The Necessary Evil is a tactical RPG about making difficult decisions and preparing for the unpredictable. Lead "volunteers" into the dark and rotting recesses of the collective unconscious, colonized and industrialized and plundered for profit, to take revenge on those who've wronged you. Every decision matters, and every choice has a cost.
Experience challenging turn-based combat. Reserve action points to act again sooner, or go all in to secure a kill. Armor saves you from damage, but slows down your turn rotation. Use powerful spells, but remember that to open yourself to the supernatural is to invite the supernatural into your own flesh, and that too carries consequences. No single unit is an island; you will need to develop your team's strategies in order to execute the foe. Evey decision has tactical weight and tradeoffs, making the tactics you come up with uniquely yours.
Create your own skill trees for your character rosters, with 5 unique base classes - the Deserter, the Apostate, the Poacher, the Addict, and the Naturalist. Each can grow in their own ways, unlocking new styles of combat and weapons to decimate the foe. It's up to you to find ways to build your team to synergize with one another. Eventually, even your armaments will grow to reflect your actions, honing your units into even more effective proxies for your will.
Depopulate a zone, or decapitate your opposition. Invest in and repair the broken machinery of a lost golden age, Or strap explosives to the wreckage to sabotage those who come after you. Rescue those lost to the collapsed Dreamweb, or forcibly recruit them to your own purposes. After all, what greater purpose could there be than yours? Your hand is the one that sculpts the world, or crushes it in clenched fist.
There are few optimal choices; every choice has benefits and drawbacks. Plan a slow and safe strategy and you risk your enemies growing innumerable in the shadows. Play fast and loose and you risk your team with every venture. Try to accomplish everything and swiftly realize that that which does not specialize has no place in the new world. Lose a character. Rage. Lose a team. No matter. It was always their weakness that held you back. Win. Win. Win again, until even the memory of your loss is dust and shadow. Every mistake matters, and every victory is your own doing.
Your units are not automatons. They must be controlled. When stressed, when pushed beyong their breaking points, that control breaks down. They may act out, obeying their own base drives instead of your commands. Restore your authority of them in the Factory - but that, too, has a cost. Or, let them have free reign, and trust the dog not to bite the hand that feeds.
