Post-WOTR GoT Game: Final Setting Poll

**Poach** · January 03, 2017, 05:09 PM

We've had the first poll and it has produced two frontrunners: the Dance of Dragons, and Robert's Rebellion from the start. Below are the two settings proposed in more detail, for players to make a final choice. Inside each content box you'll find a more detailed description of the setting, as well as of the starting events, mandatory characters we'd need filled, and any balancing decisions we'd need to make early game.

Dance of Dragons

Setting

King Viserys I had named his sole child and daughter Rhaenyra as his heir, including her in the affairs of state and grooming her for the Iron Throne. The King, however, eventually remarried and his second wife, Alicent Hightower, did not take well to this, and secretly plotted to have her own firstborn son, Aegon, crowned instead. The Queen also had 3 more children: Halaena, Aemond and Daeron. Rhaenyra had sons of her own: Jacerys, Lucerys and Joffrey Velaryon by her first husband Laenor Velaryon, and Aegon and Younger and Viserys by Daemon Targaryen, her uncle and King Viserys I's brother.

A Tourney held after 5 years of marriage between Viserys I and Alicent Hightower was the start of two camps, the Greens (so-called because Alicent Hightower and her camp wore green) and the Blacks (so-called because Rhaenyra and her camp wore black). Lords became divided in their loyalties: many stuck by Rhaenyra, respecting King Viserys' declaration, while others saw Alicent Hightower and her son as the successors to back.

On the death of Viserys I, Alicent made her move: loyalists seized control of the Red Keep and crowned Aegon as King on the Iron Throne. Many said Aegon only accepted the crown because he believed his half-sister and opponent, Rhaenyra, would have him and his siblings killed if she were to gain the crown. Rhaenyra and her family were on Dragonstone, which they quickly turned into their staging area.

With the early support of House Lannister and control of King's Landing, the Greens were confident of their victory, while the early support of the Narrow Sea Houses around Dragonstone turned the area into a stronghold for the Blacks.

Civil War

Historically, the forces sided as follows:

1. Blacks
-- Riverlands
-- North
-- Vale
-- Iron Isles
-- Some Crownlands
---- Narrow Sea Houses
---- Darklyn, Dustin, Bar Emmon, Brune, Staunton
-- Some Reach
---- Rowan, Tarly

2. Greens
-- Westerlands
-- Stormlands
-- Some Reach
---- Fossoway, Hightower, Redwyne, Peake
-- Some Riverlands
---- Strong, Mooton

This is lopsided in favour of the Blacks by a wide margin, but also supposes large parts of the Reach and Crownlands simply sit out the fighting. As such, to balance this there may be a need for stronger support for the Greens among those regions. The Dance is thus relatively easy to balance, if the players would prefer a more balanced opening war.

Targaryen Family Tree

Blacks

-- Rhaenyra (32), Queen on Dragonstone.
-- Daemon Targaryen (48), her husband and uncle.
-- 5 children
---- Jacerys Velaryon (15), Lucerys Velaryon (14), Joffrey Velaryon (12), Aegon Targaryen the Younger (9), Viserys Targaryen (7).
---- None of these characters are mandatory, but both Jacerys and Lucerys are of age to be reasonably playable from the start.

Greens

-- Queen Alicent Hightower (41)
-- Aegon II (22), her son and King on the Iron Throne.
-- Her other 3 children
---- Halaena Targaryen (20), Aemond Targaryen (19), Daeron Targaryen (15).
---- None are mandatory, but all are playable.

There are 4 mandatory characters: Rhaenyra, Daemon, Alicent and Aegon II.

Lords Paramount

- In a break from recent games, it is possible we'll need Iron Isles players. With Dorne discounted, that gives us 7 Lords Paramount slots.

Other Prominent Characters

Blacks

-- Lord Corlys Velaryon (76), Hand of the Queen. Must be aged 60+.

Greens

-- Ser Otto Hightower, Hand of the King, father to Queen Alicent and uncle to Lord Hightower. The Hightower player will assume this character unless otherwise agreed. Must be aged at least 58.
-- Ser Criston Cole (47), Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, the man who convinced Aegon II to accept the crown, called Kingmaker as a result. Must be aged 40-49.

What to expect in early game

We will start almost at war. The two councils will be meeting in King's Landing and Dragonstone, and players will be given some time to RP that out and to pick a side if one is not mandated, or indeed to remain neutral. It is likely that players will be granted a bumper starting purse to allow for early militia edicts and professional troop hire.

After that, armies will be allowed to start moving and the war will be on. It will end when one pretender loses support, by whatever means. If one of the original pretenders dies, their supporters may opt to back the claim of the next in that line (eg backing Aemond Targaryen for King if Aegon II is slain). The losing pretender, if alive and able, may flee to Essos and attempt a mid-game comeback if they can gather support from abroad.

The winning side will not be bound by any amnesty rules. The previous game showed that a vindictive winner can spur RP for weeks to come by creating winners and losers, rather than the civil war ending with no one really gaining or losing anything.

Robert's Rebellion

Setting

Prince Rhaegar has vanished with Lyanna Stark, causing scandal and outrage. Lord Stark's firstborn son and heir has postponed his wedding to a daughter of Lord Tully and stormed into the Red Keep calling on Rhaegar to "come out and die". The Mad King has him arrested, and summons Lord Stark to answer for his son's behaviour.

Upon Lord Stark's arrival, he is arrested and put on trial, where our setting will open.

Character Arrangements

The following web of relationships will have to be created:

- House Tully will need two teenage daughters. The first must be promised to no-one (but had at one time been a potential match to Lord Lannister's firstborn son), and the second must be promised to Lord Stark's first son. Their marriage was recently postponed.

- House Stark will need a soon-to-be-dead Lord, soon-to-be-dead Heir, a second son who is in the Vale, and a daughter who is captive to Rhaegar and may die. The player may create uncles and cousins for Lord Stark if they are unwilling to be stuck with a very young Lord on his own.

- House Baratheon will need a Lord who is in the Vale, and at least one younger brother. The player may also create uncles and cousins if they are unwilling to be stuck with one young main character.

- House Arryn will need a Lord, who is fostering Lord Baratheon and second-son Stark.
---- Lord Baratheon and second-son Stark must be of a similar age, between 18-24.
---- Lord Arryn will need to be old enough to foster them, older than 40. He may, however, have children if the player wishes it, and they may be any reasonable age (and can be friends with Baratheon and Stark if the players wish it)

- House Lannister needs at least one son, and the heir must be in the Kingsguard. He must be a young man, old enough to be a reasonable match to the Tully daughter. He must be below the age of 30.

- House Targaryen has the following members:
---- King Aerys II, the Mad King (38)
---- Queen Rhaella Targaryen (37), Sister-Queen of Aerys II.
---- Prince Rhaegar Targaryen (23), whose wife may be played by the Martell player if Dorne is opened to players.
---- Prince Viserys Targaryen (6)
---- King Aerys and Prince Rhaegar are mandatory characters. If the playerbase in general agrees, Viserys can also be made old enough to be playable (made into a teenager, aged 14-18 for example).

Lords Paramount

The whole 7 Kingdoms are united, but we have often made the Iron Isles and Dorne NPCs. This will likely be done for the Iron Isles but if there is interest in Dorne, it will be opened. This would mean we need at least 6 Lords Paramount, with the Martells being a possible seventh and the Iron Isles being an unlikely eighth.

What to expect early game

We will start with war being seemingly inevitable: two Starks will die and the Aerys player will be obliged to summon second-son Stark and Lord Baratheon to the same fate. From there on the players take over, and Lord Arryn can either betray his wards or call his banners alongside the Stormlands and North, with the Riverlands very likely to follow suit (though interestingly, no formal ties yet exist there...). Players will likely get a bumper starting purse to allow early militia edicts and professional troop hire.

If war starts, armies will be allowed to start moving and the war will be on. It will end when one pretender loses support, by whatever means. If one of the original pretenders dies, their supporters may opt to back the claim of the next in that line (eg backing Rhaegar Targaryen for King if Aegon is slain or dies). The losing pretender, if alive and able, may flee to Essos and attempt a mid-game comeback if they can gather support from abroad, though a Targaryen victory is likely more secure as a Baratheon will struggle to find meaningful support.

The winning side will not be bound by any amnesty rules. The previous game showed that a vindictive winner can spur RP for weeks to come by creating winners and losers, rather than the civil war ending with no one really gaining or losing anything.

Also if the Targaryens win, there's always that fan theory that Rhaegar himself wasn't entirely opposed to a palace coup to remove or sideline his insane dad and establish himself as King or Regent...