Question about the Nights Watch/PF/WS

[Manaloth]

So I started playing my most recent game as the Starks in the bookmark before the conquest and I noticed that I had the option to send one of my sons to the Nights Watch, which I have never seen before this game, or since that generation passed, and I just recieved an event from one of my Reach Lords abdicating to his son in favor of joining the Warrior's Sons. (Long story short, I had some inbred effects popping up from having married too many of my own bannermen, so for two generations I married the other king families and one of my more ambition younger sons took the reach and then their branch died out within the next 4 gens, so I became the king of the Reach as well for those who are interested. )

So, I was kind of curious as to the context that these scenarios can happen. I've become more interested in creating an interesting history than playing to dominate the world (Like I used to pre vassal limit patch), so while I don't plan on exploiting, I have found myself interested in playing with these mechanics.

In particular, I'm interested in how, as my PC and as the top liege, can I either choose to join the Nights Watch, send my sons to the nights watch, or give up my throne in other ways than just killing my depressed characters when I feel appropriate.

I mean, I want to create scenarios where I, as an older king, get tired of ruling over a hateful kingdom and decide to retire to the wall like Mormont did in the show. Or if one of my sons is being that asshat who is just making an army of bastards while I'm playing as a religious king, I can send him to the wall to disinherit him.

I don't normally play as any southron house outside of the Targaryens, so the Warrior's Sons is a less important faction to me, both lore wise and game play wise (As they're disbanded in most cases), but I think it couldn't hurt to figure out how to enter this group as well.

 

[blackninja9939]

Sending sons to the NW is a unique Stark decisions. You cannot abdicate like Mormont did.

 

[Manaloth]

still though, how does one get that option? I've only seen it in that initial stark generation, and only when I started the game in the bloody years bookmark.

 

[TMSaxon]

I believe that you have to have an adult son who is not married/betrothed to anyone, and who doesn't hold any titles. Aside from that, I'm not sure.
Also, I do think that it is an odd thing that old lords with an adult son cannot abdicate to the Night's Watch, especially in the North - there seems to have been a tradition of doing so, with Jeor Mormont having definitely done so. It definitely fits the idea of the one last hunt that the Northmen have - going on a hunt in winter so that the younger generations will have more food. Of course, it could also be limited so that only men who are not married/betrothed can do so, and only if they are over 50 (or maybe 60?).

 

[blackninja9939]

I believe that you have to have an adult son who is not married/betrothed to anyone, and who doesn't hold any titles. Aside from that, I'm not sure.
Also, I do think that it is an odd thing that old lords with an adult son cannot abdicate to the Night's Watch, especially in the North - there seems to have been a tradition of doing so, with Jeor Mormont having definitely done so. It definitely fits the idea of the one last hunt that the Northmen have - going on a hunt in winter so that the younger generations will have more food. Of course, it could also be limited so that only men who are not married/betrothed can do so, and only if they are over 50 (or maybe 60?).

Because it defeats the purpose of managing a dynasty if you can just abdicate

 

[TMSaxon]

Because it defeats the purpose of managing a dynasty if you can just abdicate

If you wanted to, you could kill your character in any number of ways. It isn't as reliable, but it is still doable. Further, if you wanted to run that argument into the ground, having the option, especially in limited circumstances, to abdicate is functionally not going to change much - at best, it means that you'll be playing a new character a decade or two earlier at the most, which changes little to nothing really.
And I'd disagree that the game is purely a dynasty management simulator - it is also very heavily an RPG, hence why most people role play. Adding in an abdication option increases the possibilities to role play, whilst also adding in more lore stuff, and not truly changing the functionality of the game.

 

[blackninja9939]

Game play > Lore sometimes has to take priority

 

[Manaloth]

Game play > Lore sometimes has to take priority

Yea, but the LOTR mod doesn't lose any game play by allowing abdication under certain scenarios. I mean, if you're saying that being able to abdicate under certain circumstances sacrifices game play, then so does being able to commit suicide.

I mean, this certainly seems like a lore heavy mod and there's clearly an event like that in the game, as I mentioned seeing one of my reach lords give up his wife and lands to serve the warrior's sons at 37.

I'm not one to demand things of my mods, but I, and a few others it seems, feel like it would be nice to be able to "retire" some of our older kings/lords. I mean, if I'm going to be honest with you, it would fix the issue I seem to have, where I end up skipping 2/3 generations at a time sometimes.

I feel like there's less variety when I have kings that survive between the ages of 59-80, to lose their first born sons between the ages of 38-52 to play as your grand children. I don't know about you guys, but in the thousands of hours I've sank into this mod I've had that scenario play out time after time. Where I have an old grandfather pass on his lands to a toddler, who then becomes the grandfather who loses his first son to pass on to his grandson.

It would add more gameplay variety to be able to have, let's say, a 55 year old, depressed shy arbitrary widow who is well aware of how much his subjects hate him be able to leave his throne in favor of his prefered heir, who may or may not be more liked than his father.

 

[Ed Mike]

Abdicating to take the black would DEFINITELY be lore friendly. Specially for a Northern lord, but I can even see it happening for other lords, since I've seen more southern noble houses than non-Stark norther identifiable ones being mentioned amongs the garrisons on the books. All just knights, but in my mind that opens a precedent.
As long as you have restrictions to joining the Watch, like you can't be blind/imbecile/incapable etc, it won't be an exploit to get rid of undesireables but a roleplaying choice. And given you can't have a High Septon from your dynasty in AGoT, hoping for a Lord Commander is the next best thing.