I’m kicking off this week’s TBL with the announcement of a new and intriguing indie Tactical RPG called Of Grit & Graves.
It is a party-based tactics RPG from indie Melted Monster Game Studio that wears its tabletop DNA on its sleeve. It builds every action around dice pools, then asks you to manage position, sightlines, traps, and scarce resources as you push a four-hero squad through procedural dungeons.
Attributes determine how many attack and defense dice you roll, and those dice, either simulated as weighty 3D physics objects or resolved instantly, gate every swing, spell, and save. Pushing Strength boosts your attack pool on melee builds; leaning into Dexterity improves trap work and evasion; Intelligence feeds your spell toolkit.
The system keeps randomness present without letting it run the show, because your statline and kit decide the size of your pool before luck steps in.
Party composition aims for clarity. The Warrior scales damage through a rage mechanic that spikes on kill chains. The Cleric carries heals and shields and can even summon monsters to your side, a useful pressure valve in longer quests.
The Rogue specializes in back-stab lines and trap interaction. The Wizard controls space with line-of-sight tools and heavier damage spells. Together they form a classic “read the room, then commit” kit: pull aggro to the front, pivot angles for the Rogue, hold a shield or crowd-control for the Wizard, and patch mistakes with the Cleric before the dice turn against you.
Combat sits on a proper grid, with visibility and range mattering on every turn. Hidden traps, locked doors, and chest placement nudge you into risk-reward calls between safe routes and greedy lines.
The AI is described as threat-aware, enemies track who hurt them most and adjust targeting, and casters on the enemy side will use tactical spellcasting rather than mindlessly trading hits. That pushes the party into real positioning work instead of trading static volleys.
Between expeditions, you return to town to invest XP into core attributes, buy weapons and armor that provide tangible dice benefits, prep a limited spell list, and slot magical relics that bend your build in sharper directions.
That meta layer turns early equipment and relic drops into strategic commitments; you can chase a heavy-armor bash line, double down on Dexterity-driven trap play, or build a Wizard around control instead of raw damage.
Because the dungeons are procedural across seven environments and quests come with varied objectives, those choices have to stand up to different map asks rather than a single “solve.”
If you want a taste, the demo is generous for a first look. It was released on October 24, 2025, and lets you play up to 12 quests spread across three dungeon levels, enough to feel how the dice pools, line-of-sight rules, and trap systems mesh once your party has a few upgrades.
The developers have already pushed multiple quick patches over the weekend, including fixes for a resurrect spell soft-lock and a teleport-trap reveal issue, and they hosted a launch stream, which is a useful sign that they’re watching feedback closely. The planned release is March 6, 2026, on Steam, with a free demo available now.
