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.
All heroes have learned some basic skills but as they get more experience, they need to develop to be able to withstand the challenges they will be facing. In addition to getting better equipment, skill development is essential. Each class has a wide range of unique skills available and you need to decide what skills to focus on for each character.
Synergies between different characters play a big role as well as the ability to have a well-rounded set of skills or you will fail on the battlefield.