Heads Will Roll (v1.5)

War in medieval France is less about heroic speeches than hunger, wounds, bad equipment, and the next desperate fight. Heads Will Roll casts you as an unremarkable English foot soldier caught in the Hundred Years’ War, beginning with no guarantee of status, safety, or even survival. Its grim, grounded RPG approach makes every small success feel earned as a common infantryman potentially claws his way toward the reputation and gear of a respected knight.

Combat unfolds in deliberate turn-based encounters where choosing an attack is only part of the problem. Weapon reach, personal skill, stamina, injuries, armor, and an opponent’s condition all shape the outcome, so blindly selecting the strongest option is a quick route to disaster. Between battles, you manage supplies, equip appropriate weapons, use consumables, recover from trauma, and make decisions that affect whether your campaign continues. Character development comes through surviving long enough to improve your abilities and build familiarity with the tools of war, while the constant risk of failure keeps resource management as important as fighting.

Rather than presenting the era as a power fantasy, Heads Will Roll emphasizes the vulnerability of a soldier who has to earn every advantage through caution, planning, and persistence. The substantial range of equipment and combat variables gives clashes a tactical, almost duel-like tension, especially when fatigue or an untreated injury turns a seemingly manageable enemy into a serious threat. Its focused structure and unforgiving survival systems suit players who enjoy the harsh decision-making of Darkest Dungeon or the practical medieval detail of Kingdom Come: Deliverance, but prefer turn-based battles over action combat. Newcomers should expect a learning curve, while veterans of demanding RPGs will appreciate how deeply preparation influences each encounter.