The Subsector Project

  When we write Grimdark, we’re always walking a very fine line between actual interesting genre fiction, and edgy nonsense. I know I talk a lot about the importance of science fiction, and the universe of Warhammer 40k as essentially a conglomeration of pulp sci-fi, but it’s important to acknowledge that things can (and probably will, at some point) go terribly wrong.

There’s a dark mirror universe I’m going to cast shade on here, and yes, it’s Trench Crusade. For the uninitiated, Trench Crusade is another universe (albeit, one set entirely on Earth in a divergent, demon-infested timeline) that a lot of folks like to point to as a good example of Grimdark being executed well. In my opinion, that couldn’t be further from the truth, and we’ll dig a little bit into why to speak a little bit more to the genre/edgy divide. If you’re not integrally familiar with Trench Crusade, not a big deal, but maybe go and give it a once-over to just see what it’s all about.

I obviously don’t hold literary fiction to the same standard, as it’s more heavily invested in the thematic and intangible than it is with the core mechanics of how the universe functions. I won’t be writing Cormac McCarthy because The Road doesn’t spend time addressing my minutia. This is nitpicking at its finest, and I want to be clear before I jump into a discussion about my own personal tastes in fiction. If you like Trench Crusade, and think the worldbuilding is cool, I’m not here to tell you you’re wrong, I just don’t agree.

My YouTube Shorts algorithm is polluted with Trench Crusade. My Reddit algorithm insists that Trench Crusade lore is on the same level as 40k lore. The more rabid Trench Crusade fans on both sites regularly spend their hard-earned breath and typing fingers dropping more words than actually make up the Trench Crusade lore on how good it is. Wild, absurd, I cannot express my personal dismay at the reading comprehension of this group. Call me a pedant, that this entire post is me being a jerk to people who are enjoying their hobby. I will accept it all. I am very petty and I need to talk about this before I lose my mind.

  In my opinion, there are three key facets you need to keep in mind when you’re writing any sort of fiction which relies heavily on its worldbuilding and broadly identifiable genre themes:

1. Could people actually live in this world?
2. Would your characters still be interesting if they were placed in a context outside of their world?
3. Are the themes of your world compelling enough to stand on their own?

Early 40k fiction failed on both of these tests, for like, a full decade or so. I have an immense amount of respect for these early authors for keeping on the grind, but I also have gripes with how they wrote them. That’s neither here nor there, but it could be argued that Trench Crusade, as a newer system, is still in that “first ten years” timeframe.

Yet the creators clearly want it to be on the same level in terms of worldbuilding. I’m not made of stone, I like that they have a “lore” section on the website, I like that the rulebook is totally integrated with their lore snippets.

That said, it’s not the nineties, it’s not even the paperback heyday of the early two thousands. If the entirety of the “lore” you’re writing is in snippets of a couple hundred words focusing on how cool the guns are, you’re not actually worldbuilding, you’re just paying lip service to the idea of worldbuilding.

Wait! Defenders of Trench Crusade will say. Trench Crusade is entirely focused on the game! Yes, so stop insisting it’s good. If you want the game to be the game, go for it, but it isn’t lore to describe the armaments of the “Artillery Witch”.

I don’t particularly care to deep dive into Trench Crusade, but I decided that after I’d already done so. I promise to talk about the Grimdark/edgy paradigm, but I want to do it through the lens of the analysis of those three tests above.

Let’s start at the beginning: Normal people cannot live in the world of Trench Crusade.

The suspension of disbelief is utterly rancid, I feel like I’m taking crazy pills whenever folks talk about people living in the cities which are totally dedicated to the production of soldiers. Roaming bands of demons and their worshippers wander the countryside preying upon the souls of their inhabitants, yet somehow, the countryside towns, mines, and granaries also provide all the materials and resources for the cities to survive.

Trench Crusade, you see, is a level above 40k in terms of the grim darkness. Everything is turned up to eleven, hell, everything is turned up to twelve. What I would find admirable in terms of literary fiction rings totally hollow for genre fiction. The world cannot function for the Average Joe because at any moment an instant of temptation could drag his soul to Christian hell. What they’re trying to do is suggest that every person is the level of piety of a Sororitas canoness, but in doing so, they’ve flattened the idea of individual expression entirely. Humans cannot transgress, lest they risk damning the race. When the individual cannot function, worldbuilding cannot function either.

I could stop there, but our second test is also being violated: Trench Crusade has no characters, there is nothing to be transposed outside of their context.

I’m not really concerned about “named characters” as much as individuals who can react to stimulus from their own unique perspective. What separates Marneus Calgar from Dante, or Eisenhorn? Perspective. Every character in Trench Crusade has what I consider to be a shared perspective, a hive mind for each faction who respond according to their side’s predetermined response in any situation. Removed from Trench Crusade, they lack the agency needed to respond to situations, they lack the perspective to be able to even have individuality.

As if that weren’t poor enough: Trench Crusade’s themes are borderline non-existent, and I don’t find them particularly compelling.

I had a lot of trouble trawling through the lore page for themes. Again, the worldbuilding is poor (and I haven’t even mentioned that the organization of the website isn’t great for finding things either). Nevertheless, I pulled out a few thematic elements I think are commonly held within the lore:

1. War is bad.
2. In trying to defeat horrors, be careful not to become horrific in turn.
3. Catholic iconography is cool.
4. Demons are bad, but also cool.

What are you supposed to take from Trench Crusade? 1 & 2 are certainly valid, but they’re communicated in such a clumsy, obtuse way, themes don’t seem to be a focus for the creators. As you know, I feel very strongly about themes, so it pains me to see a project which doesn’t.

Obviously, as a 40k fan, I totally agree with the latter two themes, 10/10, no notes.

  The ultimate question is, of course: Is Trench Crusade cringe? The worst crime on the internet is, as we all know, to be cringey. Grimdark rides the line between genre and “edgy”, and in my opinion, 40k usually falls on the genre side of that paradigm. To fall into the chasm of edgelord-ness without the blessed protection of irony is to get a face full of cringe.

If we view the three tests above as our delineator of edginess, I think Trench Crusade is certainly more edgy for the sake of edginess than genre fiction. It isn’t trying to tell an interesting story, it’s trying to interest you to buy their game system. That, in and of itself, is cringey in my opinion, and a lot of the defenders of Trench Crusade who seem not to see that, are doing a disservice to what it could be.

Some folks, obviously, own it. They just like what they’ve been given, and they think that it’s fine to not have characters or themes or worldbuilding that makes sense. I applaud them for liking what they like, but we’re not going to agree with one another anytime soon.

In my opinion, the lore and worldbuilding of Trench Crusade is not good. It doesn’t stand on its own, so the people who enjoy lore either have to fill in the blanks with headcanon, or they’re just going to find another property to enjoy, like 40k.

If anyone is interested, here are a few ideas I have (in no particular order) for Trench Crusade to improve it from a worldbuilding perspective, and make it somewhere that individuals like myself want to write in:

• Pull back on the impossibility of the world. Be more descriptive about how individuals are able to live their lives. It can be a little contrived, but if demons rule the seas, and the land is under constant attack, it’s going to be hard to raise a family.
• Sow some discord. Going hand-in-hand with the lack of characters, the characters need to be able to have disagreements within their faction. It should be more than just “I want to build a big ship” or “I want to kill demons”. Let people have internal thoughts and emotions which can be expressed through writing.
• Have a writer think about some themes for your lore. Like, beyond the vagaries everyone already agrees on (such as the badness of war), your world should inform your themes and vice versa. This is so important for making the literary works within it interesting, rather than a laundry list of weapons and armor certain squads tend to enjoy.

I’m certain that the crusaders will say I’m missing the point, will disagree with how I’m engaging with the material, etc. The thing is, I get the point, I’m engaging with the material at (probably) a higher level than it was intended to be enjoyed. But a better world can be had. A better universe for you to enjoy as a fan is out there, we don’t have to settle for mediocrity when we can push for better.

Those are my thoughts, I’m sticking to it. Maybe that, in and of itself, is cringe, maybe all my writing is equally cringe.

But at least I’ve actually tried.