How to Win the War for Stannis? - A Feast for Crows Start

[Ted101]

I am having a difficult time trying to get the Iron Throne for Stannis at the Feast for Crows Bookmark.

The Westerlands and the Reach always join Tommen, and to make things more difficult, Dorne usually joins either Tommen or Aegon. I cannot marry Shireen to anyone from Dorne, the Vale, or the Iron Isles because we are a foreign religion, so I cannot seem to forge an alliance.

Winning the war for the North is a must, but from my playthroughs, it has only been possible if Jon accepts Stannis's offer, which rarely happens. Even if the war for the North is won, sometimes Jon sends troops to fight the White Walkers, so he is of no help in those cases.

Stannis does get the option for 10,000 mercenaries and 500 gold from the Iron Bank, but the gold is not enough to hire a significant amount of additional mercenaries.

The 10,000 troops help as they put Stannis's army at around 14,000 men, but even when combined with the North's entire army (Although sometimes not even with the North's army as I have stated above), they are no mach for the 40,000+ armies of the Reach and Westerlands, which is even larger when Dorne sides with them.

The farthest I have gotten is bringing Stannis's and the North's army to King's Landing because I figure if I imprison Tommen the war will automatically be won by Stannis. But in the couple of times I have gotten this far, the enemy armies just crush us while we are trying to seige King's Landing.

(TL;DR) Does anyone have any tips or suggestions on how to win the Iron Throne for Stannis at the Feast for Crows Bookmark?

 

[Rifal]

(TL;DR) Does anyone have any tips or suggestions on how to win the Iron Throne for Stannis at the Feast for Crows Bookmark?

Nope, Stannis loses.

 

[DorlasAnther]

http://citadel.prophpbb.com/topic10139.html

This sub-mod is compatible with 1.0 and allows you to marry people of all religions (just like in story of ASoIaF, where Targaryens normally married or considered marriages to people from Free Cities). So, you can get alliance with Vale or Dorne through Shireen.

Also, about Stannis being almost always doomed to lose: That´s how it actually is in FFC/DwD. He had 1500 troops, no holdings besides Dragonstone and Storm´s End and if we are to believe the show, he actually lost battle with Boltons. It should be really hard to win as him.

 

[bozzzyn]

http://citadel.prophpbb.com/topic10139.html

This sub-mod is compatible with 1.0 and allows you to marry people of all religions (just like in story of ASoIaF, where Targaryens normally married or considered marriages to people from Free Cities). So, you can get alliance with Vale or Dorne through Shireen.

Also, about Stannis being almost always doomed to lose: That´s how it actually is in FFC/DwD. He had 1500 troops, no holdings besides Dragonstone and Storm´s End and if we are to believe the show, he actually lost battle with Boltons. It should be really hard to win as him.

Even with this sub-mod, in my experience the Vale or Dorne will still refuse to help you in the war if you ask them directly because of the malus of not helping you against fellow believers. However you can still perform marriages and get an alliance, and hope that they do not join the war on the opposing side.

 

[DorlasAnther]

Even with this sub-mod, in my experience the Vale or Dorne will still refuse to help you in the war if you ask them directly because of the malus of not helping you against fellow believers. However you can still perform marriages and get an alliance, and hope that they do not join the war on the opposing side.

Well, I never play as Stannis and I usually only use people of different religion when I need to preserve Valyrian looks (you are Targaryen, your heir needs bride, but Velaryons have black hair for 2 generations already...let´s go to Lys then) or when I can have multiple wives and I need gold...but I think that whole "enemy of the Faith" thing is removed, so it is all about their opinion about you (and unfortunately, Stannis is quite crappy character for that) and your enemies.

 

[Ted101]

Well it seems getting the sub-mod for marriages is my only hope. I have tried marrying into Pentos and Myr because they are the same religion as Stannis, but they are fighting their own wars at the Feast for Crows start, so they do not really help much.

I just wish there were another way. Getting the sub-mod feels a bit like cheating.

 

[SgtSmuckers]

Seeing as you have a smaller force, a war of attrition and hit and runs with ships would most likely help before you run your coffers dry. The sub-mod should alleviate some pain of the troubles, but its seems multiple trys and luck will eventually see you through. A few well placed assassinations could also be useful.
I think I'll go try that scenario out

 

[Ted101]

Seeing as you have a smaller force, a war of attrition and hit and runs with ships would most likely help before you run your coffers dry. The sub-mod should alleviate some pain of the troubles, but its seems multiple trys and luck will eventually see you through. A few well placed assassinations could also be useful.
I think I'll go try that scenario out

Let me know how that goes for you, if you don't mind.

 

[TheAnguishedOne]

Speaking of assassinations, don't forget those shadow babies Stannis can use. Tommen's early demise will severe the alliance with the Reach, and Aegon's war ends with him.

 

[Ted101]

Speaking of assassinations, don't forget those shadow babies Stannis can use. Tommen's early demise will severe the alliance with the Reach, and Aegon's war ends with him.

I have never seen an option to use that

 

[bozzzyn]

Shadow baby is an event actually. I think it triggers some time after you start an assassination plot and you have a female red priest as your high priest. Then you get an option to kill the target with the shadow baby at the cost of some of your health.

 

[bozzzyn]

I haven't tried playing Stannis in Feast for Crows yet, but here's what I did as Stannis at the Clash of Kings bookmark (after countless reloads and with the marry anyone submod):
[SPOILERS, possibly]
1. I actually started on 1st March 8299 (2 days before the bookmark). This is when Renly was still alive.
2. After Renly is killed, immediately divorce Selyse and marry Margaery. This can keep the Reach out of the war.
3. Wait till the Lannister armies go north to fight Robb, then send Stannis' army to besiege King's Landing.
4. Hope you catch Joffrey once the siege is won.

If you would rather not do that, then maybe you can plot to kidnap Joffrey and hope for the best. It usually has a high plot power but in my experience has never fired quick enough.

 

[SgtSmuckers]

Mah lord I was plowing through as Stennis the menace in FFC start, using the hit and run tactic (in this case ship and run). Jon had joined me and I easily took the north, then got the iron bank event. Yay more troops. I was in the process of smashing little armies with a 12k stack when i was caught unawares by a 13k stack. I fortunately defeated it with minimal losses and thinking I could manage a Reach stack since Jon was just over one county, BUT NO Jon Snu went and failed me! He had over 20k troops in Duskendale and countys near it when that bastard decided to go North and fight some faffing walkers. I tried escaping to my ships before I was about to be obliterated by a Reach doomstack, but alas I was too late. It pretty much ended there even though I escaped with 5k. I eventually lost and was imprisoned and wanting to end with a bang, I demanded trial by combat. Unfortunately the thing once called the Mountain was my opponent. I had quite the few rhllor points from all the burings i did on captured enemies and it wasn't until the 6th time I died that it was permanent. I saved right before all this calamity befell me, so better luck next time.

In a very star wars fashion, as Shireen I shall vow to my father to "finish what you started". First and foremost by sleeping with every lord to regain lost favor and making sure myrcella (shadow babied toman) does not have a child so I inherit.

Very difficult play and I will squeeze every ounce of satisfaction from this when I win it

 

[Dimension3500]

It's hard, but winnable if you play your cards right.

 

[Wandering Sentinel]

My advice would be to start a year or two prior to the Feast for Crows start and "prime" the situation in classic CKII fashion: disrupt relations between the LPs and the IT while working to improve relations between the LPs and Stannis (you). When you decide to start the action, any LPs that like you more than they like the IT should either declare for you or remain neutral. If you can get even one of the two LPs that are causing you problems (Reach and Westerlands) to remain neutral or declare for you, it'll make things much easier... Unless I don't understand something about the Megawar mechanics.

 

[SgtSmuckers]

My advice would be to start a year or two prior to the Feast for Crows start and "prime" the situation in classic CKII fashion: disrupt relations between the LPs and the IT while working to improve relations between the LPs and Stannis (you). When you decide to start the action, any LPs that like you more than they like the IT should either declare for you or remain neutral. If you can get even one of the two LPs that are causing you problems (Reach and Westerlands) to remain neutral or declare for you, it'll make things much easier... Unless I don't understand something about the Megawar mechanics.

But that kind of defeats the purpose of playing as Stannis on that start date. Really it just boils down to can you capture the little bugger in time before you lose the Stormlands to Aegon and get doom stacked by the combined might of the Iron Throne. I think you can with enough finesse, and more importantly, randomly generated luck. I've seen the AI do it before at the FFC start and whatever they can do we can do better.

 

[Lapsed Pacifist]

Honestly, all you need are around 20k+ troops (hopefully with Northern help), get them to King's Landing, and storm the castle before the Lannister-Tyrell doomstacks arrive. With any luck Tommen is being tutored there and you can easily capture him.

If Tommen isn't there, it's time to restart.

 

[MyFaceBurns]

Just gave it a try and managed it (with a lot of save-scumming). I think the trick was that I got lucky in that Jon Snow didn't accept my offer to become Lord of Winterfell and I surrendered to Aegon immediately so my primary title was duchy-level (Dragonstone) and not kingdom-level (Stormlands). This meant after I defeated the Boltons I personally became Lord Paramount of the North, and for some reason everyone's county-level vassals became direct vassals to me instead of vassals to their respective 'dukes.' This meant that I could give back the 'counts' to their proper lieges and thus I ended up with most of my vassals in the North loving me. The ones who didn't were the minor clansmen lords and the minor lords in Skagos, so I transferred vassalage of them to nearby lords as well. The fact everyone apart from my Dragonstone vassals now loved me (and even they liked me a bit thanks to gratuitous honorary titles) meant I could easily pass the highest feudal levies law and it was about this time I got the 10,000 event-spawned troops and the 500 gold. I had gotten a lot of gold already from imprisoning vassals of vassals (which I had a lot of due to all the transferring of vassals) who I had caught plotting and ransoming them and by ransoming people I had captured in battle as well. I used my riches to hire lots of mercenaries, which in addition to the event-spawned troops and my vast levies meant that I was able to field about 36,500 men, not counting allies' troops. I just marched them down to King's Landing and besieged it at that point; the enemies didn't have enough men to oppose me effectively, especially considering I had at least a dozen lords from all over Westeros who had decided to help me. After I had captured King's Landing I found and imprisoned Tommen and that was that. A bit more resistance from Lancel and Cersei along with a few less powerful lords but nothing major.

 

[Unclejimbo]

I did it once by shadow-babying Myrcella then using the Faceless men to get Tommen. After that holding the throne is even harder.

 

[ninoallen]

Mah lord I was plowing through as Stennis the menace in FFC start, using the hit and run tactic (in this case ship and run). Jon had joined me and I easily took the north, then got the iron bank event. Yay more troops. I was in the process of smashing little armies with a 12k stack when i was caught unawares by a 13k stack. I fortunately defeated it with minimal losses and thinking I could manage a Reach stack since Jon was just over one county, BUT NO Jon Snu went and failed me! He had over 20k troops in Duskendale and countys near it when that bastard decided to go North and fight some faffing walkers. I tried escaping to my ships before I was about to be obliterated by a Reach doomstack, but alas I was too late. It pretty much ended there even though I escaped with 5k. I eventually lost and was imprisoned and wanting to end with a bang, I demanded trial by combat. Unfortunately the thing once called the Mountain was my opponent. I had quite the few rhllor points from all the burings i did on captured enemies and it wasn't until the 6th time I died that it was permanent. I saved right before all this calamity befell me, so better luck next time.

In a very star wars fashion, as Shireen I shall vow to my father to "finish what you started". First and foremost by sleeping with every lord to regain lost favor and making sure myrcella (shadow babied toman) does not have a child so I inherit.

Very difficult play and I will squeeze every ounce of satisfaction from this when I win it

please tell me more of this epic story !!!
revenge, death, disappointment, it has it all