Scenario Format

The map for a scenario shows the Deployment Zones for each side and where to place any Markers that need to go at a specific location. All of these things are explained in more detail in the following rules.

Scenarios are fought with a selection of models from your Warband called a Force. The first thing you must do to play a game is to pick the models from your Warband that will make up your Force. In a one-off game, you will usually be able to use all of the models in your Warband, however, if you are playing a campaign game, your Force must conform to your Warband’s Threshold Value and Field Strength.

Any further restrictions on what you can include in your Force, over and above those for Starting a Warband or your Warband’s Threshold Value and Field Strength, will be noted in the instructions for the scenario. Once you’ve chosen your Force, only the models in your Force are considered part of your Warband for the duration of the Scenario. For example, if a rule states you can do something if a model is part of your Warband, you can only use the rule in a game if you included the model in your Force.

One-Off Games

The Trench Crusade rules are written primarily for use in campaigns. However, they can also be used for one-off games that are not part of a campaign. In one-off games, you will need to agree on how many can be spent on your Warbands, and if you will allow the Warbands to use to purchase models, Battlekit, or Glory Items.

If you are new to Trench Crusade, we recommend using a 700 starting Warband for one-off games. This will allow you to count the game as the first game in a campaign should you wish to do so. Once you’ve gained some experience, we’ve found that 800 and 6 is a very good size for one-off games, offering plenty of choice without making the Warbands too large and unwieldy.

The next thing you need to do is set up the battlefield. Most scenarios can be played on a typical dining table, but some require a battlefield that is either 36" or 48" square.

Battlefield Archetypes

The instructions here will explain which battlefield archetype is used for the scenario. Battlefield archetypes are explained in the Terrain Section of the book, which also includes instructions for setting the terrain pieces up for the game. Any additional instructions on how to set up the terrain pieces for the scenario will be included here. Note that unless stated otherwise, the terrain shown on the map is for illustrative purposes and does not need to be copied when you set up the terrain for the scenario.

Markers

Some scenarios will ask you to set up one or more Markers. When a Marker is set up in a specific location, its position is marked on the map with a white cross. If a Marker is set up at the ‘Midpoint’, it must be set up so that the centre of the Marker is at the centre of the Battlefield. You can use cardboard, wood or plastic counters, flags, or pieces of “scattered terrain” up to 40mm across as Markers. A Marker does not hinder movement or affect the Line of Sight unless it is a terrain piece. If a terrain piece covers the spot where a Marker is to be set up, place the Marker anywhere that it will stand on the terrain piece.

Blocking Terrain

You are not allowed to set up terrain in such a way that it would make it impossible for any of the models being used for the game to either exit their Deployment Zone or reach a location where a Marker is to be placed. If you realise that you have accidentally set up blocking terrain once the game is underway, you must allow models that are blocked by it to cross as if it were Open terrain (it will still block Line of Sight).

Next, the players must deploy the models from their Forces on the battlefield by following the instructions in this section. Unless stated otherwise, you must deploy all of the models from your Force on the battlefield. When you deploy, models cannot be set up with their bases overlapping impassable terrain or the base of another model. They can be set up on a flat surface, or on terrain that isn’t impassable, so long as it is possible to fit at least half of the model’s base on the surface.

Deployment Zones

The map for the scenario you are using will show an area on the battlefield referred to as your Deployment Zone. This is where each player can deploy their models. When you are instructed to deploy a model or a terrain piece in your Deployment Zone, it must be deployed wholly within it. The instructions for the scenario will explain how the players pick which Deployment Zones they will use.

Infiltrators

Some models either have the INFILTRATOR Keyword or a special rule that allows them to deploy after other models and/or outside their side’s Deployment Zone. The scenario will say whether these special deployment rules can be used or if the models must be deployed normally. If a scenario says that Infiltrators must deploy normally, then it means that no models can deploy outside their side’s Deployment Zone. Note that when a rule says that a model is deployed ‘after’ other sorts of models, it means after all other models from both sides have been deployed. If both sides have models that deploy after other models, then any instructions in the deployment rules about the order in which models are deployed still apply.

Gameplay Example

For example, if Gary has 9 models that include 1 infiltrator and Christina has 7 models that include 3 infiltrators, Gary and Christina would deploy the models that can’t infiltrate first until Christina ran out of models. Gary would deploy the rest of their models that can’t infiltrate one after the other. Then, Gary and Christina would deploy their infiltrators, starting with Christina because Gary deployed the last model.

Some scenarios include one or more special rules. When this is the case, they will be included after the Deployment instructions for the scenario.

Pre-Game Activities

Many Abilities, Skills, and Battlekit special rules allow you to take an action before the game begins. These are called Pre-Game Activities. Each pre-game activity will say when it takes place; if they say they take place “before” or “after” something, they happen immediately before or after it. For example, if a rule allowed you to do something “at the start of the game, before deployment”, it would happen immediately before deployment was started. If several pre-game activities happen at the same time, then the players must roll-off and the winner decides what order they are resolved in.

Secret Information

You will sometimes be required to secretly write down information during a game. For example, you might need to secretly write down which enemy models you have marked to be taken Out of Action during the game. When you record information like this, you must ensure that whatever you write down is legible and clearly explains the information it needs to convey. When the secret information is revealed during the game, you must show what you wrote down to your opponent.

Once both sides have deployed, you are ready to start the game’s first turn. The instructions here will explain how long the game lasts, generally stating a number of Turns.

When the game ends, follow the instructions here to determine who has won.

Victory Points

In most scenarios, Victory Points (sometimes referred to as VPs) are used to determine who wins and loses. If both players score the same number of Victory Points the game is a draw.

Each scenario includes a list of the Victory Points that can be scored by the players during the game, that says when and how they are scored. If Victory Points are scored at the end of each Turn, when the game ends, first score any Victory Points for the end of the final Turn, and then score any Victory Points that are only scored at the end of the game.