Princesses bound to save themselves? That’s my kind of tabletop game.
In wake of all the welcome feminist rallying the Barbie movie did, I’ve spotted a TTRPG to top the summer mood off just right. If you've been wondering what to play at your next girlsnight, Perils & Princresses is a tabletop roleplaying game that will leave you and your pals feeling humble, empowered, and divinely feminine.
The Perils & Princesses Kickstarter page calls it an "evocative gritty, pretty, magical adventure", one that's easy to pick up and play. It's a tabletop game for strong, independent women who don’t need no man to wake them from their slumber, save them from the highest room of the tallest tower, or carry them off into the sunset on horseback - no matter how hard they beach off.
Just to be clear, though, there's no gender-based gatekeeping in P&P. Players of any gender identity are free to live out their dreams in this royally badass realm of wonder, and their character can be any gender you choose, too (as is only right for the best tabletop RPGs were the only limit is your imagination). As the manual notes, "Princess is a gender-neutral term." The Perils and Princesses mastermind Ryan Linch of Outrider Creative also makes it clear that everyone’s welcome to revel in the glorious, formidable femme fest… and frilly dresses are entirely optional.
Having taken inspiration from mid-century storybooks like The Farthest-Away Mountain, princess movies, and old Grimm's Fairy Tales alike, Linch has composed a fascinating realm of adventures and adversaries. His goal was to capture the essence of humble magic, in which small, seemingly insignificant acts of kindness can change the course of fate.
A sort of Burton-in-baby-pink aesthetic
Throughout the game's manual and character sheets, a darkly naive, tricolour art style is woven. A medieval collage of gnarled thorns and scratched shading sits starkly beside the gentle curves of padded bustles and glorious, flowing locks, giving the artwork a sort of Burton-in-baby-pink aesthetic.
Thanks to its simple system, thoughtful narrative elements, and the promise of "humble moments of heart and heroism," boatloads of demand has seen Outrider Creative smash its recent crowdfunding campaign with 1,881 backers. That's a royal endorsement if ever there was one, and checking out the gameplay it looks like it should yield one exciting tabletop session for you and the lasses.
How does Perils and Princesses work?
Perils & Princesses uses a 3-stat d20 roll-under system. That means players will try to either roll lower than, or match, their stat (Virtue) score with a d20 dice check.
Speaking of which, players rely on their Virtues to act. Wits, Resolve and Grace are based on the respective intelligence/wisdom, strength/constitution, and charisma/dexterity stats of Dungeons and Dragons books. It's a great way to boil things down into an easy-to-understand, and nicely thematic, package.
Princesses are also blessed with their own personal Fairy Godmother's Gift to "unlock their inner magic", and set their character up right against the treacherous road ahead. Gifts work much the same as D&D classes. Each comes with its own items and innate (passive) abilities such as the power to speak to animals, or perfect mimicry of sounds and voices. There are a number of special abilities for each, which you collect as you level up, like a glass-shattering high note, or a graceful pirouette to keep you out of harm's way.
Such is the pain of pocketless dresses and tiny purses
These special abilities work by choosing how many Gift Dice (d6) to roll. The stronger the spell, the more chance of a mishap. Each Gift has its own mishap roll table for when things go awry, which could leave your princess suffering from a number of ailments, such as coming over all Woozy, or becoming elementally mutated.
Gifts are dished out randomly, which is how most everything in the game is decided. And when I say there's roll tables, Linch really wasn't messing around. Not only does P&P feature a weather roll table to generate atmospherics, NPC name tables to breathe life into characters, and a curse table to cause dismay, there's even a roll table to tell you what's for dinner.
Naturally, your character has roll tables as well. When designing your princess, you're encouraged to roll for a random weapon on a D12. Alongside your standard hunting bows, swords, and flails, there are some interesting improvised weapons too. That could mean slipping a frying pan or a simple cooking knife into your purse. There's even a parasol which, while unassuming, is just as deadly in the right hands.
However, what I find really fascinating is that the game burdens players with a limited carrying capacity - such is the pain of pocketless dresses and tiny purses - so you really have to think about what's important.
There's even more recognisable mechanics with a thematic twist, too. You might take a short rest, known as a Picnic, to recover some Heart Points, or see the GM checking for Wrinkles - random encounters or complications that might occur on a rest. Another interesting one comes in the form of Heart Dice. These are a limited pool of d4 dice per player that can be spent either to heal yourself when Spending Time (resting), or used to assist another player's Virtue roll.
Where can I get Perils & Princesses?
There's plenty here to like, whether you're partial to a frilly dress or a t-shirt and slacks.
Just from writing this preview, I feel pretty confident I could run a little campaign just with the Perils & Princesses quickstart guide I found on Outrider Creative's itch page. If you're in for something a little more fleshed out, the full rulebook in digital and physical form is coming soon, and will be chock full of roll tables for mystical potions, enchanted weapons, spells, and even a bestiary. There's even an intro adventure called The Rosewood Crown for an easy oneshot, to get you raring for a longer campaign.
You can stay up to date here on the game's Kickstarter updates tab. And right now you can still make a late pledge and nab physical goodies like the rulebook, stickers, and art prints with pre-generated characters.
The best part for TTRPG designers like myself is that "the rules and content will be free to use and tweak and hack for personal and commercial purposes," as long as you follow the rules set out in the P&P FAQ.
Want something new to play? Check out the best board games, or these board games for 2 players.
