Spotlight on Princess Persevone

"We can't all be Princesses; someone has to clap as I pass by."

There is a long tradition of princesses in space opera: Dejah Thoris, Aura, Leia Organa, Koriand'r. It would not have felt right to not have a space princess in Rayguns and Rocketships. However, when it came to creating one, I wanted to make sure she wasn't just a prize to be won. Princess Persevone ended up becoming one of the most interesting and powerful characters in the game!

Princess Persevone concept by Scott Rogers

3D model by Kaleb Rice

Color guide by Scott Rogers

Princess Persevone is the spirited princess of Vaporia, who has grown weary of her life of palace confinement. She yearns for a life beyond the walls of the floating city and will often sneak away from her bodyguards to pursue adventure. 

To an observer, Persevone appears to be the very definition of a princess: haughty and disdainful - but in reality, she is a strong-willed and resourceful woman to be reckoned with. While she has been trained in the martial arts by the Battlemasters of Vaporia, she refuses to sully herself with combat, believing it is beneath her.

As the daughter (some say love child) of space hero “Rock” Novastar and Her Royal Queen Jillian of Vaporia, the princess shares a complicated relationship with her half-sister, Jesse Novastar. 

Persevone often finds herself kidnapped by Count Ventura, who desires to make her his bride. She is not at all interested in the Star-Pirate Captain and has escaped his clutches time and time again.

Princess Persevone token art

In game, Persevone comes in two forms. In the core game, she appears a token with the following abilities: At the beginning of the game, the Princess is kidnapped. Place her token on the rocketship's hatch. While Persevone is on the hatch, the kidnapper may draw a star card at the cost of 1 action token (no die roll required!) 

Upon being rescued, the princess becomes a crew member of the rescuing team and gains the following abilities: 

• Heal: The princess may heal a crew member (or allow them to ignore one damage) once per phase as a free action. 
•  Act: The princess may man a raygun, cockpit or control panel. Treat this as if she were a normal crew member. 
• Move: The fleet footed princess may move up to 4 spaces per turn.

Princess Persevone captain card art

 As part of the Kickstarter campaign, Persevone gets her own miniature and Captain card, allowing her to be classified as a mercenary captain! She gains several powerful abilities including I Order You to Keep Fighting!: Which allows the player to spend 1 action token to prevent an adjacent friendly crew member from taking 1 damage. This means at the princess's command, a fragile crew member suddenly gains temporary invulnerability from one attack! Another excellent special ability is Fighting is Beneath Me: Where every friendly crew member adjacent to Persevone may make 1 extra melee or ranged combat attack as a free action! The crew members all leap to the defense of their beloved princess!

Hopefully you will find Princess Persevone and all of the other mercenary characters a fun addition to the game! Stay tuned as we spotlight more content from Rayguns and Rocketships!