objective (capture, elimination, survival)
- Or you break the enemy warband with a double failure on the Morale Check
- In a campaign, you accumulate Glory Points, Ducats, and experience for your survivors
Defeat
- All your models are Out of Action or have fled the table
- You fail the second Morale Check while your warband is already Shaken
- In a campaign, the fallen can truly die — the end of that character, forever
Trench Crusade is not the game you open and put on the table in ten minutes. It's the hobby you build — by assembling, painting, and fighting. Carcass Front is the most comprehensive entry point there is.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ about Trench Crusade: Carcass Front
Do the miniatures need to be assembled and painted?
Yes. The 16 plastic miniatures come unassembled and unpainted. Each model has up to two assembly options — you can follow the included guides or customize weapons, equipment, and heads to create unique soldiers. This is part of the wargame experience: it's not a game you open and play in 20 minutes.
Is Carcass Front a good starting point for Trench Crusade?
Yes — it's designed for that. It includes two ready-to-play 700 Ducat warbands, introductory quickstart rules, and a narrative campaign for 2 players that guides you through the first scenarios. It's the most comprehensive official entry point Factory Fortress has produced so far.
Do I need to buy anything else besides the box to play?
No. Carcass Front contains miniatures, manual, map, terrain, dice, ruler, and record sheet — everything you need to start. The full 1.0 rulebook can be downloaded for free from trenchcrusade.com. You may eventually need plastic glue, clippers, and paints to assemble and paint the models.
What's the difference with Warhammer 40K or Mordheim?
Trench Crusade is pure skirmish: 8-12 models per side, 32mm scale, narrative campaign focus. Designer Tuomas Pirinen was already the lead for Mordheim — the spirit is the same. Compared to 40K, it's smaller and more grimdark-horror, with a more elegant 2d6 system and an alternate 1914 setting instead of a futuristic sci-fi one.
How long does it take to master a warband?
The basic rules are learned in one evening. Getting to know your warband well — variants, battlekit, synergies, Blood Markers — takes 4-6 games. The tactical depth reveals itself over 15-20 games: here you start choosing counter-intuitive moves that win scenarios in surprising ways.
Is it available in Italian?
No, the Carcass Front campaign manual and the official v1.0 rulebook are in English. The text is essential and highly illustrated — understandable with basic technical English — but keep in mind that all unit names, abilities, and scenarios are in the original language.
Trench Crusade: Carcass Front is the official starter box for the grimdark skirmish wargame set in an alternate 1914 where the forces of Heaven and Hell have been fighting in the trenches for eight centuries. Designed for 2 players (up to 8 in the map campaign), duration 45-120 minutes, ages 14+. Designed by Tuomas Pirinen (former designer of Mordheim), illustrations by Mike Franchina (Diablo IV, Magic: The Gathering, Path of Exile), published by Factory Fortress Inc. 2d6 system with alternate activation, Blood Markers mechanic, no hit points but Injury Roll. The box includes 16 unpainted 32mm plastic miniatures (two complete 700 Ducat warbands: Procession of the Sacred Affliction and Heretic Naval Raiders), a 96-page campaign manual, an A2 poster map, terrain, dice, ruler, and record sheet. It contains two campaigns: The Path to Leviathan narrative for 2 players and the Carcass Front map campaign for 2-8 players. Full v1.0 rulebook available for free download. English edition. Available on FroGames.it.
Trench Crusade Carcass Front
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