The Lion and the Rose, the II ASOIAF Game (Sign Up - Rules Thread)

[Lumine]

The Lion and the Rose,
the II ASOIAF Game:

Cast:

The Kings:

(5 including the eventual Greyjoy King, all mandatory)

Joffrey Baratheon, King in the Iron Throne (Mr. X)
Daenerys Targaryen, Queen of Meereen
Aegon Targaryen, claimant to the Iron Throne (dkrolga)
Stannis Baratheon, King in the Narrow Sea and the Wall (Dereich)
The King in the Iron Islands (throne currently vacant)

The Lords Paramount:

(5, at least 3 must be controlled by players)

Doran Martell, Prince of Dorne (Cranberry)
Mace Tyrell, Lord of Highgarden (Spamage)
Tyrion Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock (Dr. Cynic)
Roose Bolton, Lord of the Dreadfort and Winterfell (Elkins)
Petyr Baelish, Lord Paramount of the Trident and Lord Regent of the Vale (SJoyce)

The Lords of Westeros:
(Optional)

Prince Euron Greyjoy, claimant to the Iron Islands (Talleyrand)
Walder Frey, Lord of the Twins (Rpryor03)
Yohn Royce, Lord of Runestone
Oberyn Martell, Prince of Dorne
Lord Varys, Master of Whisperers
Brynden Tully, Acting Lord of Riverrun
Wyman Manderly, Lord of White Harbor
Asha or Victarion Greyjoy, claimants to the Iron Islands

[Lumine]

Historical Context:

It’s the year of 300 since Aegon Targaryen’s landing in Westeros, and the Seven Kingdoms are more divided than ever. Since the deaths of King Robert Baratheon and Lord Eddard Stark and the start of the War of the Five Kings the realm has been drowned in blood, with entire regions being destroyed in the name of crowns and thrones.

In King’s Landing, the wedding of the currently victorious King Joffrey Baratheon and Lady Margaery Tyrell has turned into disaster with the botched assassination attempt on the King, which caused the deaths of Lord Tywin Lannister, the Hand of the King, and Cersei Lannister, the Queen Regent, thus leaving the city in a vacuum of power as King Joffrey has not reached his age of majority. All eyes are set on powerful men like Tyrion Lannister, Oberyn Martell, Lord Varys and Mace Tyrell as the Regency, the Handship and the control of the Small Council are now up for grabs.

Sailing across the coasts of Westeros, the Ironborn commanders learn that King Balon Greyjoy has mysteriously fallen from a bridge in Pyke after a brief reign of less than a year. His death leaves the Ironfleet in the middle of a bitter war with the Northerners, and with Prince Theon being a prisoner in the Dreadfort there is no clear heir to Balon. Aeron Greyjoy is leading the call for a Kingsmoot, and Prince Victarion and Princess Asha are expected to fight for the throne. And, to add uncertainty to the future, Prince Euron has returned to the Islands the day after the death of his brother.

In the Riverlands, the death of King Robb Stark and his mother at the Red Wedding has crushed any remnants of stability in the region, thus leaving the region open to whoever is strong enough to take it. Lord Walder Frey expects to collect his reward by taking Riverrun, the Riverlords like the Brackens and the Blackwoods try to find their own path, the Brotherhood without Banners fights Freys and Lannisters alike, religious fanatics surge everywhere and the new Lord Paramount of the Trident refuses to enter his own lands.

Along the vast lands of the North, the fall of House Stark leaves Roose Bolton as its sole ruler, at least until Sansa Stark has a son. However, the Lord of the Dreadfort has to contend with the other powerful houses like the Manderlys, the Umbers and the Karstarks if he wants to secure his rule, and he has to put down the Ironborn invasion as well. To make matters more complicated, his only potential heir, Ramsay Snow, is growing more and more unstable, alienating potential allies.

Across the Wall, the Night’s Watch has been saved by the timely arrival of King Stannis Baratheon, the only King to answer the ravens of Maester Aemon. With only Storm’s End, Dragonstone and some parts of the Stormlands fighting for Stannis after his crushing defeat at the Blackwater, his unexpected northern campaign is his last gambit to sit on the Iron Throne. If he wants his plans to succeed he will have to find a way to defeat House Bolton and navigate across a region filled with intrigue. He has few troops, but they are loyal as they come and Stannis has an unyielding resolve. Likewise, the Night’s Watch needs to choose a new commander amongst its ranks, and it will have to be very careful with Stannis and the wildlings if they are to survive during these troubled times.

Atop the mountains of the Vale, Lysa Arryn has been shockingly murdered by a treacherous guard, leaving Lord Paramount Petyr Baelish in control of the young Lord Arryn. With the Lords of the Vale marching on the Eyrie to discuss terms with Baelish, he will have to use all of his considerable political skills if he wants to remain in power and take control of one of the few regions of Westeros that has its army fully intact.

Resting at the Water Gardens in Dorne, Prince Doran Martell looks at the future with mixed feelings, as there are too many possibilities out there. King’s Landing is in chaos and Doran cannot predict the actions of his brother, Prince Oberyn, and he has trouble at home dealing with the conflicted emotions and actions of his daughter Arianne. With Princess Myrcella on his hands and a secret contract stored in Braavos Doran seems to have all the cards, but is it time for Dorne to play its hand?

Finally, in Essos, Queen Daenerys Targaryen has completed her campaign in the Slaver Bay, marching through Astapor and Yunkai to end up as the crowned Queen of Meereen. But the first signs of instability have already appeared with the unrest in the city and the enmity created with most of the Free Cities, and it’s beginning to look like her awaited return to Westeros could be delayed. To make matters more complicated for the Targaryen loyalists, another heir awaits in the city of Pentos, currently hidden to the world. Prince Aegon Targaryen has the support of the Spider, the Griffin and the Cheesemonger, and if he gets his hands on the Golden Company then nothing will stop his desire to win a crown.

As the mountains of corpses and the waves of feasting crows attest to the end of the War of the Five Kings, the survivors will reenter the battlefield to test their luck once again, and they will fight to win the Game of Thrones left unresolved by Tywin Lannister’s death.

Changes and different events (Book+Series)

-In the Purple Wedding Joffrey offers a toast to Tywin and Cersei, both drinking from the King’s cup and dying as a result of it. Ser Dontos fails to smuggle Sansa out of King’s Landing.

-Despite not having Sansa with her, Baelish decides to enact his OTL plans anyway and Lysa falls from the Eyrie, with the jailer Mord framed as the culprit. The Lords Declarant march on the castle as IOTL.

-In the North, Lord Bolton has just arrived to the Dreadfort from the Red Wedding and Stannis has already won the Battle of Castle Black and has some initial and tentative funding from Braavos (as per Season 4 of Game of Thrones), the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch election has yet to occur.

-Jaime arrives one or two days after the Purple Wedding, and states that he will continue to serve as Lord Commander instead of being dismissed. Thus, a Tyrion not charged with the Purple Wedding takes over as Lord of Casterly Rock and a huge meeting is called for the next day with the leading Lords of houses Baratheon, Lannister and Tyrell in King’s Landing.

-Lady Stoneheart is already leading the BWB at the start of the game, and the first Frey (ASOS Epilogue) has been hanged.

-Aegon currently stays in Pentos with Illyrio and Jon Connington, although there are plans to join the Golden Company.

-Daenerys is in early ADWD territory, having ruled Meereen for some months and already bumping into some trouble. Jorah Mormont is already exiled, drowning his sorrows in wine and chasing silver haired girls.

[Lumine]

Guidelines:

The rules are fairly similar to Clash of Kings in the sense that you will roleplay as one of the main players in the immediate aftermath of the War of the Five Kings, in an scenario that takes place somewhere in the last third of Storm of Swords and, say, episode 3 and 4 of Season 4. It should be noted that I tend to follow the books more than the series, but I combine elements of both when possible. First things first, this game will start a year later than Clash of Kings, so most of the events that will come forward are massive spoilers for those who haven’t read Feast of Crows and A Dance with Dragons, not to mention that we are bound to have a lot of spoilers on Seasons 5-6 assuming they take similar routes to the books. Unlike the other game, we will reach something similar to the current end of the canon, so participate and read at your own risk!

As a player you can pass laws and rule over your lands, appoint your military commanders and give orders to your armies, trade and search for income, send emissaries (public and or via PM), hire sellswords, pass sentence to crime, craft schemes, build factions, and solve some issues I have prepared for you as time goes on. You will have to balance the wishes of your vassals carefully, as mistreating them could lead to rebellions or to your own death.  It should be noted that this time I have significantly expanded the number of characters, and you will note that there are characters that are technically under the control of others. That is because you can have more than one player per house. Example: If you are Mace Tyrell or Tyrion Lannister and you need someone in a key place like King’s Landing to control your interests, you can ask someone to take over as, say, Margaery, Jaime and so on. Given the distances of the time and the potential misinformation, orders that are sent to places that are too far might be ignored, delayed or destroyed, so an extra player could really improve your performance and prevent distance penalties.

Having learned many lessons from the first game, we will put a lot more emphasis on politics and court intrigue this time. As you know, Westeros is broken and bloodied after a year of war, so total war is virtually impossible. There will be significant benefits for those who prove able at politics and roleplay, and downsides to those who simply use brute force. To encourage that, among other things, I will reduce the info known to all players and give specific messages at times, thus nobody will know everything that’s happening. This, I hope, will force the players to craft alliances in order to survive and triumph, as nobody is in a position to take everything for his house or cause by acting alone.

Rules:

-We will play two month turns (to account for the increase in intrigue) that comprise an early phase with the player challenges, the mid phase in the form of character POV’s (two or three, depending on my inspiration) and a military-political update, all turns to vary from four days to a week tops.

-You are encouraged to make public announcements and public discussion in the game thread and you must send your military disposition and moves by PM. You may also design various plots, which must be sent via PM along with the co-conspirators. Depending on the character, his assets and a roll dice, these may work with varying success or be discovered. If your plot is discovered, you will lose prestige and you won’t be able to plot for the next two turns.

-I will open several topics for the game to make it more orderly, six to be precise: The Rules and Sign Up thread, the General thread (for updates, game commentary and so on) and four threads to represent the main areas of Westeros: North (the Wall to Moat Cailin), South (from the Riverlands to Dorne), King’s Landing (exclusively covering intrigue in the city) and Essos. In the case of King’s Landing, not attending Small Council sessions results in penalties.

-All players will have stats that will cover their legitimacy, their prestige (which has consequences in negotiations with NPC’s) and their money (we will use gold dragons instead of stags). Some of the players will be able to use their "special ability" or those of their allies, something that in the beginning is limited to Stannis (Melisandre can use fire magic), Daenerys (Drogon, Viserion and Rhaegal) and Euron (Qarth magic). With time and with new characters we might see new skills (Thoros of Myr for Lady Stoneheart, Ghost for Jon Snow, and so on).

-I will use a dice to determine most of the events, meaning plots, battles and negotiation with characters that are not playable. The war system will be similar in the sense that we will use the old virtual dices (with extra dices for each side depending on major advantages like terrain, morale, commanders and so on), but I will balance results that are deemed to be too unrealistic. Winter is coming to Westeros, so be wary about the effect the seasons and the terrain have on your troops!

-The use of Faceless men is strictly forbidden unless the player himself goes to Braavos to sign the contract with them (contract that will be clear and not subject to abuse), and the prices will be much higher this time. You can deploy assassins against rivals for a high price, but if they fail they will cost you prestige. Furthermore, if one of your assassins gets caught trying to kill a player, they will get a free assassin that they can deploy against you.

-Note that we don’t know everything about Planetos and its borders, so my maps have been made on a lot of guesswork and with the purpose of being practical (which is why I have assumed the Free Cites control most of the lands near them). I know the borders are ugly, no need to tell me!

-As always, I reserve the right to override player actions if they are too out of character.

[Talleyrand]

Will we role-play the kingsmoot or make that an off-screen event before the beginning of the game?

[Lumine]

Maps of Westeros and Planetos:

Forces and Assets:

The Small Council in King’s Landing:

-King: Joffrey I Baratheon
-Regent: Vacant.
-Hand of the King: Vacant.

-Master of Coin: Lord Tyrion Lannister.
-Master of Laws: Ser Kevan Lannister.
-Master of Ships: Lord Mace Tyrell.
-Master of Whisperers: Lord Varys.

-Grand Maester: Pycelle.
-Lord Commander of the Kingsguard: Ser Jaime Lannister.
-Commander of the City Watch: Ser Addam Marbrand.
-Small Council Advisers: Lord Paxter Redwyne, Lord Mathis Rowan and Prince Oberyn Martell.

Daenerys Targaryen:
-3 Dragons (Drogon, Viserion and Rhaegal).
-20 Essosi Knights led by Ser Barristan Selmy.
-100 Dothraki riders.
-Unsullied Army: 11,000 strong (2,000 of them lacking good training).
-Meereen City Watch: 2,000 strong.
-Can recruit up to 10,000 freedmen in extreme cases.

Aegon Targaryen:
-Large spy ring in King’s Landing (Essos, North, South and King’s Landing).
-Retinue in Pentos (includes Lord Jon Connington and Rolly Duckfield).
-Can obtain a fleet and additional funds via Pentos, plus a contract with the Golden Company is being negotiated.

Stannis Baratheon:
-1 Fire Priestess (Melisandre)
-Storm’s End Garrison: 200 strong.
-Dragonstone Garrison: 1,000 strong.
-Baratheon Army of the North: 3,000 strong, currently at the Wall.   
-Baratheon Fleet: 50 ships, near Eastwatch-by-the-Sea.
-Cannot recruit more men, has some minimal funding from the Iron Bank of Braavos.

Joffrey Baratheon:
-Kingsguard (4 remaining Knights, one of them in Dorne)
-3,000 Goldcloaks, currently in King’s Landing.
-Royal Army of the Crownlands: 2,000 strong, near King’s Landing.
-Royal Fleet: 10 ships, currently in King’s Landing.
-Can recruit up to 3,000 men from the Crownlands and Stormlands, has limited access to Lord Varys’s large spy ring (Essos, South, North and King’s Landing) and the Alchemist Guild.

Ironborn:
-Army of the Iron Islands: 5,000 strong, in Pyke.
-Garrison of Moat Cailin: 200 strong.
-Garrison of Deepwood Motte: 200 strong.
-Fleet of the Iron Islands: 400 ships, in Pyke.
-Ironfleet: 100 ships, 2000 men, in Moat Cailin.
-Asha’s Fleet: 10 ships, in Deepwood Motte.
-Captured Qarth warlocks + Magic Horn.
-Can recruit up to 20,000 men.

Doran Martell:
-Army of Dorne: 5,000 strong, near Sunspear.
-Navy of Dorne: 10 ships, near Sunspear.
-Medium spy ring (South and King’s Landing).
-Can recruit up to 22,000 men.

Mace Tyrell:
-Garrison of Highgarden: 3,000 strong, in Highgarden.
-Tyrell Army of the Riverlands: 18,000 strong, in Maidenpool.
-Tyrell Army of the Crownlands: 20,000 strong, in King’s Landing.
-Navy of the Reach: 100 ships, in the Mander.
-Redwyne Fleet: 100 ships, in the Arbor.
-Shield Islands Fleet: 50 ships, in the Shield Islands.
-Hightower Fleet: 50 ships, in Oldtown.
-Can recruit up to 50,000 men (at a somewhat slower pace than other regions).

Tyrion Lannister:
-Lannisport City Watch: 2,000 strong, in Lannisport.
-Casterly Rock Garrison: 2,000 strong, in Casterly Rock.
-Lannister Army of the Riverlands: 5,000 strong, at the Stony Sept.
-Lannister Army of the Crowlands: 8,000 strong, in King’s Landing.
-Lannister Fleet: 70 ships, based on Lannisport.
-Can recruit up to 8,000 men.

Roose Bolton:
-Garrison of the Dreadfort: 5,000 strong.
-Garrison of Winterfell: 500 strong.
-Bolton Army of the North: 4,000 strong, near Moat Cailin.
-Cannot recruit more men until more houses swear loyalty.

Petyr Baelish:
-Large spy rings in the South, North and King’s Landing.
-Retinue in the Eyrie (includes 50 sellswords, plus Ser Shadrich and Ser Lothor Brune)
-Cannot recruit more men until more houses swear loyalty.

Yohn Royce:
-Garrison of Runestone: 500 strong, in Runestone.
-Royce Army of the Vale: 1,000 strong, on the march to the Eyrie.
-Navy of Gulltown: 20 ships, based on Gulltown.
-Can recruit up to 3,500 men.

Walder Frey:
-Garrison of the Twins: 1,000 strong.
-Frey Army of the Riverlands: 4,000 strong, near the Twins.
-Cannot recruit more men.

-Brynden Tully:
-Garrison of Riverrun: 500 strong.
-Cannot recruit more men.

Wyman Manderly:
-Small spy ring in the North.
-Garrison of White Harbor: 500 men.
-Manderly Fleet: 30 ships, on White Harbor.
-Can recruit up to 2,500 men.

[Lumine]

Will we role-play the kingsmoot or make that an off-screen event before the beginning of the game?

It depends, if we have Greyjoy/Ironborn players then we will simulate it, otherwise it will be an off-screen event (perhaps with one or two POV's) for the first turn and perhaps the start of the second one.

[Talleyrand]

Will we role-play the kingsmoot or make that an off-screen event before the beginning of the game?

It depends, if we have Greyjoy/Ironborn players then we will simulate it, otherwise it will be an off-screen event (perhaps with one or two POV's) for the first turn and perhaps the start of the second one.

Ah. In this case, is it okay if I play Euron? I know I called Wyman Manderly earlier, but it might be more interesting to play as one of the Kings instead.

[Lumine]

Will we role-play the kingsmoot or make that an off-screen event before the beginning of the game?

It depends, if we have Greyjoy/Ironborn players then we will simulate it, otherwise it will be an off-screen event (perhaps with one or two POV's) for the first turn and perhaps the start of the second one.

Ah. In this case, is it okay if I play Euron? I know I called Wyman Manderly earlier, but it might be more interesting to play as one of the Kings instead.

No problem!

[Dr. Cynic]

I really want to give another go as Tyrion, though I'm tempted to play as Wyman Manderly. After all, who better to play Lord Too-Fat-To-Sit-a-Horse than a fat man?

Nah, I wanna give Tyrion another go!

[Cranberry]

Oh this looks so great!
Probably that's just me who has overseen something, but how exactly are the spy rings going to work? Will you from time to time just privately give us pieces of information, or will we have to ask for a specific set of information?

But still, I know this will be brilliant - I love to play as Dorne again!

[Lumine]

I really want to give another go as Tyrion, though I'm tempted to play as Wyman Manderly. After all, who better to play Lord Too-Fat-To-Sit-a-Horse than a fat man?

Nah, I wanna give Tyrion another go!

Manderly is truly a fascinating character, but it's great to see we have a Tyrion!

Oh this looks so great!
Probably that's just me who has overseen something, but how exactly are the spy rings going to work? Will you from time to time just privately give us pieces of information, or will we have to ask for a specific set of information?

But still, I know this will be brilliant - I love to play as Dorne again!

The spy rings will give the players random pieces of key information related to the area in which things are happening (Littlefinger lacks spies in Essos, hence he won't get extra info from there), and the larger the spy ring the more info the players get (and said info gets more accurate). You can of course seek for specific answers, but you're not guaranteed to get a 100% accurate answer.

This, I hope, will encourage more intrigue and will help the players to be very careful with their moves.

[Spamage]

So excited for this

[Donerail]

I'll be reprising my role as the Lord Regent of the Vale.

[Lumine]

So excited for this

Likewise, xD

I'll be reprising my role as the Lord Regent of the Vale.

Welcome, Lord Baelish!

[Lumine]

Right, this will be open for a long time, but the characters we will need in order for the game to start are Stannis, Daenerys and Roose Bolton. If any of the players knows of someone who might be interested in the game, please send them a message!

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Right, this will be open for a long time, but the characters we will need in order for the game to start are Stannis, Daenerys and Roose Bolton. If any of the players knows of someone who might be interested in the game, please send them a message!

You might want to "advertise" it with another thread in forum community board (couldn't hurt).

[DKrol]

I made a post about this on the 2008 Election Game I'm part of.

[Lumine]

I made a post about this on the 2008 Election Game I'm part of.

Thanks! I do hope NHI doesn't mind, and another thread has been opened in the forum community board (that should suffice for now, I believe).

[DKrol]

I made a post about this on the 2008 Election Game I'm part of.

Thanks! I do hope NHI doesn't mind, and another thread has been opened in the forum community board (that should suffice for now, I believe).

Since you're a former participant in the game series, I'm sure he'll be fine with it.

[Dereich]

I guess since the kings are required I'll take Stannis.

Was looking forward to reseizing the Vale as Royce, but maybe that's for the future

[Lumine]

I guess since the kings are required I'll take Stannis.

Great!

[rpryor03]

I'll go as Walder Frey. I like to plan weddings.

[Lumine]

I'll go as Walder Frey. I like to plan weddings.

I should make a "throw a killer party" joke, but I'll refrain from that for the moment, xD

Welcome to the game!

[Talleyrand]

So we still need Daenerys and Roose?

[DKrol]

I believe I have someone for Roose.