The tribe Gael inhabits the island Erin (based on real-world Ireland of late antiquity), the Western-most part of the Holy Empire. The Gael priestess Rhiannon is kidnapped by a rogue priest of the Empire, who intends to use her in a ritual to resurrect the Demon King Arawn. Surprisingly, the newly born Arawn refuses to side with the Empire, falls in love with Rhiannon, marries her, and becomes the chieftain of the Gael tribe, lending his power to this oppressed people in their struggle against the Empire.
Tears to Tiara is a tactical role-playing game with real-time combat. The game’s structure is similar to other Japanese tactical RPGs: the player only participates in battles, without the possibility of exploring the world. Unlike most other games of its type, combat flows in real time. The player positions his characters on the battlefield, taking into account their classes, proficiencies, strengths and weaknesses. The battle can be then put on auto, or paused at any time to issue specific one-time or queued commands to individual combatants. Money and experience points are gained in battles and can be later spent to upgrade the characters. Cutscenes advance the storyline between battles; some of them contain explicit erotic images.