Tides of Caldmere

Tides of Caldmere is a dark fantasy tactical RPG in the turn-based tactics tradition. It is set in Caldmere, an oath-bound land that is falling apart while a faction known as the Sunken Court rises from beneath its ley-waters to take what the living have lost. The player assembles a war-band and fights a series of battles to hold the realm together.

The game departs from the usual structure of separate player and enemy phases. All units are placed on a shared Charge-Time timeline determined by their speed, so a fast unit may act twice before a slow one acts once. This turn order can be manipulated: the Setback ability pushes an enemy further down the queue, while Onset moves an ally forward after a kill. Units have five stats plus a shared resource called Resolve, which can either keep a character alive through a killing blow or be spent on a guaranteed Execute. Positioning also matters, with flanking and high ground affecting outcomes, a light weapon triangle governing melee matchups, and arcane attacks bypassing heavy armour.

War-band development includes classes and promotions, reclassing, point-buy stat growth, and weapon forging up to +5. Relationships between characters can develop into marriages that produce heirs, and a time-skip carries the story into a second act featuring the next generation. Three permadeath settings range from a forgiving mode to an ironvow mode, an Hourglass turnwheel allows moves to be undone, and difficulty levels run from Wayfarer to Reckoning. The campaign spans 26 chapters and is supplemented by optional side battles, an arena, and a setting built around ley-veins, sigils, and the sunken courts.