Too Many Bones

Overview

Too Many Bones is a dice-builder RPG where 1-4 players control unique characters called Gearlocs, adventuring toward a confrontation with a powerful Tyrant. Over a series of days, players encounter challenges, battle enemies called Baddies on a tactical 4x4 battle mat, earn loot, and train their Gearlocs by unlocking skill dice. The goal is to reach and defeat the selected Tyrant within its day allotment.

Components

• 139+ Custom dice (skill, attack, defense, effect, initiative)
• 4 Gearloc character mats (neoprene die-cut)
• 1 Battle mat (4x4 neoprene grid)
• 60 Encounter cards, 40 Loot cards, 20 Trove Loot cards
• 65 Health chips, 55 Baddie chips, 7 Tyrant chips
• 4 Lockpicking dice
• Day Counter chip, Round Counter die
• Lane Marker chips
• Reference sheets and rulebook

Setup

1. Choose a Tyrant: Draw or select a Tyrant card. Set Day Counter to 1.
2. Build Encounter Deck: Draw general encounters equal to Tyrant’s progress requirement minus 3. Mix with Tyrant-specific encounters. Place Special Encounters 001-003 on top.
3. Prepare Loot: Shuffle Loot and Trove Loot decks.
4. Set Up Baddies: Find all Baddie types matching the Tyrant. Create 1-point, 5-point, and 20-point stacks.
5. Choose Gearlocs: Each player selects a character, takes their mat, starting HP chips, initiative die, and stat dice. Place 16 skill dice in storage. Activate starting skills.

Turn Structure

Each day consists of 4 phases:

1. New Day Phase

Advance the Day Counter by 1 (skip on Day 1).

2. Encounter Phase

Draw an Encounter card. The party reads the scenario and chooses from the options presented. Options lead to either peaceful resolution or battle. If battle occurs, set up the 4x4 battle mat with Baddies and Gearlocs.

3. Reward Phase (if encounter successful)

• Gain Training Points (distributed to all Gearlocs).
• Draw Loot/Trove Loot if applicable.
• Spend Training Points immediately to unlock skills or increase stats.
• Record Progress Points.

4. Recovery Phase

Each Gearloc chooses ONE action:

• Rest and Recover: Heal to full HP.
• Search for Better Loot: Discard 1 Loot, roll 6 Attack dice, keep revealed Loot per success.
• Scout the Area: Roll D6 to preview upcoming Baddies.

Also: trade loot among party members; attempt Lockpicking on Trove Loot.

Actions

Battle Actions (on a Gearloc’s turn)

• Move: Move up to 2 spaces on the 4x4 grid.
• Attack: Roll attack dice against an adjacent (melee) or any (ranged) Baddie. Hits remove HP chips.
• Use Skills: Activate trained skill dice for special abilities (requires rolling specific symbols).
• Use Loot: Activate loot card effects.
• Defend: Roll defense dice when attacked; each shield blocks 1 damage.

Baddie Turns

• Melee Baddies move toward their target, then attack adjacently.
• Ranged Baddies attack from any distance.
• Baddies may activate BP skills (blue symbol abilities) when rolling enough blue results.

Training (between encounters)

• HP/Dexterity/Skills: Always succeed when trained.
• Attack/Defense: Require a successful roll; failure forces training in something else.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Win: Defeat the Tyrant before the Day Counter exceeds the Tyrant’s day limit.

Lose: The Day Counter exceeds the Tyrant’s day limit without defeating the Tyrant.

Tyrant Battle: Once Progress Points meet or exceed the Tyrant’s requirement, the party may challenge the Tyrant instead of drawing an encounter. The Tyrant is a special Baddie with unique abilities and a Tyrant die.

Battle Loss: If all Gearlocs are defeated in an encounter, they return to the prep area with no rewards gained.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Initiative System: Each Baddie and Gearloc has an initiative value determining turn order on the battle mat’s Initiative Meter.
• Backup Plan: Gearlocs have a Backup Plan ability triggered by rolling enough blue symbols across their dice pool.
• Loot Limits: Maximum 4 Loot/Trove Loot per Gearloc. When drawing a 5th, choose 4 to keep.
• Trove Loot Unlocking: Trove Loot remains locked (chest-side up) until unlocked through Lockpicking. Each Gearloc gets 1 lockpicking attempt per day.
• Baddie Restacking: If an Active Stack is depleted, shuffle defeated Baddies back in.
• Failed Tyrant Battles: Treated like failed encounters; party may retry if days remain.
• Progress Points: Stack completed encounter cards showing their point values.
• Effect Dice: Placed on Baddie/Gearloc chips to indicate ongoing effects.
• Dangerous Darts: A mini-game triggered by some encounters.
• Gearloc Death: A “killed” Gearloc is placed back on the prep area for Recovery Phase healing (no permanent death in standard mode).

Player Reference

Day Phase	Action
1. New Day	Advance Day Counter
2. Encounter	Draw and resolve encounter
3. Reward	Gain Training Points, Loot, Progress
4. Recovery	Rest, Search, Scout, Trade, Lockpick

Battle Turn: Move (up to 2) -> Attack/Skill/Loot -> Defend when attacked

Victory: Defeat Tyrant within day limit

Training: Spend Training Points to unlock skill dice or boost stats