Learn about Trench Crusade

Jutting from eternally belching plumes of stinking, corrosive smoke is the Iron City of Dis; and atop its shrieking, black keep can be found the Infernal War Council. There sits seven of the greatest, most wicked and cunning of Arch-Devils, each representing one of the Seven Mortal Sins made manifest. They are the rulers of the Court of the Seven-Headed Serpent which oversees Hell’s war against Creation on Earth. Each is known as one of the Heads of the Serpent, and ultimately it is their commands that dictate all the military forces of the Great War in the service of the infernal hierarchy.

“ Jutting from plumes of stinking, corrosive smoke is the Iron City of Dis and atop its shrieking, black keep sits the Infernal War Council. Seven of the greatest, most wicked and most cunning of Arch-Devils preside over the war against Creation, and upon their orders do the spawn of Lucifer go forth to wreak death and corruption upon the mortal world. ”

In this twisted, treacherous and ever-shifting political arena, even the mightiest of Devils rarely sit at the great War Council for long. Towering statues of the Serpent Heads representing Wrath, Envy, Pride, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth and Lust are erected in Dis by slavering work gangs of yoke fiends, only to be torn down again and crushed into rubble as new Devil Lords rise to the pinnacle of power by trampling over their rivals.

The hierarchy of the Court is anything but stable: only Mammon is said to have held the position of the Serpent Head of Greed almost without break for the duration of the entire Great War. Other positions have seen a bewildering parade of dukes, marquises, margraves, barons and baronesses, paramounts, princes, lords, ladies, earls and myriad other high nobles that make up the infernal hierarchy. This whirlwind of political glory, followed by utter ruin, is reflected as shifts of power amongst their mortal followers on earth.

0-1 Praetor

Praetors are demonic commanders and magistrates within a small corner of the fiefdom of a mighty Arch-Devil or Demon Lord. Each commands small cohorts at their liege’s behest, raised from the denizens within the ever-shifting domains of Hell. Yoke devils muster at their command and Hell Knights bound to blind obedience bend their knees to these field commanders of Hell.

0-1 Sorcerer

Sorcerers come in many forms and manipulate their own bodies to better cast the mighty spells they are charged with. Some have many arms, others multiple heads or countless alterations and terrible improvements – some self-administered, others by force – based on the whims of the Arch-devil and their cabal of High Sorcerers who lead their Goetic strategy. A Sorcerer’s feet do not touch the ground – a distant echo of their angelic past – but instead float across No Man’s Land, chanting the cruel gospel of Hell as they advance. Their dark wisdom and cunning make them equally capable of leading one of the Court’s warbands or acting as advisors to one of the Praetors as they stride forth into the mortal realms.

0-1 Hunter of the Left-hand Path

The hunters of the Court of the Seven-headed Serpent are followers of the Left-hand Path. They stalk the primordial hinterlands of hell, where they hunt terrifying beasts and perform vile magicks and auguries, using the innards of their still-living prey to discern portents and omens.

0-3 Hell Knight

The silent battalions of Hell, summoned to serve when the Court of the Seven-Headed Serpent seeks sport, are composed of Hell Knights. Their ever-burning banners stream as they march to war, carrying out the bidding of their masters. They are the bannerets of the High Lords of the Court, champions who respond to foolish mortals daring to challenge the hunting parties of the Serpent’s nobility, who embark on hunting excursions beyond the Gate for their amusement.

Yoke Fiend

A Yoke Fiend stands some seven to eight feet tall, with layers of shivering fat and muscle branded by their masters, carved by the knives of the Hell-Priests to mark them as property of greater demons. They exhibit bestial features such as horns and hooves of cattle or goats, ape-like limbs with immensely dense bones. They hate seeing their own reflections, as in their heart of hearts they know the beauty and glory they have lost for all eternity.

Wretched

These unfortunate souls possess not a drop of demon blood. They act as disposable shock troops or are used as subjects of torture to power the Goetic magic of the sorcerers and other users of the dark arts. Captured during one of the hunts of the Court, sold to the devils in the heretic domains or having the misfortune to have foolishly pushed through in the places where the borders of the world are thin, their minds are scarred by witnessing the horror of damnation while still alive. Willing to do anything to escape their fate a million times worse than death, they grasp at the thinnest of straws. Should a wretch bring down a mighty opponent, the Law of Hell is clear: the mortal will gain its freedom, in memory and honour of the First Rebellion when there was war in Heaven and blood of the angels painted the firmament red.

0-3 Pit Locust

Pit Locusts are terrifying, horse-sized winged and armoured creatures with twisted faces resembling humans. They fight with rending blades attached to their limbs and with poison stingers.

0-3 Desecrated Saint

Desecrated Saints are the most prized possessions of the Lords of Hell: men and women once destined to become saints, great prophets or holy ones according to God’s Plan, but who were led astray and fell from Grace.

Court of the Seven Headed Serpent

Warband Composition

Nobles of the Court and the War Slaves