Wandslinger's A Song of Ice and Fire

Game Master Wandslinger

Adult is ok with me and here is the roll for Fur 3d6 ⇒ (4, 6, 6) = 16

Counter-Ermine: Black with white spots

That sounds weird as heck but whatever we'll roll with it.

Very rare apparently. Fits in well with our past glory and villainy.

Purpure is justice, sovereignty, and dominion, while Or is generosity. I'm not sure what Counter-Ermine is.

I can easily see how our house may have started at one end of that Purpure scale, and is sliding toward the other. I think the idea that we treat our smallfolk well is probably a good one. We aren't warmongers, so much: we just go stirring things up. We take care to avoid hurting the smallfolk overmuch.

Well, since we have a fur, how about a partition? That way we can place that fur somewhere. Um...Pocsalypse, gimme 7d6!

Yeah, Warmonger was probably a strong term, just with Two major scandals in our history & all our positive events being associated with Warfare I can certainly see outsiders not really caring about the difference between 'Pot-stirrer' & 'Warmonger'.

Basically, the premise for the character that has been percolating in my head was the current Lord is getting into his dotage & in his younger years never had good luck with fertility; a series of wives, not necessarily a long series but more than one, who all died in childbirth, which leads him to intentionally trying to father a Bastard in the hopes that that might get him a son. Finally he calls on old ties of Blood to King...
Dammit, I can't recall the name of the last Targaryen King, the mad one.
But the point is, we've been quite staunch allies of the Targaryen's since they conquered & united all of Westeros & there are ties of blood, enough so that when 'Dad' got lucky & called on the Targaryen King in one of his 'good moods' he bequeathed him some third daughter in a tertiary line sort of thing & she actually managed to survive childbirth...
With a daughter.
'Mom' won't survive another pregnancy & 'Dad' is now old enough the idea of trying again is more effort than he really has time for & besides 'that Usurper' Baratheon is in action.
Then, 'that Usurper' Baratheon has managed to become 'His Majesty' Baratheon & 'Mom' succeeds in talking 'Dad' into bending the knee in the interests of not bringing war to our lands & the smallfolk within, but the series of events pretty much breaks my Father's will for anything much beyond his Lorldly duties to his holdings. Likewise, Mother never really recovered physically from the pregnancy & she wastes away before I've even really grown old enough to walk.
Leaving me in the care of the Maester, who, since he doesn't have anyone else to teach, goes ahead & teaches me the same as he would a boy, including History, Economics & suchlike.
That leads to me deciding that I should learn the rest of 'proper Lording' which leads to me browbeating the Master at Arms into teaching me Warfare, which, while I'm only 'competent' at Arms, I wind up being scary good at Tactics & Strategy.

Unfortunately, both Parents had just the right Recessives, in just the right sequence, that I was born with all the classic Valyrian traits. Which also has lead me to try & stay out of 'Court' since Silver Hair & Amethyst Eyes are so fatally out of fashion this generation.
This is also part of why I have no real interest in marriage/children to carry on the line, besides the whole 'not interested in subjugating myself to a Man' bit; Basically, she will be keeping an eye on the Bastard's children & other relations to find the one she considers the best choice for her heir...

So is that supposed to be actual fur stuck to the shield? Or is it more of an extra complicated pattern?

A complicated pattern. Historically, if I remember right, furs were allowed on arms as an award for something.

Counter-Ermine typically combines Argent & Sable together. It represented a major tragedy that came as part of a minor vctory. Maybe every Male child born of the house has died except for 1 for the past few years?

Ermine was the same but meant a Major Victory amid a Lesser Tragedy.

The Heraldry was typically a Pattern while any Knight or such would wear a Cloak.

Adult Schemer will be fine. Sadly it means I won't be as good with my Languages as I was planning... And I can say goodbye to my Fencing Ability being as good as I wanted.

Any qualms to me playing a Braavos Merchant aligned to the House?

I don't think you'd need to have all the classic valyrian traits with a backstory like that. Perhaps simply one or the other, like hair or eyes. I could see that.

If you guys are dead set on this, then I'll open it up to Young Adult, Adult, and Middle Aged. That's as far as it goes.

Allowing those 3 would allow all the Archetypes to be used with the exception of the Squire.

P.S.: Aerys II Targaryen is the Mad King.

Down with the Usurper! Bring about the age of Queen Daenerys Targaryen!

Mmmm...I'll think about it. How much is starting XP vs. a Destiny point worth, etc.

Remember that the archetypes are a guide to character building, not the letter of the law.

A note for character Status: Your Lord is Status 4, the Heir is Status 3 because that's the minimum she can be. The rest of you guys should pretty much be Status 2, because the house isn't important enough for its servants to have any status beyond a freeman.

I think it fits well for the house to have Counter Ermine then. Ever since we betrayed our lords to the Targaryens, our luck with heirs is terrible. We won the field of battle to defeat our foes, but our house has struggled to stay in our family's hands since then. Some might say we are cursed...

That...
works!?

So, Hair & Eyes possible without Blood of Valyria?

Hey that means I only have to buy my Status up once!
Cool, more points for other stuff.

I was just intending to note that you wouldn't necessarily have to be obviously valyrian blooded. At least not fully.

To answer a question asked in person: I havem't banned the abikity to drop a skill to 1 to gain more skill xp, but you can only drop one. It should be something that will actually impact your character.

Similar rules for the Flaw drawback: pick a skill that will actually impact your character. A knight with no stealth or subtlety picking Thieving as his Flaw is not kosher.

Status 3 is also fitting for the ones who are of important connections to the house. Such as the Lord's Honour Guard and such. Or say a Character similar to Sandor Clegane where while Allied to the House they are technically Independent of the House and get their Status from other sources besides their House.

This also gives us some Plausible Deniability on PC Actions...

"But they are not my Vassal. We just have a Mutual Arrangement to where we can go to each other for help."-Plausible Deniability Example.

Also you wouldn't exactly be the Silver Hair & Vivid Purple Eyes of a Pure Blooded Targaryen but you would have very light hair & some shade of purple eyes.

What if their Flaw is why they didn't train the Ability in the Backstory?

I suppose I can see that for ability flaws.

As for status: it was my intention that you all would be playing servants/vassals/nobles of said house. That would be a limiting factor. It was my understanding that merchants didn't have much status in Westeros anyway.

Depends on what they deal in. Such as the Blacksmith Gendry was Apprenticed to would be around a Status of 3 or 4 depending. While a Myrish(?) trader in King's Landing who is famous for his silks and spices might be Status 3 or even up to Status 6. Or the Merchant Lord that is referenced who is said to control a major fleet and actually owns Stores in King's Landing who would probably be around Status 7 given how King Robert loved the Liquor the Merchant brought for him.

I know this might not jive with the way the mechanics present the world, but I just cannot see a merchant having the same status as a great house. No way.

To me, at least, status is part of how far you've come playing the game of thrones. That game is for nobles, and they don't share well. The status of a noble family can rise to great heights because they have the ability to command the respect of other nobles by virtue of vlood. The rest of westeros only gains status through great toil and hard earned respect via their craft, and are unlikely to rise to the lofty heights that tje great houses occupy themswlves.

Now, piggybacking your way up the tree on the bacj of a house can merit you grand status by virtue of association, but nothing like a 7.

We aren't a Great House. We are a Minor House. Status 4 is around that of a Landed Knight or a Noble Bastard.

The reason why the Merchant Lord has such Status was his fame, money, and connections. But even then he might only have that Status in certain regions. But remember that the King is supposedly around Status 10. So one of the King's favorite Merchants calling upon high Status when dealing with those who know the King likes him though against some others he might have less Status than the others.

Really Status is a bit odd as it is Nebulous in the manner it acts. Maybe he would have some special Benefit... Say "Favored of the King" which grants him a some of the benefits of a higher Status when dealing with certain groups.

Heck, the Merchant would be equivalent to Varys and the rest of the Small Council by the Chart on Page 66.

All very true, but there is one important fact here: I'm going by the Influence table in House Creation, which gives our House a maximum status of 4, which is attached to our Lord. The other table is not even something I'm considering. If we were playing a group of knights, vagabonds, mercenaries, anything unconnected to the trials and tribulations of a single noble house, then I'd be using the standard table. But we chose to make our own, and as such our Status, and that of those who serve us, and indeed the rest of the world, is determined by the ranking of their Influence score. End of story.

What table do you think I am referring to? Page 66 and the Table in the House Section are built on the same premise...

Ok, I've been going over it, and I think I see it your way now. I was assuming that the staus of an heir investment was their maximum status, but it's actually their minimum status. So, I'm sorry for getting grrr on you Azaelas. Let's set it this way then:

Irnk: you may have up to status 4, to match your lord father, if you wish. UF, as a maester serving a minor house, you may have up to that status as well. People filling important roles in the house, such as master at arms, master of the hunt, sworn sword, etc, may have up to status 3. I would be ok with a merchant that faithfully serves the house's interests to have status 3 as well.

Can that work?

Hmmm, do I pull that XP from those other abilities to raise Status, or no? HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

Really? I can see that mistake. I was just trying to figure out where the confusion was...

Maximum(Lord's Status)-X based on order of birth with a Minimum of 3...

Oddly... The Maester is assigned to the house based on their training and skills. Said Training and Skills are what determines the Maester's Status. Same with a Septon/Septa.

The rest would depend on their connection to the house and how well they are liked by the Lord.

And wow... To think George R.R. Martin actually clarified that for an RPG Forum Question on his lesser blog...

My roll for starting possessions. What does a Maester do with 9 Gold Dragons? Lawdy.

@Status quibbles: I don't honestly think it matters one whit how things actually work in Westeros given that the only way we interact with it is through the game rules. I mean, I get what you're saying, the House invests in the Citadel, they get a Maester of appropriate skill and standing for their efforts, etc. I just don't feel like all the bandying about of lore facts are really clarifying anything given that the game basically discounts or doesn't bother with anything outside of the main novels.

*shrug?*

Either way, I bought my status up to 3.

I am going up to Status 3 as well. Actually the Game is going to be expanding to cover the entirety of the World not just the Books. That is one of the reasons why they went the route they did with it.

Arron's Starting Possessions: 3d6 ⇒ (6, 3, 3) = 12

12 Gold Dragons... Fitting for a Merchant... Ironically, he doesn't need this much...

I think I was just searching for hard numbers, and found a sliding scale instead. Let's just try and move on, shall we?

UF, you'd be surprised. The last maester I played used nearly all of his money on his tonics, herbs, etc. They can be really expensive.

Given that our house is a small minor one, I can see our Lord liking his loyal servants enough that Status 3 isn't a problem. A maester commands somewhat more respect than a common merchant or man at arms though, so they have a bit easier access to higher levels, let's say.

If somebody wishes to play someone less directly connected, or simply more mercenary but currently involved with the house, then the standard status 2 is fitting.

Now, I go to bed. I return tomorrow! Pocsalypse, 7d6 for partition!

My other Games Maester & the Night Watch Games Maester both spent nearly all 24 GD he got from his 4 Satus on Robes & his random Maester Items.

I think he had 3 Silver Stags left after all was done...

My Status 5 got me barely what I needed...

Well, Maester robes are cheap, but a good Maester's kit (for travel and whatnot according to the book) is expensive, so obviously I spent the maximum amount of 500ss on it! And also bought a Far-Eyes and Myrish Lens because Deciphering and Knowledge Focus: Architecture.

Probably gonna spend the rest on healing herbs and tonics, yeah.

I am planning on having Far-Eyes... So you might just pick up a Myrish Lens.

Come now, we won't ALWAYS be in the same spot. And really I have over a thousand stags to spend still, that's a LOT of alchemical tools and rope and spare robes, etc. I think I can hack keeping the magnifying glass and the spyglass.

I mean, I may never actually need it but as far as I can tell part of being a Maester is being over-prepared so it seems like you're more knowledgeable than you actually are.

I was meaning you pick two Myrish Lenses while I get 2 Spyglasses...

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Well. I guess. Maybe. What on earth will I do with all that money...

Poisons? Milk of the Poppy, etc.

I am getting a Wagon, Horse, and Trade Goods just to have less Coins at the start...

Milk of the Poppy IS absurdly expensive after all.

I agree. I was just thinking of Poisons and that was the only one I could remember...

Pocsalypse, you have 4 hours or I roll the partition myself.

Wait... Who dropped out?

S~&*, I mean spazmodeus! God, now I feel stupid.

Wow... I am so glad I am not the only one to do that.

The other thing to remember about money is that we can expend 200 Gold Dragons or so to add 1 to our Wealth. If Wandslinger allows us to pool what we don't use for initial goods...
That probably still won't bring us there, but it might bring us close.

Nah, everyone forgets things sometimes Af, Wandslinger; I wouldn't sweat it if I were you.

True. But we must spend Half of our Starting Wealth.

Are you planning on the REstrictions being for all PCs even replacement ones? Or just the Initial "Learner" PC?

If it is just the initial PC we might could run a Module using the Archetypes until everything is set-up for our own house. That would allow us to get started and learn the system that way we can make our characters better.

Heck, we could run a Prequel dealing with our house's history using the Archetypes.

Partition 7d6 ⇒ (4, 4, 1, 5, 3, 5, 3) = 25

I'm thinking of a scouty type, hound or hunt master possibly, but not necessariyly so.

OR

a scuzzy rogue, the families connection to the seedy underbelly of Westeros.

That's a solid shield, which means no partition. How are we gping to have our tincture and metal still on there with that fur?

UF gimme 3d6 for a charge type. Maybe if we get an ordinary, we can color it with the fur.

3d6 ⇒ (6, 2, 2) = 10

Ten, which is Bend Sinister, a thick diagonal stripe running from sinister chief to dexter base.

This is gonna be a really weird looking shield. Maybe we should do something more grandiose, or go for a second roll and make it even weirder!

I mean...yeah. I need some visualization help, I think my brain might explode. Medieval knights, why you so TACKY?

Nah, it's cool. We have can have the tincture and metal on either side of the fur stripe now.

Goofy historically inaccurate idea: arrange the white/argent dots in the shape of another Charge for effect.

Not how it goes, though some historically accurate arms had tiny animals or plants or objects instead of dots.