A Song of Ice and Fire – House & Lands

I decided to do something different this week, so I’m creating a House, and their accompanying lands, for A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: A Game of Thrones Edition published by Green Ronin Publishing. This is the first step of creating a character in SIFRP as all PCs have to belong to or otherwise serve the same House.

Step One: The Realm

The first thing you need to do is decide what part of the Seven Kingdoms you are from and thus who your liege lord is. Rolling 3d6, I got 12. This means the house we are creating is from The Westerlands and that Tywin Lannister is our liege.

Step Two: Starting Resources

There are seven kinds of resources, Defense, Influence, Lands, Law, Population, Power, and Wealth. And  you need to roll 7d6 for each resource. Depending on which realm your house is in, these rolls may be modified.

Defense describes how fortified your holding are. Influence indicates how important your house is. Lands addresses how vast your holding are. Law describes how law-abiding the people in your holding is. Population addresses how many live in your holding. Power indicates your house’s military strength. And Wealth is about how much stuff you have.

The Westerlands have the following modifiers: Defense -5, Influence +10, Lands -5, Law -5, Population -5, Power +0, Wealth +20. Rolling 7d6 for each of them and adding the modifier, we get: Defense 20, Influence 33, Lands 17, Law 9, Population 18, Power 19, and Wealth 38. As I rolled really poorly, only one roll was above average.

Defense 20 indicates: “Some cultivation, presence of a keep or smaller stronghold with a few roads, rivers, or ports.”

Influence 33 establishes: “Maximum Lord’s Status 4. A minor house. Examples include House Clegane, House Payne, and House Karstark.”

Lands 17 tells us: “A small stretch of land, about the size of a single small island or small portion of a larger island, or a large city and its immediate environs, such as House Mormont.”

Law 9 says: “Bandits, raiders, and other criminal bands are afoot in your lands, causing mischief and trouble.”

Population 18 indicates: “Small population but no single community larger than a small town.”

Power 19 establishes: “Small force of soldiers largely made up of smallfolk.”

Wealth 38 tells us: “Prosperous. Your family has the funds to live in accordance with their station.”

Following this, each player has 1d6 to use for additional modification. Let’s assume that there are five players that roll: 5, 6, 2, 5, and 5.

We use the 2 to increase Defense to 22. 5 to increase Lands to 22.  6 to increase Law to 15. 5 to increase Population to 23. And 5 to increase Power to 24.

Defense is now “Defensible, with at least one fortified town or castle. Roads and trails are present, and rivers or ports are likely.”

Lands is now “A modest stretch of land or medium-size island, such as House Frey.”

Law is now “Lawlessness and banditry are a problem along the fringes along the fringes of your lands.”

Population is now “Typical population. Most smallfolk live on farmsteads or in hamlets, but you might have a couple of small towns and a community around your primary fortification.”

Power is now “A modest force of soldiers, including some trained troops.”

Step Three: House History

This determines how old the House is and how many historical events formed it. A roll of 1d6 resulting in 1 means that the House if ancient with 1d6+3, or 8, historical events. We roll 3d6 for each event, rolling: 12, 9, 6, 11, 14, 9, 8, and 9. That is: Ascent, Treachery, Madness, Infrastructure, Victory, Treachery, Invasion/Revolt, and Treachery.

The first historical event is Ascent, which means that your House was “raised from the smallfolk by marriage or through some great act that warranted your elevation to a noble house.” As this took place during the Age of Heroes, before the Lannisters had arrived and taken control of the area, a smith among the First Men married some insignificant daughter of a local lord and was given a title and lands between Crakehall and Red Lake, on the borders of The Reach.

As the House was started by a smith, let’s call the House Anvil.

Then the Andal Invasion came and in their treachery, the House betrayed their lords, switched sides, and adopted the Faith of the Seven.

In this new environment ruled by the Andals, the blood of the First Men was diluted, causing the Head of the House to fall to madness and unpredictability.

In the early days of peace in the Age of Dragons, the blood of the First Men had been purged from the family and before the lands had been overrun by trouble, the House grew and expanded.

The House defeated an approaching Targaryen army in the greatest victory of the House’s history.

They were later betrayed by their neighbors House Plumm and conquered by the Targaryens, as one of the final opponents to fall to the Dragon banner.

During the Blackfyre Rebellion, the smallfolk rebelled against the House, because of inept leadership.

During the War of the Usurper, the House betrayed the Lannisters and dealt with one of their armies harshly and decisively from behind and in secret, distracting their lord’s army from the real conflict.

Ascent adds +1d6 to each of Influence, Lands, Power, and Wealth. Each Treachery modifies the resources with -1d6 to Influence and Law and +1d6 to Power. While Madness adds +6-2d6 to each resource. Infrastructure adds +1d6 to each of two resources. And Invasion/Revolt modifies them with -2d6 to Law and -1d6 to each of Population, Power, and Wealth.

Adding all of these together we get: Defense at 21, Influence at 25, Lands at 25, Law at 4, Population at 22, Power at 36, and Wealth at 40. Leaving Defense, Lands, Population, and Wealth at no real change.

Influence is lowered to “Maximum Lord’s Status 4. A small minor house. Examples include House Mormont and House Westerling.”

Law is lowered to “Bandits, raiders, and other criminal bands are afoot in your lands, causing mischief and trouble.”

Power is increased to “A trained force of soldiers, including cavalry and possibly ships. You may have the service of a banner house.”

In summary, the House is defensible, but not as influential as their lands would suggest. They have a typical population and great problems with lawlessness. Despite being quite prosperous and having a well trained military.

Step Four: Holdings

We can now invest the various points we have in various holdings.

Defense Holdings: We have 21 points to invest and invest in a Hall. Leaving 1 point not invested.

Influence Holdings: We have 25 points to invest and invest in a First-born son. Leaving 5 points not invested.

Land Holdings: We have 25 points to invest and we invest in a terrain of Plains and the following features: Hamlet, Grassland, Ruin, and Light Woods. Leaving 3 points not invested.

Power Holdings: We have 36 points to invest. We invest in Trained Archers, Trained Cavalry, Trained Garrison, Trained Infantry, Trained Scouts, and Trained Support. Leaving 0 points not invested.

Wealth Holdings: We have 40 points to invest. We invest in Artisan (castle-forged), Maester, and Sept. Leaving 5 points not invested.

Step Five: Motto & Arms

House Anvil, despite their history of treachery, have the motto “Firm and Grounded.” But with their history, no one believes in that anymore. As theirs have become an Old and inglorious House. But not yet at the level House Reyne.

Their coat of arms is obviously a golden anvil on a red background, so there’s no need to roll.

Step Six: The Household

In this step the most important family members and retainers of the House are described with a focus on the narrative elements.

We have a Lord, a Lady, a first-born son, but no other family members. They have a maester, a septon, a master-at-arms, a master-of-horse, a master-of-the-hunt, a kennelmaster, 20 vassal knights, 500 trained warriors, and many others.

As this is an overview of the House, we’re not going into any greater detail regarding the individuals of the House.