A King beyond the Wall «AGoT AAR»

[Colruth]

After stopping to play Crusader Kings for a few weeks I decided to come back and find a mod that would interest me. I tried a few and enjoyed most of them, but this A Game of Thrones one has the most material for an interesting AAR in my opinion, so here goes.

This AAR will most likely be text heavy. The main reason is that I very often forget to take screenshots and when I don't forget it becomes a tedious chore (at least for me it is) that takes the fun away from intense moments in the game. So, there will probably be images now and then, but it most likely wont be constant. As for the text, it will truly be After Action, meaning that I plan to pause every 20 years, when a leader dies OR when I decide to stop playing for the day. I'm not going to keep written track of events and their details beyond those pauses, so the narration will be done based on my own memory of events and how things went. This being said, fluff and flavor will be added in the narration way beyond what the game events fed me in terms of details.

As the title implies, I will be playing from beyond the wall. Once that was decided I figured why not go as far north as I can, so we'll start in Thenn. The start date will be the earliest available, so January 1st 7999.

Finally, please feel free to comment or give suggestions or anything. My interest in posting updates on my AAR is HIGHLY dependent on the level of response I get. Negative or position, as long as its constructive, is far better than nothing. I get bored when talking to myself

Without further a due, let's present our Wildling lord.

 

[Colruth]

Prologue​

The men gathered around the fire. Since the old Magnar had died a few weeks ago, taken by the harsh winds of winter, the free folks of Thenn had no one to look out to if the southern Wildlings wished to get rid of the last few Thenn alive. Chaos was well-known that far north, along with hunger and cold, but the men were hardy, so were their women, and a hardy man they would follow, no matter who had birthed him.

They gathered following the rumor that a young warrior had managed to gather a small following and wanted to be recognized as the next Magnar. He was of Thenn blood, satisfying the ancestral pride of many and as far as the voice on the wind was speaking the truth, he knew how to make men obey him on the battlefield. With such a leader, the neighbouring wildlings would think twice to come to Thenn.

Everyone was talking among themselves, exchanging fears and hopes about this upstart boy. The arguments were seemingly not going to be resolved by themselves, both sides holding their ground – most likely because Sygertt's following was not at the fire yet – until silence fell upon the crowd when a loud wail came straight from the woods. The dogs that were holding sentry around the camp soon followed, as if running from some monster hidden in the woods. The men grabbed their axes and blades and got to their feet but before they even reached the woods, warriors started pouring from the woods, encircling the camp. The wail that had been heard was still on the wind as the men from both sides stood off without fighting. As a young man in fur and armor walked past the row of warriors, the wail turned into muffled screams accompanied by laughter. The young warrior smiled a taunting grin at the first opponent he crossed, as if inviting him to fight for the honor of the screaming woman he was hearing, but no fight occured.

Even though half of the gathered crowd hated him, something he knew very well, Sygrett managed to pass through the defense line holding him away from the fire, without a blade being swung. He laughed to himself, knowing his power was already assured as he grabbed a whole rabbit off the fire and dug full teeth into the meat, under the angered eyes of those who had not invited him.

'' Sit down will ye? I'm not here to hurt anyone, unless you ask for it. No one's going to kill anyone unless I say so. That's much better, – The men from both sides were lowering their blades -now we can have a good talk, hmm? ''

They hated him and he liked it that way. Hatred makes men act without thinking or, when mixed with a bit of fear, makes sure they don't act at all. That's all he needed.

'' This all pleases me. I see that you all are eager to kill and rape. Let me put this eagerness to use, for the benefit of all of Thenn. There are wildlings all over the place just waiting to satisfy your wishes. I'm offering them to you to do with as you please, as long as you don't cross me. You are free afterall. Free to come with me and show those wildlings where they belong, or you can use that freedom to cross me. But if you decide to cross me, remember this ... ''

Sygertt pointed toward the edge of the crowd, where one of his late warrior was arriving from the woods. He was carrying a head in his right hand, which he threw in the middle of the crowd when Sygertt pointed to him. As the head finally rested, those close enough to recognize it gaped in disgust. It was young Neha. Now at least, thought Sygertt as he was feasting on his stolen meal, they could put a face on the wails that welcomed him to the fire.

 

[Deaghaidh]

Good luck. Becoming King Beyond the Wall isn't actually that hard, but achieving anything with that title is.

 

[Colruth]

Lol yeah indeed. We'll see

 

[cyrileom]

If you succeed at taking the wall and causing instability in the South, however, your event wildling army will allow you to rampage all the way down to King's Landing.

 

[Deaghaidh]

If you succeed at taking the wall and causing instability in the South, however, your event wildling army will allow you to rampage all the way down to King's Landing.

In my experience this mechanic is useless, especially in the start date it should be most important (Clash of Kings) because given how pathetically small your armies are even a weak nights watch with no help from the rest of the realm will beat you down hard. IMHO, they need to change the trigger, perhaps to simply being King Beyond the Wall and DoWing the Watch.

 

[Colruth]

A Thenn King for the Wildlings​

There was something on the wind that Sygrett did not like. The seer wasn't anymore confident either. He still had no choice though. If he stayed home too long without fighting, his people would let their hatred of him take over and he would be dead before the next winter. No, the Frostfangs had to be his.

It only took a few days for the small band of about 500 warriors to reach the lands of the Frostfangs, but as they arrived Sygrett understood where the gods had failed him. The warriors garrisoning the place were not of Frostfangs allegiance anymore. Wildlings still, but from the Shivering Forest. Over the cries and curses of his men, Sygrett called off the assault, going straight back to Thenn. He promised them it was not over and that they would get their share of blood very soon, but not this time.

Not giving the men time to go home to their wives, Sygrett launched an assault on the Frozen Shore. This time there was battle, and a quick and decisive one for Sygrett. The Frozen Shore gave up and the men were given a few months of respite, while Sygrett measured his next plan.

His fate seemed grim, when he realized that the Ice Bay Shore had been conquered by the High Lord of the Southern Fangs, effectively squeezing Sygrett into a corner between two High Lords much stronger than him, since the High Lord of the Shivering Forest did not stop at the Frostfangs, but also conquered southward into the Antler Vale and the Haunted Forest.

Adding insult to injury, the High Lord of the Shivering Forest proclaimed himself King Beyond the Wall, on the 30th of August 8004. Enraged Sygrett pondered an attack on the High Lord of the Southern Frostfangs, but it is this same High Lord who called the shot first, luckily for Sygrett in the end.

The High Lord of the Frostfangs, unwilling to let the new King keep his crown called a war on him. If he won, he would probably be a secured king with more than 2/3rd of the land beyond the wall. However, Sygrett would not let him. Listening closely to the reports from his scouts, he held his ground, gathering levies, awaiting his moment. Once the King's army had been totally eradicated and the High Lord's remaining forces too little to hold control over anything, Sygrett entered the fold, assaulting the King's lands.

The victory was only a formality, and on the 12th of May 8009, Sygrett was crowned King beyond the Wall.

Now with only the High Lord of the Fangs to challenge him, who was, currently and for a long part of the upcoming winter, going to lick his wounds, Sygrett decided to use diplomacy for a while. Sending envoys to the remaining independant lords in the south, he managed to gain their loyalty without any bloodshed. With all the land beyond the wall under his sway, along with fresh levies from the south, Sygrett launched his last conquest over Wildlings. At least it is what he wished.

The invasion did not go as quickly as Sygrett wished it had. In and endless back and forth sieging of each other holdings, mixed with repeating rebellions in the north, Sygrett eventually got sick of it and threw his army at the High Lord's army, with nothing more than a tiny advantage in number.

The battle was still won and the High Lord knelt, but not without a cost. The King now left with just a few warriors, rebellions started to explode all over the land. Most were contained and others were bribed back into the realm once they seceded, but all this energy prevented Sygrett's army to ever grow large enough for him to achieve the dream he had of going over the wall.

As a sign of the discontent among his people, or perhaps is it the nature of wildlings, Sygrett's reign ended abruptly when ambushed in the woods, while returning from one too many rebellion. A first arrow hit him in the shoulder, but while he was reaching for his axe, a second, and a third, hit him straight in the chest. It was the 5th of May 8020, 11 years, day for day, after his crowning.

His son Craster I would be crowned in his stead, however this did not bode well for the realm. Craster was 11, and even though he already was a greater warrior than his father at that age, it was unlikely that wildlings would let a boy rule them.

 

[Colruth]

Howd and the fragmented realm​

The first action of Craster as king was, as expected, to find and imprison the man responsible for his father's death. Luckily, his identity was known, – the wildling's pride had made him quite vocal about his courage to slay the tyrant – but sadly he had supporters and managed to escape the realm before he could be found. At least he was out of the way now, unlikely to return.

However, as Craster was still savouring his little victory, a group of men arrived to speak to him. When he recognized the young faces, his heart skipped. He knew them for being friends to Bael of the Shivering Thatch, also known as the son of Jeor I, first King beyond the Wall. As he expected they were here to make demands on his behalf. Abdicate the crown or face war.

Craster, more interested in the well-being of his people than his father was, gave up the crown, in hopes to save bloodshed and the unity of the realm. Strangely enough, though, as soon as Bael was crowned, half the chiefs of the realm made themselves known to be loyal to Craster and not a year later war erupted.

The war was lenghty and costly in lives, but on the 5th of June 8023, Bael I surrendered and Craster was King again.

The next 20 years of Craster's reign would be one of relative peace, if one ignores the never-ending rebellions that occurs beyond the wall. Meanwhile, Craster worked at eliminating Bael's family one by one. Quickly renowned for his lack of honor, most chieftains ended up hating him, except one.

Chief Howd of Whitetree was an honorable man and to his last breath would not question the leadership of his King. While Craster was busy plotting imaginative ways to kill his political rivals, Howd was conquering every other lord within the realm. Sometimes Craster would ask him to calm down, but Howd's hunger for conquest could not be satisfied, until the point was reached that Howd held every regions beyond the Wall except what Craster held personally.

Craster, fearing that Howd would grow powerful enough to seek the crown, was juggling the idea to have him killed, but he could never find enough people to support him in this plan. Except for the Gods, who in 8047, in the middle of a fierce winter, had Howd die in his bed.

In Craster's favor, Howd had had 11 children, half of whom were sons. What Howd had united fell apart, but his sons did not kneel for Craster, forcing him to reconquer the realm. Most of then would reconsider when visited by Craster's envoys, but some would hold their ground, like Lady Brella of the Haunted Forest who held all lands from Craster's Keep to Hardhome.

Unfortunately, Craster would not see his realm reunited, for in 8051, at the age of 43, Craster I will catch the Bloody Flux and die from it. He left to his son Bodger a fragmented realm, but an army able to reconquer the lands beyond the wall, once again.

 

[Colruth]

A Thenn takes the black (Or maybe not...)​

King Bodger's reign will have been a harsh one. Distrusted by his kinsmen due to the actions of his father, keeping the peace among the wildlings will be a tedious task all through his 26 years of reign.

With a rebellion at hand every 6 months, which he was forced to crush using levies from his vassals due to a totally incompetent recruiting staff up in Thenn, the already strained relationships with his lords would grow more and more hard to maintain. Many of them, 1 after the other, would call for independence, just to be crushed, imprisonned and exiled, the land given to the favors of a courtier that liked the king.

Things would get slightly better once he finally gets a son, after two daughters. Prince Dan, for whom the people seemed to forget the actions of his grand-father, seemed to have a much better reign on the horizon, however betrayal would strike.

Starting with the pleadings of lady Sanna, who believed that Dan was not Bodger's son, rumors started to spread across the realm. Sanna was imprisonned and hanged, but it was not enough to stop the rumors. Bodger might have been oblivious to the facts in front of his eyes, but he could not deny that his son was a traitor when, in some odd decision, Prince Dan decided to give up his claim on the crown and join the Night's Watch. (!!) Beyond this act of betrayal, since he has taken the black, Dan have put aside the traditions of his people and joined the southerner ranks. (His culture is now Skagosi...)

Luckily for Bodger, he managed to get a second son before his wife was unable to give birth. And it would be this son, Galbart, who would take the throne in 8077, when Bodger dies a natural death, at the age of 11, leaving the throne yet again in the hands of a child.