A Treasury Quest

As big as a licence as it is, since it was first published in 2009, Green Ronin Publishing’s A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying has only been intermittently supported. This is not to say that these supplements are poor, the A Song of Ice and Fire Chronicle Starter being particularly useful and the A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: Night's Watch being an excellent sourcebook as well as the winner of the 2013 Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Supplement. Now what A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying lacked was a campaign, but as of 2016, that all changed with the publication of Dragon’s Hoard – A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying Adventure.

Dragon’s Hoard – A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying Adventure is a five-part campaign that delves deep into the secrets and events of the fall of House Targaryen in the wake of Robert’s Rebellion. It presents the player characters’ house with a great quest and the chance to better itself in a great many ways, to express its allegiance to House Baratheon or House Targaryen (or hide it in the case of the latter), and to forge great secrets of its own, if not great alliances in readiness for the tumult that is to come. It built on the fact—as detailed in A Game of Thrones—that by the time Ned Stark is appointed the Hand of the King late in the reign of Robert Baratheon, the treasury of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros is all but empty. The question is, did King Robert squander the wealth of Aerys II Targaryen or did something else happen to the contents of the treasury immediately after the events of the War of the Usurper? In Dragon’s Hoard, it did, and confirming is only part of the campaign.

Dragon’s Hoard requires a little set-up before the campaign can begin play. Primarily this involves weaving some NPCs into the backstory of the player characters’ Home House, one of the feudal lineages of the Seven Kingdoms who owe fealty to one of the great houses and thus to the king. The Home House should consist of a wide range of character types, capable of handling both intrigue and combat, but ideally should include a Maester who can unravel some of the clues that can found during the course of the campaign. The Home House can be one of the players’ devising using the rules given in the A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying core book or perhaps one of the six given in A Song of Ice and Fire Chronicle Starter. Indeed, the Home House could forge the beginnings of its legend in the events of A Song of Ice and Fire Chronicle Starter and then undertake a greater chronicle in Dragon’s Hoard. Much of this backstory consists of events taking place during the player characters’ childhoods or younger years which are handled in a flashback in the opening pages of the campaign.

The campaign opens with the Home House welcoming guests, a party of recruits for the Night’s Watch headed for the Wall. One of their number, a young bastard by the name of Aeron Waters, is a reluctant recruit and offers his hosts a great boon for aid that the house rendered his father, who it turns out, was the Red Cofferer, treasurer and friend to Aerys II Targaryen. In return for his freedom, he tells of how his father spirited away the bulk of the Mad King’s treasury for a time when the Targaryen lineage could be restored and he gives clues as to how the player characters might be able to track further clues to the hoard’s location. Getting to both is anything but simple. There is of course the matter of freeing Aeron Waters from the Night’s Watch, but beyond that there is the matter of a minor house such as that of the player characters acting in a clandestine fashion, having to travel the length of Westeros and more, visit the lands of other houses, and more, and all that without alerting their liege lord and the king, let alone other houses. Notably though, one other house has learned of the existence of the Dragon’s Hoard and will do anything to get hold of Aeron Waters and his information. This includes attacking the Home House, which sets up the attacking house as the Home House’s new enemy number one. 

Over the course of the quest, the members of the Home House will attend a tourney, consult libraries, travel across the Narrow Sea to Braavos, engage in duels with both the sword and the tongue, treat with a courtesan, deal with pirates, delve into what is about as close as you can get to a dungeon a la Dungeons & Dragons in A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying, and more. There is even the chance to encounter some of the signature figures from the fiction! By the end of the Dragon’s Hoard the Home House should at least be wealthy, have gained glory and improved its standing, defeated an enemy, possibly gained an ally or two, and declared their allegiance, one way or another to the Targaryens.

Achieving all of this is no mean feat. This is a challenging campaign with a lot of clues to uncover and keep track of—ideally the players should be taking notes as they go. In comparison to the average fantasy campaign, Dragon’s Hoard involves a lot of social interaction and makes extensive use of the roleplaying game’s Intrigue mechanics. What this illustrates is that A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying—just like the source novels—is much more about the social interaction and the intrigue than it is about combat, though that of course, has its place. In fact, the authors in Dragon’s Hoard do make the point that neither the players nor the Home House need to play by any code of conduct. They can be as self-serving as a Lannister or as honourable as a Stark.

The campaign is also challenging for the Game Master to run, again because of the number and complexity of the clues. The design of the campaign helps alleviate this, breaking down each chapter of the campaign into multiple scenes and then guiding the Game Master as to their running order and how that changes depending upon the actions of the players and their Home House. Along the way, the Game Master has a big cast to portray, from the highs of society to the lows.

Physically, Dragon’s Hoard is a sturdy hardback, liberally illustrated with full colour artwork and cartography. The book does need another edit and in places the writing feels rushed. If perhaps there is anything missing it is some handouts for the various clues, many of which are in written form. What it also significantly adds to the A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying canon is the city of Braavos, with enough background material being given that the Game Master could take his A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying game there again.

Dragon’s Hoard – A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying Adventure delivers just about everything you would want in A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying campaign. It provides the players and their characters with the opportunity to improve the standing of their Home House; with enemies and challenges to overcome or at least counter; and with the chance to meet some of the canonical figures from the fiction, to delve into some of the secrets of Westeros, and to build their own legends. After, Dragon’s Hoard – A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying Adventure the players and their characters might be just about ready to step onto a larger stage, but will have to wait until a possible sequel.

Crow's Black Agents

Things have been very quiet for over the last two years for A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying, the RPG based on the fantasy works of George R.R. Martin published by Green Ronin Publishing. Indeed there have been two whole series of the television adaptation, A Game of Thrones, broadcast since the release of the last supplement, A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: Night's Watch, back in 2012. This being the last supplement to be released—though more have been promised, including a full adventure, Dragon’s Hoard—is not its only distinction. One is that A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: Night's Watch won the 2013 Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Supplement, whilst another is that the supplement is the first to take A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying into the unknown and beyond the lands of the Seven Kingdoms.

A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: Night's Watch can roughly be divided in half, each half devoted to a campaigns equally divided by the Wall, the gigantic structure of ice, stone, and ancient magic that separates the warm lands of lords and kings of Westeros to the south from the frozen and brutal wilderness to the north. the Wall protects the Seven Kingdoms from ancient dangers—many considered to be no more than the stuff of legend—and the Wildlings, the free folk who kneel to no king and constantly work to bypass or ascend the Wall to raid lands beyond. the Wall is constantly manned by the men of the Night’s Watch, thieves, murderers, and members of the nobility who have forsworn their previous lives and pledged their loyalty to the only independent military force in Westeros. On the other side of the Wall the many tribes of the Wildlings live independently, surviving off the land, feuding with each other, but always with an eye to the rich, warmer lands to the south—if they can find a way past the Wall.

Both of the campaign options suggested in Night’s Watch are markedly different to the default given in A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying, although the same mechanics are used. That default involves the player characters creating their own noble house and its leading members and attempting to navigate its and their military and political fortunes in the ‘Game of Thrones’ that dominates Westeros as best typified by A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying Chronicle Starter—and of course, both the novels and the television series. When they ‘Take the Black’, whether low born or high born, the player characters will forget their pasts and former ties and pledge their allegiance and loyalty to the Night’s Watch—for life. Having done so, they will become Rangers who regularly guard the Wall and conduct missions to the north known as ‘Rangings’; Builders who patrol the Wall and the castles along it, making repairs and maintaining the structure of both; or Stewards, who keep the Night’s Watch organised and supplied. By the reign of Robert Baratheon, these tasks have become increasingly difficult as the stories of the dangers from other side of the Wall have become legends rather than history and the Night’s Watch has become more of a dumping ground for criminals, ne’er do wells, and those nobles who have lost in the constant feuding to the south than a duty to be fulfilled. This does not mean that the men of the Night’s Watch do not hold their duty and their oath to be unimportant, as after all, they face execution should they desert the Wall. Nevertheless, as their numbers and the number of castles on the Wall fully manned dwindle, only they suspect the growing threat as Winter draws near and Mance Rayder is said to have united all of the tribes of the Wildings as the King-Beyond-the Wall.

Creating a character for a Night’s Watch campaign uses the standard rules from A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying, but where a player character would usually select a House and a Bloodline, here the Night’s Watch replaces both. Characters will also lack the Status they once had in the Seven Kingdoms. Whatever their role in the Night’s Watch, a character also starts with one less Destiny point with which to purchase Benefits, but in its stead starts with the Brother of the Night’s Watch, which comes with three options, one per branch of the Night’s Watch. In addition to Brother of the Night’s Watch, the supplement introduces a number of new Benefits and Drawbacks, such as Defensive Engineer, Favoured of Wildlings, Convict, and Kneeler. There is still room for the various Roles in A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying—Expert, Fighter, Leader, Rogue, and Schemer—but they do not figure quite as prominently as they do in a standard A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying Game. Certainly the Night’s Watch is intolerant of active thieves and there is less scope for a Schemer to intrigue, though rivalries between castles of the Wall are not unknown. 

Our sample character is Endrew Waters. He can barely remember his mother, but he recalls her death and he recalls that on her deathbed, she drew a promise from the local septon that her son would be accepted as a novice of the Faith of the Seven. Orphaned, he began training as a novice, but he found another calling—entertaining. Endrew ran away to join an acting troupe and for over a decade he travelled the Seven Kingdoms, performing before audiences both low born and high born. Two years he performed before House Bracken in the Riverlands and struck up a friendship with the heir that blossomed into an affair. This lasted a few months during which Endrew became a favourite in the Bracken Household, but it was brought to an end when the heir’s mother came to him and told him to leave. Her son she said, was besotted with Endrew and she knew him well enough that he would never consent to marriage and children if Endrew did not leave—and if there was any possibility that Endrew might return, she knew her son might follow him. She gave him a choice… Hunted down like a deer in the woods or the Night’s Watch. Endrew left for the Wall the following morning.

Endrew is a reluctant member of the Night’s Watch. He hates fighting and he hates the cold. He is beginning to find a place with his ability to entertain, but his primary duties involve the repair of other brothers’ clothing and equipment.

Endrew Waters (Adult Schemer)
Agility 3, Animal Handling 2, Athletics 3, Awareness 3 (Empathy 1B), Cunning 3 (Memory 1B), Deception 4 (Bluff 1B), Endurance 3, Fighting 3 (Long Blades 1B), Healing 3, Knowledge 4 (Education 1B), Language 3 (Common, High Valyrian, Valyrian), Marksmanship 2, Persuasion 5 (Charm 1B, Seduce 1B), Status 1 (Steward 1B), Stealth 2, Survival 2, Thievery 3, Warfare 2, Will 3

Social Background: Lowborn
Background Event: You had an affair with a member of the nobility
Reason for Taking the Black: You are avoiding a scandal
Reasons for Desertion: You cannot tolerate callous cruelty
Goal: Fame Motivation: Love Virtue: Devoted Vice: Cowardly
Qualities: Destiny Points 1, Brother of the Night’s Watch (Steward), Charismatic (Charm +2), Mummer, Trade (Tailor)
Attributes
Awareness 3
Intrigue Defence 7 / Composure 9
Move 4 (3) / Sprint 16 (14)
Combat Defence 8 (10 with shield) / Armour Rating 4 / Health 9
Attack Longsword 3+1B (3 damage)
Attack Shield 3 (1 damage; defensive +2)
Personal Gear: Longsword, Ring Mail, Medium Shield, Warm Clothing, Black Cloak

Night’s Watch campaigns primarily involve guarding the Wall, but there are plenty of other options for adventures and campaigns. There are Rangings north of the Wall, tracking down Wildlings who have made it into the Gift—the lands immediately south of the Wall, racing after a deserter before he can get too far and there is reason enough for him to be executed, and travelling south to petition for more money and men for the Wall. Most of these will involve the player characters serving at one of the few castles stilled manned, most likely Castle Black, but another option given sees the player characters being given a command of their own and assigned to castle. During the reign of Robert Baratheon, this is likely to be one of the many abandoned castles along the Wall, but during an earlier period of the eight thousand history of the Wall, it might be a new castle. Restoring and managing a castle is the equivalent of running a house in a standard A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying campaign, except that it is more challenging, the upkeep is harder, and the player characters are not trying to promulgate their family by creating an heir…

Now there is one very obvious issue with a Night’s Watch campaign. Despite its egalitarian leanings in that all men are more or less equal amongst the Night’s Watch and most positions of authority are held on merit, it does lack female roles. Now there is no reason why they cannot be included should the GM allow them in his game, but the presence of women amongst the Night’s Watch, which is after all, a brotherhood, is neither canon to the novels or the television series. This may well be an issue in some campaigns, but not if the GM takes his campaign north of the Wall and sets it amongst the Wildlings.

The life of a Wildling—Wildling being the derogatory term used by the peoples of Westeros for those who live north of the Wall—is quite possibly nasty, brutal, and short, but it is free. Unlike the soft men of the south, a Wildling does not kneel. For he is a member of the Free Folk. Further, a Wildling must be able to survive and contribute to his tribe, hunting for food and resources, protecting the tribe and keeping it strong. Raids on rival tribes are common—more common than raids south of the Wall—and whilst most of these will be for food and other resources, it is common practice for men of a tribe to raid another for wives. Most women of the Free Folk, known as Spearwives, are as tough as the men. Most tribes are nomadic, but some have formed permanent settlements around important resources. Their technology is roughly that of the Stone Age, primarily making use of wood, bone, and stone, though some tribes have the means to make bronze and most tribes make use of arms and armour that they can take from the Night’s Watch or trade with merchants from across the sea in Essos.

Like creating a member of the Night’s Watch, creating a member of the Free Folk uses the standard rules in A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying. Similarly, the various Roles—Expert, Fighter, Leader, Rogue, and Schemer—exist, but those of Fighter, Leader, and Rogue tend to dominate. Where a brother of the Night’s Watch replaces his House and Bloodline with the Night’s Watch, a Wildling replaces them with Tribe and Lands. Like the Night’s Watch, the Free Folk also place a similar lack of value upon Status as well as a lack of value on Knowledge and both are likely to start at lower values. They also have access to a host of new Benefits. Many of these relate to a particular tribe, like ‘Born of the Thenn Tribes’ or ‘Born of the Nightrunners’, but others include ‘Giant Friend’, ‘Spearwife’, and ‘Winter-Touched’. It should also be noted that the Free Folk possess a greater awareness of the old ways and Greensight, Skinchanger, Warg, and Warg Dreams are far common than they are in the south.

Our sample character is Tsersi, though not born of the Ice Wives was found and raised by them. She has worked hard to be as good as any natural-born Ice Wife, but in her heart she she does not quite feel one of them. Thus she strives to be better whilst being tolerant of her fellow tribe members, but known to be intolerant, if not outright cruel to outsiders.

Tsersi (Young Adult Fighter)
Agility 3, Animal Handling 4 (Ride 1B, Train 1B), Athletics 3, Awareness 3, Cunning 3, Deception 2 , Endurance 4 (Stamina 1B), Fighting 4 (Spears 1B), Healing 2, Knowledge 1, Language 2 (Common, Old Tongue), Marksmanship 2, Persuasion 3, Status 1 , Stealth 3, Survival 4 (Hunt 1B), Thievery 2, Warfare 3, Will 4 (Dedication 1B)
Social Background: Free Folk
Background Event: Stolen from another tribe 
Goal: Security Motivation: Excellence Virtue: Magnanimous Vice: Cruel
Qualities: Destiny Points 2, Animal Cohort, Blood of the Wildlings, Born of the Ice Wives
Attributes
Awareness 3
Intrigue Defence 7 / Composure 12
Move 4 (3) / Sprint 16 (14)
Combat Defence 9 / Armour Rating 4 / Health 12
Attack Spear 3+1B (3 damage)
Personal Gear: Spear, Furs, Warm Clothing, Black Cloak, Bear

Multiple tribes are described, from the Cannibal Clans of the Ice River and the Cave Dweller Clans to the Ice Wives and the Walrus Men. All of these tribes are available to play in a Night’s Watch campaign and part of playing a Wildling campaign will typically involve the players creating and directing the fate of their characters’ tribe. This is more of a requirement than it is in a campaign where the player characters are sworn brothers of the Night’s Watch, where creating and running a castle is just an option, and is much like the requirement in a standard A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying campaign for the players to create their characters’ noble house. Like a castle on the Wall, the lands of a Wildling tribe will have access to fewer resources and have a hard time surviving, but depending on the tribe may be able to field a number of new military units, including Bear Riders, Dog Runners, Giants, and Mammoth Riders.

Being descended from the First Men, the Wildlings not only have more legends about the Others, the creatures of extreme cold from the far north, they also know them to be real rather than mere legends as the men of the south believe. A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: Night’s Watch not only details these legends, it also gives stats and write-ups for many of these inhuman creatures. This includes the infamous King of Winter and the White Lady—the lesser, though no less dangerous White Walkers and Wights, being described in the core rules for A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying—and it is here that Night’s Watch departs from canon. The authors explain that their new material is based upon what details are given in the books and to not include more information about the Others would have been a missed opportunity. To be honest this material is likely to be used rarely in a GM’s campaign and even then, not used directly, but rather to hint at the threat coming from the north as part of build towards a final confrontation.

As well as the detailed descriptions of the Gift, the Wall and it castles, and the lands beyond the Wall, various notables from the source material are given full write-ups. North of the Wall, these include Mance Rayder and his lieutenants, such as Tormund Giantsbane, Alfyn Crowkiller, Harma the Dogshead, and Lord o’Bones; on the Wall itself, they include Small Paul, Cotter Pyke, and Ser Denys Mallister. A notable and pleasing inclusion is that of Dolorous Edd Tollet, a fan favourite character. Notable absences include Ser Jeor Mormont and Maester Aemon. Lastly, supporting each of the book’s three sections—on the Night’s Watch, the Wildlings, and the Others, Night’s Watch gives over thirty adventure seeds and stories. These include a set of five adventure seeds for each branch of the Night’s Watch; eight fully detailed story hooks for Rangings; and another seven for the Wildlings and six involving the Others. All of these are excellent scenario ideas and nicely illustrate many of the ideas discussed elsewhere in the book. In particular there is one scenario hook where a Ranging comes across what looks to be an orphaned Wildling. This is a simple enough idea, but the authors then turn round and present the situation from the Wildlings’ point of view as a separate scenario, essentially abling a group of players to play through it twice, but each time with a different approach.

Of course, the obvious way in which to use the Night’s Watch sourcebook is as setting supplement to run campaigns either involving the men of the Night’s Watch or the Wildlings. The supplement offers plenty of scope and ideas for both options, but this does not mean that the two cannot interact. Plenty of members of the Night’s Watch have deserted and fled north to live amongst the Free Folk, whilst the Night’s Watch does take in Wildlings orphans and raise them to serve on the Wall. After all, Mance Rayder, the King-Beyond-the-Wall, was both, a Wildling foundling adopted by the Night’s Watch who later deserted. Further, the supplement could be used to create characters from beyond the Wall who now live south of it, such as Osha, who is a member of the Stark household.

Physically, Night’s Watch maintains the standards set for the A Game of Ice and Fire Roleplaying line. The writing is excellent, the artwork good, and the book is well presented.

Taking A Game of Ice and Fire Roleplaying campaign to the Wall and beyond frees it from the constraints of a standard A Game of Ice and Fire Roleplaying campaign and its focus upon the player characters’ noble house and its and their future. There are still constraints, in particular the oath sworn by the brothers of the Night’s Watch, but the focus in a game set on the Wall and beyond is more on survival and fighting rather than intrigue and deception. Although a Night’s Watch campaign has an understandably military bent, both Night’s Watch and Wildling campaigns feel freer and much more like traditional fantasy campaigns. Plus there are actual monsters to encounter and confront, much like a traditional fantasy campaign.

However it is used, A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: Night’s Watch offers plenty of scope for the campaigns it sets up and backs this up with detail and solid story hooks. It is a well written supplement that combines great source material with well realised application.

Your Westeros Primer

Having finally got round to watching Season #3 of A Game of Thrones and read both parts of A Storm of Swords, I can at last feel confident in avoiding spoilers in reading and then reviewing A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide. This is the first supplement for A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: Adventure, War, and Intrigue , the RPG published by Green Ronin based on the series of best-selling fantasy books by George R.R. Martin.  I have already reviewed the second supplement, A Song of Ice and Fire Chronicle Starter, as that contains no spoilers from either the books or the television series and is much of more of a gaming supplement than A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide. This supplement though, is much grander affair, describing as it does Westeros in lavish detail, providing full details on all the major regions and principal players of the game of thrones.

So if you happen not to have watched season #3 of A Game of Thrones or read both parts of A Storm of Swords, you do need to know that it does contain some spoilers. For in detailing the places and personages of Westeros and beyond, it focuses on places and peoples that do not appear until towards the end of both. It should be made clear that for the most part, these are not plot spoilers, but rather setting spoilers. Nevertheless, at least one plot spoiler is illustrated late in the book.

In keeping with the A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: Adventure, War, and Intrigue, the setting for A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide is in the immediate years before the events of Martin’s heptalogy—or is that octet?—begin. The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros are at peace under the reign of Robert Baratheon, who usurped the Iron Throne from the Targaryen dynasty, the last of the Targaryens are powerless exiles to the east, the wildlings beyond the Wall seem contained, and the first stirrings of winter have yet to come. The handsome hardback opens with a history of Westeros, covering from The Dawn Age through the Age of Heroes and Age of the Dragons to just beyond the War of the Usurper and Greyjoy’s Rebellion. It is followed by an examination of the culture of Westeros, covering laws and justice, customs, entertainments and pastimes, goods and trading, language, faith, and the Maesters—the latter the scholars of Westeros. Several sections here will be of interest to the GM wanting to run a standard campaign based around a house of the players’ creation as described in A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: Adventure, War, and Intrigue. These include knighthood, social status and rank, and illegitimacy—the latter accompanied by the regional names accorded bastards in Westeros, Jon Snow of the North being the most obvious example.

This sets the stage for the bulk of the book. From King’s Landing and Dragonstone to The Stormlands and Dorne, the book details the history, geography and key locations, and the ruling House of its region, plus persons of note and notable personages, and the Banner Houses that owe fealty to the ruling House. So for example, the chapter detailing The Reach tells you how rich and fertile it is and of its rivalry with Dorne; of Oldtown, the city that is  home to the Maesters of the Citadel that was once Westeros’ premier city; and of the Maesters and how you would don the Chain to become one, before presenting House Tyrell. Some members of the House are simply given descriptions, but others are also given full stats according to the rules of A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: Adventure, War, and Intrigue. In this case, they are Lord Mace Tyrell, his mother Lady Olenna Tyrell, and three of his four children, Ser Garlan, Ser Loras, and Margaery. Other persons of note are also given full write-ups, though these are less frequent. For the Reach, they consist solely of Samwell Tarly of House Tarly. Following the description of the Ruling House, the most notable Banner Houses are presented. These include major, minor, and landed houses as well as extinct ones. In some cases they are accorded a single line, others are a bit more detailed and thus interesting.

In each of the descriptions of the Seven Kingdoms, further aspects of Westeros are also given. In the case of The Reach, this is Oldtown and the Maesters, for the North, this the Night’s Watch, the neutral sworn brotherhood that mans the Wall against incursions by the Wildings, and for Dragonstone, it is background to the Targaryens, including write-ups and stats for Viserys and Daenerys, the surviving heirs. Accompanying the House descriptions and the Banner House descriptions are their castle names, coat of arms, and motto. In many cases, a very many of the Banner Houses have their coats of arms illustrated. Each of these chapters is accompanied by a decent map.

Having worked its way north from King’s Landing to the North and back down south again, the penultimate chapter in A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide is the eponymously titled ‘Beyond Westeros’ as it takes the reader across the Summer Sea to the Free Cities, the Dothraki Sea, and beyond. There are no game stats or character write-ups in this section.

Rounding out A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide is ‘Exploring Westeros’, a chapter of advice for the GM. This presents a look at the themes and feel of a Westeros campaign—noting that throughout, both are unlike traditional fantasy, either of certain novels and their bearing of rings or particular roleplaying games. It addresses the issue of running a campaign with a setting that has a particular plot—something that the A Song of Ice and Fire series has in abundance. There is a balance to be maintained the advice suggests between the players and their characters wanting to interact with the series’ signature characters and the influence and input from the player characters not derailing the plots and events that weave around the series’ characters. Essentially, what it comes down to is that a GM  and his players need to decide on the game that they want to play—one that unfolds alongside the events of the novels or want that goes off in another direction entirely. Completing the chapter is a number of campaign ideas that a GM could develop.

Physically, A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide is nicely presented with lots of full colour, painted art that presents another look and feel to that depicted in the television series. The book is nicely written and an enjoyably clear read, and the maps are good too.

There are one or two issues with A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide. As good as the maps are, the book could have down with more. In particular, no maps are given for the lands to the East. Given that they figure strongly in the novels, the lack of maps is a disappointing omission. Similarly, more maps of other locations would have been nice too. Maps are given for King’s Landing and the Red Keep, but not for many of the other castles or big towns in Westeros. To an extent, not all of them are detailed in the novels, but this is a roleplaying supplement after all, and some GMs like to have things quantified. Having already mentioned the plot spoilers in the art in the rear of the book, it should be pointed out that the choice of characters given full stats seems odd given that they are not connected with any particular character or House. This sort of heralds the importance of their roles in the novels.

If you happen to have read A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and A Storm of Swords, and watched the first three seasons of A Game of Thrones, then there is much to be enjoyed in A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide. You could ignore the game game stats altogether, because really, they do not take up all that much space; if you did, then what you would have is a well written and informative sourcebook for both the books and the television series up to end of book #3 and season #3. One that complements them both, though the books more so than the television series. As written though, A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide is a roleplaying supplement and both the source material presented here and the accompanying stats ably support that aspect (the latter without being unobtrusive). The advice in the last chapter is a pleasing if concise counterpart to the material presented earlier in the book and is good corollary to the advice given in A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: Adventure, War, and Intrigue.

Thus A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide is a good sourcebook for the A Song of Ice and Fire novels. It is also a good roleplaying supplement, expanding upon the information given in A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: Adventure, War, and Intrigue. So A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide succeeds twice.

The First Step onto The Game of Thrones

Once you have a copy of A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying, the RPG published by Green Ronin Publishing based on the highly popular fantasy novels by George R.R. Martin, the question is, where does a GM go next? Or in other words, what does he purchase next for nascent campaign? Where most roleplaying games focus on a small group of player characters doing relatively small things, A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying expands that to have the player characters be in charge of a minor noble house. So they need a larger stage, and if not ‘larger’ foes, rivals, and allies, then ones that are of an equal status and challenge. 

For the GM, there are two choices. One is A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide, regarded as the counterpart to the A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying core book, which not only describes Westeros in some detail, but also details the major holdings and major players of the Seven Kingdoms. On the downside, this supplement is not spoiler free, containing as it does details from the first three books in the series – A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and A Storm of Swords. Also roleplaying on such a ‘grand’ stage can be daunting for both the GM and his players. Perhaps then, a smaller stage is preferred, one that the players and their noble house can make their own? The other choice then is A Song of Ice and Fire Chronicle Starter.

The A Song of Ice and Fire Chronicle Starter is a means by which the player characters can begin the story of their noble house. It presents six houses all located within the rich lands of the Riverlands, each of which whose fortunes is ready to be led by the players, ready to ally with the players’ house, or ready to feud with, if not outright fight, the players’ house. The latter might be one of the six described in the Chronicle Starter, or it could be one of the players’ creation, either replacing one of the houses in the book or slotted in alongside the six given here. However the supplement is used, each house comes ready with an allegiance to one of the great houses, a description of its history and holdings, descriptions of its personages of note, and a means to make each house’s chronicle that much darker by muddying the palette. In addition to an overview of the Riverlands, the Chronicle Starter also gives other interesting locations, places to put a players’ house, and more. Lastly, the supplement is rounded out with ‘The Iron Plot’, a starting scenario that revolves around the six houses described in the Chronicle Starter and which the GM will have to tailor to his players’ choice of noble house.

The supplement opens with House Barnell, a young house founded by a hedge knight and allied to the Starks. Known primarily for its martial prowess, the future of the house rests on its two sons. Garret Snow, the elder, has some of his father’s martial skill, but while favoured by his father, is a bastard with a reputation as a cad. In comparison, Lord Barnell’s step-son, Daveth has none of martial skill, but much of his mother’s courtesy and his own learning. Add to this is the fact that Lady Barnell has yet to give her husband an heir and has a reputation for being cursed – as does the castle itself, several of the previous houses having died out while in possession of it. House Bartheld is an ally of the Baratheons with a colourful reputation for holding lavish parties and having one of the finest wine cellars in Westeros. Unfortunately in the eyes of many of the Bartheld family, the new lord is too sober an influence on the household and thus some scheme to restore the family’s reputation for fun. In the meantime, the young lord is preoccupied by the House’s inability to deal with a bandit threat on its borders.

House Dulver is an ancient Lannister ally whose small holdings go deep underground. In Lord Dulver’s cellars are to be goods and items of all kind, ready to be sold or bartered for other goods or favours. The ambitious, so-called ‘Vulture of Dulver’ greedily eyes the richer commercial possibilities of neighbouring lands, works carefully towards their acquisition. Ill advice though might turn that care to something more impetuous… Newly allied with the Freys, House Kytley is struggling to recover from years of misrule despite a lack of proper family seat and the heir held by another house as a ward.

Situated guarding the western border of the Vale of Arryn, House Marsten is circled by every lord and knight wanting to make an advantageous marriage. The house has neither lord nor a male heir, their having died of the plague. Instead his wife rules and works ensure her husband’s name continues through her daughter. Meanwhile, her husband’s brother, a personal friend to Rhaegar Targaryen, has not been seen since Robert's Rebellion. This house has an interesting link to the events of the novels. Lastly, House Tullison is loyal to the Tullys and would seem secure in its mountain fastness were it not for the gullibility of its young lord who would prefer to be off adventuring and the mountain clans that raid down into the valley.

The Riverlands begins to put the six preceding houses in perspective as well as adding further elements to the region. These include the free community of Market Town, a kind of neutral meeting ground for the nobles of the surrounding houses. They have their designs on the community, but its wily mayor’s schemes have kept it independent so far. Three locations are included where the players can insert their house as a starting position – a bandit beset stretch of dense forest; once plague ridden farm land that needs resettling and redeveloping; and a local port and trade centre where the new lord must choose between coming to an accommodation with the powerful smuggling rings or routing them. Rounding the overview are details of a few other ‘odd’ locations and some regional customs.

Physically, the A Song of Ice and Fire Chronicle Starter is very nicely produced, although it is a pity that it is not in full colour as the art is excellent. It does an admirable job of breaking down and explaining the numbers that make up each house’s stats, bringing them to life. If there is an issue with the A Song of Ice and Fire Chronicle Starter, it is that it could have done with a stronger overview and possibly a better summary of each house for an easy grasp of each. Otherwise, it does take a while for the reader to grasp a feel for each house and how it fits into the Riverlands. Lastly, the ‘muddying the palette’ sections are underwritten and could have done with more development.  

A Song of Ice and Fire Chronicle Starter succeeds at what it sets out to do – provide a well written setting for a beginning campaign. It has links enough to satisfy the A Song of Ice and Fire devotee without such links becoming overbearing. There is plenty of variety in the given six houses and plenty of elements that the GM can develop and bring into his campaign to make it his and his players’ own. Lastly, the A Song of Ice and Fire Chronicle Starter is a pleasurable read as well as a satisfying roleplaying supplement.

Roleplaying Before A Game of Thrones...

Despite the fact that there has been a copy of A Game of Thrones on the bookshelf for a good decade or more, I have never found the time to pick it up and start reading George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice & Fire series. Nor did I pick it up and start reading it when the television series was made or when Green Ronin Publishing released A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: Adventure, War, and Intrigue in George R. R. Martin’s World of Westeros. In this last week or so, I have however engaged in a marathon one-day viewing of A Game of Thrones, Season One and finished reading through A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: A Game of Thrones Edition released by Green Ronin Publishing. So now, I at least feel qualified to review what in effect, is the game’s second edition, updated and revised from its original release in 2009 and now including not one, but two full scenarios that had been previously available as separate adventures.

What should be made clear about A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: A Game of Thrones Edition is it is not a roleplaying game about playing the events of the novels or the television series. In fact, none of the signature characters appear, or are described, in its pages. Nor is it set at the time of the novels, but rather, before the chaos of the events that they describe. That said, some spoilers are contained within its pages. Anyway, instead of portraying the signature characters, the players of A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying work together to create a minor noble house and attempt to control not just its fortunes, but also those of the members of its household, as roleplayed by the players, either nobles or retainers. This can be through allegiances, war, and intrigue, but ultimately, the fate of the house is tied to one of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. These kingdoms vary in nature and tradition as much as the continent of Westeros does, from the sparseness of the North dominated by the three hundred mile long, seven hundred foot high Wall of ice and magic that has protected the lands to the south for millennia, to the rocks and mountains of Dorne in the far South.

Whilst the setting of the series and the RPG is one of High Fantasy, it is not one necessarily of great magic. Magic has existed in its past, but exists only in small ways within both the setting and the RPG, mostly as omens or dreams. This is reflected in what is available as characters to the players. They can be warriors, whether Anointed Knights of the nobility or Hedge Knights who have risen from the common folk to sell their service to the nobility; heirs and nobles intriguing for their house; the learned Maesters who wear chain necklaces with each link indicating an area of their learned knowledge and advise the houses on a range of subjects, except for faith, as this is provided by the Godsworn; and any number of retainers and experts that a house might employ, from a bard to a scout. Within the limits of game’s setting, the players are free to create any characters that they want.

The process though, starts with House creation – this despite the fact that the rules for this are placed after those for character creation in A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying. The players work to create the house together, deciding which of Westeros’ Seven Kingdoms it lies, before rolling handfuls of dice to determine its Resources in terms of its Defense, Influence, Lands, Law, Population, Power, and Wealth. These are influenced by a House’s history and the events that have taken place since. Whilst these are also randomly rolled for, the players are free to decide the exact nature of these events. Once the Resource levels are finally determined, they are then used as points to purchase a House’s castle, hall, or tower; how many children its current Lord has; the features of its lands, basically its terrain types and communities; any lesser or Banner Houses that swear fealty to it – each Banner House can also be created using these mechanics – and what military units it commands; and lastly, features born of wealth, like a marketplace or port. The players also decide what their House’s motto is and with rolls of even more dice, its coat of arms. Lastly, the players decide upon the members of the household, many of whom will become player characters.

The creation process is entertaining and will probably take a session in its own right. Beyond the creation process itself, the House needs to be run from one month to the next. This can be as simple as making a House Fortune roll, which provides a random event such as a plague that reduces a House’s Population Resource or an increase in its Influence Resource with the blessing that the Lady of the House is with child. The Lord of a House can also undertake an action each month, managing Resources, adding new features to his lands, waging war, or even host a tournament. Beyond the mere mechanics, the House serves as a character in its own right, from which the Narrator can derive events and challenges to present to his players.

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House: Install of the Iron Islands, Lords of the Ladder
Defence: 36 (Small Castle [30])
Influence: 26 (First-born son [20])
Lands: 22 (Wetlands [3], Hamlet [10], Coast [3], River [3], Ruin [3])
Law: 19 (House Fortunes -5)
Population: 33 (House Fortunes +3)
Power: 48 (Banner House Mohr – Defence: 18, Influence: 22, Lands: 21, Law: 12, Population: 9, Power: 20, Wealth: 15), (Banner House Lassen – Defence: 15, Influence: 14, Lands: 20, Law: 18, Population: 19, Power: 18, Wealth: 20), (Trained Sailors: Discipline Routine [6], Agility 3/Awareness 3/Fighting 3, [Power 7]; Fleet: Trained Warships: Discipline Routine [6], Awareness 3/Fighting 3/Marksmanship 3, [Power 10]; Green Peasant Levies: Discipline Routine [9], Animal Handling 2/Awareness 3/Fighting 2, [Power 1])
Wealth: 45 (Artisan, Maester, Port, Sept)
Heraldic Device: Sanguine over Azure Per Chevron with a Ladder Or centre
Motto: We Climb to Honour

Family legend says that the founder of House of Install helped the Grey King of the Iron Islands to climb from the sea and was the first to kneel before him. In return for his fealty, the first Install was given the right to take an island by blood and conquest. He choose Harlaw and in a campaign that lasted a hundred years, the first Install claimed the island in the name of the Grey King, and from there would lead many raids upon the West coast of Westeros. The family’s fortunes fell during the Targaryen conquest. Aegon the Conqueror and his Dragons drove the Ironmen of the River Lands out and forced them to return to the Iron Islands, where their jealousy of the then Lord Install’s holdings weakened the response to the Targaryen invasion. Despite the niggardly attacks upon his estates, Lord Install stood with House Greyjoy throughout the assault on the islands, and when the Greyjoys were chosen by the Iron Men to become the Lords Paramount of the Iron Isles, the Installs swore their allegiance to them. Their loyalty was not forgotten and whilst Lord Greyjoy was forced to grant lands to House Install’s leading detractors – Lassen and Mohr, it was as Banner Houses to Lord Install.

In more recent times, Lord Gregor Install forged greater links through trade with the mainland and supported Robert of House Baratheon in his overthrow of Aerys II Targaryen, "the Mad King." He gained great favour with the new king, but the division to his loyalties drove him mad when his liege lord, Balon Greyjoy, openly rebelled against King Robert Baratheon. Although the rebellion failed, Lord Gregor’s indecision lost the house favour with both Houses Greyjoy and Baratheon and many of his decisions in the last decade have further weakened the family’s status. As has Lord Gregor’s conversion to the faith of the Seven, which resulted in him allowing the establishment of a Sept on his lands. His wife, Elana, persuaded her husband to acquire the services of a Maester in response, so as to reduce the influence of her husband’s madness on her children.

House Install’s holdings consist of the entire length of the River Piddle that divides the island of Harlaw and the wetlands that run along its banks. Castle Install stands several miles up the navigable river over the island’s major port, Harlaw’s Foot. The Installs tax the trade that passes through the port onto the market in Lassen and back out again.

Members:

• Lord Gregor Install, Lord of Harlaw’s Foot, an old man of nearly seventy 
• Lady Elana, Lady of Harlaw’s Foot, formerly of Banner House Mohr and aunt of Kyle, current head of House Mohr, a middle-aged woman of thirty-eight 
• Ser Aubran Pyke, bastard son of Harlaw’s Foot, an adult man of twenty-five years 
• Lady Ingirun Install, daughter of Harlaw’s Foot, a young woman of eighteen years 
• Lord Stefan Install, heir of Harlaw’s Foot, a young man of thirteen 
• Duncan Lassen, Squire to Ser Aubran, Ward of House Install, a young man of twelve years 
• Mace Weller, a Bravoosi Water Dancer and Swords Master, tutor to Lord Stefan Install and Duncan Lassen, an adult man of thirty years 
• Maester Gilbert, a middle-aged man of forty-one years, once of the Riverlands

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Creating a character in A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying involves choosing a place within a House. This should not be the head of the House, but can be his heir or his heir’s siblings, wards from other Houses, or any number of loyal retainers. Once selected, a character’s age is either chosen or rolled, and this determines how many points he has available to spend on Attributes, Bonus Dice, and Destiny Points, as well as any Flaws or Drawbacks. The older a character is, the more he has to spend on Attributes and Bonus Dice, but the less he has to spend on Destiny Points as they have already experienced much of his life. Younger characters receive fewer points to spend on Attributes and Bonus Dice, but have more Destiny Points to spend because they have their life yet to lead.

Although not a “class or level” game, A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying does suggest what character Abilities fit certain Roles and illustrates it with characters from the book. For example, Eddard Stark is listed as a Leader, and the Cunning, Endurance, Fighting, Persuasion, Status, and Warfare Abilities are suggested for that role. The other Roles are Expert, Fighter, Rogue, and Schemer. Of course, a player is free to combine whatever role and take whatever Abilities he wants for his character. There are a total of eighteen Abilities, from Agility and Awareness to Warfare and Will. They are as much skills as they are the attributes to be found in other RPGs, and range from between one and eight, with an Ability starting at two and rarely going six or above. All of the Abilities are important, but within the setting of Westeros, Persuasion is useful in intrigues; Status represents the circumstances of your birth and station, as well as your skill at governing your House; and Warfare lets you take command of your House’s troops – if it has any! In addition, a character has a number of Specialities attached to his Abilities, such as Climb or Swim for the Athletics Ability, Bluff or Cheat for the Deception Ability, and Axes or Spears for the Fighting Ability.

During his creation, a character also begins with a number of Destiny Points, the amount varying according to his age. In game, they can be used to gain bonuses and control of the narrative, but more importantly, if the character is defeated – whether due to intrigue or open combat – they allow him to choose his fate. Otherwise, it lies in the hands of the victor – which is never a good thing! Whilst the game advises that the character keeps some for this purpose, during character creation, they can be used to purchase Benefits. These are the equivalent of Advantages in other games, and fall under several categories – Ability, Fate, Heritage, Martial, and Social. For example, the Guttersnipe Ability Benefit allows re-rolls of one on the results of all Thievery Tests; the Heir Fate Benefit grants no mechanical advantage, but should the head of the House die, then you inherit the Head of House Benefit and control the family’s fortunes; the Bludgeon Fighter I Martial Benefit makes it easier for the user’s weapon to shatter armour; and the Charismatic Social Benefit grants a bonus to Persuasion Tests. Many of the Benefits given in the game directly reflect elements of the setting, such as Brother of the Night’s Watch or Animal Cohort. Many also stack and require previous Benefits, such as Short Blade Fighter I, Short Blade Fighter II, and Short Blade Fighter III, such as the Warg benefit needing Warg Dreams and Animal Cohort.

In addition to these Benefits, older characters tend to suffer from Drawbacks, which inflict penalties on a character’s Abilities, and Flaws, which are like traditional Disadvantages of other roleplaying games. Lastly, a character rolls for his Life Events around which his background can be created, and either chooses, or rolls, for his Goal, Motivation, Virtue, and Vice. Again, these have no mechanical bearing on the game, and are included as roleplaying hooks.

Alternatively, some nine pre-generated characters are included as ready-to-play examples. A player is free to use these, or create his own. The creation process is more fun though.

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Lady Ingirun Install
As the eldest legitimate offspring of House Install, Lady Ingirun rages at her situation. She does not wish to be married off to maintain some alliance, but rather to see to her House’s fortunes herself. She is torn between the aims of her parents, rent in twain by her father’s madness. Under his guidance, she would be a warrior and a raider, leading the house’s fleet into war. Only last year she took command of a vessel that was harried by pirates and turned her ship upon the buccaneers, not only capturing its captain in personal combat, but saving both the lives of her mother and younger brother in the process.

Her mother wishes her daughter to marry well and so strengthen House Install in the process. She has been presented at several courts, but as charming and as charismatic as she is, her suitors rarely linger. Vivacious and disarming she can be, but there is something a little odd about both her and some of the things that she says, things that sometimes come to pass. Ingirun is a popular member of House Install, especially with the Iron Men, who see her as a true daughter of the First Install who would be welcome on any of their boats.

Lady Ingirun Install
Athletics 3, Awareness 3, Cunning 3, Deception 3, Fighting 3 (Long Blades 1B), Knowledge, Language 3 (Common), Persuasion 4 (Charm 1B), Status 4 (Breeding 1B, Stewardship 1B), Warfare 2 (Command 1B), Will 4 (Dedication 1B)
Goal: Power Motivation: Hatred Virtue: Courageous Vice: Scheming
Events: Achieved a significant deed
Qualities: Destiny Points 2, Blood of the Ironmen, Charismatic, Third Eye
Attributes
Awareness 3
Intrigue Defence 10 / Composure 12
Move 3 / Sprint 14
Combat Defence 8 (10 with shield) / Armour Rating 5 / Health 6
Attack Longsword 3+1B (4 damage)
Attack Shield 3 (1 damage; defensive +2)
Personal Gear: Longsword, Mail, Shield, Courtier’s Clothing, 11 Gold Dragons

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A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying uses what Green Ronin Publishing calls the Chronicle System which only uses six-sided dice. This of course, makes its mechanics easier for anyone coming to the game via the books or the television series rather than another RPG. To undertake an action, a character gets to roll a number of dice equal to the Ability plus any Speciality dice, but he only gets to keep a number of dice equal to the Ability. A Routine Test would be 6, with difficulties rising in steps of three. In certain situations, Degrees of Success matter, each requiring multiples of five above the basic Test value.

For example, Lady Ingirun Install is aboard a ship that has been attacked by a pirate ship. She has prepared for the attack and donned her sword and armour. As the pirate comes alongside, she attempts to leap across. This is an Athletics Test, which the Narrator sets at Formidable or 12. Her player asks that Ingirun receive a bonus for her Blood of the Ironmen Benefit and her Courageous Virtue and the Narrator gives her a +2 bonus. He rolls a 4, 5, and 6, which together with the +2 gives her a total of 17. This also gives Ingirun the equivalent of a Great Success and her Narrator rules that she has landed on her feet in the pirate boat and is ready to fight.

The combat system has a pleasing brutality to it. It makes a strong division between physical defence and physical protection. Thus the lighter the type of armour that a defendant is wearing, the more difficult it is to hit him, but when he is hit, his armour stops less damage. A defendant wearing heavy armour is easier to hit, but his armour offers him better protection. He is also much slower. Weapon damage is not determined by a die roll, by the actual weapon used. For example, a Greatword does damage equal to the wielder’s Athletics Ability +3. Most weapons also have one or more Qualities of their own. The Greatsword has the Qualities of Powerful, Slow, Two-handed, Unwieldy, and Vicious, which means that a wielder can put more effort into a strike and inflict more damage (Powerful), that the wielder cannot divide his attacks against multiple opponents (Slow), requires two hands (Two-handed), is difficult to use on horseback (Unwieldy), and in defeating an opponent, always kills him (Vicious). Whilst a simple hit inflicts a set amount of damage, Degrees of Success multiply the base damage, which when you consider that the base Health rating for a character is 6, means that combat can be very deadly. Combat is not necessarily complex, but it does offer plenty of options, especially once characters start employing manoeuvres.

When a character has his Health reduced to 0, he has been defeated. It can offset though, by taking Wounds or Injuries, which involves taking penalties to Tests until a character is healed. If he is defeated though, the victor chooses what happens to you. Common options include Death, Maiming (with an accompanying reduction in one Ability), being Ransomed (or being held captive until this can be paid), Take the Black (exile and service with the Night’s Watch rangers on the Wall), or Unconsciousness. Alternatively, the Defeated could Yield and negotiate with the Narrator as to his fate; or he could burn a Destiny Point to decide what happens.

For example, having led her troops aboard the pirate vessel, Lady Ingirun has cut her way through several of the pirates, but not without suffering in injury to her arm that imposes a -2 to all Tests in the combat. She finally reaches the pirate captain, Olef the Red, and attacks with the fury of the Blood of the Ironmen, giving her a single extra die to roll and keep. She has Fighting 3+1B with a longsword, so she gets to roll five dice and keep four, deducting two from the final result. She rolls 2, 3, 3, 6, and 6, chooses the highest four results, and deducts 2 to get a final result of 16. The captain is wearing ring mail and has a Combat Defence of 4, so Ingirun has rolled 14 higher than the target. This is three Degree of Success and so Ingirun inflicts 12 points of damage, which is reduced to 8 by his ring mail. The pirate captain cannot withstand this blow and attempts to yield. Ingirun, ever the schemer, demands Olef and his men surrender and enter her service, or die…

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Mace Weller
Little is known of Mace Weller’s background and he rarely speaks of it. A trained Water Dancer despite his obviously being from Westeros rather than Bravos across the Narrow Sea, Weller has returned to his homeland where he is currently a sword master in the employ of House Install. If anyone asks, he will state that he was a student of the late Titos Fallelan, famed Bravoosi Water Dancer and nothing more. He denies any knowledge of the rumours surrounding his master’s death, but has been to stare longingly at a small cameo that he keeps in a locket and is never without.

Mace Weller
Agility 4 (Acrobatics 1B, Quickness 1B), Animal Handling 2, Athletics 3, Awareness 3 (Empathy 1B), Cunning 2, Deception 2, Endurance 3, Fighting 5 (Fencing 3B), Healing 2, Knowledge 2, Language 3 (Bravoosi) 2 (Westeros), Marksmanship 2, Persuasion 3 (Charm 1B), Status 2 (Breeding 1B), Stealth 2, Survival 2, Thievery 2, Warfare 2, Will 3
Goal: Revenge Motivation: Peace Virtue: Humble Vice: Cowardly
Events: Travelled across the Narrow Sea; Kidnapped and escaped; Falsely accused of wrong doing
Qualities: Destiny Points 1, Braavosi Fighter I, Water Dancer I, Courteous
Drawbacks: Honour-Bound
Attributes
Awareness 3
Intrigue Defence 7 / Composure 9
Move 3 / Sprint 14
Combat Defence 10+2 / Padded Armour 1/ Health 9
Attack Bravoosi Blade 5+2B (4 damage, Fast, Defensive +1)
Personal Gear: Bravoosi Blade, Courtier’s Clothing, 5 Gold Dragons

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A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying includes two other forms of combat. The first is Warfare, which enables the Narrator to play out pitched battles and other military engagements, as well as allowing the player characters to get involved. Not just in fighting alongside the units, but also in joining and leading them. The rules involve units of a hundred foot soldiers or twenty cavalry, which possess Abilities just like characters, most obviously Fighting and Discipline. The latter is important when its commander attempts to give it orders using his Warfare Ability. Just like the rules for combat there several advanced options which allow for particular manoeuvres or formations, such as Pincer or Square. The rules can be used to roleplay out a military engagement, but they can just as easily be used with miniatures to play out as a simple wargame. These rules also allow the players’ House to go to war or defend itself using the military units purchased with the Power Resource.

The second form of combat in A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying is Intrigue. Where both melee and missile combat and Warfare handle physical combat, Intrigue is for social combat. Whilst the danger of physical combat in the Seven Kingdoms is an ever present threat, Intrigue is more civilised form of warfare and constantly plays out across Westeros, most notably as the “Game of Thrones.” Where in melee combat a character will enter into the fray with his arms and armour, when entering into an Intrigue, he has Dispositions and Techniques, the first serving as his armour, the latter as his attacks, and will withstand attacks with his Intrigue Defence – and if not, will take “social” damage to his Composure. An Intrigue can be handled in as complex a fashion as the players and Narrator wants. A Simple Intrigue can be handled with a single Test, a Standard Intrigue as a series of Tests, and a Complex Intrigue as a series of Standard Intrigues played out over time.

As with physical Combat, there are consequences to suffering a Defeat during an Intrigue. These though, will vary depending upon the Technique used by the victor. For example, a successful Bargain might gain the victor a reduction in the cost of a service, whilst with a successful Convince, the defeated will agree to support the victor, even if they hate the victor. As with the previous forms of combat, the rules for Intrigue are supported with detailed examples.

Other elements of the setting of A Song of Ice and Fire are supported through the equipment lists, which includes a lengthy section on poisons, and the bestiary. The latter includes a small selection of supernatural creatures, such as the Others and Wights, should the player characters’ adventures ever take them beyond the Wall. The Narrator also receives some expanded rules and discussion of the previous rules as well as the usual advice on running the game, plus advice on handling magic and supernatural events, and running a game set within the Seven Kingdoms not built around the game’s default of running and playing a House. This includes having the players take the roles of the adventurers more typically found in a fantasy RPG, playing Free Folk, getting involved in the Game of Thrones or the events of the books, and of course, having the player characters Take the Black and join the rangers of the Night’s Watch on the Wall.

If there is an issue to A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying it is that the background is underwhelming. The almanac at the book’s start gives a good introduction to the setting, but at no point do you get the feeling that you have enough information about Westeros. Much of it comes down to small details, such as names. For example, in creating the sample House, Banner Houses, and characters above, I was left wondering what would be suitable names for the setting. Much of this is addressed in the game’s two main supplements. A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide, for example, provides much more detail about the Seven Kingdoms and Westeros, as well as describing the characters from the books. A Song of Ice and Fire Chronicle Starter also gives six whole Houses in detail, any one of which could become the one run by the players. The others of course, could be their House’s allies, enemies, or rivals – or all six could serve in any of these capacities if the players have created their own House.

Nevertheless, this problem has been in part addressed in A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: A Game of Thrones Edition. This new deluxe version of the RPG has been expanded by a third with the inclusion of two scenarios that had previously been available in PDF. “Journey to King’s Landing” originally appeared in the A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying Quickstart, whilst the much, much longer “Peril at King’s Landing,” which appeared as a supplement of its own. Notes are included that allow the scenarios to be run together with the scenario “Wedding Night” which appears in A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying Narrator’s Kit. “Peril at King’s Landing” also provides specific information about the Westerosi capital, King’s Landing, and a full set of NPCs and minor houses. Both scenarios make use of the sample pre-generated characters provided at the beginning of the book, specifically adding a background to each to involve them in the adventures.

Physically, A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: A Game of Thrones Edition is nicely presented. The new edition is cleaner and tidier, and it has all of the errata worked in from the original A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: Adventure, War, and Intrigue. New artwork has been added, including the cover, and whilst some of it hints at spoilers, it is generally evocative of the setting.

As an aside, it should be noted that A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: A Game of Thrones Edition bears strong comparison with another roleplaying game, both in terms of setting and mechanics. That game is Alderac Entertainment Group’s Legends of the Five Rings. Both games employ a “roll and keep” core mechanic, using ten-sided dice in the case of Legends of the Five Rings and six-sided dice in the case of A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying. Of course, how the results are interpreted is very different, with the Chronicle System being the slightly more complex of the two. In both settings, there is massive wall built through magic that protects the nation. In Westeros, this is of ice and found in the North, in Rokugan, it lies in the far South and is of stone construction. Both constructions are known as the Wall. Similarly, in both settings great clans or houses vie with each for power and prestige before the current holder of the nation’s throne – the Iron Throne in the case of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, the Emerald Throne in the case of Rokugan. Parallels aside, there is nothing to stop a GM from the rules given in A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: A Game of Thrones Edition and the Chronicle System in general to run a fantasy campaign in which a family organisation matters. So it would work with the RPGs King Arthur Pendragon and Tékumel: Empire of the Petal Throne, and it would also work with Frank Herbert’s Dune. All it would take is some tweaking upon the part of the GM.

In many ways, the basic rules and mechanics in A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: A Game of Thrones Edition do feel far from original. Yet does something have to be original to work? The Chronicle System is a relatively simple one, and simple for a roleplaying game that has deal with both experienced players and those coming to it anew as a fan of the novels and television series, is nothing but a good design decision. Plus, the one or two steps that the rules take in order to handle the trio of rules sets at the heart of the game and Westeros itself – Combat, Intrigue, and Warfare – are not overly complex ones and they do have enough similarities to go from one to another. In fact, the most mechanically complex aspect of the game is character generation, and that is more a problem of having to flip back and forth though the book to understand how each element of a character works in order to create one suitable for both the game and the setting.

Ultimately, A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: A Game of Thrones Edition is weakest when it comes to the background of the books and the television series, but get past that and the Chronicle System and its implementation here capture the grim, often brutal fantasy as seen in both the books and on screen. The rules allow you to make an interesting House around which to play your characters, and also allow you to create characters that have the potential to be honourable, feared, hated, devious, and even mourned… If a Narrator and his players want to roleplay a campaign set within the Seven Kingdoms and Westeros, then A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: A Game of Thrones Edition has everything that they need to get started.