The Epic of Gil & Ennis Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Set-up (see p. 5)
• Method of Play
  • Round Order
  • 1. Hike
  • 2. Pitch
  • 3. Sleep
  • 4. Break
• Final Night
• End of Game
• Special Campsite Actions
• General Rules
• Strategy Notes

Components

• 9 Cards: 6 Dream cards, 2 Character cards, 1 Map/Mount Humbaba card
• 14 Dice (D6)
• 1 Player Marker (cube, coin, button, etc.)
• 1 Player Aid

Set-up (see p. 5)

1. Set the MAP card, face-up, in the centre of the playing space.
2. Place 1 die on the compass space on the MAP, as the WORRY LEVEL (The value of the die should be set to 1 [easy] or 3 [normal]).
3. Place the PLAYER MARKER on the home space on the MAP.
4. Place the 2 CHARACTER cards below the MAP card.
   • If playing cooperatively, one person will play as Gil, the other as Ennis.
   • If playing solo, you will play as both characters.
5. Roll 5 dice for each character, and assign a die to each inventory slot on the CHARACTER card (1 in your HAND, 3 in your BACKPACK, and 1 in your POCKET).
6. With the remaining dice form a DICE POOL, where all spent dice will be discarded to and drawn from.
7. Shuffle the 6 DREAM cards and stack them, face-down, next to the MAP. Next to this you will form the DISCARD pile.

Method of Play

Round Order

1. HIKE
2. PITCH i. Take special campsite actions ii. Use character abilities iii. Organize supplies
3. SLEEP i. Choose dreamer(s) ii. Resolve dream
4. BREAK i. Eat ii. Forage

1. Hike

"How much farther?" "Just over the next hill." "But you said that before the last one." "Just one more, I promise."

Move the PLAYER MARKER forward along the trail to the next campsite on the MAP card. On the 5th hike, you will have your choice of one of two paths, as indicated on the MAP.

2. Pitch

"It feels like we're all alone out here." "We are, Ennis." "Oh. Good."

At the end of each day you will PITCH your tent and make camp, going through your supplies, completing repairs and improving equipment.

i. TAKE SPECIAL CAMPSITE ACTIONS: As noted on the MAP, some campsites offer special one-time actions if players meet the requirements (see p.4).

ii. USE CHARACTER ABILITIES: You can use any of the abilities marked at the bottom of the CHARACTER cards, once each round or once per game, as indicated.

iii. ORGANIZE SUPPLIES: You can move items in your inventory in the following manner: 1 die can be moved up or down one level to an empty slot OR 2 dice from adjacent levels can be swapped. Each character can only make one item movement per round.

3. Sleep

"Gil, you asleep? Gil? Gil!" "What?" "I'm scared." "It's okay. Everything's going to be okay. I'm here."

Every night you will take to your tent to SLEEP. One or both characters will try to dream, gaining INSIGHT or giving in to WORRY.

i. CHOOSE DREAMER(S): Characters can attempt to dream alone or together.

• Alone: One character can dream alone, only if the other character has a HAND die value equal to or greater than the current WORRY LEVEL.
• Together: Both characters can dream together, only if the value of both their HAND dice is equal to or greater than the current WORRY LEVEL.
• If you can't match the worry level in either case or choose not to, skip to the next step.

ii. RESOLVE DREAM: Draw the top DREAM card. The chosen dreamer(s) may now spend dice, as indicated by the appropriate section on the card.

• If you pay the costs while dreaming alone: You gain insight into your strange but disturbing dreams. Slide the DREAM card underneath your CHARACTER card so the gained INSIGHT is showing at the bottom. Raise the WORRY LEVEL by 2.*
• If you pay the costs while dreaming together: You share the same dream but cannot agree on what it means. Discard the DREAM and raise the WORRY LEVEL by 1.*
• If you cannot pay the costs or meet the requirements to dream: You sleep restlessly, remembering nothing. Slide the DREAM card underneath the MAP card so the added WORRY is showing at the top. Lower the WORRY LEVEL by 1.*

* Raising the WORRY LEVEL above 6 will require adding a new die from the pool. Lowering it below 7 allows you to discard a die back to the pool.

4. Break

"What's for breakfast?" "Berries." "What about the cookies?" "You ate all the cookies, Ennis."

Each morning you will BREAK camp: rising, eating, and foraging for supplies, before packing up and setting out on the next leg of your journey.

i. EAT: Reduce POCKET dice by 1.

• If the value of your POCKET die is 1, discard it.
• If you cannot reduce because your POCKET is empty, subtract 1 from the other character's POCKET die.
• If you cannot reduce and there is no POCKET die in either inventory, you have been overcome by the wilderness. The game ends.

ii. FORAGE: Roll 1 die from the dice pool and add it to a character's inventory (always begin by filling in through the HAND slot; see GENERAL RULES on p. 4).

• If you did not successfully dream the previous night, you are too tired to forage. Skip this step.

Players repeat this round order for each day of their journey. Once players HIKE to the final space of the board, at Mount Humbaba, they skip the remaining steps and advance to the FINAL NIGHT.

Final Night

"Is that it?" "That's it. Mount Humbaba. Are you ready, Ennis?" "I think so. As long as you're with me, Gil."

Remove the PLAYER MARKER and any WORRY dice from the MAP card and flip it over to the MOUNT HUMBABA side.

1. Place the WORRY DICE carried over from the MAP on the upper spaces of the MOUNT HUMBABA card. Then add any dice indicated by WORRIES. Any other WORRY abilities are also now enacted.
2. The dice on the MOUNT HUMBABA card represent the final challenge the players now face. Players can now use character abilities and INSIGHTS gained to attempt to match the values of the final challenge dice by filling in the spaces at the bottom of the MOUNT HUMBABA card with dice from their inventories.

End of Game

If players successfully match their dice to Mount Humbaba's, Gil and Ennis reach the peak. They overcome their worries, face down their demons and together they turn back.

"It's a long way home, but we'll get there." "And things will be different?" "Yeah, things are going to change, Ennis. Can't you feel it?" "I can. I can feel everything."

If players cannot match the dice on Mount Humbaba, they fail in their climb and must return, divided, to a world a little darker than the one they left.

"I'm sorry, Ennis." "..." "Please talk to me." "There's nothing left to say."

Special Campsite Actions

Several campsites on the MAP card contain special actions that can be used during the PITCH step if players meet the requirements.

• "Go on, I'll catch up." One character can reroll all or any of the dice in their inventory.
• "Don't worry, I can get us through this." Either character can discard 1 die to lower the WORRY LEVEL by an equal value.
• "Forget about dreaming, this is real life." Characters can discard INSIGHTS to draw an equal amount of dice.
• "I owe you for what you did back there." One character can give 1 die to the other character.

General Rules

• Whenever you "draw dice" you take them from the dice pool, rolling all before adding them to a character's inventory.
• Always add dice by filling in from the HAND slot. If there is a die in the HAND slot already, you will "push" it down one level into the BACKPACK and add the new die to the HAND slot.
• Remember: if you cannot complete an EAT action, the game ends in failure.
• INSIGHTS gained can be used during the step indicated.
• INSIGHTS that modify player dice can only be used by the character possessing the INSIGHT.

Strategy Notes

Most of the strategy in the game surrounds managing your inventory supplies (dice): planning in advance when to spend them (through dreaming), when to modify them (through abilities and campsite actions), in order to ensure you have the correct amount and values to match the dice being collected by Mount Humbaba. Sometimes it might be best to intentionally fail a dream in order to "save" dice values and lower the WORRY LEVEL. Something particular to note in your first few playthroughs: the die requirements on DREAM cards are different whether you are dreaming alone or together. Dreaming alone will require dice of higher values (4-6), while dreaming together will require dice of lower values (1-4).