Trench Crusade: Fluff, Malwettbewerb und mehr

Es gibt allerlei neue Infos und Bilder zu Trench Crusade.

Den Anfang macht der Malwettbewerb von My Mini Factory:

The winners of the Trench Crusade painting competition by MyMiniFactory have just been announced: congratulations to the winners for their incredible work!

There were so many incredible entries – over 600 in fact – that we can’t show them all here, but thank you to all the participants. Check out the MyMiniFactory blog post to see more detailed images of the entries and all of the honorable mentions: https://www.myminifactory.com/…/trench-crusade-painting…

++ ALAMUT ++

Art by Artem Demura

„They call him Shaykh-al-Hashishim. He is their Elder, and upon his command all of the men of the mountain come out or go in … they are believers of the word of their elder and everyone everywhere fears them, because they even kill kings.“

Alamut, the unconquered, also known as Eagle’s Nest, is the chief stronghold of the Nizari Isma’ili sect, who still hold sway over their ancient lands near Baḥr Khazar, the body of water the Franks call the Caspian Sea as it has for over 800 years. This mountain fortress houses the dreaded Order of Assassins. No deadlier killers walk this world, raised from childhood in the lethal and esoteric arts that bend time and space in service of their mystic and lethal craft.

Many learned scholars of the Iron Sultanate’s ulema claim that Alamut was left outside of the Great Iron Wall as a mark of Allah’s disfavour for their heretical views on religion. The mystics of the Assassins sneer at this suggestion, and maintain that the Ever-Preserving knew his children at Alamut would need no such protection. Their own bravery would suffice.

Though largely closed to outsiders, there are times when the Old Man of the Mountain requires the services of outsiders or wishes to seek counsel from a sage of great wisdom in person. Such individuals awaken to find summons placed by their bedside delivered by unseen hands as they slumber. Summoned to the Capital of Daylam (as the Assassins call Alamut), few dare to refuse such an invitation. At the mouth of the valley, they are met by servants of the Order who blindfold them to ensure they cannot learn the hidden paths to the Home of the Eagles.

Such visitors tell of heavenly gardens, libraries that rival those of the House of Wisdom, and laboratories where philosophers, scientists, theologians, and sages of the Dervish Ismaili order debate a multitude of matters. Very few will speak of their audience with the Master of the Knives himself, the Old Man of the Mountain, for fear of insulting their dread host. Of those brave enough to reveal details of their encounter, some describe being greeted by a youth full of vigour, an athlete and warrior at the prime of his life wearing a shining white cloak. Others however describe an ancient man with a long silver beard, stern and whip-lean, dressed in black khilat adorned with tiraz in the colour of blood. Whether a result of a clever disguise or the mystic arts of the Ḥashshāshīyīn, no two descriptions of the countenance of the Lord of Alamut match each other. All accounts agree on one detail. A simple ring, bearing a seal engraved with the symbol of the holy king whom the Franks call Solomon the Wise, rests upon a chain around the neck of the Lord of Alamut. Rumours abound that this is the first and true seal given by Allah to the mighty king, Sulaimān ibn Dāwūd, giving him the power to command spirits such as shayati and djinn. It is speculated it is the power of the Seal that has kept Alamut safe all these years despite Hell’s forces holding the land surrounding Alamut and its hinterlands.

Whatever the truth of the matter, no Warband of the Court of the Seven-Headed Serpent has ever approached the citadel of Alamut. Beelzebub’s unclean Order of the Fly recoils from the Assassins’ hinterlands, and no outbreak of the Black Grail has ever been reported within their domain. It seems that Hell’s otherworldly powers are held at bay by some kind of protection capable of countering their Goetic magic.

Thus the mission to conquer Alamut has fallen upon the mortal followers of Jahannam. Abaddon, the great Prince of Wrath has promised a reward of eternal youth to any Heretic Warlord who captures the Eagle’s Nest. Despite the overwhelming numbers of the forces of the Heretic Legions, all who have attempted to take the fortress thus far have failed. Many attempts to invade are thwarted in their earliest moments as great Heretic lords die in their tents to Assassin’s daggers, or through poison in their meals. Others disappear without a trace, their painstakingly built alliances falling apart like chaff in the wind.

Scarcely a decade passes without Alamut being assaulted, for there is no lack of ambitious Heretic Warlords. But the Forces of Shaytan that have laid siege to its onyx walls have discovered that the fortress is all but invincible. The Alamut valley, known as the Shirkuh, is bordered to the East by the Alamkuh mountain range, which means the Throne of Solomon, and its entrance is a narrow one, shielded by cliffs and guarded by mystic standing stones. Besides this, the raging waters of the river, Alamut, make this entrance inaccessible for many months each year.

Flanked by the Iron Wall to the east and west, any forces approaching come under a barrage of long-range artillery from its garrison, who gleefully exact a heavy toll on any would-be invaders. In the skies above, the airspace is protected and patrolled by the Sultan’s flying ships of war, making aerial assaults impossible. Though no official document or declaration exists, the strategists of New Antioch widely believe that the Sultanate’s indirect protection of the Alamut is granted in exchange for the services of the Assassins.

Alamut’s natural and military defences are not its only safeguard. Heretic long-range artillery finds its shells striking the surrounding mountains, never the fortress itself, no matter how carefully the distances are measured or what dark prayers are offered to patron demons. Assault forces lose their way, even when guided by infernal compasses and maps. Time itself flows in strange fashion here, and invaders find that each step robs their youth and vitality, causing them to succumb to the infirmity of old age long before reaching the walls of Alamut. Their spent and withered bodies fall to join other unsuccessful invaders scattered across the lands of the Assassins as their souls succumb to their doom in flames. Even to behold the fortress is a trial, its stones vanishing against the sky, eluding the eye and confounding the mind.

Those who have tried to assault Alamut and have lived to tell the tale recall a powerful aura of forbidding menace surrounding the Home of the Eagles. Even the most devout and bloodthirsty Heretic general sworn to serve the Serpent Head of Wrath may think twice before challenging the Assassins.

And so Alamut endures, unconquered and unbowed.

Und die Kampagnenregeln wurden aktualisiert:

The updated Campaign rules for Trench Crusade are now available in V 1.6.3! These rules will show you how to play through a series of linked games in the world of Trench Crusade. You can find the full rules document (and the Change Log for the previous version) on our website, or using this link: https://www.trenchcrusade.com/playtest-rules

Quelle: Trench Crusade bei Facebook