Warning, Game of Thrones Season One Spoilers!
At the end 298AL, it was clear that the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros was to descend into a war of a scale not seen since the Rebellion. After a failed coup by the then Regent Lord Eddard Stark and his subsequent capture, the North rose up against the recently crowned King Joffrey, led by Lord Eddard's son Robb to free him. The Lannisters, led by Joffrey's grandfather Tywin, moved to defeat the Nothern rebels in the hotly contested Riverlands, home of Robb Stark's mother Catelyn Tully - the ensuing battles at first appeared to favour the Lannister troops, until Robb Stark's strategic victory at the Whispering Wood. With this, the Lannister troops pushed out of the Riverlands, and at the loss of the King's uncle, Jaime Lannister, as a hostage.
Meanwhile, to the south of the Capital, the King's other Uncles seem poised to take the throne from Joffrey. After Eddard Stark's revelation that Joffrey is a result of the Queen's incest with he brother, Jaime Lannister, the former King Robert's brothers Stannis and Renly Baratheon rose up in rebellion to take a throne that does not legally belong to Joffrey. Whilst Renly Baratheon has the support of the Stormlands and House Tyrell on land, Stannis Baratheon has an incredibly powerful navy at his command, along with the services of a Priestess spouting a foreign, mysterious religion. Finally, the Iron Islands under Lord Balon Greyjoy, a vassal of the Iron Throne, is poised to rebel again, and pay the "Iron Price" for their freedom.
The game begins on the eve of Lord Eddard Stark's public admission of treason and exile to the far north - a move that will potentially end Robb Stark's Northern rebellion. Whether this will go according to plan is another matter entirely.
Overview
"Seven Kingdoms, Five Kings" is a political game spanning the entirety of the Fictional Realm of Westeros, from George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, also known as the TV Series "Game of Thrones". The player can choose from any landed Lord or Lady whom has the control of an army in Westeros (with a few exceptions), as well as any of the Five Kings. Whilst a knowledge of the story is not needed, it is recommended that any player unfamiliar with the source material check out one of the many lore videos on Youtube.
The game is based around grand strategy, political moves and backstabbing schemes - ending only when all of the claims on the throne have been resolved. The majority of this game is RPed and discussed in this thread -similarly to other Game to this forum - with some behind the scenes plots, whilst Battles and other actions are decided through dice throws in Game Updates by the GM.
The political system of Westeros is based upon the Feudal system. In times of peace, the Eight major Houses of the Realm (Stark of the North, Lannister of the Westerlands, Tyrell of the Reach, Martell of Dorne, Greyjoy of the Iron Islands, Tully of the Riverlands, Arryn of the Vale, Baratheon of the Stormlands) swore fealty to the King on the Iron Throne, with Noble houses beneath the Major houses, and so forth. As a result of the War, these houses have split into separate factions, each supporting a different King.
Naturally, Oaths of Fealty are not a permanent state - whilst at the beginning of the game sides will be clearly defined, as the game goes on Player characters will begin to switch sides, either because of disputes with their "King", or for the sake of self preservation. Backstabbing, murders and general fun ensues.
What You Do
Your role in the game depends on your position in the hierarchy. The Kings attempt to battle for control of the realm and achieve their goals. For Joffrey, Renly and Stannis, that goal is eliminating the other claimants, either by forcing them to drop their claims to the throne or otherwise removing them from the picture. This in part is aided by your bannermen, the Lord that swear fealty to you. Their men bolster your armies, help you in plots and command other armies into enemy lands. You are expected to reward your Bannermen for loyalty, and to ensure discipline within your ranks. You can pass laws, make battle plans and appoint your King's council. However, you must also respect the wishes of your Vassals, both player and NPC, or face a mutiny.
Lords (and Ladies, if they fit the criteria) are the other type of player. Your main goal is to ensure your Liege achieves his goals, be it independence or the Iron Throne. You command your own army, which can either march with your King's army or act on it's own. You also can support or oppose your King's actions, as while a King is legally able to act as he pleases, he still requires your support to win. Vassals can plot against anyone, make deals independent of their Liege and switch sides - however a disloyal vassal will face suspicions from other players and possibly execution.
Players are encouraged to openly discuss policy in the thread - at the beginning of the game, the Rebellion has not truly started, and make open declarations of support and of their policy. It is assumed that all sides have spies in the other King's courts, and so can hear their declarations. However, private letters and envoys can be sent through PMs to each other, to form plots or negociate terms of defection. Hopefully, there should be an air of mistrust and suspicion for all sides.
Updates span a length of three months in-game, and happen on a semi-weekly basis (unless otherwise stated). Military orders should be PMed, as should any plots. These updates will include an summary of the military actions, a crisis that some players need to react to, and some other News. Last minute order changes or declarations are encouraged.
Dice Rolls
THESE RULES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY POINT
Three main things are dictated by dice rolls - Negotiations with NPCs, Plots and Battles.
NPC interactions have a simple dice roll - if the number is 4 or above, the result is positive whilst if it is below three it is negative. In some cases, negative is merely a "X begrudgingly agrees", since the NPC has no real option other than to agree, and vice versa. For the most part, it will be a simple Yes/No response.
Plots are any action that have a chance of failing which affect other player characters. This includes duels, assassination attempts, spying or other such scheming. All characters involved in a plot must PM me confirmation that they are taking part in a plot. For each co-conspirator, an extra dice is added to the roll. If any of the dice are a 6, the plot will succeed, but if any are a 1, the plot fails, is discovered and made public. Therefore, whilst having a large web of co-conspirators increases the chance of success, it also makes the plot far more unstable. If a character takes part in a failed plot, they cannot plot for another two updates.
Finally, there are battles. There are two rounds to the battle roles - the tactical roll and the casualty roll. The tactical roll determines who wins the battle, and the latter determines how many casualties occur.
In the tactical roll, the winner is the side with the larger number, and the difference between the numbers will dictate how significant the victory is. If, for example, one player rolls a total of 10 and the other 9, then the first player wins, however the grand strategic result will not be significant. If one rolls 10 and the second a 2, then the battle will be a huge setback for the latter player. The number of dice is defaulted at two, and for each "asset" a side has, such as a numerical advantage, castle walls, or being Tywin Lannister, a dice is added. All traits are additive, and negative traits will not result in a lower dice count.
The casualty roll is a simple roll for each side. The higher the number, the higher the amount of men lost - for the sake of preventing the Lannisters losing their entire fighting force on day one, the results of this roll is subjective ingame to the GM and related to the outcome of the earlier tactical roll.
All of these rolls will be posted in a spoiler at the end of each update, and if there are issues the rules can be subject to change. I'll try to keep the process as transparent as possible.
Characters
Any character from the ASoIaF series can be played, as long as they:
- Are a member of a Landed House in Westeros.
- Have access to troops, either sworn to them or through influence.
- Exist in the story.
This means that characters such as Catelyn, Varys and Daenerys will be NPCs. Tyrion Lannister is an exception, as he has an administrative role in Joffrey's court that is important enough to warrant being playable, as well as technically commanding the Mountain clans. The Night's Watch will be neutral, and mercenaries will be NPCs.
To pick a character, simply fill out the following form:
Name:
House:
Location:
Liege: [Only if applicable]
For example
Name: Edmure
House: Tully
Location: Riverrun, The Riverlands
Liege: Robb Stark
All that is required when claiming a character is that you vaguely know their personality and goals, and try to stick to them. Joffrey will not be a fair and kind ruler, and Stannis will not surrender the moment his troops are defeated. That doesn't mean you shouldn't deviate from their actions in the OTL, you're encouraged to, just stick within the boundaries of your character.
Finally, any character not claimed by a player will still be active as an NPC.
Final Notes
As well as the Forum Rules, here are a few other things to keep in mind:
- Do not get angry about IC decisions in OOC. If you have a problem with the IC behaviour of another player then PM me personally.
- The GM reserves the right to overrule any public decrees, plots or player action.
- Absolutely no other player characters can declare themselves a King if they are not part of the original Five Kings. Ever.
- It is recommended you tag your posts with the King's court you are in, so there is no cross-King silliness. (eg. [Balon])
- Spoilers on events past Season 2/Clash of Kings outside of clearly labelled spoiler tags is an instant ban from the game. No exceptions. ESPECIALLY that event.
- Please keep the fun of other players in mind. Nobody likes a tryhard.
Our IRC chat is here.
Type /join #SKFK_main to join the chat.
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