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Dorne is a good ally to have on your side.

And it gives Oberyn a cameo - double the awesomeness

Well, curious update. Both Stannis and Oberyn's interventions were... quite theatrical.

May I ask you a question? How have you ended owning land in the crownlands? Are those still de-jure in the Iron Throne? (I believe that when you gain an independence war as a kingdom you empire become de-jure, right?)

I need to double check the de jure part, but to your first question......not a clue. Maybe it was a case of nobles-declaring-for-you-in-independence-war-join-u-if-they-border-you?

The King of the North, the Riverlands, and the Crownlands!

...I really should write an AAR. I've been wanting to for a while now.

Go for it!
 
Pedro Pascal really brings the Viper to life

that he does


Also, in honor of tonight's epic season finale, here's a teaser for the next update, which is mostly finished, but I can't finish it tonight:

Part VI Teaser – Jon

jon-snow.jpg

“Do it, crow – just a flick of your pretty little blade; or are you not man enough for the job?”

Tormund was right; Longclaw sat just a few inches from the farmer’s neck – it should be easy. But he was just an innocent man; he just couldn’t do it. Ride with them, dine with them, do whatever it takes to get into their trust…and he did.

He’d killed the Halfhand, dined with Mance Rayder, scaled the Wall…and lay with a woman. He walked with them, he talked like them, he befriended them….and he fell in love with one of them. He’d seen giants, mammoths, skinchangers…and a pretty little spearwife with hair red as fire.

“Get on with it crow, we don’t have all day.” Clearly Tormund was getting impatient.

“Are you sure he’s one of us?” the Magnar asked, not for the first time. In response came – no surprise – a quick “Yes” from ygritte and a tentative “Not quite” from Giantsbane.

Jon tried to stall for time. “We don’t have to kill him, you know. We’re just a few miles from Castle Black, one man is not going to mean much to them.”

“You know nothing, Jon Snow.” Ygritte knocked her bow, aimed at the farmer’s head. “We don’t have time; I’ll kill him if he wants.”

Ygritte_3x10.jpg

Tormund shook his head. “No. Somebody here dies – either the crow or the farmer. It is your choice, Jon Snow.” With that, footsteps sounded behind them.

“Bloody hell, a lot of crows are coming from the south, we’ve got to get moving,” a skinchanger, who might have been a flea for all the help he provided keeping watch, warned, a touch too late.

Jon turned. No, not my brothers, he thought. Northerners. He spotted the flayed man of the Boltons on one of the banners. He caught Tormund’s eyes, then looked at the farmer, then back at Tormund.

Jon Snow swung his sword.
 
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Honestly speaking, I find your representation of Joffrey and Stannis too grotesque and one-dimensional, same for out-of-character Tywin letting Arya go without explanation and timid and shy Roslin going Daenerys-style. His whole family now dead, Jaime killed before that scene, what was he trying to achieve? Starks going north to deal with Greyjoys? Aren't there Lannister and Tyrell armies in field? Two most powerful houses in Westeros simply laid down weapons and accepted Starks killing literally everyone relevant in King's Landing, including their family members? Or Robb for some reason ignored ~100 000 troops quite close to his newly and completely lawlessly aquired lands? Too many plot holes for my liking, but of course it's your AAR and you can write what you want. :) I'm simply pointing out some problems with your history.
 
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Noooooo,Not Tormund D:

valar morghulis

Honestly speaking, I find your representation of Joffrey and Stannis too grotesque and one-dimensional, same for out-of-character Tywin letting Arya go without explanation and timid and shy Roslin going Daenerys-style. His whole family now dead, Jaime killed before that scene, what was he trying to achieve? Starks going north to deal with Greyjoys? Aren't there Lannister and Tyrell armies in field? Two most powerful houses in Westeros simply laid down weapons and accepted Starks killing literally everyone relevant in King's Landing, including their family members? Or Robb for some reason ignored ~100 000 troops quite close to his newly and completely lawlessly aquired lands? Too many plot holes for my liking, but of course it's your AAR and you can write what you want. :) I'm simply pointing out some problems with your history.

Thanks - I'm always very happy to receive critique and criticism on my work. You make some excellent points about the style of the AAR as well as CK2's game mechanics. First off - yes, it is ridiculous that taking the capital and Harrenhal lets you win the war even when there are Lannister armies still in the field (by the time the Tyrells actually got their armies together the war was well over), and I had played the game with the intent of making this a gameplay AAR before deciding when I got to writing that a narrative would be more fun to write.

And, to address your other points, I'd like to offer these as explanations, or at least, justifications
1. You only have seen Joffrey and Stannis in one scene apiece, both of which are very high-leverage; Stannis is forced to treat with a usurper because he's powerless to stop him, and Joff is watching literally the entire city (actually, even more people than that) riot and demand his head.
2. Power can change people....or force them to act out a persona. That is what's going on with Roslin; she's trying to be a good queen for Robb.
3. Tywin is a very calculating man. He knew that there was no way he could save King's Landing and that the war was likely lost, so now he's thinking for the future, with Stannis as King.....It will be clear soon, trust me.

Also just a reminder to everyone - the AAR is not just Robb's story; I will also be playing the scenarios as other characters. As such, I'm trying to kind of rush it, covering as much as I can in each scene.
 
Well, Joffrey is a one-dimensional character in both book and show :laugh:

I object - he's many dimensional. He's evil, sadistic, mad (in both senses of the word), and cruel. Not to mention height, and width, and depth. :D


Part VII – Jon

All Jon had to do was buy time. And not even that much…just a few minutes, even, for the Bolton men to arrive. They had already seen the wildlings, and were already riding to the rescue. But they weren’t there yet – at least two minutes away. And he had more pressing issues at the moment than counting down the seconds.

Tormund dove out of the way of Longclaw, drawing his double swords as he rolled. “I knew it, crow!” He swung at Jon, but he parried with his blade.

They went back and forth a few times, neither able to gain any sort of advantage. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ygritte loose an arrow into the farmer, then notch another. He heard a noise to his left to see the Magnar’s ax coming swinging down on him. Again he dodged to the right, extending Longclaw to parry Tormund. Then suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his chest, and he doubled over, wet and sticky with blood. Tormund’s blade fell upon his back, splitting it open from shoulder to hip.

Jon fell on his side, looking out in the direction of the raiders who had gone to engage the Northmen. Ygritte stood over him. He reached out his arm to her, gasping for breath. “Ygritte.”

But she just stared down at him. “You know nothing, Jon Snow,” she said softly.

He drifted in and out of consciousness, the snow around him red with blood. Every time he awoke he saw something different – once he saw a direwolf, another time a dragon. Once he even found his father standing over him. All of them said the same thing – “You know nothing, Jon Snow” – before fading once more.

The last one he saw was a woman – a beautiful woman, a little older than Jon was now, with black hair and stark-gray eyes, and holding a blue winter rose. She approached him slowly, step by step, and with each step the room grew colder. When she had gotten to Jon, the mysterious woman pressed the rose into his hand and repeated Ygritte’s phrase: “You know nothing, Jon Snow.” And with that, she vanished.

Suddenly the wind picked up and the room became cold as ice. His surroundings changed – a driving blizzard overcame him, and darkness descended upon him, a darkness so deep and heavy that it engulfed all. He was in a forest – he did not know which one, or how he even knew he was in a forest, because he could see nothing but snow. And suddenly through the snow he saw eyes – striking blue eyes, cold as ice. And above the sounds of the storm he began to hear voices, voices that sounded like the crackling of ice. In unison they chanted, “You know nothing, Jon Snow.” Over and over and over again – for how long it continued he did not know.

white-walker.jpg

Then a dagger plunged into his back and he burst into flames.



Jon awoke to find himself lying on the floor in chains, at the feet of his brother. He was in great painWhen Robb saw that Jon had stirred, he roared into action.

“WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?!?!?” he screamed. “WE SENT YOU TO DEFEND THE WALL, NOT ABANDON IT!”

“Where am I?” Jon asked.

“JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION!” A tense moment filled the air, then Robb composed himself. “Listen, Jon, just tell me what happened, please.” He pulled out a paper from his cloak. “I have received a letter from Ser Allister Thorne and Lord Janos Slynt that identifies you as an oathbreaker, murderer, and defector.” He handed Jon the paper. “By law I am supposed to take off your head and send it to them.”

“And are you going to?”

Robb smiled. “I’d rather not, you see. But you leave me in quite a pickle. I sent Lord Umber with my army on ahead of me to engage Balon Greyjoy’s army in the field; so far up north we should be able to defeat him rather easily. That way I would not have to leave you.”

“Thank you.”

“Now,” Robb ordered. “Tell me everything that happened between when you left the Wall and now. And give me details – many details.”

And so Jon told him everything – of the Great Ranging, his trip with the Halfhand, having to kill Qhorin to go undercover. The Fist of the First Men, scaling the Wall, Mance Rayder’s plan to light the greatest fire the North has ever seen. Even his dreams of just a few minutes ago. He told him everything – well, almost. He never said a word about Ygritte.

Robb sat back in his chair. “Sounds like you guys need some help to defend. Outnumbered 1000 to 1. We can help those odds. As soon as we know Balon is defeated, I will send ten-thousand men to help defend the Wall.”


“Thank you, Your Grace.”

“Please don’t call me that,” Robb said, laughing. “Only on formal occasions. You’re my brother, and a member of the Night’s Watch too.”

“Not for much longer, I fear.”

“Well, as charged, you must die. Unless, of course, you are proven innocent in the sight of the gods, both the old and the new, which can be accomplished two ways – trial by court or trial by combat. I highly recommend the latter. You or your champion will be up against my champion…who, between you and me, is blind in his left eye and on his deathbed.”

Jon smiled. “Sounds lovely.” He tried to sit up, but a sharp pain pierced through his back. He grimaced. “Not sure I could beat event that at the moment.”

Robb stood. “Fortunately, somebody has volunteered to be your champion.” The tent flap moved, and a woman walked in. Robb smiled. “Your wife.”



Later that evening the two brothers sat in the King’s quarters, discussing the events that had taken place since they had last seen each other, and boasting of their own successes. Jon believed, clearly, that his saving Lord Commander Mormont from the wights took the cake, although conceded that Robb’s capture of King’s Landing would be the tale sung by the singers for a thousand years…although the wildling assault on the Wall very well might change that.

As they finished their meal and were ready to retire to their quarters, Robb’s squire arrived and pressed a message into the King’s hand. “From Queen Roslin, Your Grace,” he stammered out before leaving.

Robb hastily opened the message and read it, turning pale.

“What’s the matter?” Jon asked.

Robb shook his head. “King Stannis has declared me a usurper again and has declared war to reassert control over my domains. King’s Landing is under siege.”

 
His wife? Ygritte? Has she abandoned the Wildlings?
 
His wife? Ygritte? Has she abandoned the Wildlings?

LOL,how can he even marry? or is it just wife -> speerwife ?
edit : tough i call her bowwench since the 9th episode of season 4,she just went completely legolas

Hahaha....yea, she hasn't really "abandoned" the wildlings, she is just still around after that fight.

Note how Jon consciously makes an effort to avoid talking about her. Yet Robb knows anyway. Think of it as the medieval way of saying something like "oh, you dog" while simultaneously saying "here is your help"
 
Part VIII – Roslin

Fear is not an option.

The throne room may have been silent, but the sound of battle was not far off. Ever since Stannis’s army had breached the walls of King’s Landing three days before, there had not been a single second of quiet. Twenty-four hours a day, every day, the city had become a battleground, in a fierce and bloody siege that the singers doubtlessly would sing of for generations, no matter the outcome.

And still, at her mother-in-law’s insistence, she still held court in the throne room every day, and made her daily appearance on the balcony overlooking the city. Stay strong, Lady Stark insisted, and the people will rally to defend their city. So far, it appeared to be working – but all it did was slow the inevitable. Stannis’s men were slowly subduing the battle-wrecked city, and by the look of things, the Red Keep itself would be under assault by day’s end, by tomorrow at the latest.

Fear is not an option.

She was not the girl she was a year ago. Barely a year’s turn ago, she was just a younger daughter of Walder Frey, Lord of the Crossing – a noble house, to be sure, but not exactly in a prime position of power, honestly; and as a younger daughter, her prospects had not exactly seemed important. And yet now, here she was – Queen to the Young Wolf, the King in the North, of the oldest house in Westeros, ruling in King’s Landing on behalf of her husband alongside her mother-in-law and now leading the defense of that very city.

The sound of breaking glass snapped her back to the present. They’re here. She gripped her dagger.

“Whoa, whoa, put that thing away, please!” came a voice behind the throne.

The Queen turned around to face the man. He was young, no older than fifteen or sixteen, and rather short for his age. He had a not unattractive face, as far as she could tell, and dirty blonde hair peaked out from under the black hood he was wearing.

“Don’t be alarmed. My uncle has sent me to rescue you and bring you back to Winterfell, along with Lady Catelyn.”

Roslin figured it was a trap. “Who are you working for? Who is your uncle? King Stannis? Do you plan to trade us for fealty?”

“No.” He lowered his hood. “My uncle is Tywin Lannister, King of the Rock.”

game-of-thrones.jpg



Leaving the city was quite literally hell. Disguised like smallfolk travelers trying to escape the city’s destruction (which in itself meant no guarantee that they could escape), they snuck around the fighting. The barricades did not help either. All throughout the city, the smallfolk had barricaded the streets to slow down the invaders – after four major sieges in under twenty years, they finally decided to stand firm, no matter the cost – which, although did its purpose greatly, causing Stannis many casualties assaulting the city, did make escaping it a great labyrinth.

Fear is not an option.

The streets bathed in blood; corpses helped build the barricades. Bodies lined the streets – Northern soldiers, smallfolk, nobility, horses, men, women, and children alike; death did not discriminate, not here.

Twelve hours later, they reached the outskirts of the city, where they met Prince Oberyn of Dorne with four horses. From there, the unlikely alliance started north along the kingsroad as the crowned stag in the flaming heart was raised over the burning city.

Stannis_heraldry.jpg
 
Wow, what a turn of events!
 
Part IX: Catelyn

Everything, it seemed to Cat, happened at the inn at the crossroads.

Inn_at_the_Crossroads.jpg

How many years previous had it been that she had the Imp arrested there, believing him to have attempted to kill her son Bran? And what had happened since then – Ned had been executed by King Joffrey, her son had been declared King in the North and defeated the Lannisters before repelling the invasion of the ironborn, King’s Landing was sacked by King Stannis as she and Queen Roslin escaped, aided by a Lannister bastard and Prince Oberyn.

And now, they were back at the inn at the crossroads, breaking bread and forging alliances with those same longtime rivals.

“I will split my forces in two; the first will be commanded by my brother Kevan, the second by myself. While the bulk of your main army marches south, Stark, my brother’s army will pin Stannis’s forces down in King’s Landing, while I will march on Storm’s End. Join forces with my brother and retake King’s Landing; I want the Dornish army to meet me at Storm’s End.” Tywin Lannister leaned back in his chair and sipped his wine. “How does that sound?”

Robb and Oberyn nodded assent, but Catelyn was unconvinced. “But why should we trust you, Tywin Lannister?” She spat out his name like it was the worst curse in existence. “Everything you ever do is for your advantage! You had Jon Arryn killed – ”

“I did not!”

“ – waited to join in the rebellion until you knew that Robert Baratheon would emerge victorious – ”

“You had Elia raped, murdered, and her children killed!” Oberyn interjected.

“I thought we agreed to move past this for the sake of the alliance!” Tywin countered.”

“MOTHER! GENTLEMEN! PLEASE!” her son yelled. The room became silent, but tension still filled the room.

Lady Stark glowered at Tywin. “How can we trust you? How can I trust you?”

tumblr_m253yh0cSE1rt97w8o1_r2_500.jpg

The Lannister patriarch laughed and took a sip of wine. “Trust. Trust. What a funny word, trust. You ask me how you can trust me, when in actuality, it is I who should be asking if I can trust you. After all, it is my children and my grandchildren who are dead, and not yours, Lady Stark, or have you forgotten that?”

“As is my daughter Sansa, who was raped and murdered by your grandson Joffrey, or have you forgotten that?” she countered.

“It is the Lannister way to rape and murder female relatives of royal families, it would seem,” Prince Oberyn pointed out.

“And all of my family was killed at the hands of your son here,” Tywin continued. He leaned back in his chair. “You deserved Joffrey, though. Raping and murdering your sister as his city fell….unfortunately that’s not even the worst of his crimes, if even half of what I have heard he did was true. Sadly, he was not only a bad king, but he was headstrong, too, and rarely listened to advice. It was my son Tyrion who saved the city from Stannis’s army – and from the crowds, too. Aye, if he had been king, he would have been the Mad King all over again. But Tommen, he would have been a good king. He had the right disposition for it; was killing him really necessary?”

Her son bowed his head. “Not really, I suppose. But it was war, King Tywin, remember that – and your family had killed my father, and had killed my sister.”

“And had killed Elia and her children.”

Tywin looked at Oberyn. “Can we please table this for now?” He then continued. “You want to know why you can trust me? Your daughter Sansa may be dead – but Arya is alive, is she not? She had served as my cupbearer for weeks. And you know what the last thing she told me was? Her name. I knew who she was, but I kept her alive.”

Lady Stark was incredulous at such a thought. “Why would you do such a thing? We were at war.”

“Aye, we were. But after you trapped my army in the Westerlands and began to overrun Harrenhal, I knew the war was hopeless, and that King’s Landing would fall before I could reinforce the siege. You see, the Tyrell armies had also moved into the west; contrary to your belief, King’s Landing was virtually undefended, and would have fallen relatively quickly – although, I give you credit young man, you did better than I thought. Anyhow, back to the point. I knew the war was lost, so I returned home to Casterly Rock, and began plotting to restore the Lannisters back to power, as Kings of the Rock. Because although you may have swung the sword that killed my family, it was Stannis who had made fools of them, accusing my children of deeds most disgusting and vile; and while I could be ruled by a killer, for that I can forgive, but embarrassment, I cannot.

“And I knew that if I had killed the girl, and Joffrey had killed Sansa, as I had believed he would – correctly, it seemed – then there would have been no hope for peace and cooperation between us. Let that be my offer of peace and a token of trust, your daughter’s life.”

She did not want to believe him, but she could tell that he was telling the truth. “Very well, King Tywin, I believe you. Let us put aside our differences, and work together for the betterment of us all.”
Robb nodded his assent, and Oberyn smiled. “Let us dine, then, and compose our joint letter of alliance to the world, and send an ultimatum to this King Stannis, who is no king of ours.”

Hours later, they had composed the following letter:

King Stannis may be a King in Westeros – but he is not who he says he is. He is not, as he says, King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm, for he is no king of ours! The North refuses to bow to southron kings, and the Lords of the Riverlands have joined themselves to House Stark. Casterly Rock and the Lords of the Westerlands refuse to swear allegiance to a King who betrayed his own brother’s offspring. The Martells of Dorne bent the knee to the Targaryens, now gone, not some Baratheon pretender, and so renounce their obedience to the King in Dragonstone.
From this day, he shall be known as Stannis, King of the Stormlands, the Vale, and the Reach, Lord and Protector of the Union of Kingdoms!

- Robb of House Stark, King in the North and of the Trident, King of Winter, Lord of the First Men, Lord of Winterfell, Protector of the Realm
- Tywin of House Lannister, King of the Rock, Lord of the Westerlands, Lord of Casterly Rock and Lannisport, Protector of the Realm
- Arianne of House Martell, Princess of Dorne, Lady of Sunspear, Protector of the Realm


As the meeting concluded, a knock came on the door, and a young man entered. Theon Greyjoy.

The ironborn prince bowed his head and approached Robb. “I am sorry, Your Grace. I tried to convince him otherwise, but he just would not listen. Here is the surrender.” He handed Robb a parchment, sealed by the Iron King. “As a part of the surrender I am to return to your service, Your Grace.”

Robb looked at him. “Well then, my old friend. What your father did…bloody hell, my mother was right, I never should have trusted him. I cannot let you off easily, however, at least, not for now. Go make me some dinner.”

And with that, the war council was adjourned, to be followed by a round of drinking and dining on Theon Greyjoy’s poor cooking. Only the Greatjon enjoyed the food.
 
Contest Time!!!!!
(approved by Mr. Capiatlist)

Rules
1. One post per forumite
2. Contest ends this time on June 3 at 4:00 AM GMT (so, next Thursday morning)
3. Winner will get to make a major decision regarding the future of the AAR. If nobody gets the exact answer, closest answer will win.

And so, the question -

Immediately following this war, another war begins. Who declares the war, and what is the CB they use?
 
Probably Stannis tried to imprison Tywin,and failed(Auto Independence war)
The dornish den either joiner by decision at the war - event,or were called in trough alliance( probably quentyn-cersei.
Robb then used " offer to join war ".
 
Probably Stannis tried to imprison Tywin,and failed(Auto Independence war)
The dornish den either joiner by decision at the war - event,or were called in trough alliance( probably quentyn-cersei.
Robb then used " offer to join war ".

Sorry wrong war - that would attempt to describe the current war, although that war was started by Stannis against Robb to reclaim the Riverlands.
At the conclusion of this war (and unrelated to the outcome) another country declares war on Robb. Who declares it, and what is the CB they use? Hopefully this clears up any confusion.
 
Hmmmm....

I'm going to wager that the Vale goes to war, as Sweetrobin's naivete gets the better of him and he declares independence. Bonus points if he ends up incapable before the end?

As for the run itself, while it is a good AAR gameplay wise (props to keeping Robb ahead), I will admit that it's a different experience from other AARs in being honestly more optimistic and telling it from gameplay pretty much wholly. People have made the point that it is very different from characters in the books. This is something I've been getting used to as the run has gotten better writing wise as well.

Though two questions, did Joffrey have anyone else killed in game and what is going on with Jon? Just wondering.
 
I'll say it's something lame like the Vale DOW'ing Stannis for the dejure claim on the Fingers.

Danny coming would be awesome, though, and make this even more of a clusterfuck. Too bad the liberation quest takes way too long for her to get to Westeros in time, at least in most of my experiences.