Massive Chalice might just be the hardest tactical RPG I've ever played. Most RPGs let you take some heroes from novice to legend at your own pace. Massive Chalice takes that away from you. You might only get a chance to play them once or twice in their life, and maybe not at all.
Your nation is being invaded on all sides by a creeping doom, which every so often forms itself into monsters that you must destroy. You, in this case, being an immortal dictator tasked with preserving the nation while an ancient artifact, the Massive Chalice, powers itself up to destroy the doom once and for all.
This power-up process will take 300 years.
You never know when the monsters will attack; it could be years or decades between battles, and they will almost always attack on two fronts as well, and you'll only be able to send heroes to one of these fronts. The evil will gain a foothold in the part of your nation you did not defend, and your people will suffer an existential terror that increases as you give territory away.
To ensure you have sufficient heroes to beat back any threat, you must build keeps for your best heroes and set them to making babies and training the young. Their fertile years are fleeting, and ennobling heroes removes them from play.
The tactical battles are brutal. Almost every tactical RPG works on a rock/paper/scissors basis, where any given enemy is weak toward some sort of class you would have with you. Massive Chalice isn't so clear cut.
The Caberman is a melee class used to position enemies (by hitting them with a log) for other classes to kill. The alchemist tosses a limited supply of potions that burst into flame for a small AE. The hunter plinks things from range. Those are your three classes.
Against them are incredibly punishing mobs that will kill your guys even if you think you're being terribly cautious. Remember, these warriors will be the mothers and fathers of your next generation. Their survival is integral to continuing the fight.
My first playthrough of Massive Chalice ended when the monsters came and I had no heroes left to fight. I'd won a fight with only one hero left, everyone else was off on quests or studying or trying to make babies.
Hard, hard game.
