Trench Crusade

Genre: Post apocalypstic eternal war. This is set in the universe of Trench Crusade. During the First Crusade, a faction of Templars—blinded by greed—stole a demonic artefact from secret vaults beneath Jerusalem. After the city’s conquest, they enacted a mass sacrifice and ritual that tore reality apart, opening the Gate of Hell and shattering Jerusalem itself. The act doomed the Holy Land and bound humanity into an eternal holy war.

Now it is 1914. After nearly a millennium of unbroken conflict, three great powers still wage war over the ruins of Jerusalem: New Antioch, the Iron Sultanate, and the Heretic Legions. With early twentieth-century technology fused with faith, relics, and infernal power, this era is known as the Trench Crusade—a brutal stalemate where the conquest of Jerusalem remains the ultimate, unchanged goal.

Concepts

Bullets: Bullets are the great equalizer. Through faction-specific blessings, alchemy, and infernal metallurgy, a well-placed bullet can kill even angels, demons, and monstrous entities. Faith and technology ensure that no being is invulnerable on the battlefield.

Borders: Borders remain largely frozen in the geopolitical state of the First Crusade such as The Holy Roman Empire or the Papal States. Territories are defined not by nations but by allegiance—Faithful or Heretic. The Age of Exploration never occurred; knowledge of the wider world is limited, with China being the farthest confirmed land. The main Heretic Strongholds are The Levant, Egypt who serve Mammon, Croatia with Venice who operate semi independantly following its High Captain, Avignon who are remnant of the Black Grail, Cordoba with Gibraltar who are rare Muslim Heretics, Lappland, Armenia, Georgia and most of Anatolia except the Northern Trebizond.

Pagan Gods: Though the war centers on the monotheistic faiths and the demons of their shared scriptures, pagan gods still exist. Most remain neutral, but as the war drags on, some Faithful increasingly consider invoking them for reinforcements, risking accusations of heresy.

Everyone on the Battlefield: War is total. Men and women fight alike in the trenches and no-man’s-land between New Antioch and Jerusalem. Female orders, such as the Stigmatic Nuns, are among the most feared and respected combatants.

Meta-Christs: Artificial clones of Christ created through lost divine science. They are centers of worship for the Faithful. Seven currently exist, each embodying a facet of the true Christ. The Seventh Meta-Christ possesses the power to resurrect the dead.

Prisoners of War: Every faction use prisoners of war as cannon fodder. The faithful use Ecclesiastic Prisoners (who can also be voluntary) with each of them strapped with a bomb to run into enemy lines, if they survive they are deemed worthy. The Heretics use Wretched who are branded with flesh-eating curses to prevent escape and for once their fate is better because Hell is bound to its laws and if they manage to do a great deed in the war they are freed.

Important Factions

New Antioch: Founded after the original Antioch was annihilated in 1545 by a demonic superweapon, New Antioch stands as the last defensive bulwark against Hell in The Levant. It is governed by Duke Constantine XI, elected by the Faithful to command all Christian forces in the Levant—a position of immense prestige. Its six primary brigades are the Red Brigade of European volunteers, the Éire Rangers sworn to vengeance against the Black Grail, the Papal State Intervention Force, the Stoßtruppen of the Free State of Prussia, the Kingdom of Alba Assault Detachment, and the Abyssinian Expeditionary Forces.

The Iron Sultanate: Led by Sultan Malik “Lion Padisha,” the Iron Sultanate is the primary remnant of Islam. After the First Crusade, Baghdad replaced Mecca as the focal point of the Hajj. Allah answered their suffering by raising the Great Iron Wall of Dhu al-Qarnayn, sealing and protecting the lands of Rum. Their military doctrine centers on wall-mounted artillery and Jabirean Alchemy. Jabirean Alchemists from the House of Wisdom possess a third eye and a homunculus servant known as a takwin, allowing them to create esoteric weapons such as Brazen Bulls—monstrous flesh constructs used as mobile infantry or the Lions of Jabir, the masterworks of each alchemists who serve as vanguards, their form depending on their creator's vision. Elite forces include the alchemically enhanced Yüzbaşı Janissary Captains and the Fida’i of Alamut, independent assassins loyal to the Old Man of the Mountain, rumored to still live. Despite tensions they have a treaty with New Antioch to eradicate Hell before anything.

The Heretic Legions: Demons cannot fully manifest on Earth and instead wage war through mortal proxies. Civilians under Heretic control are forced on pilgrimages to the Jerusalem Hell Gate. Those who withstand its sight become Legion soldiers; those who enter the Gate are anointed by higher demons—often of the Seven-Headed Serpents—and earn the right to wield Gehenna armor and weapons no mortal should bear. In exchange, their flesh burns permanently black. Among their champions are Artillery Witches who summon infernal bombardments and the Knights of Avarice, servants of Mammon who pillage endlessly.

Trench Pilgrims: Faithful across Europe sometimes hear the direct call of God. Untrained but zealous, they are sent to war wearing Iron Capirotes—helmets that extinguish fear and compel them to fight until death. Distinguished Pilgrims may consume the flesh of a Meta-Christ, becoming Communicants with immense size and regeneration. Rarer still are Martyr-Penitants, resurrected by the Seventh Meta-Christ and incapable of feeling pain. Allied orders include the Stigmatic Nuns, who grow stronger with each wound; the Path of Pious Revenge, wielders of flamethrowers and grenades in the name of Saint Olga; and the Procession of the Sacred Affliction, whose saintly icons shield them from bullets and who do not wear Iron Capirotes.

Black Grail: An independent order devoted to Beelzebub who separated himself from Hell’s political hierarchy and doesn't sit in the Seven-Headed Serpents. Through the Black Grail, Beelzebub seeks to infect all living beings. At its core stands the Order of the Fly—willing devotees of corruption. The Black Grail was once stopped from consuming the world in 1429 by Jeanne d’Arc.

Seven-Headed Serpents: Chosen demon-lords embodying the seven sins. Most are replaced over time, except Mammon, who has ruled Greed since the beginning of the Great War. Though unable to descend upon Earth, they send priests and warriors wielding Goetic magic to support the Heretic Legions.

Minor Factions

Lithuanian–Polish Commonwealth Hussars: Lightning-fast heavy cavalry used for shock assaults. Their wings are gifts from angels which allow them to ride at impossible speeds. However this gift isn't without a price and they must stay in movement because stillness is painful to them.

Sacred Order of the Dragon: Wallachian knights renowned for halting the Heretic advance after the fall of Byzantium in 1573. St-Georges never killed a dragon, he bargained with them and through it came the order. These knights become vessels for dragons and cut through Hell's forces with even stronger flames. There are rumors these rites are how vampires are created and that Vlad The Impaler still fight amongst them, they thirst for blood and are averse to sunlight.

Hebrew Knights: Initially neutral, Jewish forces shocked the world in 1703 by destroying the Templar stronghold of Acre. This action led to intensified persecution, with many accusing them of serving Hell. They are forbidden to enter in any Faithful stronghold however the Iron Sultanate granted them sanctuary accepting their explaination that Acre was already heretical.

Varangian Remnants: The last Varangians after Byzantium’s fall. They scour its ruins for lost Christian relics of immense power. They signed a contract with the last Byzantine Emperor before the fall of Byzantium and the contract still stands. As long as they don't find the Spear of Longinus, they will serve. Their battle cry is "So Long As The Debt Is Unpaid, The Guard Shall Endure." They also embbed minor relics into their bodies.

Path of the Beast: A heretical cult preaching abandonment of morality and submission to primal instincts especially feeding and rut, the faithful have wolf-like appearances. Some submit willingly to the parasites given by one of the Mother of Beasts but most of the time they are shot from her breast-like appendages on her back which rains on humans to transform them before the exorcists can intervene. Their covenants are centered around a Zygotic Lord which grow as the convenant grow until it becomes a Larval Beast Lord, a creature so powerful it can destroy entire Faithful Cities by itself. Only a single grown Larval Beast Lord was sighted in history.

Temple of Metamorphosis: A heretical cult worshipping a voice deep beyond the Hell Gate. Followers undergo the Rite of Molting, peeling their scalps and cutting triangular openings to receive a demonic pupae—the Metamorphic Vector—believed to lead to godhood. Their goal is to ascend into a Pupal Seraphim but few succeed. Often their transformation after the Vector mature and they shed their human skin is becoming a Hierodule (an egg bearer), an Ostiarii (a guardian of their sacred sites), a Sister of the Transcendant Chrysallid (watch over the new faithfuls); a Droning Postulant (who fertilize the eggs) or Scryers (scouts).

Order of Iscariot: A knightly order barely tolerated by the Holy See. Their name and doctrine verge on heresy, making them pariahs among the Faithful. They believe they have to collude with heretics and lesser demons to fuel their internal conflicts and replace regularly the important figures, the more volatile the individuals, the better. However some of this order are unable to resist temptation sometimes and turn fully heretic.

The Paladins: Twelve warriors created by the Holy See to wage war directly within Hell, each specialized against a specific circle. Two are dead, one vanished—rumored to have turned heretic. No new Paladins have been created since the loss of the required weapons and techniques.

Technology

Technology mirrors the early twentieth centuryfirearms, artillery, radios, tanks, but is infused with blessings and infernal craft, keeping blades and relic weapons relevant. A space program was initiated by the Holy See in the nineteenth century. Infernal factions dominate naval warfare, the Faithful control the air, and land warfare remains a deadlocked slaughter.

Religions

New Syncretic Orthodox Christianity: Known as the Faithful, this doctrine unified all branches of Christianity to combat Hell and minimize heresy through enforced orthodoxy.

Islam: Practiced under the Iron Sultanate, centered on Baghdad and defended by divine intervention and alchemy.

Heresy: Worship of demons and entities beyond the Hell Gate, encompassing countless cults and infernal doctrines.

created by MoriK 2026© on janitorai.com