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Winter is Coming: House Stark Quest

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Looks safe to call the vote for Plan: War, What Is It Good For 2.0. Update will be coming soon.
Adhoc vote count started by Charcolt on Jul 31, 2017 at 1:37 PM, finished with 2107 posts and 41 votes.
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16. Aftermath
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    • With the Onion Knight at your side - representing the King's will even in this time of melancholy - you set to work. Many things had been expected, anticipated upon your victory. There was no longer a precedent for this sort of victory, not with the High Septon a likely heap of scattered ashes and the throne forged in Balerion's flames now lost to history.

    Renly had been His Grace's brother, and despite everything it seemed he had still loved him. The late Lord of Storm's End would be buried in his ancestral home. But those who followed him would not be shown such gentleness. One by one, those who had knelt to the usurper were attainted. You stripped them of their lands and titles, their ranks and holdings. Men wept and begged, but you had no more patience for those who would bring death to the realm for their greed. You and Ser Davos spent hours examining family trees, finding daughters, sisters, and nieces to wed to loyal and unlanded knights that might assume their new holdings.

    You made and unmade two dozen great houses that night.

    Among the notables were the Peakes, who had time and time again escaped the consequences of their ambition and disloyalty. No longer, for Lord Titus had died and his only son was to be exiled. So too had their immediate neighbors, the holders of Dunstonbury and Whitegrove. It was with some hidden satisfaction that you named Wendel Manderly Lord of Dunstonbury and granted him dominion over all the lands once held by their former rivals. He would wed Talla Tarly, heiress to her father after his son Dickon.

    Dickon meanwhile would wed 'Queen' Margaery. She was a lovely maid, and had won your respect by not entirely losing her composure. She had lost a brother, and would now lose all but her mother (to join her in Tarly's court until enough time had passed that an heir could not be painted as Renly's son).

    In a more peaceful life perhaps she might have been yours.

    Her cousin, Desmera Redwyne had been left Heiress to the Arbor by her brothers' death in King's Landing. The Redwynes had forsaken Renly in the end, and so Desmera would be allowed to inherit in time. You might find her a good husband from the North in time. Or perhaps she would join Myrcella as another girl you had been silly enough to save from her treasonous family's actions.

    You had seen to it that the power of the Reach was broken somewhat. The lands bordering the Crownlands were transferred directly to royal control (something that would be of great help with the treasury lost and winter on the way). A battalion of Valemen were deployed to see to it that His will was done, and that a sympathetic HIgh Septon was elected. Those lords in the Stormlands who had proven treasonous were somewhat simpler to replace. Ser Davos (Lord Davos now) had many sons.

    The Onion Lord would be remaining behind to watch over the ruins of King's Landing and to protect the survivors of the great blaze. Until the city could be rebuilt (years, certainly), Storm's End would serve as its capital. The Stormlands would be incorporated into the Crownlands, recreating the greatest extent of Argilac the Arrogant's empire. King Stannis had already sent for his wife, the Princess Shireen, his personal Maester (now the Grand Maester by his own decree) and others.

    Lastly you had seen it that Bronn was knighted. Your sellsword had gutted Loras Tyrell and felt more than proud of himself. His reward would be the hand of Brienne of Tarth, who seemed to be a more haggish Dacey Mormont. She had served Renly as one of his Rainbow Guard, but her father had remained neutral and begged clemency for his "troubled girl". Bronn would keep her out of trouble. Or she would gut him.

    Truthfully you did not know if the peace would last, if the kin and servants of the Lords you had displaced would accept their stolen titles. But you had bigger concerns. The Targaryen pretender was still out there, and it seemed he planned to win the Dornish to his side if he had not done so already. One last fight. Then you could rest.

    A Dornish army was on the move (not necessarily the Dornish army you supposed). Your schemes at Yronwood had failed and likely alienated them, but still a peace might be possible with the right terms. After all, the so-called Aegon more likely than not was an impostor using a dead boy's name and Daenerys Targaryen to legitimize his claim.

    As for the Targaryens themselves, you had no idea where they were, but you couldn't help but imagine the destruction of King's Landing and near overwhelming defeat of Renly Baratheon had forced them to reevaluate their schemes. Your thumb stroked the bottom of your chin - rough with stubble where once it had been smooth. How to win the war?

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    • Ok making peace with the dornish would be nice but what's vital is making sure the dornish do not get to join up with the targaryians and if we have to fight the dornish we need to make sure it happens in a location where we can force them into a decisive battle.
     
    Before anyone mentions it, we do still have Tywin and we did send the Mountain's head to the Martells. But the failure with the Yronwoods likely burned any inroads we built, and even giving Tywin over would only (possibly) placate Oberyn and his Sand Snakes; Doran would still be an issue we'd have to deal with politically, and having already raised his banners he's gonna need more than Tywin to placate him. And Dorne is likely raising banners for the Targaryens, so giving over Tywin is kind of a waste; Tywin's a valuable political piece, and wasting him when he serves as a good check against Kevan and Stefford Lannister would be a shame.
     
    Dark Abstraction said:
    Before anyone mentions it, we do still have Tywin and we did send the Mountain's head to the Martells. But the failure with the Yronwoods likely burned any inroads we built, and even giving Tywin over would only (possibly) placate Oberyn and his Sand Snakes; Doran would still be an issue we'd have to deal with politically, and having already raised his banners he's gonna need more than Tywin to placate him. And Dorne is likely raising banners for the Targaryens, so giving over Tywin is kind of a waste; Tywin's a valuable political piece, and wasting him when he serves as a good check against Kevan and Stefford Lannister would be a shame.
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    We can break them in the field, both armies, pretty easily.
    We can make peace by holding a blade to the neck of a dozen Dornish Lords
     
    McLuvin said:
    We can break them in the field, both armies, pretty easily.
    We can make peace by holding a blade to the neck of a dozen Dornish Lords
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    Oh for sure, yeah. Was just bringing up the point before anyone made a big deal of it.

    If the Yronwoods kept mum about Stannis offering them Dorne for their betrayal, then we might have inroads with the Martells still, but it's as likely as not that Lord Yronwood said something about it, which would have ended any possibility of legitimate peaceful resolution.

    Anyway, we can likely get a few Dornish lords to break with the Martells in the face of Renly's defeat, where before they were firm of resolve. This war's been a series of crippling political and martial defeats for those opposing Robb and Stannis, and any fewer people we have to kill means fewer soldiers of ours that have to die to end this, so it's worth looking into trying. We have Edric Dayne, for example, who said that he'd try talking to his aunt, the Lady the Daynes of Starfall. Stuff like that could be leveraged in our favor.
     
    If we're able to destroy the Targaryen host first and kill or capture F/Aegon and Dany, the Dornish won't really have a cause to fight for anymore, but if we go for the Dornish first, the Targs will fight on regardless. Just a thought.
     
    @Charcolt : We don't know the Martells have proof of our intriguing with the Yronwoods, do we? I mean, obviously there was a letter, but the Yronwoods could have burnt it before the castle was captured, no? The question I'm trying to ask is, do we have plausible deniability?

    [X] Plan: Hunter and Hunted.
    -[X] Send out the fleet in a wide inter-connected net, from the Straits of Tarth to Gulltown, trying to find the fleet that ferried the Targaryens over as well as the army itself.
    -[X] Send ravens to all the lords with coastal holdings from Tarth to Gulltown with orders to send scouts and outriders out to find the Targaryen forces, and report any sightings of it immediately.
    -[X] Send the Blackfish and our best scouts in a close interconnected net (crannogmen, natives, etc) to the area of the Bay of Crabs and Crackclaw point - they were Targaryen loyalists, and their reports might not be trusted.
    -[X] Move the army to sit on the Kingsroad north of Hayford - if Aegon's army is still in that area, we can march swiftly to meet them, and if they've headed south, we can march down the Kingsroad to meet them.
    -[X] Send Randyll Tarly orders - delay the Dornish as much as possible, while also avoiding combat as much as possible. Oberyn marched up the Stone Way, so he's most likely marching up the Stormlands to reach the Kingsroad. Order Randyll to gather a host of the Stormlands and Reach, and simultaneously attempt to open peaceful negotiations with Oberyn Martell (as a delaying tactic) - offer to meet him, feast with him, ask what his army is coming to do, have they received the heads of Clegane and Lorch, do they come to negotiate for Tywin's execution, etc. If he will not be delayed, advise Tarly to slowly retreat with his host up the Kingsroad until we order him otherwise or come meet with him, keeping a safe distance from the Dornish host so as not to be caught in a surprise attack by them. Order him to remain in constant communication with us, advising us of the position of the Dornish army at any given moment. Send Beric Dondarrion and Edric Dayne to him to aid in the negotiations (make it clear they're not hostages).
    -[X] Send ravens once more to lords with coastal holdings on the western coast, asking once more if any have seen the Iron Fleet.

    I think that covers everything?
     
    So is Bronn; just Bronn or is he now Ser Bronn [Second name here]. Still, it is cool that Bronn, is the future Lord Protector of Tarth.
     
    Temes1066 said:
    So is Bronn; just Bronn or is he now Ser Bronn [Second name here]. Still, it is cool that Bronn, is the future Lord Protector of Tarth.
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    He might take the Tarth name since he has none. It's the common custom when spare sons or bastards marry a female heir. I don't see why it would be any different here.
     
    Meneldur said:
    @Charcolt : We don't know the Martells have proof of our intriguing with the Yronwoods, do we? I mean, obviously there was a letter, but the Yronwoods could have burnt it before the castle was captured, no? The question I'm trying to ask is, do we have plausible deniability?
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    The dice say... he burned the letter. So there's no evidence that it wasn't just Yronwood trying to take advantage of the situation. It's bullshit, but it could be true!
     
    It can be argued that our attempted deal provoked the Martells.

    It's ridiculous, since they were on the move to support SOMEONE and hadn't told us...but the truth is muddled, and accusations of betrayal can go both ways.

    So if both sides are willing to swallow some bullshit of a story and spit it back out then making peace is possible. At this point the Martells wouldn't like their odds, they just need an excuse to pack up and go back to their desert.

    I'm not saying we should make peace necessarily. But it is an option. And while our numbers advantage is sizeable, if we can remove Dorne from the war without fighting all the better.

    Keep in mind the Reach may not be entirely pacified.


    We could at least try to arrange a meeting, yeah? See if terms can be reached.
     
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    spudman said:
    It can be argued that our attempted deal provoked the Martells.

    It's ridiculous, since they were on the move to support SOMEONE and hadn't told us...bit the truth is muddled.

    So if both sides are willing to swallow some bullshit of a story and spit it back out then making peace is possible. At this point the Martells wouldn't like their odds, they just need an excuse to pack up and go back to their desert.

    I'm not saying we should make peace necessarily. But it is an option. And while our numbers advantage is sizeable, if we can remove Dorne from the war without fighting all the better.

    Keep in mind the Reach may not be pacified as the update indicates.


    We could at least try to arrange a meeting, yeah?
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    Are you telling me you don't want to kill all the Dornish?
     
    We should try to turn as many Dornish lords as possible, then squash whatever remains of the Martell forces. Martells are hardcore Targ loyalists and have massive hateboners for the Baratheons. Best to get rid of them while we can, otherwise they'll inevitably cause some trouble down the line. Same with the loyalists in the Crownlands.

    Dorne already has one of the smallest armies in Westeros, and on top of that, not all of them have marched with Oberyn. If we can get enough of these lords to defect, this will be another curbstomp. We just need to make sure not to charge into Dorne. You don't defeat a Dornish army in Dorne. They'll need to come north if they want to support the Golden Company. Hit them in a strategic location in either the Reach or the Stormlands.
     
    Versharl said:
    Are you telling me you don't want to kill all the Dornish?
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    I'm cool with letting them rot in their deserts, provided they actually stay there and don't meddle elsewhere. Dealing with Dorne is like trying to neuter the Nemean Lion; it's possible and probably a good idea, but it'll be miserable to try and accomplish, and as long as it stays in Nemea and we don't go there, nothing actually has to be done about it right now.

    If they come up bearing steel and a taste for hegemony, we can deal with them then. Otherwise, why waste our time, y'know?
     
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    Perhaps we should just kill FAegon? Without him the Dornish will have no reason to march and no one to put on the Iron Throne
     
    I see little chance of victory against FAegon in battle. With dragons on his side the Targaryens have an incredible advantage in reconnaissance.

    Where's Jaqen H'ghar?
     
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