Runesmith puts dwarven chaos at the center of its tactical combat
Terahard Studios has announced Runesmith, a new dwarven tactical RPG headed to PC via Steam. The studio has not announced a release date yet.
According to Terahard Studios, the game blends rune-forging, tavern brawls, and what it calls catastrophic status-effect combinations. It is the company’s first true RPG, according to CEO Aris Tsevrenis.
What Terahard says players can expect
In a press release, Tsevrenis said the project has been in the works across the studio’s 13 years. He described it as a mix of the team’s humor, crafting systems, and combat systems that interact in unexpected ways.
The game’s premise is unapologetically dwarven. Players live as a fantasy dwarf, hammer runes into mythril, and fight their way through problems in dungeons and taverns.
Key features listed by Terahard Studios
- Rune-smithing crafting system with weapons, armor, trinkets, and rune engraving combinations.
- Tavern life that includes drinking, brawling, and taking questionable jobs.
- Petty revenge-driven story centered on chasing an all-powerful summoner who still owes a dwarf money.
- Turn-based combat built around unpredictable rune interactions and status effects.
- A fantasy world with towns, mines, ruins, taverns, dungeons, and ancient horrors.
Why the combat sounds so unusual
Terahard says the battle system is designed to reward creativity and risk. The studio says rune combinations can chain together, create larger problems, or lead to what it jokingly describes as dwarven safety violations.
Examples in the announcement include pairing poison with fog or drinking while already drunk, both of which can spiral into dangerous, messy results.
Announcement details
Runesmith is available on the way to Steam for PC, but that is all Terahard has confirmed so far. The studio says the announcement trailer is live, and first screenshots are available in the gallery.
| Game | Platform | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Runesmith | PC via Steam | Announced, no release date yet |
For now, Runesmith looks set to join the growing list of tactical RPGs that lean hard into systems, humor, and combat chaos. Whether it lands with players will likely depend on how well its rune-crafting and status-effect experiments come together in practice.
