⚀ ⚁ ⚂ Three Bones ⚂ ⚁ ⚀
HREE BONES is a “micro-lite” role- Equipment for the Characters
playing game, in the tradition of
Risus and other short, free-form
games. Characters in Three Bones
are adventurers: heroes who hunt
for treasure, fight monsters, and occasionally
wield occult powers. The game operates accord-
ing to three fundamental rules:
1. Characters have no statistics or ability
scores; they are defined by three qualities, their
core concept, side skills, and hobbies.
2. Characters are heroes, adventurers who
know what they’re doing in a fight. All non-
player characters (and monsters) are defined
relative to the heroes and belong to one of five
ranks: minion, elite minion, (anti-)hero, mini-
boss, and final boss.
3. The rule of three. In a fight, three com-
batants of a given rank count as a single fighter
of the next rank up: three minions fight as one
elite minion, three elites fight as one hero, etc.
All dice rolled in the game are d3 dice (or Fudge
dice if the referee and players prefer, but these
rules will assume that the dice are marked 1–2–
3 rather than minus–blank–plus).
Creating Characters
Characters begin the game with a core concept,
a broad area of expertise like “soldier,” “thief,”
or “doctor.” They also start with one side skill
and one hobby: both should be more specific
than the core concept, and neither should be
already covered by the concept: a thief should
not take “lock-picking” as a side skill, for
example, but a soldier might. The purpose of
skills and hobbies is customize and differentiate
characters with the same core concept.
Equipment for the Game
The players and the referee will need a number
of d3 dice; some pencils; and some paper to
serve as character sheets (see the last page).
The players should record which items they
have in their possession on their character
sheets, including money (according to what-
ever currency system the referee’s game setting
uses), adventuring gear and weapons carried,
armor worn, and any found magical items.
Adjudicating Actions
When a character attempts to do something
that might fail, the referee can call for a check
to determine the outcome. A check is rolled on
two dice (2d3). If the character has a side skill
or core concept that directly relates to the
action in question, the check passes on a roll of
4+. If the character’s hobby applies, or if their
core concept or side skills imply some tangential
familiarity with the action, a 5+ succeeds. If
the character has no training at all that might
contribute to the action, only a 6 succeeds.
A Duel of Equals
When two (or sometimes more) opponents of
the same rank face off in a hand-to-hand fight,
combat is a duel and proceeds as follows:
• Each combatant rolls a die (1d3).
• A roll of 1 or 2 for either side indicates that
that combatant has not gained any ground; and
likewise if both sides roll 3s. But if one side rolls
a 3 and the other does not, that side has taken
advantage in the duel and beats his foe back.
• The duel proceeds to the next round. If
neither side rolls a 3, the round is a tie and the
duel continues. If the losing fighter rolls a 3 and
the fighter with advantage does not, advantage
is lost and the duel returns to a level playing
field. If the fighter with advantage rolls a 3 and
his opponent does not, that fighter has wounded
(or disarmed) his opponent and won the fight.
And if both fighters roll 3s, the fighter with
advantage has a choice: that character can
decide to either call it a tie and proceed to the
next round (the fighters’ swords lock at the skill can make it nigh impossible for even a very
hilts, and they growl at each other and grapple large number of opponents to win a fight in the
for position), or he may choose to wound his usual way, though, so large groups of minions
enemy and to allow himself to be wounded as will often choose to gang up on a hero.
well, thereby ending the fight in a bloody Ganging Up: Three creatures of the same
stalemate. rank can band together and fight as one being
of the next rank up. Three minions count as an
elite, three elites count as a hero, three heroes
count as a mini-boss, and three mini-bosses
count as a final boss. The three creatures act in
concert and make only one attack (i.e. die roll)
each round in a fight. In this fashion, three
elite minions (or nine ordinary minions) could,
for example, duel a single hero.
When a gang is “wounded,” the referee
counts the number of 3s rolled by the successful
attacker (or just rolls a d3)—that many of the
gang’s constituent members have been taken
out of the fight, very probably in some comical
Unequal Fights, Mêlées, & Gangs fashion that makes use of the surrounding
When two combatants of differing rank face off, scenery (referees ought to think in terms of
multiple dice are rolled. The superior fighter swashbuckling movies, kung fu movies, and
can win the fight by rolling a 3 on any one of campy action TV shows like Hercules and
the dice rolled; the inferior fighter must roll all Xena). Any leftover members of the gang may
3s to win the fight. When two opponents of continue to fight at their own rank, or they may
unequal stature do battle, there is no back-and- realize that they’re out-matched and flee.
forth of gained and lost advantage: a successful
attack immediately wounds an opponent or else
knocks him out of the fight; and it is more than Missile Combat
possible for two fighters to suddenly wound Characters shooting at each other with bows or
each other at the same time. guns is little different from characters swinging
The number of dice rolled by each side is swords at one another. If one character is
determined by the difference in their rank: armed with missile weapons and his opponents
are not, however, this can allow for sniping—
Minion Elite Hero Boss Final the chance to take out enemies before a real
Minion (duel) 2 dice 3 dice 4 dice 5 dice
Elite 2 dice (duel) 2 dice 3 dice 4 dice
fight can even begin. Sniping within “close”
Hero 3 dice 2 dice (duel) 2 dice 3 dice range (say, the same room, or a short distance
Boss 4 dice 3 dice 2 dice (duel) 2 dice away when outdoors) requires a roll of 4+ on
Final 5 dice 4 dice 3 dice 2 dice (duel) two dice to take out an unaware opponent, and
a roll of 5+ to hit a dodging opponent. These
Mêlée: If several fighters, some of differ-
target numbers become 5+ at 6 at long range.
ing ranks, take part in one great disorganized
NB, muzzle-loading firearms take at least
brawl, that’s not a duel, it’s a mêlée. During
two dueling or mêlée rounds to reload!
each round of the mêlée, a given attacker can
only attempt to wound a single target. If one
side outnumbers the other, that can be a big Wounds and Knockouts
advantage, as that side will have more chances A character who suffers a wound rolls 2d3—this
to wound enemies each round. A difference in is called rolling the bones—to determine the
severity of the wound. A roll of 2 or 3 indicates
that the wound is only superficial; the character
is knocked out of the fight, perhaps tangled up
in some bit of scenery, but will emerge from the
scene unharmed and ready to fight again if not
dispatched by an enemy coup de grâce. (The
referee may decide that such a character is
fatigued and thereafter fights as an elite minion
only until he has had a chance to rest.) A roll of
4 or 5 indicates actual injury, perhaps a broken
bone or a bloody head-wound, which will need
some medical attention before the character is
hale again. (A character thus injured fights as a
minion until healed.) A straight-up 6 indicates
a mortal wound—the wounded character is
incapacitated and may die if not healed at once,
whether by a surgeon or some magical effect.
Alternatively, an attacker may be
fighting to disarm or capture instead of fighting
to the blood; in this case, the result is simpler: a
roll of 2 or 3 means that the character has been
caught, tangled up, or otherwise captured, but
remains aware; and a 4+ means that the
character has been knocked unconscious.
Armor
Characters who wear heavy metal armor (lorica,
mail, plated mail, suits of armor) are armored,
which can save a character’s life. An armored
character rolls the bones on 2d3−1, resulting in
some number from 1 to 5, with a 1 indicating
that the character has been knocked prone and
may need to spend a round or two (roll 1d3−1)
getting up; while a result of 2 to 5 is exactly as
described above under rolling the bones.
Note that armored characters are
generally slower than characters without armor:
while Three Bones does not use tactical
positioning or miniatures, armored characters
will generally lose a footrace (or chase) with un-
armored characters, and they will swim and
climb more slowly than unarmored characters.
Mail is not as cumbersome as other armor types
in this regard, but it is tiresome to wear all day
long, and the referee may rule that it protects
against puncture wounds and lacerations, but
not blunt trauma (e.g. a blow from a mace).
Saving Throws
When a character faces a miscellaneous threat
(such as a death-trap or a magical curse), the
referee can call for a saving throw: this is a roll
of two dice, with a certain target number
indicating that the character has escaped
danger: 6 for an elite minion, 5–6 for a hero, 4–6
for a mini-boss, and 3–6 for a final boss. (By
default, minions always fail saving throws;
optionally, referees may let minions make a
save if they can roll 9 on three dice.)
Experience
Characters grow in skill and experience by going
on adventures and finding rare artifacts and
priceless treasures. The referee awards each
character 1 experience point (XP) at the end of
a game session, plus 1 bonus XP to each of the
characters every time their band or company
recovers some significant treasure or artifact.
“Significance” can refer to the treasure’s size (a
dragon hoard) or to its historical import (the
artifact having a fancy name is usually a clue).
Starting characters are known as “1st
level characters.” When 6 XPs have been
accumulated, a character becomes 2nd level and
either adds a new hobby, or elevates a hobby
that they already have into a skill. All higher
levels are reached at multiples of 13 XP (3rd
level at 13, 4th level at 26, 5th level at 39, etc.).
Magic
Player characters in Three Bones are fighting-
men and adventurers, rogues and scoundrels,
even scholars and archaeologists, but rarely are
they true wizards. At best, a character might
have “practical magician” or “occult scholar” as
a core concept, which means that the character
is familiar with magical writings and has much
knowledge of magical matters, but it does not
mean that the character can hurl balls of fire
from his fingertips. A magician might be able
to perform a magical ritual if he possesses a
dusty old spell-book and has all of the necessary
components (and it’s the right time of year,
phase of the moon, conjunction of planets and
astral signs, etc.); but any flashy, zap!-pow! sort
of magic is only going to come from enchanted
items that the character has discovered through
adventuring: scrolls, wands, potions, and such.
Very often, one must be a magician to use these
sorts of items—perhaps only an occult scholar
can read an enchanted scroll, or activate a
magic wand.
In short, there are no rules for user-
friendly fantasy “spells” as such in Three Bones.
Magic comes as either handy-but-temporary
items, or as evil rituals that the player
characters probably ought not to dabble in.
Monsters
Monsters can have all sorts of odd powers, but
in general, they are treated as characters—they
have a rank and fight as such. Goblins, orcs,
wolves, and skeletons usually count as minions.
Uruks, wargs, zombies, lizard men, and gnolls
are all elite minions. Trolls, wraiths, and
classical Greek monsters are probably the
equivalent of heroes. A dragon or a vampire is
going to at least be a mini-boss. And a horror
from beyond our stars, its squicky tentacles still
sticking half-way through the portal into our
reality, is most definitely a final boss.
Reactions & Morale: Monsters don’t
think or act like people do. On occasion, the
referee may roll dice to decide how monsters will
behave. Reaction rolls (to find the disposition
of a monster when first encountered) are rolled
on two dice, with a result as follows: 2–Hostile,
3–Unfriendly, 4–Wary, 5–Neutral, 6–Affable.
Morale checks (to decide whether monsters will
fight vs. flee, or give chase vs. give up) are also
rolled on two dice, but here the chance to pass
the check depends on the nature of the monster.
Skittish creatures (like pixys and unicorns)
must roll 6. Cowardly monsters like goblins
must roll 5+. Most monsters (or goblins with a
leader) must roll 4+. Arrogant monsters like
vampires pass morale on 3+. Mindless zombies,
golems, or berserkers always pass morale.
THREE BONES is copyright © 2018 John D. Higgins and Relative Entropy Games
Three Bones Character Record Sheet

Character

Core Concept

Secondary Skills

Hobbies

 Fatigued  Injured  Wounded

 Unconscious  Armored  Prone
Other Status

Items Carried Notes

Experience Points
Experience Level