The Death of Kings, the VI ASOIAF Game (Sign Up - Rules Thread)

[Lumine]

The Death of Kings
the VI ASOIAF Game:

Historical Context:

Warning: Spoilers for Season 7 of Game of Thrones, don't read if you haven't watched it.

It is the middle of 283 since Aegon’s Landing, and Westeros is at war.

Almost a year has passed since Jon Arryn, Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon rebelled against the Iron Throne, and the rising rebellion has won several key victories against Aerys II and the different armies of the Targaryen loyalists. Westeros is split as even nominally Loyalist or Rebel areas see internal strife, and key armies such that of House Lannister, House Frey and House Greyjoy are yet to take sides on the conflict.

And yet, what seemed like a clear cut conflict between two alliances chasing the Iron Throne has suddenly been thrown into sheer chaos and the threat of political anarchy. The main Rebel and Loyalist armies met at the Battle of the Trident in what was expected to be the key battle of war, Lord Robert Baratheon having claimed the throne in a daring move and Prince Rhaegar Targaryen determined to cross the river and save his house. After a couple of hours of battle, both men met in single combat at a ford.

With his immense skill in combat prince Rhaegar delivered a mortal blow to his enemy, only to receive a final hammer blow from Robert. Both the rebel pretender and the Targaryen prince died on the spot, Lord Jon Arryn and Prince Lewyn Martell separating both hosts to take uneasy defensive stands on across the Trident. Having sent ravens to inform of Rhaegar and Robert’s unfortunate deaths, the news received from King’s Landing and Dorne threatened to rip the entire continent apart.

Paranoid over Rhaegar’s ambitions, King Aerys II had sent Queen Rhaella and Prince Viserys to Dragonstone and set on the task of setting up the defenses of King’s Landing. After having his Hand, lord Chelsted, executed, the King was involved in a mysterious wildfire accident along his pyromancers. Aerys had burned to death without settling the matter of the succession, leaving Elia Martell and her children in the capitol at the mercy of courtiers like Varys, Pycelle and Ser Jaime Lannister, while Queen Rhaella and Prince Viserys were guarded in Dragonstone by Lord Velaryon and other loyalists.

It was the final piece of news, however, that put a question on the entire foundation of the war. Lord Commander Gerold Hightower, informed of Rhaegar’s death, revealed he and two other Kingsguard kept Lyanna Stark at a hidden tower in Dorne at Rhaegar’s orders. The Prince and Lyanna, both in love, had absconded, married (with Lyanna becoming Rhaegar’s second wife) and a child had been born. Lyanna’s own handwritten note to her brother explained she’d named the little boy Jaehaerys, and considered him the legitimate son of the now deceased Rhaegar.

With the war still raging, the Lords of Westeros must now consider what to make of the future. No less than four claimants to the crown live (the Targaryen princes Viserys, Aegon and Jaehaerys, and the unyielding Lord Stannis Baratheon, brother to Robert), the precedent of Robert may tempt other lords to claim the crown, and even independence may look appealing to some regions of Westeros.

Who, if any, will emerge victorious?

[Lumine]

Overview:

In the style of past ASOIAF Games, “The Death of Kings” is the sixth iteration of such games in four years, exploring an alternate history scenario (in the style of The Lion and the Rose and The Iron Throne) at the crucial juncture of Robert’s Rebellion. With the deaths of Robert, Aerys and Rhaegar other famous Westerosi characters will get to take the spotlight in unpredictable new terrain, a binary civil war now with the potential to become a multiple-sided conflict in which diplomacy, warfare and intrigue alike will win the day.

As always, you will lead your armies and backstab each other again and again until one side wins this confusing mega war across Westeros and Essos. Of course, you are expected to roleplay following the traits of your chosen characters, within reasonable bounds. Many characters can be unlocked in time, but you start being able to choose between several key players of Robert’s Rebellion, including some that in canon did not get their chance to truly shine. Book canon will take almost full precedent in terms of this game, but the revelations behind Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen are show inspired.

You can use this wiki as a reliable source of information: http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Main_Page.

Guidelines and Rules:

Rules remain mostly unchanged as to past games, you being able to roleplay as one of the key characters involved in this version of Robert’s Rebellion and right after our version of the Battle of the Trident. Your objectives are, naturally, different. Some will want independence, others the Iron Throne, and others might even set objectives of their own. What constitutes a win is hard to describe, but end games tend to come organically on these games, so don’t worry about that. You will command armies, pass sentences, enact laws, send ravens and messengers, take part in high level intrigue, rule your realms and, of course, react to the many issues and crisis I will have in store for you.

Turns: Turns will take anywhere from one week to two at most, and they will constitute two months in-game so things go fast enough while allowing for a detailed war. Should peace time come, but the game still be engaging to be player, we can switch to six or one year turns. You can make public declarations on the threads prepared for this (King’s Landing, the North and the South, Essos may feature later), but your moves must come via PM. All communication between players, OOC or IC, must include me (I mean it, because I will not recognize moves that I am not aware of), either directly via PM or by informing me of what is being privately discussed.

All negotiations with NPC’s go through me, and I will roleplay those characters via PM with the interested parties. Turns work as always, you get an update, then an optional POV phase (players can post their own POV’s within reason), then the end of the turn.

Assassination and Spies: The Rebellion was not a time where assassinations proliferated, indeed, people who were murdered were often so directly or in battle, and not via assassins sent to kill. We will retain the spy system of one spy per player each turn (who will reveal info from the character or region you assign him to), but the assassination system is revamped: Faceless Men are off the table, and assassinations will no longer be enacted by sending an assassin. They will require at least TWO players teaming up and devising a method (which goes with a high risk of failure), to up the risk of one of those players potentially sabotaging efforts and make assassination truly a last resort.  

Stats: We will work with GD (gold dragons, the amount of money you have), Prestige (of your character, a loss damages NPC negotiation and simulation), Legitimacy (how respected he is on his current position or rank, a loss brings severe trouble with vassals and allies). Please mind your stats; they can be determinant at dice rolls, vassal relationship and NPC negotiations.

Roleplaying: Roleplaying remains strict, to avoid mistakes such as the Stannis/Viserys alliance I allowed in the past game (my mistake). I will cancel orders that are too out of character or out of place, such as, for example, Ned Stark ordering thousands of peasants impaled ala Vlad the Impaler.  As always, don’t be afraid of thinking outside the box, but do try to stay in character.

Simulation: As outlined in The Iron Throne, I will use dice rolls and a random number generator for all sorts of events, actions and player moves. That doesn’t mean everything is left to chance, as factors change the order of the dice roll. I’ll use the same reasoning I wrote earlier so new players are informed:

Example: An army of 20,000 men fights an army of 5,000 on an open field. Since numerical superiority is too large, the first army is awarded an extra dice (three against two). But let’s say the 5,000 army is instead defending a strong fortress like Storm’s End, or the commander disparity is too large (as in, pitting Randyll Tarly against Lancel Lannister). Then the minor army would get an extra dice because of a certain advantage, and so on. Then we roll:

House Lannister has two dice, plus one on account of numbers. It rolls a 4.
House Tyrell has two dice, plus one on account of defending Storm’s End with Randyll Tarly. It rolls 18.

An extreme example, yes, but you can see the large disparity would make this a crushing victory for House Tyrell. Then I roll again, one dice for each side, to account for losses. (The Tyrells could roll a six in high losses, but since their margin of victory is huge it won’t be as painful. The Lannisters could just roll 4, but since they got crushed they will take heavy casualties.)

Special Events: Interaction between the players should be a large part into the game, I will try to make interactive events to emphasize roleplay and allow for a more thorough immersion into the Game. This could mean interactive Small Council meetings, Weddings, Parleys, Tournaments, Great Councils, and so forth. Likewise, if the players wish for me to simulate a particular event, do let me know. The more we roleplay, I think, the better for the game.

Sellswords and Sellsails: They will be available on this game as companies, both for the land and naval. They can be recruited in Essos via sending an envoy (to negotiate a contract), from turn two on, and they take a certain time to reach Westeros. A list of companies and prices will be up, with the better known in the Books and Series as the most prestigious and powerful ones. You will be able to choose between Sellsword companies, cavalry companies, and sellsail fleets. The Golden Company is the top price, but they will not come to Westeros unless a rather dramatic offer is made.  

[Lumine]

Cast:

The Loyalists:

Rhaella Targaryen, the Dowager Queen (Dkrol)
Mace Tyrell, Lord of Highgarden (Windjammer)
Doran Martell, Prince of Dorne (Mycool)
Varys, Spymaster of the Iron Throne (Garlan Gunter)

The Rebel Lords:

Jon Arryn, Lord of the Eyrie (Swedge)
Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell (YPestis)
Stannis Baratheon, Lord of Storm’s End (GoTfan)
Hoster Tully, Lord of the Riverlands (Enduro)

The Lords of Westeros:

Tywin Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock (Leonardo the Red)
Quellon Greyjoy, Lord of Pyke (Bacon King)
Walder Frey, Lord of the Crossing (LouisvilleThunder)
(More to be added if more players appear)

[Lumine]

One final note! I'll be giving preference to previous (and active) players in terms of characters to choose, particularly to past (active) Alea Jacta Est players in reward for the game's demise. Newer players are more than welcome, but more advised to pick characters that make it easier to get used to the game.

[leonardothered]

I'll take Tywin.

If need be I'll tap one of the mains instead, we'll see how things turn out

[DKrol]

I'll have the Dowager Queen.

[GoTfan]

Stannis please

[Garlan Gunter]

I loved my outing as Quellon but it is a bit too recent - I'll see if I can make history with a success as the Freys!!!

Edit: on consideration of that amusingly poisoned chalice I may go for something more central / completely different and take Varys if no one else wants to?

[Lumine]

I'll take Tywin.

If need be I'll tap one of the mains instead, we'll see how things turn out

I'll have the Dowager Queen.

Stannis please

Welcome all!

I loved my outing as Quellon but it is a bit too recent - I'll see if I can make history with a success as the Freys!!!

Edit: on consideration of that amusingly poisoned chalice I may go for something more central / completely different and take Varys if no one else wants to?

I think Varys would be a good idea, I need an active player willing to cause havoc in King's Landing!

[Enduro]

I'll be Tully

[Lumine]

I'll be Tully

Welcome!

All we need is Arryn, Martell and Greyjoy to start, Frey being optional.

[At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder]

I'll take Walder Frey

[Swedge]

I'll take Jon Arryn if he's still free

[Mycool]

Doran Martell always has a special place in my heart (at least from the books). I’ll take him if he’s still available

[Lumine]

I'll take Jon Arryn if he's still free

Doran Martell always has a special place in my heart (at least from the books). I’ll take him if he’s still available

Welcome both!

I believe all we need is Quellon Greyjoy and we're good to go.

[Swedge]

Doran Martell, Prince of Dorne (Swedge)

Jon Arryn, Lord of the Eyrie (Mycool)

There is something off about this. Hmmm..

[Lumine]

Doran Martell, Prince of Dorne (Swedge)

Jon Arryn, Lord of the Eyrie (Mycool)

There is something off about this. Hmmm..

Corrected!

[Lumine]

No offense folks, but a group of you is plotting too early. And worse, by including a potential opponent in your PM's.

Please be a bit more patient (or careful).

[leonardothered]

Lollersteins

Youre going to feel silly when you realize papa Tywin had the largest unspent military force at this time

[Garlan Gunter]

Did Lyanna survive the birth in this version?

[Lumine]

Did Lyanna survive the birth in this version?

She did, she's alive and well (and very proud of her newborn soon, almost a bit too proud).

We still need a Quellon, but given the role of the Greyjoys we can carry on for two or three turns before they become really necessary. This game will formally start on Sunday, at the latest. If I have time to start it earlier, I will.

[windjammer]

Did Lyanna survive the birth in this version?

She did, she's alive and well (and very proud of her newborn soon, almost a bit too proud).

We still need a Quellon, but given the role of the Greyjoys we can carry on for two or three turns before they become really necessary. This game will formally start on Sunday, at the latest. If I have time to start it earlier, I will.

So that means the Lords of Westeros now know that she never was abducted and she loved Rhaegar?

[Garlan Gunter]

Second annoying query: is the Queen Dowager with child?

[Lumine]

Second annoying query: is the Queen Dowager with child?

Wait and see!

So that means the Lords of Westeros now know that she never was abducted and she loved Rhaegar?

They've just learned of it right at the start of the game. The collective shock at learning such news seems like a perfect point of chaos to use.

[Bacon King]

I'd love to play this if it's still possible?

edit - calling Quellon since he appears to be the only one left