Martyrdom! New Crusader-era Historical Wargame Drops Big Previews

Spearhead Studios dropped their first big trailer (above) and lots more information on their upcoming Historical wargaming project, Martyrdom, this week. You might know of this new Crusader-era project if you've been following one Chapter Master Valrak for a while, as he's one of the folks involved with the project and getting it off the ground!

Bohemond of Taranto // Martyrdom

Martyrdom takes place, at least to begin with, during the Crusades. It will cover the call made in 1096 to head to the Holy Land, where hundreds of knights pledged themselves to the cause, as well as the People's Crusade of peasants led by Peter the Hermit.

The initial launch of the game will feature miniatures for the Italo/Norman Crusaders that found themselves pitted against the Seljuk Turks. The People's Crusade, Byzantine Empire and the Fatimids will follow on close behind as additional factions for Martyrdom.

Crusader Levy Spearmen // Martyrdom

There are some great folks involved in this project from the aforementioned Chapter Master Valrak alongside the likes of Graham McNeill, renowned Black Library writer and a host of amazing sculptors who have worked at Games Workshop, plus many more. I also liked that Spearhead mentioned that every single creative that takes part in the process is going to be credited for their work. Awesome.

For example, in the trailer alone, Spearhead credited the sculpting of Facundo Fonseca and Santi Lafosse, the painting of Krugg66, the writer, Graham McNeill, voice actor Chris Tester, music from Mexikus and the Historical consultants on the game, Dr Toby Capwell and Joseph Wragg.

Crusader Sergeants // Martyrdom

This attention to detail carries through into everything that the team are doing for Martyrdom. Capwell has been on hand to help with the correct weapons, armour and source methodology for the period.

When it comes to the rules, they draw inspiration from the likes of Bolt Action, The Barons' War, A Song of Ice & Fire and The Old World. The rules have been made to be easy to learn but with lots of depth, all backed up by a lot of playtesting. You should be able to use the rules for proper Historical scenarios, random match-ups with friends and competitive tournament-style games. The rules will also be entirely FREE from beginning to end.

Crusader Forces // Martyrdom

A few examples from their website launch included rules for a Fatigue system alongside Random Activation to represent the fog of war on the battlefield. The rules have also been made straightforward so there's not a lot of referencing the rulebook to check you're doing the right thing. They have also mentioned no unique dice, no card decks, no bespoke tokens. The core rules and a set of universal markers should be all that you need.

Crusader Army // Martyrdom

If all of that sounds great and you like the look of the Crusaders that the folks have painted up for the game, there are some even cooler things coming down the pipeline for the likes of the Seljuk Empire, who will form the basis of one of the Crusader forces for the period and the launch of the game via Kickstarter and then at retail.

Turkman Steppe Archers // Martyrdom

Baghatur Ghulam Cavalry // Martyrdom

As if that wasn't enough, Spearhead Studios have mentioned expanding out into the Crusades in more detail, with a look at the likes of the forces of Saladin, the Crusader States and even the Mongols. There are also plans to go back in time with Martyrdom: 1066, which will bring the Saxons and Vikings to the battlefield during the period of the Norman Conquest.

The system should also then support the team moving into other periods of the Ancient and Medieval world. They want to cover the armies of antiquity through to the era of pike and shot! Pretty cool stuff.

If you want to keep an eye on what's coming up for Martyrdom, you can check out their website HERE (sign up for the newsletter) and their Instagram page as well.

What do you think so far?