Dead Monarchy

Dead Monarchy is an open-world, turn-based tactical RPG set in a low-fantasy world. You lead and manage a mercenary company as its captain, explore the Midlands, take contracts and pursue a personal quest to defeat the arena champions. The game is designed to be challenging without hand-holding; learning its mechanics on the default difficulty before attempting higher settings is recommended.

Explore the Midlands

Travel across the overworld, where random events can occur, and visit havens to take contracts, hire mercenaries and resupply. You can explore caves, ruins, graveyards and abandoned fortresses, then fight in tactical maps that correspond to overworld locations. Contracts can involve exterminating outlaws, bandits and raiders, or you can become one yourself and eventually draw the attention of the noble houses. You can also trade, craft and sell equipment, or follow the overarching story and train to become an arena champion.

Lead your company

You can lead up to 18 mercenaries in combat. If your captain dies, the game ends; fellow mercenaries die permanently. The game supports manual saving and an ironman mode. Character backgrounds determine which weapons they are proficient with, while 180 perks and abilities let you shape different fighting styles. A swordsman might focus on counterattacks, a heavily armoured fighter on wild strikes, or a lightly armoured fencer on speed; you can also build shield-bearers or fighters who combine ranged and melee combat. Builds need careful planning, since weapon abilities are not always the best choice for every build.

Tactical combat

Combat is turn-based, melee-focused and set in 3D. Elevation affects hit chance, while counterattacks, attacks of opportunity, ranged combat and flanking make positioning important. Your company can fight in fields, camps, caves, ruins, graveyards and abandoned fortresses.

Weapons and equipment

Ten weapon types shape your combat style, with over 100 unique weapon models. You can collect 200 visually distinct pieces of equipment, including helmets, armour, trinkets and rings. Helmets and armour are inspired by historical designs within the low-fantasy setting and appear on characters when equipped.

Factions and arenas

Ten factions oppose you, each with its own combat style and distinctive unit designs. You can train and fight to the death in five arenas, which grow progressively harder as you challenge their champions and rise through the champion ranks.

End-game content

After the main game, you can face a boss battle and hunt elite units known as champions to claim their rare masterwork equipment.