The Lonely Lioness - Cersei Lannister Quest

I have a very strong feeling that, with all the rants about how Littlefinger taught him how to play the game, Eddard Stark will dial back his "lawfulness" and just escape the convoy and go to war.
He would have a good excuse- oaths given to bastard pretender are hardly valid and he would not recognise authority of the faith of the seven, not being a follower.
I have no idea how to deal with this. Kinda wanted to ask if we could keep him in Kings Landing until we could arrange a safe naval transport, but it would just provoke Robb.

Isn't he severely wounded with an infection? I have my doubts about his ability to escape anything.

[X] Plan: The Tully Gambit
 
Isn't he severely wounded with an infection? I have my doubts about his ability to escape anything.

[X] Plan: The Tully Gambit
His leg's broken, but his fever is gone. His mind is perfectly clear.

He'll be going through Tully lands, which are effectively friendly territory for him due to Lannister raids. Wouldn't be hard for him to talk some Riverland knights into slaughtering the guards and helping him get to Winterfell.
 
His leg's broken, but his fever is gone. His mind is perfectly clear.

He'll be going through Tully lands, which are effectively friendly territory for him due to Lannister raids. Wouldn't be hard for him to talk some Riverland knights into slaughtering the guards and helping him get to Winterfell.

Slaughtering Jaime? That will be a tall order in two ways:
  1. Finding someone willing to risk all his relatives down to the tenth generation being murdered by Tywin
  2. Finding a group of people randomly wandering around the Riverlands who can take him
 
I mean, if Ned does decide not to take the Black, he can do so much easier in the North than the Riverlands.

There's certainly enough of his people over there to kill any escort.
 
Slaughtering Jaime? That will be a tall order in two ways:
  1. Finding someone willing to risk all his relatives down to the tenth generation being murdered by Tywin
  2. Finding a group of people randomly wandering around the Riverlands who can take him

Sending Jaime with convoy means not having him in Kings Landing, or at the warfront. And while he is probably the best swordsman currently in Westeros(Barristan is old, although he probably would be better in his prime) he could still be beaten by superior numbers, as seen is canon. And yes, we probably will have to sent him by land to the Wall, we hardly can give him to Stannis or Varys. Which means passing through the North, where he could just identify himself somehow to any local lord and have him massacre the convoy. Or even do the same at the wall, before he actually swears the oath. The watch could be tempted to help their biggest patron.
I also see to issues with the leading plan to sway the Tullies. First, it relies on Stark not being at war with us(very much not a guarantee), and second, wouldn't Tywin at this point already burning and massacring the riverlands? He started acting as soon as they seized Tyrion, and the ambush with the Mountain was before Robert died. With all the communication lag, it would be really strange to try and get them on our side while Tywin already besieging Riverrun, or at least attacking and killing peasants.
Edit: My mistake, haven't happened yet in the AU, didn't read the thread properly. Still, would need to send a letter to Tywin explaining the plan, and hope that he agrees, at least. And first point still stands.
 
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Gregor Clegane raiding the Riverlands still very much is a thing. Tywin just hasn't joined in so far from what you know.
 
That is correct. It is also a problem with a leading plan.
Also, as a minor nitpick, the Targaryen prince who married Jenny of Olstones was Duncan the Small. Duncan the Tall was the kingsguard.
 
Gregor Clegane raiding the Riverlands still very much is a thing. Tywin just hasn't joined in so far from what you know.
I've been refraining from going overboard with the letters, but I have been mulling over whether to include something for the Westerlands letting them know what we're doing to avoid any awkward accidents like Tywin proceeding to launch said invasion.
Also, as a minor nitpick, the Targaryen prince who married Jenny of Olstones was Duncan the Small. Duncan the Tall was the kingsguard.
Considering this is supposed to be from some rando Essosi pretender, they may well have gotten the two of them confused.
By 'pretenders' do we just mean Stannis and Renly, or are we including the Starks?
At the moment, the Starks are not in rebellion. They might decide to declare for Stannis or Renly, but having the Tullys throw in with us would impact their enthusiasm to march south for yet another succession conflict. Our current hope is that they decide to just stay neutral and focus on the new King Beyond the Wall forming a horde.
I have a very strong feeling that, with all the rants about how Littlefinger taught him how to play the game, Eddard Stark will dial back his "lawfulness" and just escape the convoy and go to war.
I'm not sure I agree. And it ultimately doesn't make that much a difference whether it's him or Robb declaring war, truth be told. Either the North will or won't join the war, but in my opinion, sticking to our deal makes it more likely we can convince the Tullys to play ball with us.
 
-[X] Letter: Write to Casterly Rock, informing Lord Paramount Tywin Lannister of the events in King's Landing, including the revelation of Tyrion's captivity in the Vale. Inform him we're working to secure the Imp's release, but to avoid further retaliation against the Tullys due to needing their allegiance against the Baratheon pretenders.

Okay, added this to the letter compendium. Ideally it'll keep Tywin in the loop and prevent further escalation of the situation in the Riverlands; we may or may not have to blame Gregor for 'overzealously interpreting our orders' but that can all be worked out later on. The original plan seems to have been to draw out and capture Eddard so he could be exchanged for Tyrion, but that was derailed after Jaime broke his leg and he was replaced by Beric Dondarrion.
 
Here's really really hoping it's 'just' Gregor and his personal war crimes band instead of Tywin blitzkreiging through the Riverlands. I'm not sure any amount of carrots would help in that scenario. From canon we see Edmure is a Lord who does actually care about the wellbeing of those under his rule, so if things have gone too far I'm not sure he's pragmatic enough to hold his nose.

[X] Plan: The Tully Gambit

Also what the actual fuck is up with that gaggle of Targ pretenders. The only slightly silver lining is that there might be enough they spend time squabbling with each other. Or their backers do. Don't see Bravos and Volantis shaking hands for colonizing Westeros.

Finally, do we think it's worth doing a general Raven spam/campaign refuting Stannis and Renlys ursurpious actiosn and ridiculous claims? I know this is vague, but I'm thinking it's really just a counter raven spam to Stannis' letters as opposed to a targeted thing. Ugh if only we knew a specific Stormlander house to work on. There's gotta be someone who is wary of Renly's "oh I'm just better btws" claim and as some nostalgia for 'Robert's' kids right?
 
-[X] Letter: Write to Casterly Rock, informing Lord Paramount Tywin Lannister of the events in King's Landing, including the revelation of Tyrion's captivity in the Vale. Inform him we're working to secure the Imp's release, but to avoid further retaliation against the Tullys due to needing their allegiance against the Baratheon pretenders.

Okay, added this to the letter compendium. Ideally it'll keep Tywin in the loop and prevent further escalation of the situation in the Riverlands; we may or may not have to blame Gregor for 'overzealously interpreting our orders' but that can all be worked out later on. The original plan seems to have been to draw out and capture Eddard so he could be exchanged for Tyrion, but that was derailed after Jaime broke his leg and he was replaced by Beric Dondarrion.

Oh dear fuck I hope Tywin listens to Cersei on this...

There is a sentence I never thought I would write. :V
 
Finally, do we think it's worth doing a general Raven spam/campaign refuting Stannis and Renlys ursurpious actiosn and ridiculous claims? I know this is vague, but I'm thinking it's really just a counter raven spam to Stannis' letters as opposed to a targeted thing. Ugh if only we knew a specific Stormlander house to work on. There's gotta be someone who is wary of Renly's "oh I'm just better btws" claim and as some nostalgia for 'Robert's' kids right?
I figure we'll get more detailed options to begin battling the Baratheon brothers next turn. Right now, it hasn't even been stated that the Reach has joined Renly, although no doubt Cersei can assume it won't be long until Loras brings his family along. As of now, our focus is on securing an immediate coalition of Joffrey's own, and we can focus on undermining our foes' next.
 
I figure we'll get more detailed options to begin battling the Baratheon brothers next turn. Right now, it hasn't even been stated that the Reach has joined Renly, although no doubt Cersei can assume it won't be long until Loras brings his family along. As of now, our focus is on securing an immediate coalition of Joffrey's own, and we can focus on undermining our foes' next.

Yeah, focusing on building a coalition does gave top priority, but letting Stannis' claim linger with no response makes me wary. I know abusing "free" letters isn't good but maybe something like:

Letter: Counter Stannis' general realm wide accusations of Joffrey's illegitimate with your own refutation. Emphasize Joffrey's new role as the annointed defender of the faith

I'm thinking we don't wanna go full tabloid by saying he's burning septas on stakes made of weirwood to a raven ABP, but maybe a claim/reminder of Joffreys standing with the Faith could help.

Of course, it may be best to just ignore the accusations as being ridiculous and ask for general help against a usurpious uncle.
 
You know being a fan of history I'm glad we put the faith as part of this game it always bothered me in game of thrones the faith didn't have more prominence from the beginning I mean yes it was crushed by the tagaryen but I think the faith in medieval times enjoyed immense influence and power. So I think that joffrey should be consecrated as pepin of the Carolingians.
In this way our force of legitimacy will not be the dragons but religion as a force to legitimize our dynasty in short marrying the faith with the monarchy will cause problems in the future of course but our dynasty desperately needs legitimacy by interlinking the faith of the 7 with our dynasty gives tremendous weight to our claim to westeros.
 
Vote will likely stay open for another day as I deal with stuff in Essos, so plenty of time to make more adjustments if you want.

And I really don't mind letter spam. There's a reason you get as many as you want. It's the most important tool to affect stuff outside Kings Landing and thus your direct reach.
 
It might be a good idea to also send a letter to Winterfell, to at least try to salvage relations with the Starks.

Tell Robb and co. what happened in advance, maybe imply we won't hold a grudge, if saying that isn't too OOC? Getting the northern half of the realm to at least not breathe down our necks would be great.
 
It might be a good idea to also send a letter to Winterfell, to at least try to salvage relations with the Starks.

Tell Robb and co. what happened in advance, maybe imply we won't hold a grudge, if saying that isn't too OOC? Getting the northern half of the realm to at least not breathe down our necks would be great.

Rob is sixteen, Catelyn is almost as inclined to hold a grudge as Cersei herself and they all have been wronged. I do not think there are any words that Cersei can put to paper which would do more good than harm. In a perfect world the person who would mend relations with the Starks would be Joffrey since he can use the excuse of still being too young and not really being involved with the whole scandal, but well in this world he's Joffrey.
 
I'd like to point out by the way that you have three unmarried / betrothed children and you should consider using that to your advantage.
 
I'd like to point out by the way that you have three unmarried / betrothed children and you should consider using that to your advantage.

The thing is I am not sure we should commit any of them right now, for one thing we do not know where everyone stands and for another the kids all have their own issues:
  1. Joffrey is a monster and also a spoiled brat, making it likely he would make a fuss or worse if we pushed him into anything
  2. Marcella is potentially the best out of the kids to actually rule so we do not want to send her to the ass end of Westeros for an alliance unless we get something very good out of it
  3. Tommen is still very young and we do not want others influencing him too soon
I'd still vote to wed basically all of them for the right incentive I'm just not willing to throw them into the dark.
 
Vote will likely stay open for another day as I deal with stuff in Essos, so plenty of time to make more adjustments if you want.
You've certainly cooked up quite the situation. A bunch of randos claiming to have Targ claims was predictable, but the degree of support they're getting from Essosi states is alarming. I guess there must be interest in potentially gaining Westerosi support for their wars?
Yeah, focusing on building a coalition does gave top priority, but letting Stannis' claim linger with no response makes me wary. I know abusing "free" letters isn't good but maybe something like:
My general plan for the incest accusations has just been to ignore them as ridiculous, which actually worked out pretty well for the Lannisters in canon. Still, I can't see any harm in working out an official party line to run with moving forward. Something something Stannis usurping infidel, something something Renly gay gay homo gay.
And I really don't mind letter spam. There's a reason you get as many as you want. It's the most important tool to affect stuff outside Kings Landing and thus your direct reach.
I see. Well, then let's get cracking. Nothing's more critical than time and image in a succession conflict - well, except for having the biggest army.
It might be a good idea to also send a letter to Winterfell, to at least try to salvage relations with the Starks.

Tell Robb and co. what happened in advance, maybe imply we won't hold a grudge, if saying that isn't too OOC? Getting the northern half of the realm to at least not breathe down our necks would be great.
I think returning Eddard and Sansa is the best thing we can do to try and prevent an army from marching south. Robb is young and angry, but Ned's clearly fucking sick of southern politics and not positively inclined toward any of the Baratheon brothers. Especially if we manage to snag a Tully alliance, I think there's a decent chance he just stays out of the war and focuses on the oncoming Wildling invasion.
Varys casually timing his shocking announcements to make Cersei spittake. I like it.
He's absolutely doing it on purpose, yeah.
I'd like to point out by the way that you have three unmarried / betrothed children and you should consider using that to your advantage.
I've been thinking about this. Canonically Cersei was really opposed to having her kids married out, but maybe that was because Tyrion was the one trying to make it happen and a Dornish betrothal was just ... a dumb idea, honestly.

Still, ideas on the table: Joffrey's just had his marriage to Sansa annulled, and a king's hand is no small thing. The Tyrell marriage just makes so much sense it's hard not to make an offer, although they may already be hitching up with Renly. Still, might as well make an offer and see what sticks. Marcella has a bunch of options: Edmure, Sweetrobin, Willas ... I'm not sure who'd be willing to bite at the moment, however. Finally, Tommen's really young, so I'd have to do some digging for a suitable bride. Maybe we could even have him warded somewhere?
Marcella is potentially the best out of the kids to actually rule
I'm gonna be real, man, it ain't happening. Our royal claim is tenuous enough, the "no-girls" rule is not getting overturned within the quest's timespan.
 
Gratuitous Letter Span Ideas

-[] Letter: Issue a mass letter to all the notable lords of the land, and give the scribes an extra silver stag for their poor fingers. Its contents will go as thus:
--Declare that Robert Baratheon is dead and his son Joffrey Baratheon has been crowned King of Westeros;
---That his scurrilous uncles have conspired with the Northerner Eddard Stark to declare Robert's children illegitimate through nonsensical, slanderous lies.
---That Stannis Baratheon has abandoned the Faith of the Seven and now cavorts with Red Priests, witches, and smugglers in his cynical grab for the Iron Throne.
---That Renly Baratheon is a lesser shade of his brother Robert and makes wild promises to bolster his lacking credentials and mask his homosexual tendencies.
---That a baker's dozen of would-be Targaryen claimants have arisen in the weakness caused by the betrayal of King Robert's will, each more ridiculous than the last.
---That the Rightful King Joffrey I calls upon all his leal vassals to raise their banners in rejection of the Apostate Pretenders and Mummer's Dragons in his power as Protector of the Realm and Defender of the Faith.

What do you all think of this as a general response to the revolt of the Baratheon Brothers?
 
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