The Storm Guard is a turn-based tactical game. Wildings, undead and even greater horrors from the north have crossed the borders and are now invading the realm of men causing death and destruction. You assume the role of the Lord Commander and have to manage this conflict. On the strategy layer, you must try to maintain a steady economy, keep panic in your lands low and manage the Order’s roster of heroes and soldiers, recruit additional members, learn new skills and get better equipment. In turn-based combat, you will direct a squad of 3–5 heroes on the tactical combat field. Use good positioning and cleverly combine their abilities to prevail. All heroes have a dozen skills to specialize in and different hero combinations allow different playstyles which provides a wide range of options to explore. Dying is easy, and death is permanent. You must learn to deal with losses and try to mitigate the risk. The Storm Guard is deliberately designed to be a difficult but fair game.
Different characters are available to embark on missions. It is important to assemble a well-rounded party that can deal with various threats. Each character class can be customized in terms of equipment and even more importantly: the skills it has learned. This allows a lot of different play styles. It is on the strategy layer where you are trying to prepare your men (and women) best for the upcoming encounters.
Gold is always scarce so you make wise decisions what you want to spend it on. Sinking all your wealth into a single character and then losing him can be a serious setback.
Deadly creatures are invading the realm of men and causing panic among our population. It is important to address these issues and keep panic in our lands in check or we won't be able to fuel this war machine.