Professional Documents
Culture Documents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION.........................3
The Noble Houses.................. 5
House Barnell............................. 6
History.............................................6
Holdings..........................................7
Characters......................................11
Muddying the Palette....................17
House Bartheld......................... 17
History..........................................17
Holdings........................................19
Hart House....................................20
Davains Forge................................21
The Guardhouse:
Roberts Hammer.........................21
Characters......................................22
Muddying the Palette.....................29
House Dulver............................. 29
History...........................................29
Holdings........................................31
Characters......................................33
Muddying the Palette.....................40
House Kytley............................. 41
History ..........................................41
Holdings........................................43
Hammerstone................................45
Characters......................................46
The Riverlands...................... 75
Market Town............................. 76
History...........................................76
Locations........................................77
Characters......................................79
New House Locations................ 83
Durains Forest...............................83
Riverthorn......................................89
Port Maril.......................................94
Traditional Events.................... 99
Tourney of the Brothers..................99
The Festival of the Fires................101
The Mummers Joust....................102
Interesting Places....................103
The Septry at Shattered Rock......103
The Strangers Farmstead.............104
Hardhands Folly .........................105
Hags Mouth................................105
Stags Moor..................................105
Maelyss Crossing ........................105
Orphans Hill ...............................106
Harrens Justice.............................106
The Troupe of Casque & Wren....107
The Barrow Plain.........................107
Smalls Defense............................107
Index.......................................126
INTRODUCTION
Introduction
The Riverlands
House Name
Allegiance
Defense
Influence
Lands
Law
Population
Power
Wealth
Barnell
Stark
39 (30)
18
33 (32)
29
36
40 (39)
18 (10)
Bartheld
Baratheon
30 (30)
38 (20)
40 (40)
20
18
11 (10)
43 (30)
Dulver
Lannister
42 (40)
38 (35)
34 (34)
24
17
21 (21)
61 (55)
Kytley
Frey
25 (20)
26 (20)
31 (31)
22
35
23 (21)
31 (20)
Marsten
Arryn
42 (40)
46 (10)
30 (30)
24
32
41 (41)
33 (25)
Tullison
Tully
40 (40)
23 (10)
25 (25)
18
24
20 (17)
48 (45)
House Barnell
Heraldry: A portcullis over a red and blue chape field.
Motto: Never Falter.
Located near the Green Fork
at the northern end of the
Trident, House Barnell rules
from the supposedly cursed
fortress of Castle Grenward.
A young house founded during Roberts Rebellion and
loyal to House Stark, House
Barnell struggles to find its fortune with little more than a strong
arm to its name.
History
House Barnell is a young house, not even twenty years old.
Born out of the Usurpers War, it has claimed the last lands of
a dying house to rise to nobility. Now its future lies in uncertain territory as two brothers contest to inherit their fathers
title, although neither has a fully legitimate claim.
Until the Battle of the Trident, Ser Tomas Barnell had
been a lowly hedge knight of little remark aside from his skill
with mace and shield. Tomass father, Ser Garret, had likewise
been a hedge knight who was ever reminding Tomas of their
poverty and common station. From a young age, Tomas was
determined to earn his family the full honor and wealth of a
noble title. When his father was slain chasing bandits while
in service to the Tallharts of Torrhens Square, Tomas took up
his fathers arms and armor to find his long desired noble title.
His chance came during the Battle of the Trident, during
which Tomas Barnell fought alongside the Stark forces aiding
the Baratheon cause. During the battle Tomas inadvertently
saved the life of Eddard Stark by taking a spear meant for
the Lord of Winterfell. He was rewarded for his luck with a
choice assignment in the wake of the battle; among the dead
was Lord Ollier Darry, a loyalist lord with a relatively poor
holding that represented the closest fortified position to the
battlefield. Along with a number of Stark bannermen, Tomas
Barnell was dispatched to take the castle so it could be used
to house the wounded from the battle. The castle was easily
taken due to the fact that Lord Darry had taken all but a
token force with him to battle.
Soon after, Eddard Stark marched south to Kings Landing and Storms End, leaving most of the wounded at Castle
Grenward to catch up in the weeks to come. Eventually Tomas Barnell was left in charge with a handful of soldiers to
hold Castle Grenward and to care for the remaining wounded. Tomas Barnell sat out the rest of the war in Castle Grenward, and the smallfolk of the region say he did a much better
job seeing to their security and wellbeing than the deceased
Lord Darry. With Darry dead without an heir, his house vastly weakened by Roberts Rebellion, and Tomas Barnell doing
a sufficient job controlling the territory, Tomas was elevated
to a lord following the conclusion of the war. Finally he had
obtained his goal: owning land as Lord Barnell, lord of Castle
Grenward and a bannerman sworn to House Stark.
Unfortunately this windfall did not come without tragedy.
Sonya, the smallfolk woman Lord Barnell had been involved
with for many years, died of fever soon after he was awarded his
title. Sonya had already borne Lord Barnell a son, Garret Snow,
fourteen years before, but Garret had been born out of wedlockTomas, often traveling in service to various lords, had not
even known of the child until the boy turned three. Some smallfolk suspect there was foul play in Sonyas death. Lord Barnell
faced widespread pressure to marry according to his new station;
that pressure eventually led to his marriage to Alianna Frey, one
of the many grandchildren of Lord Walder Frey and herself a
widower with a son. Lord Frey considered her to have little political use due to persistent rumors that the woman carried a
curse, so marrying her to a fledgling lord seemed little sacrifice
and would place the new Lord Barnell in debt to House Frey.
While the Lord and Lady Barnell are cordial in their relationship, no one would mistake it for anything more than friendship. Lady Barnells son Daveth never saw the same love and
attention from his step-father that his step-brother Garret did.
Between having a bastard as the favored heir and rumors of
curses House Barnell has created no end of gossip among the
locals. Combined with Lord Barnells low birth, these blemishes
have made them social pariahs in the Trident.
While Lord Barnell is an outcast in matters of intrigue,
his personal skill in battle and as a leader of men does him
much credit. He earned glory for his young house during the
Greyjoy Rebellion, leading his personal guard, the Company
of the Morningstar, on battles to take Botley Castle and Pyke
itself. During his time away the neighboring lords learned
that Lady Barnell was no wilting flower; she and the remaining soldiers in her service fought off a bandit gang that was
foolish enough to attack her and her escort while she was out
riding. By the time Lord Barnell returned from putting down
the rebellion, House Barnell had cemented its reputation as a
militant house that values martial prowess and cunning, even
if it is a little deficient in the courtly arts.
Influence 18
Expendable 18
Lands 34
Grassland Plains with River, Road & Hamlet (24), Densely Wooded Plains (10)
Law 29
House Fortunes -2
Population 36
House Fortunes +3
Company of the Morningstar (Elite Personal Guard; 13 Power) Automatic (0) Discipline
Athletics 4, Endurance 4, Fighting 5
Power 40
Company Grenward (Veteran Garrison; 7 Power) Automatic (0) Discipline at home or Routine (6) away
Awareness 4, Endurance 3, Fighting 4
Riverroad Riders (Elite Cavalry; 12 Power) Automatic (0) Discipline Agility 4, Animal Handling 4, Fighting 5
Jarions Siege Engineers (Veteran Engineers; 7 Power)
Wealth 18
More recently strife has entered the halls of Castle Grenward as Daveth Barnell has reached eighteen years of age and
the question of which son will inherit has become an immediate concern. Tomas favors Garret, while Alianna favors
Daveth, and Garret is technically a bastard even if he is a
recognized one. This is further complicated by the fact Garret has no interest in succeeding his father, having little skill
in managing lands or dispensing justice, while Daveth is far
more skilled in such matters. The whole issue would be settled
by a child of Lord and Lady Barnell, but so far their limited
attempts at producing an heir have proved fruitless. Lord
Barnell has no male siblings to serve as his heir, so it seems he
is stuck with a reckless bastard and a weakling scholar. While
House Barnell is not bound in familial love, it is bound in loyalty and friendship, but is that stronger than a fathers pride?
Holdings
Here are the holdings of House Barnell.
Influence: 18
Lord Barnell has never been one for courts, intrigues, or gossip, favoring martial matters. His houses lack of influence
reflects this since Lord Barnell has spent little time seeing
to the political needs of his house. Lady Barnell and her son
work to counteract his inaction, but they have years of ignored invitations, rude rebuffs, and unintentional insults to
overcome.
The issue of the heir to House Barnell has yet to be settled
and likely wont be until the houses influence increases. If
Lord Barnell were to die there is much debate to whether the
house would survive the transition without a named heir. The
whole matter would be settled if Lord and Lady Barnell produced their own heir, but so far their limited attempts have
not borne fruit.
10,
Law: 29
Despite Lord Barnells harsh punishment of any criminals
he is brought, crime occurs regularly in the lands of House
Population: 36
Most subjects of House Barnell live in the farms that are
scattered across their land or live on the edges of Grenward
Forest. Local smallfolk live in multi-generational families
with the responsibility to the land being handed down from
father to son. There is no more room for new farms in House
Barnells lands so at Daveths suggestion Lord Barnell has
been encouraging the second sons of his subjects to move to
Grenward Forest to help the new logging operations.
7,
Company Grenward
Veteran Garrison * 7 Power
Automatic (0) Discipline at home or Routine (6) away
Awareness 4, Endurance 3, Fighting 4
Riverroad Riders
Elite Cavalry * 12 Power
Automatic (0) Discipline
Agility 4, Animal Handling 4, Fighting 5
10
Characters
Following are the personages of note in House Barnell.
Middle-Aged Fighter
Abilities
Agility 3
Animal Handling 3
Ride 2B
Athletics 4
Awareness 4
Endurance 4
Fighting 5
Bludgeons 3B
Status 3
Reputation 1B
Warfare 3
Will 3
Dedication 1B
Attributes
Combat
Defense
10
Intrigue
Defense
Health
12
Composure
Destiny Points
5+2B
4 Damage
Shattering
2, Vicious
Large
shield
5-1D
2 Damage
Bulk 1,
Defensive +4
Dagger
2 Damage
Fast, OffHand +1
During these years his father served with most of the major
houses of the North, allowing Tomas to become familiar and
make friends within these noble families. He is still fondly
remembered among the Karstarks, Mormonts, and other
houses as a tough young child always looking to learn more
about fighting. Tales of his childhood among the houses of
the North often embarrass him today.
After years of faithful service, Ser Garret Barnell died
fighting bandits while in service to the Tallharts and Tomas
immediately took up his arms and armor. Tomas served with
several families before earning the respect of the Karstarks
while defending their lands from wildlings. An approving
word from the Karstarks got him added to the forces Eddard
Stark brought down from the North during the War of the
Usurper. His service to House Stark led to Tomas saving Eddard Starks life by tripping into the path of a spear meant for
the Warden of the North. This deed was rewarded when Lord
11
12
Adult Schemer
Abilities
Awareness 4
Notice 1B
Cunning 3
Logic 1B
Deception 4
Bluff 1B
Fighting 3
Language 3
Knowledge 3
Persuasion 4
Status 3
Breeding 2B
Will 4
Attributes
Combat
Defense
Intrigue
Defense
10
Health
Composure
12
Destiny Points
1 Damage
Defensive +1,
Off-Hand +1
bornness that has let her force her way through many uncomfortable social situations. She refuses to be brought down to
the level of those who would insult or oppose her.
Unfortunately, these coping mechanisms have left Alianna
a cold woman. The only person in this world she truly loves is
her son Daveth and there is likely little room in her heart for
anyone else. Lord Tomas Barnell she has befriended since he
treats her fairly and respects her opinion on matters he knows
little about, but the relationship will never develop into love.
Alianna sees Garret as an annoyance, but she knows that he
has been a good friend to Daveth.
More than anything, Alianna wants to prove to House Frey
and all the others that treated her as a pariah that she is better than that. She feels the way prove her point is to ensure
the continued survival of House Barnell, and that living well
will be the best revenge. Alianna is not concerned about the
opinions of others, even at court, instead focusing on concrete
sources of power and influence. Since Lord Barnell has little
interest in court, Lady Barnell has become the houses ambassador, visiting neighboring houses as she can, often with Daveth in tow. She is adept at games of court, but is most concerned with forming worthwhile alliances, not with gossip or
13
Garret Snow
Born of the only woman Tomas Barnell ever loved, Garret
Snow is very much the favored son of House Barnell. Garret
Garret Snow
Adult Fighter
Abilities
Agility 4
Animal Handling 3
Ride 1B
Athletics 3
Awareness 3
Notice 1B
Endurance 4
Fighting 4
Long Blades 2B
Marksmanship 3
Persuasion 3
Stealth 3
Thievery 3
Steal 1B
Warfare 3
Strategy 1B
Will 3
Attributes
Combat
Defense
10
Intrigue
Defense
Health
12
Composure
Destiny Points
14
Longsword
4D+2B
4 Damage
Shield
4D
1 Damage
Defensive +2
Dagger
4D
2 Damage
Defensive 1,
Off-Hand +1
Daveth Barnell
From an early age, it was evident that Daveth would never be
a great warrior like his father Ser Silas. He was slim of body
and weak of arm, and looked like he could be felled by a ran-
15
Daveth Barnell
Abilities
Awareness 3
Cunning 4
Language 3
Knowledge 4
Persuasion 4
Charm 2B
Status 2
Will 4
Attributes
Combat
Defense
Intrigue
Defense
Health
Composure
12
Destiny Points
16
2D
1 Damage
Defensive +1,
Off-Hand +1
father, who favors his own hearth. Daveth also wants to put
to rest the stories of the Curse of Castle Grenward and its
ghosts once and for all, thinking such stories have no place
in this age of reason and logic. Daveth has yet to experience
any of the supernatural activity at House Grenward and dismisses stories of it as the results of drinking. What his actual
purpose in denying the superstitions, however, is to protect
his mother, since he believes she equates the castles curse
with her own.
House Bartheld
Heraldry: A brown boar running on a black field.
Motto: Joy in Service
Although it was loyalty to
House Baratheon that initially
raised the Barthelds to the
nobility, the denizens of Hart
House later became known
for hosting indulgentsome
might even say depravedfestivities each year, at which an ever-changing roster of guests would
drink deep of their hosts hospitality.
Fittingly, the most recent lord of Hart
House abdicated his role to his grandson so that he could pursue the hand of Lady Yve of House Tullison. The new master of
the house, Davain Bartheld, is much more conservative than his
forbears, which is not sitting particularly well with most other
members of his family.
History
House Bartheld is a minor lineage, born thirty years after Aegons landing when a serving boy saved Lord Raffin Baratheon from assassination. One of Baratheons banner knights is
said to have knighted the lad on the spot. Ser Hamish Bartheld went on to prove that even a serving boy could rise to
great heights. Although he was never brilliantor even very
goodas a soldier or a statesman, he developed a reputation
for honor and loyalty that served him and his descendents
well. To this day, House Bartheld is a family where good faith
is regarded more highly than skill or cleverness.
Ser Hamish developed a huge appetite for everything life as
a noble offered. By the time he died, he was obese, red-faced
from drink, and suffering from several venereal diseases. The
first Bartheld took his degeneration with good humor and, it is
said, died with no regrets. The Barthelds emulate their eponymous ancestor, though most are more careful with their health.
All of Hamishs childrentrueborn and bastarddid well for
themselves in their own way. Some became Maesters at the
Citadel or took the Black and several were knighted as well.
Despite gaining some respect as a family, without land,
the Barthelds were dependent on the Baratheons for wealth
and station. In return, the Barthelds have served the Baratheons as squires, chamberlains, companions, bodyguards, and
bedwarmers and prospered. The most cynical Barthelds
claimedbut never within earshot of their patronsthat
House Baratheon never granted them holdings of their own
to keep them dependent, so that the Baratheons could continue to enjoy the fruits of Bartheld labor.
Although they maintained a close relationship with House
Baratheon, the Barthelds also acted as procurers and bodyguards for other houses, for a price. Rumors persistvociferously denied by the Barthelds themselvesthat the family whored its sons and daughters in the hard days after the
Dance of Dragons. These stories continue to stain the Houses
reputation.
Brom Bartheld, the first true lord of the house, began his
career as a knight in service to King Roberts father. He was
also a friend of Lord Jamys Kytley, called the Sybarite, and a
frequent guest at Jamyss extravagant parties. When Broms
cousin Tobias Bartheld tried to open Bromss eyes to Jamyss
abuse and neglect of his smallfolk, Brom refused. Jamys was
his friend, and that was all he would let himself see.
Brom and his sons, including one who served Robert as
a squire, joined Roberts Rebellion and distinguished themselves in battle. Although Brom survived the Trident, two of
17
his four sons did not. As a form of compensation for the familys years of service and Broms sacrifice, King Robert finally
granted House Bartheld land of its own. House Bartheld was
given the territory of House Asrig, which had lost all its sons
in the war fighting on behalf of the Targaryens.
House Asrig had been the worst kind of nobles. Inspired
by the cruelty of the Targaryens, they had satisfied their desire for luxuries and companionship at the expense of the
smallfolk and indulged in cruel, extravagant punishments.
Lord Leofrick Asrig was particularly fond of punishing entire families or villages for the misdeeds of a few. On one
memorable occasion that a peasant insulted his wife with a
bold stare, Lord Leofrick gave the mans friends and neighbors a choice: either they delivered his eyes to the castle, or
he would send his knights to claim ten. Upon hearing of the
death of her husband and sons, Lady Inez Asrig had ordered
every village and fortification burned to the ground and set
fire to the castle from the inside. Brom Bartheld arrived to
discover that his new house seat had been devastated. All
the major structures and most of the villages had been destroyed and the peasants were traumatized and distrustful,
eager to believe that their new lord was just as bad as the
old one.
18
Holdings
House Bartheld has the following holdings.
Law: 20
The Barthelds keep their peasants happy, and happy peasants
do not become bandits. However, Brom never devoted much
of his energy to patrolling his lands, and banditry became en-
19
Influence 38
Lands 40
Lightly Forested Hills with Ruin (13), Plains with two Hamlets (25), Expendable 2
Law 20
House Fortunes -5
Population 18
House Fortunes +0
Hart House Guardians: (Green Personal Guard; 7 Power) - Easy (3) Discipline - Fighting 3
Power 11
Roberts Hammer: (Green Garrison; 3 Power) - Routine (6) Discipline at home or Formidable (12) away - Awareness 3
Wealth 43
Anton Black (Artisan, 10, House Fortunes +1), Maester Forthwind (10, House Fortunes +3), Vineyards (10, House Fortunes
+3), Expendable 13
Expendable 1
Population: 18
Most of House Barthelds smallfolk are hardworking, practical people who care very little for the affairs of nobles, so
long as they can live unmolested in their farmsteads and
hamlets.
Fighting 3
Roberts Hammer
Green Garrison * 1 Power
Routine (6) Discipline at home or Formidable (12) away
Awareness 3
20
Hart House
House Barthelds seat is the extensive estate at Hart House.
The Sept
Hart House is not a pious place. The manor lacks a godswood
entirely, and the sept is a small building off to one side. The sept
is well made, but unassuming and infrequently used, As evidenced by the dust on the seven-sided crystal and bas relief images. Still, it is a place of peace and quiet in a house that is often
full of madcap activity. Brom never acquired the services of a
septon, and Davain has shown no inclination to do so either.
The Grounds
Finally, the grounds of Hart Housethe gardens surrounding it and the forest in the valley beloware immaculately
tended. The forest exists to be hunted in and ridden through.
Like the rest of Hart House, both the garden and the forest have seen many licentious uses, with one exception. A
simple stone monument in the garden commemorates Brom
Davains Forge
Davains forge is quite new, commissioned by the nobleman
upon inheriting Hart House. The forge resembles any citys
smithy, but with the finest tools and highest quality steel.
Davain doesnt shoe horses in his spare time; he makes fine
daggers and beautiful swords. Davains forge is situated as
close as possible to the manor, but far enough away that the
noise and smell doesnt bother his guests.
Although everyone refers to the smithy as Davains Forge,
Davain is not the only one to work the forge. Anton Black
became Davains friend and mentor while Davain fostered
with the Swanns at Raintree. When Davain came into his inheritance and moved to Hart House, Anton came with him.
21
Characters
These are the people who comprise House Bartheld, as well
as their notable retainers.
22
Abilities
Agility 3
Animal Handling 3
Ride 1B
Athletics 3
Strength 1B
Cunning 3
Logic 2B
Endurance 3
Davain Barthelds wife is tall and slender, with long hair that
is so light blond it seems white in the right light. Her skin
is pale and delicate and flushes bright red with the slightest
exertion or embarrassment and her eyes are a bright, teasing green. Ayleth dresses to take advantage of her coloring
and slender figure, either in pale gowns that make her seem
ethereal or darker, dramatic colors that offset her complexion.
Like many noblewomen of the decadent south, Ayleth makes
looking her best an art form.
Ayleth Bartheld is more than ornamental, however. Ayleth
is intelligent, and is skilled at reading people so that she can
tell them what they want to hear. She is deft at implying
things without promising anything, and she is as hard to fool
as she is adept at fooling others. Most importantly, Ayleth
loves the court life. She thrives on the whirl of Westeross
social scene, the schemes and backroom deals, the dancing
and flirting. When she walks into a room, she commands attention.
Ayleth was born to House Swann, a household loyal to
King Robert, and was raised to be a courtier in Kings Landing. Her father, Dominic Swann, was controlling and overbearing. He was determined to craft his daughter into a
weapon to be used for the good of her House. In order to
have time to herself and her thoughts, Ayleth learned to creep
silently through the depths of the family castle and pick the
locks of abandoned rooms with her hairpins.
At first, Ayleth was not happy to be married to Davain
Bartheld. She had hoped to win the eye of a more important
noble from one of Westeross great houses. However, the earnest young lord won her over with kindness and respect, and
she fell in love with him against her will even before Brom
Fighting 4
Long Blades 1B
Persuasion 3
Status 5
Warfare 3
Command 1B
Attributes
Combat
Defense
Intrigue
Defense
10
Health
Composure
Destiny Points
4+1B
6 Damage
Powerful, Slow,
Two-Handed,
Unwieldy, Vicious
took his leave of Hart House. Ayleth takes a slightly maternal attitude towards her husband. He certainly has his skills,
but when it comes to the schemes of the lords and ladies of
Westeros, he is barely more than a child. He has invited his
cousin Fendrel into his home, made Fendrel his heir, and does
nothing to protect himself from Fendrels schemes. Ayleth
wants to protect Davain from the true duplicity of the nobility, in part to let him focus on his strengths, and in part to
preserve what she sees as his charming innocence.
Ayleth has discovered that Hart House, with its constant
stream of noble visitors, is an ideal place for her. She can play
host, curry favor with her guests, and use that favor to improve
23
Adult Schemer
Abilities
Agility 3
Awareness 3
Empathy 2B
Cunning 4
Deception 3
Knowledge 3
Education 1B
Language 3
Persuasion 4
Charm 2B
Status 5
Stealth 2
Sneak 2B
Thievery 3
Pick Locks 1B
Will 3
Attributes
Combat
Defense
Intrigue
Defense
12
Health
Composure
Destiny Points
24
Drawback: Haughty
1 Damage
Defensive +1,
Off-hand +1
Corbin genuinely likes peopleeven the smallfolk, and especially womenand wants them to be happy.
Unfortunately, Corbin has a tragically short temper and
disregard for propriety. He seems obsessed with bedding
every woman he can find. Corbins appetites are the reason
he is at Hart House. Corbin was found abed with Bonnie
Spider, the wife of Tyvin Spider, an infamous duelist with
close connections to House Lannister. Rather than let the
son of a vassal get killed, but unwilling to personally intervene, King Robert sent Corbin to Hart House to wait it
out. While tempers cool in Kings Landing, Corbin cools
his heels at Hart House, bothering the maids and washerwomen.
While grateful for the sanctuary, Corbin dislikes his host.
Although Davain keeps his opinions to himself, Corbin sees
Davains disapproval in every word and gesture. Although
he has not directly chastised Corbin directly, Davain keeps
the attractive young serving girls away. Furthermore, Corbin
has always had an irrational dislike of tall men. Worst of
Adult Fighter
Maester Forthwind
Abilities
Abilities
Agility 3
Animal Handling 3
Animal Handling 4
Warhorse 3B
Train 2B
Awareness 3
Athletics 3
Cunning 4
Cunning 3
Deception 3
Endurance 3
Fighting 5
Long Blades 3B
Persuasion 3
Seduction 2B
Healing 3
Knowledge 5
Education 2B
Language 4
Persuasion 3
Status 4
Status 4
Combat
Defense
Intrigue
Defense
Health
Composure
Destiny Points
Stewardship 2B
Will 3
Attributes
Attributes
Combat
Defense
Intrigue
Defense
11
Health
Composure
12
Destiny Points
Drawbacks: Lascivious
Middle-Aged Expert
5+2B
4 Damage
Adaptable
Maester Forthwind
Hart Houses Maester is not an imposing figure. Forthwind is
a swarthy middle-aged man of average height with curly black
hair, and mild, dark grey eyes. Forthwind has poor muscle
definition and a little more fat on his frame than perhaps he
should, giving him a soft appearance. His face is round and
young-looking, despite his 43 years, with full lips and a lumpy
nose. His fingers are particularly pudgy. Forthwind prefers
25
Anton Black
Anton Black performs two primary functions at Hart House.
First, he is a master artisan, keeping the manors blades sharp
and providing a source of income and prestige. Second, he is
Lord Davains mentor and confidante.
Anton was born into the service of House Swann at Raintree. His father was a hostler and his mother was one of the
Maesters assistants. As a child, Anton was full of nervous
energy and frustrated creativity. His parents thought that he
was doomed to either be killed in an accident or fight or get
into serious trouble before he was fully grown. Fortunately,
Raintrees smith saw that Anton had potential and took him
under his wing. He gave Anton a trade, but more importantly, Robin taught Anton discipline. When Robin died, Anton
took over as Raintrees smith and held the position for several
decades.
When Davain arrived at Raintree, Anton saw a kindred
spirit. Davain was also full of energy and without discipline.
Anton felt he had no choice but to save Davain the way he
had been saved. He first attracted Davains by implying that
learning how to make swords would make Davain a better
fighter. Davain declared that he was done with Anton five
times during the course of his childhood at Raintree, but Anton always managed to draw him back. Davain himself was
26
Bevan Sand
Hart Houses chief cook is a tall, narrow Dornishman with
dark skin, dark eyes, and dark, curly hair. His features are too
sharp and his eyes too beady and close together for him to be
handsome, but he is a little exotic looking. Bevans face has
an odd resemblance to Hart Houses Maester Forthwinds, a
similarity made comical by Bevans lanky build as compared
to Forthwinds pudge. Like any good chef, Bevan samples
his food constantly as he cooks. He says hed be as pudgy
as Forthwind if only he could slow himself down; he dashes
throughout the kitchen, constantly ensuring that everything
is just so.
Bevan is very good at what he does and resents any interruption or meddling in his kitchen. He considers himself lord
and master of the kitchen, worthy of the same respect as King
Robert on his throne.
Cecily Cooper
Davain Bartheld would be surprised to discover that the leader of the Black Serpent Band, the largest group of bandits in
his domain, is a woman. Cecily was fifteen years old when her
home was destroyed in one of the final battles of Roberts Rebellion. Her family was killed and the nobles they served were
entirely wiped out. With nowhere to go, Cecily fell in with
a traveling band of similarly displaced peasants. The peasants
eventually turned to banditry to survive, and Cecily joined
them. She surprised everyone with a tremendous capacity for
violence and talent for leadership and eventually became the
leader of the band.
Cecily is a pragmatic woman. She has become accustomed to life as a powerful woman in a sexist society. She
has raided villages and disrupted trade up and down Westeros for a decade and a half, staying long enough to enrich
herself, but not so long as to get caught. The territory around
Hart House has been ideal for the past five years. The lords
have seen to their pleasures in the manor, leaving the countryside to Cecily and her band, so long as the Black Serpents
werent too bold.
Cecily isnt sure what to do about Davain Bartheld. Hes a
different sort of nobleman than what shes used to. The smallfolk say that he sees to their needs instead of his own and
spends time and resources improving his domain. Its past
time to move on, but this new lord makes Cecily wonder.
Maybe, after all these years, its time to become legitimate.
Cecily is a tough-looking woman of thirty, as scarred and
muscular as any knight. She keeps her brown hair cut short
and wears masculine clothing, but makes no effort to hide her
gender. Cecily is swarthy and dark-eyed. Some of her men are
unsatisfied with a female leader and would kill her and take
over the band if they could. As a result, Cecily always goes
armed and armored.
ing himself to the service of some potent lord. Instead, Edmund spends his days at Hart House in the company of his
manservant Reginald, reading and writing poetry, compiling
histories of Westeros, and studying the properties of herbs
and minerals like a peasant farmwife. Edmund doesnt even
pursue a beneficial marriage to the daughter of an important,
influential, or wealthy lord. If he had been born a Lannister,
Edmund would have been pressured to join the Faith or the
Maesters or take the black a long time ago.
However, no one can deny that Edmund has the trait the
Barthelds hold most dear: absolute loyalty. Several important
lords consider Edmund a friend and confidante, and he has
kept their secrets in the face of bribery, threats, and blackmail. Although a mediocre swordsman, at best, Edmund has
faced more than one duel to protect the honor of his friends.
He took a wound defending Lord Gyles Rosbys skill as a
general and was nearly killed over an insult to Ser Addam
Marbrands wife.
Hart House has become Edmunds home, though he
makes frequent trips to visit his friends in Kings Landing,
Lannisport, and other cities and castles of Westeros.
Edmund is a slender young man with delicate features
and a middling complexion. He wears his auburn hair cut
short. He and Davain have the same intensely blue eyes,
inherited from Brom. Edmund dresses well, in Bartheld
colors, and rarely bothers to carry a sword. In addition to his
storied honor, Edmund is actually quite shy. He prefers the
company of Reginald and his few close friendsincluding
Lord Davain.
27
Rose Clay
Rose Clay, wife of Ser Rowan Clay, leader of House Barthelds military, serves as Head Housemaid for Hart House.
Rose is average height for a woman and pleasantly round,
with a fair complexion and pale hair. Although she is quite
pretty, her most striking feature is her intense, intelligent
green eyes. She is twenty-eight years old, but has the presence and confidence of someone much older. Rose projects
competence, practicality, and grace. She has a very dry sense
of humor; most people dont notice when she is making fun
of them. Rose is especially skilled at gently mocking the
nobility, who she is fond of in a patronizing way. She thinks
people born to wealth and power just arent practical like
ordinary folks.
Rose is the mistress of Hart Houses cleaning staff and has
a great deal of influence with the steward and his staff as well.
She has used her position to place herself at the center of
Hart Houses gossip. Anything seen or overheard by anyone
in the manors staff eventually finds its way to Rose. Rose has
used this situation to make herself an asset to the masters of
Hart House. Rose doesnt pass along everything she hears,
only the tidbits that the lord might find useful. In the old
days, she reported directly to Lord Brom, but Lord Davain
isnt as canny or willing to compromise as his predecessor.
Instead, she reports to his wife, Lady Ayleth.
Rose has significantly more intelligence, energy, and ambition than her position requires, and so amuses herself by
sitting in the center of the webs of Hart House gossip. Just as
her husband serves the family with her sword, Rose does her
best to keep the Barthelds safe with her ears.
28
House Dulver
Heraldry: A black Pickaxe on a copper field
Motto: Earth Yields
High above the green and
growing Riverlands in the
rocky crags and stony canyons of the mountains between Riverrun and the
Banefort, Deepen Hall perches like a vulture over a herd of
fatted calves. House Dulver,
which claims the ancient mountain fastness as its seat, does little
to assuage that impression. Shrewd,
grasping and mean, the Dulvers hover on
the edge of richer lands with hungry eyes on their neighbors,
ready to make a meal of any one who falters. Though nominally sworn to House Lannister, Lord Dulvers first loyalty is
ever to his own ambitions.
History
Mudge the Bronzeman, say the Dulvers, was the first of the
First Men to dig in the earth of Westeros, and it is to him
that they trace their line and the founding of their name. It
was from Mudges forge that the First Men armed themselves with spears and swords to drive out the Children of the
Forest. It was the axes that Mudge made that cut down the
weirwoods.
But the Dulvers were known for practicality rather than
zealous loyalty. When the peace was made, they planted a
godswood within the walls of Deepen Hall and spoke their
vows before the Old Gods. When the Andals came, the Dulvers built a seven-sided chapel and Lord Dulver took an Andal wife. And when Aegon came, they learned to love dragons. Whatever else may be said of them, the Lords Dulver
knew where power lay, and strive in every generation to see
that their allegiances lay with it.
For all their cunning, though, the Dulvers have rarely been
rich or powerful in their own right. Their holdings are small,
remote and poorstony hills and spare pastures. Their people
are few. The Dulver knack for knowing which way the wind
blows has served mainly to ensure survival rather than promote enrichment. Leastwise until Lord Harald Dulver took
the lords chair.
29
Lord Haralds father, Lord Hemmel Dulver, called Pinchpenny, was a notorious skinflint. Its said around the tavern
tables that the late Lord Dulver was so miserly that it took
his lady wife locking herself in her chambers for a month for
him to agree to serve more than turnip gruel and cider at their
only daughters wedding. For all his reticence to spend coin
on luxury though, Lord Hemmel had a miraculous nose for
a bargain. He employed a veritable legion of factors combing the countryside for goods that might be acquired on
the cheap. He bought up the goods of impoverished houses, the discarded weapons of defeated armies, brass hinges
and bronze urns, books and candlesticks and iron tools. And
when he had filled the cellars beneath his hold, he had his
miners dig more.
When Lord Hemmel perished of a chill in his forty-third
year (taken from his cellars while counting great casks of iron
nails) he left his heir his name, his lands, and a hundred cellars stuffed to bursting with the castoffs of seven kingdoms.
Some might count this a burden, but Lord Harald had two
things his father had always lackedambition and the willingness to sell.
There was little enough wheat among the chaff Lord Hemmel had gathered, but Lord Harald found it all. Through pa-
30
tience, will and a vicious knack for haggling, the new Dulver
found buyers for the strangest things and in the strangest
places. Every penny that came to him he sent back out to
bring in more. And while he had his fathers nose, young
Harald had a more discerning eye.
By the time of Roberts Rebellion, Lord Harald was doing
a brisk business taking the lead and tin and copper that the
mines upon his land would yield and turning them into gold
and steel and more. He had also got himself a Lannister wife
by way of Lannisport, a cousin to Lord Tywin and the Lannisters of the Rock. And when Lord Tywin kept his men at
home, so too did Harald Dulver.
Each time a messenger arrived below his gates, Lord Dulver threw them open and welcomed them most warmly, be
they Roberts men or Aerys. But when they asked for men
he had but to show them around the castle and let them see
his ill-manned walls. I have but blind old codgers and callow boys, my lords, he said. But I cannot let you go emptyhanded. And so he sent them each away with casks packed
with salt pork or wayns laden with new boots, but never men.
When finally Lord Tywin marched from Casterly Rock,
Lord Dulver met him on the road with three hundred foot
behind him. As the Dulver men joined the Lannister host
Holdings
The lands of House Dulver are known as Stony Heath, which
is a fairly average-sized holding situated in the hills and
mountains north of the Tumblestone between the Banefort
and Fairmarket. A narrow, but exceptionally well-made road
branches off from the River Road and wends its way up the
hills to the gates of Deepen Hall, the seat of House Dulver
who holds lordship over the lands about.
31
Influence 38
Ser Walton Dulver (Heir, 20), Horas Dulver (Second Son, 10), Helen Dulver (5), Expendable 3
Lands 34
Law 24
House Fortunes -2
Population 17
House Fortunes +0
Veteran Garrison; 7 Power - Automatic (0) Discipline at home or Routine (6) away - Awareness 3, Endurance 4, Fighting 4
Power 21
Wealth 61
Sept on the Heath (15, House Fortunes +3), Mine (10, House Fortunes +5), Maester Falstan (10, House Fortunes +3), Karly
Kays (Artisan 10, House Fortunes +1), Persal Littlefoot (Artisan 10, House Fortunes +1), Expendable 6
Total House Fortunes Modifier +11
was a river of bronze flowing out from the hall as swords and
spears suits of mail. The coming of steel put an end to that,
but the road itself endures.
Law: 24
Aside from the narrow trade road running from Deepen Hall
to the River Road, the Stony Heath is a largely trackless and
desolate land, dotted with isolated crofts, cottages and mining camps. There is little worth stealing by the measure of
most bandits and by dint of that fact alone, banditry is but a
minor problem.
The garrison mounts regular patrols of the road and the
route to Ser Waltons tower, but circuits of the hills and
mountains are rare and irregular. From time to time some
band of desperate men will take refuge in one or another of
the valleys creasing the Heath. At those times Lord Harald
sends his son with the garrison in force to root them out with
steel and fire.
Population: 17
The only thing thinner on the Heath than the trees are the
people. Shepherds cottages dot the valleys and poor farmers
crofts huddle on the hills. Mining camps squat over holes in
the ground grubbing out the lead and copper and tin that the
earth of Stony Heath will yield.
The largest concentration of smallfolk lives in Copperton,
the little hamlet that huddles at the foot of the Deepmont
serving the needs of his Lordship and the castle. They butcher
his sheep and cut peat from the bogs on the seaward side of
32
the hills. They serve the needs of the teamsters driving wayns,
though poorly. And most of all, they dig.
Short, bald, and gaunt with a thick wattle under his chin
that waggles when he works his jaws, Harald Dulver has on
occasion been likened more to a turkey by those who have
only ever seen him. Sharing the mans company dispels such
notions in short order. His lordships jests tend toward gallows humor; when he laughs, his beak of a nose bobs up and
down and the flesh of his throat wags back and forth. There
is a hunger that gleams in his dark eyes. Hunger of a patient
sort. The sort that knows that eventually, in time, you will
grace his table.
He is not a man of martial bent, but noble blood demands a
son learn the ways of axe and sword. Lord Dulver was a competent, if never brilliant, fighter in his youth. Now in middle
age, he keeps his wits as sharp as swords and uses them far
more often. Battles are for young men, he is fond of saying,
I win my wars with sheep and wayns. And indeed, his lordship is known by all whove dealt with him to be a demon at
the negotiation table.
Lord Harald has always had a head for business and a knack
for finding use in what others have dismissed as useless. Like
his cousins the Lannisters, Dulver takes what is offered. Its
a popular saw among the smallfolk that under Deepen Hall
youll find two of everything. And indeed, no one who comes
Characters
House Dulver is comprised of the following family members
and people of import.
33
Middle-Aged Schemer
Abilities
Animal Handling 3
Ride 1B
Awareness 4
Empathy 2B
Cunning 3
Memory 1B
Deception 3
Bluff 1B
Endurance 3
Fighting 3
Long Blades 1B
Language 3
Knowledge 3
Persuasion 5
Status 4
Stewardship 1B
Warfare 3
Will 3
Attributes
Combat
Defense
Intrigue
Defense
11
Health
Composure
Destiny Points
34
Longsword
3+1B
3 Damage
Shield
1 Damage
Defensive +2
Dagger
1 Damage
Defensive +1,
Offhand +1
Abilities
Agility 3
Animal Handling 3
Athletics 3
Running 1B
Endurance 4
Fighting 5
Language 3
Status 3
Warfare 3
Tactics 2B
Will 3
All Others 2
Attributes
Combat
Defense
Intrigue
Defense
Health
12
Composure
Destiny Points
5+2B
3 Damage
Shattering 1,
Vicious
War Lance
7 Damage;
Bulk 2, Impale,
Mounted, Powerful,
Slow, Vicious
Large
Shield
5 1D
1 Damage
Bulk 1, Defensive +4
35
Old Expert
Abilities
Animal Handling 3
Awareness 5
Cunning 3
Memory 2B
Deception 4
Fighting 2
Short Blades 1B
Language 3
Common Tongue
Language 2
Myrish
Knowledge 3
Streetwise 2B
Persuasion 4
Charm 1B
Stealth 3
Blend In 2B
Survival 3
Thievery 3
Pick Lock 1B
Will 3
Attributes
Combat
Defense
Intrigue
Defense
10
Health
Composure
Destiny Points
36
Heavy
Crossbow
4 Damage
Stiletto
21D
2 Damage
Piercing 2
Septon Arlyn
At the foot of the Deepmont, nestled into the last curve of the
causeway that climbs the mountain to the gates of Deepen
Hall, sits the Sept on the Heath. Perched high above, the Vulture of Dulver rules the land. But below, the Merry Grouse
(for so the smallfolk call Septon Arlyn) rules the people with
a ready grin and an easy laugh.
Septon Arlyn began life as Arlyn Qargyle, third son of a
landed knight sworn to the lord of Maidenpool. His fathers
holdings were poor and with King Roberts peace firmly established in the Riverlands, there were two stout young men ahead
of him in line for the meager inheritance his father would leave.
Not given to fratricidal scheming, Arlyn was packed off to
Kings Landing to study under the Most Devoted.
On his nineteenth nameday, Arlyn said his vows in the
Sept of Baelor and gave up the name of Qargyle. For another
year he served in the great sept before shedding his fine robes for the
brown habit of a begging brother
and began the wandering journey
that would end, at last, in the Sept
on the Heath.
For three years, Arlyn
walked the tangled web of
roads that winds through
the riverlands, into the westerlands and back again. He
learned a great many things
in those years: to be poor, to be
hungry, to dress and treat the wounds
and ailments life layers on the smallfolk who dig the earth
and feed the kingdom. As he learned those lessons, the smallfolk to whom he ministered came to know him.
Six years ago Septon Arlyn came up the Dulver road bearing messages for Lord Harald and Septon Quayle of the Sept
on the Heath. When he arrived, Septon Arlyn found his holy
brother in poor health, and old. On the night before Arlyn
was to depart the Sept and take up the road again, Septon
Quayle collapsed of a stroke. The old man would never rise
from his bed again.
What began as a brief visit became a vigil. Without a maester at Deepen Hall, the burden of caring for the old man
fell to Septon Arlyn. He did so dutifully, and alone. Septon
Quayle had few friends among his holy brothers, having been
a dour and humorless man in life, and the Sept on the Heath,
while rich in history, had never been a posting much sought
among the order. Through the long year of Quayles decline,
Septon Arlyn was the only member of the faith to attend
the old man. Upon the occasion of his death, Septon Arlyn
(who had, in that year, grown fond of the folk that lived about
the Sept and, truth be told, rather fat) spoke the words over
Septon Quayle, gave his body over to the Silent Sisters, and
took up his post.
It wasnt long before Septon Arlyn and the young heir of
Dulver, Walton, struck up a warm friendship.
Lord Harald, though he had the respect and devotion of
his smallfolk, did little to make them love him. What their
lordship could not win and would not pursue, the people of
the Stony Heath showered on Septon Arlyn.
With his ready grin and generous nature, it was hard to
find anyone who had met him that did not love him. He
spent as much time in the hamlet and wandering the hills
tending to the faithful as he did preaching in the sept. He
saw to the ailments of the common folk, delivered their chil-
37
Septon Arlyn
Adult Expert
Abilities
Animal Handling 3
Awareness 3
Cunning 3
Decipher 2B
Deception 3
Endurance 3
Fighting 3
Bludgeon 1B
Healing 3
Treat Injury 1B
Language 4
Knowledge 4
Education 2B
Persuasion 3
Status 3
Will 4
Dedication 2B
Attributes
Combat
Defense
Intrigue
Defense
Health
Composure
12
Destiny Points
38
Mace
3+1B
2 Damage
Shield
1 Damage
+2 Defensive
Horas Dulver
Young Horas, just seventeen his last nameday, is much like his
father in both manner and appearance. Sadly, he has inherited
precious little of his fathers acumen. He is a poor manager,
sums vex him something terrible, and he has never been any
great shakes in a fight. What he does have, though, is a certain sort of low cunning well-suited to scheming, cheating,
and tyranny.
When Lord Dulver acquired a swathe of good, green farmland and turned it over to his younger son, Horas did his level
best to withhold his baser impulses. But as crop after crop
has failed, the youngsters restraint has failed. Thus far he has
limited his cruelties and depredations to poor travelers and
others that will, should their fortitude prove insufficient, not
be missed. But it wont be long before one of the smallfolk
Helen Dulver
Little Helen is just six years old, far too young to be hatching schemes of her own. She has her mothers fair hair, her
fathers quick mind, and a daring curiosity all her own. Helen
is her mothers treasure. Lady Falyse rarely goes anywhere
without her daughter. She dresses the girl in clothes to match
her own and bears the burden of little Helens education on
her own shoulders.
Helens father treasures her as well, though for entirely different reasons. Even though her flowering is still years away,
Lord Harald has already turned Maester Falstan to making
lists of potential husbands. When Helen is at last of marriageable age, no one will say she made a poor match.
39
Karyl Kays
Karyl Kays is a broad man of middling height with blunt
fingers and shoulders like a bull. He descends from a line of
stonemasons near as long as the Dulvers theyve served. Its
the Kays whove cut near every stone out of the Deepmont,
the Kays alone that know how deep the cellars of Deepen
Hall go. The Dulvers have always kept them well, and the
Kays have returned the favor with good and faithful service.
There are few in the westerlands who know as much as the
Kays about the cutting and shaping of stone, and stone is one
of the few things the Stony Heath has in abundance. People
come from across the seven kingdoms to the Stony Heath for
Dulver stone and the Kays men to work it.
Stingy as Lord Dulver is known to be with every other
commodity at his disposal he is uncommonly generous in
hiring out his master stonemason. The reason for that is simple: Karyl Kays is a spy.
Karyl Kays knowledge of stone and masonry gives him a
unique insight into the strength of a castles fortifications. He
has just as keen an eye for defensive weak points. Granted,
the information he gleans from his surveys of Lord Dulvers
neighbors is unlikely to yield immediate gains, but Harald
Dulver plans for the long term. With Kays help, his lordship
has assembled siege plans for half the castles in the Riverlands and a fair number of those around Kings Landing as
well.
Karyl Kays grows old and has no sons to take up his tools.
His wife died years ago without bearing any children and Karyl has never remarried. Loneliness wears upon him as the
years pass. If the right woman were to come along, there is
little Karyl Kays would not do for love.
Persal Littlefoot
As the old saw goes, Persal Littlefoot has forgotten more about
mining than any man in the westerlands has ever known. He
can smell copper and shits lead. But hes cursed by the gods
40
for the sin of greed, he says. Each time hes sought after nobler ores, disaster has followed soon after. The last time he
lost a son to poisonous stones that came up out of a silver
mine hed sunk. Before that he lost a leg hunting for gold
in the hills Ashemark, and the time before that his favorite
mule in a flood while sifting for gemstones on a little stream
that feeds the Mander. After his son, old Persal decided hed
rather live poor than die rich.
Persal has spent the last 25 years digging copper and lead
out of the hills of the Stony Heath and, when need arose,
heading up Lord Dulvers sappers. No one is more cunning at
digging tunnels than Persal Littlefoot.
Thus far, Littlefoot hasnt tested his curse digging for iron.
On the Heath hes had no opportunity to do so, but Lord
Haralds been asking questions about the best lands for iron
and the means for harvesting it. Persal has enjoyed a rare
comfort in his lordships service. If Lord Dulver comes into
the rights to iron-rich lands, Persal will have a decision to
make.
Maester Falstan
Maester Falstan is a newcomer to Deepen Hall, but it didnt
take him long to discern the reason he was brought within
its walls. Before Falstan came, Septon Arlyn was the most
learned man in the district as well as the most popular. Lord
Dulver, unable to match the septons easy manner with the
smallfolk, hired Falstan to subvert his place as healer and
scholar.
Falstan, however, has a grander vision than simply tending to wounds and reading yet another dusty tome. He has
already taken Lord Dulvers measure, and decided that if the
houses standing is to improve, then he will need to take steps
to ensure it. To that end, he has begun isolating Dulvers other advisers so that he can become the sole voice Lord Harald
turns to for advice. And that advice will point to a clear destination: battle.
House Kytley
Heraldry: Chevronelly of five gules and sable, over an
anvil argent.
Motto: Fire Hardens. The Hammer Shapes.
Fire hardens iron, and the
hammers blow shapes it
to usefulness. This has long
been the motto of House
Kytley, and seeing the fires
that have ravaged the land
and blow after blow to their
reputation, they continue to
keep faith that the Smith has
great plans for them. Like the
molten metal fresh from the anvil,
they are well heated, and well shaped; they wait only for the
quenching moment to be created anew.
History
Aegon the Conquerors wrath with King Harren of the Isles
was great, and the burning of Harrenhall created a gap in the
rule of the Riverlands. In his need to see the smallfolk cared
for, Aegon raised up several new houses from those who
served him faithfully. Theobald Kytley, known as Theobald
the Smith, forged the weapons that graced a full company of
Aegons soldiers, and the quality of craftsmanship was so high
that Aegon took notice.
When the war was over, Aegon raised the Kytley line
to nobility in order to watch over the kings lands in the
marshy north of the riverlands. The new king reasoned that
with weapons of such quality, no brigand band would cross
their territory without having to bleed for it. House Kytley
has taken great pride in their mastery of swamp and bog
since then, and executed their royal duties with expertise
and pride.
Hammerstone, the great seat of House Kytley, was completed early in the houses rise to glory. Begun by Theobald
the Smith, it was his son Lord Osmer Kytley who would improve upon Theobalds plan and see Hammerstone to fruition.
Smithton, the central jewel of Kytleys demesne, grew
to prominence alongside House Kytleys fortunes. The furnaces belched forth smoke at all hours, rendering bog iron
into ingots ready for casting. The metal, harvested nugget by
nugget from the swamps, contained too many impurities,
which made it too unpredictable for easy blacksmithing.
When the bog iron was used for casting, however, this same
flaw created tools and implements that were harder than
normal iron, and resistant to rust. Merchants plied the waterways, and made the journey from the Kingsroad to trade
in Smithtons market square. Generations of smallfolk rose
and fell, always thankful to have the gentle hand of House
Kytley to protect them from fire, famine and war. Grateful,
at least, until the rule of Jamys Kytley, known afterwards as
Jamys the Sybarite.
41
42
Influence 26
Lands 31
Wetland with Stream and Small Town (24), Wetland with Stream and Ruin (7)
Law 22
House Fortunes -2
Population 35
House Fortunes +3
Hammerstone Infantry: (Trained Infantry; 7 Power) - Routine (6) Discipline - Athletics 3, Endurance 3, Fighting 3
Hammerstone Longbowmen: (Green Archers; 4 Power) - Formidable (12) Discipline - Marksmanship 3
Power 23
The Smithton Watch: (Trained Garrison; 5 Power) - Easy (3) Discipline at home
or Challenging (9) away - Awareness 3, Endurance 3, Fighting 3
The Bogwalkers: (Trained Guerillas; Power 5) Challenging (9) Discipline - Stealth 4, Marksmanship 3 - Expendable 2
Wealth 31
Maester Thomnas (10, House Fortunes +3), Julyan the Smith (Artisan 10, House Fortunes +1), Expendable 11
Total House Fortunes Modifier +5
Holdings
House Kytley stands on the knifes edge that separates death
and anonymity from prestige and fortune. Their holdings are
tightly packed and their resources stretched to the breaking
point. Any further disaster could undo everything for which
Lord Ambrose has struggled, but any gains that are made can
only drive his dreams forward.
43
Smithton
Law: 22
Hardhands Folly
Several miles from Hammerstone, deep in the boglands, sits
a painful reminder of the price of failurethe ruined hall
known as Hardhands Folly. Erected by Harwyn Hardhand at
a time when the Ironmen controlled much of the Riverlands,
it was already uninhabited when Aegon the Dragon broke
King Harran the Black. What happened to its occupants is
unknown and the smallfolk consider the entire site cursed.
The appearance of witch-lights in the surrounding swamp,
and the treacherous nature of the ground have done little to
change the ruins reputation.
Hammerstone Infantry
Trained Infantry * 7 Power
Standard (6) Discipline
Athletics 3, Endurance 3, Fighting 3
Hammerstone Longbowmen
Green Archers * 4 Power
Formidable (12) Discipline
Marksmanship 3
The Bogwalkers
Trained Guerrillas * Power 5
Challenging (9) Discipline
Stealth 4, Marksmanship 3
44
Population: 35
Smithton contains the bulk of the population of House
Kytleys lands, and many areas of the town are overcrowded. Refugees from the ironmens raids fled to the city and
even nine years later they have remained rather than rebuild
their old burned farmsteads. Outside the towns protection
the population becomes much scarcer. Small collections of
houses clump together in the arable regions, and often have
broad expanses of marsh between themselves and the next
community. Word travels slowly in the wetlands as a result,
brought only by travelling Septons or the occasional, mistrusted, traveler.
Hammerstone,
the Seat of House Kytley
Begun by Theobald the Smith as a motte and bailey fortification to stand guard over the city of Smithton, Hammerstone
grew quickly into a fully staffed, if small, castle. Under Lord
Osmer Kytleys careful direction, stone replaced the wooden
palisades and great hall grew within these defenses to host
visiting nobility from across the Riverlands. The White Anvil
of Kytley blazed forth on proud pennons that snapped in the
breeze and reminded all who sat in residence.
Now, however, Hammerstone is a shadow of its former
glory. Halvgrim Dead-eye led a group of Ironman raiders
deep into the heart of Kytley lands, and when Lord Jamys
failed to mount any resistance they put the castle to torch and
ram. The once fine ramparts, built from quarried limestone,
Great Hall
Hammerstones great hall is a monument to House Kytleys
glory. Broad and deep enough to fete even a royal entourage,
it feels cavernous to the considerably smaller groups that are
typically entertained. Portraits of the Lords of Hammerstone,
from Theobald to Lord Ambrose, decorate the long walls, and
a pair of tapestries depicting House Kytleys founding flank
the high table that overlooks the rest of the hall.
The heavy timbers at one end still bear to soot and char
from the Dead-Eyes raid, while those at the other end are
45
Kitchen
House Kytleys kitchens and cellars flourished under the hedonistic appetites of Lord Jamys. Unfortunately for their
master, Hewrey Pace, the current Lord of Hammerstone does
not share his brothers proclivities. The hearth still burns, but
the parade of exotic ingredients has turned over to simple
meats, breads and root vegetables. The cellar still holds a fine
example of wines from across Westeros (and even some from
as far as the Free Cities) but Lord Ambrose pays them little
mind save when hosting an important guest. Even then, he
relies on Master Paces judgment, rather than any knowledge
of his own.
Smithy
House Kytley has long dedicated their efforts and the
prayers to The Smith out of all the Seven. From their forebear Theobald the Smith, to the bog iron that built their
early fortune, to the family motto itself, House Kytley believes themselves shaped by the fire and hammer of The
Smith. As such, where other houses might have kept a full
sept in their midst, House Kytley has kept only a smithy and
a smith-in-residence.
House Kytleys smithy is decorated with images of its patron, and worship comes not from the organized chanting of
Septons, but rather from the rhythmic chime of hammer on
iron. Julyan, the current smith-in-residence, recognizes the
sacred nature of her calling to House Kytley and has dedicated herself to the work with a piety born of a drive for perfection.
The Walls
No discussion of Hammerstone would be complete without a moment dedicated to its once-great defenses. The
redoubt of white limestone is blackened and cracked, and
the crenellated towers are collapsed upon themselves. In
places, enough remains to give some idea of their scope, but
even these pieces are too precarious to offer protection. The
honeycomb nature of the ruined wall and the tower bases
creates tiny rooms where a small group of people might
meet without being seen, and the phrase in the walls has
46
Characters
This section contains the notable people who are in or serve
House Kytley.
Adult Schemer
Abilities
Awareness 3
Cunning 4
Endurance 3
Knowledge 4
Education 2B
Language 3
Persuasion 4
Status 4
Warfare 3
Tactics 1B
Will 3
Coordinate 1B
Attributes
Combat
Defense
Intrigue
Defense
11
Health
Composure
Destiny Points
3 damage
Dagger
1 damage
Defensive +1,
Off-hand +1
not to repeat the slight his father gave him. While Ambrose
dotes on his daughter Merild, he tries to remain distant
knowing that one day she will be married off for the best
interests of House Kytley.
Lord Ambrose strikes many as a Maester on first appearancehe wears his family colors only at grand occasions, and
prefers the somber gray tones of the Citadel in his daily wear.
His thin frame and dour nature bring him off as older than
his years. He is ever with a book close at hand either for
reading or recording his thoughts, and though few see it, his
much-prized copper link rests beneath his shirt suspended
from his neck by leather that one day hoped to be chain.
Over the coming year, Ambrose plans to risk much to return his son Robert from House Mallister. Despite his public
denunciation of his wifes claim, he holds the Lord of Seagard
partly responsible for failing to prevent the Ironman raiders
from reaching shore. He knows he must proceed cautiously,
or young Robert will pay with his life. This pressure weighs
upon him, but the Lord of Hammerstone recognizes that
whatever the outcome it secures the future of his House. In
the short term, he protects House Kytley with every means at
his disposal he will preserve Kytley for his sons, which ever
one ends up sitting in the seat of power.
47
Adult Schemer
Abilities
Agility 3
Athletics 3
Awareness 3
Cunning 4
Logic 1B
Deception 3
Bluff 2B
Language 3
Common Tongue
Persuasion 3
Seduce 1B
Status 4
Will 5
Dedication 1B
Attributes
Combat
Defense
Intrigue
Defense
11
Health
Composure
16
Destiny Points
48
1 Damage
Defensive +1,
Off-hand +1
Maester Thomnas
Broad in girth and smile, quick with a
warm embrace and eager to partake
in food and drink with fellows of any
station Maester Thomnas is, at first
glance, a direct opposite to the
common portrayal of a Maester as lean and ever-hungry.
Only those whom he trusts
enough to allow behind his faade are allowed to see how close
to the stereotype he can follow.
While he believes in the Maesters position as a servant of
all of Westeros, Thomnas also believes that a light kept in the
corner shines less brightly than one on a pedestal. To that end,
he has served as a sounding board for Lord Ambroses plans
and has worked alongside him to shape House Kytleys future.
In the Citadel, Thomnas admired Ambroses natural aptitudes
as an Acolyte. Now that he has seen the boy grow into a leader
of men, that admiration has turned to respect. He accepted his
appointment to House Kytley with pleasure, and found all three
of Ambroses children to have, if not the aptitude, certainly the
eagerness for learning that he so admired in their father.
Though he shares Lord Kytleys desire to drive the house
forward, they often disagree on the method. Unlike Ambrose,
Thomnas understands and accepts the role deception and bluff
plays in the Great Game. And when those tools fail, his knowledge of healing teaches best how to harm. While he knows
he could never bring Ambrose fully to his way of thinking,
Thomnas also takes pleasure in being the one Ambrose comes
to when the straight and dutiful path wont get what he wants.
Thomnas holds knowledge important above all thingshe
understands the power that knowledge wields. Despite his
willingness to engage in deception and trickery, he holds his
vows to the citadel and his oath to Lord Ambrose as truegiven and would not conceive of breaking them. Besides, he
takes a great deal of pleasure from being the poisoned dagger
in Ambroses armory.
Maester Thomnas knows Ambrose plans to put leverage
against House Mallister to win back his son, though he isnt
certain of Lord Kytleys method. On his own, he has been
shipping tools and supplies to some of the Clans, part of an
effort to build good will should House Kytley need allies.
Over the next year, Maester Thomnas plans to reduce supply
shipments and claim Mallister interference, hoping to stir the
clans into more aggressive action and further split the attentions of Mallister and his allies.
Maester Thomnas
Adult Expert
Abilities
Cunning 3
Endurance 3
Healing 4
Knowledge 5
Language 4
Common Tongue
Language 2
High Valyrian
Attributes
Combat
Defense
Intrigue
Defense
Health
Composure
Destiny Points
1 damage
Defensive +1,
Off-hand +1
49
Middle-Aged Fighter
Hawys Kytley
Middle-Aged Schemer
Abilities
Abilities
Agility 3
Dodge 2B
Agility 3
Animal Handling 4
Ride 2B
Awareness 4
Cunning 4
Athletics 3
Endurance 4
Resilience 1B
Deception 4
Fighting 5
Knowledge 3
Bluff 2B
Marksmanship 3
Language 3
Survival 3
Persuasion 4
Status 3
Stewardship 2B
Warfare 4
Command 1B
Will 4
Will 3
Attributes
Attributes
Combat
Defense
Intrigue
Defense
Combat
Defense
Intrigue
Defense
11
Health
12
Composure
Health
Composure
12
Destiny Points
5+1B
1 Damage
Longsword
5+3B
4 Damage
Defensive +1,
Off-hand +1
50
Destiny Points
Hawys Kytley
Lord Edrics youngest
daughter, Hawys always
expected to be used as a
political pawn; an arranged
marriage to seal one of her
fathers contracts. When
Edric died, Jamys ignored
her in favor of his own desires and she first had a taste
of what it might mean to be
free. And then Jamys, too,
died and all her plans were
undone. Her younger brother, now the head of the family, married off all his sisters save
her and she despises the reminder of what she could have had.
Thin to the point of cadaverousness, it often seems that the
only thing that keeps Hawys alive is her resentment of Lord
Ambrose. She knows enough of politics to stay just this side of
decorum, and has embraced the power her uniqueness grants
her. She knows that her younger brother cannot risk shaming
her or turning her out until young Merild is old enough to
make a viable marriage contract, but has resolved to punish
him for not marrying her off when he first came to power.
Robert Kytley
At nine years, the heir to Hammerstone should have been
transitioning from childhood to the learning of adolescence.
Unfortunately, his lesson came quicker than anyone could
have expected. A prisoner to ensure his fathers proper behavior, the young heir finds himself alone among his enemies
instead of within the house in which he was raised.
Robert is, paradoxically, known by his absence far more
than he ever was as a member of the house. Currently in the
custody of House Mallister, he nonetheless has had a place set
for him at every meal and his birth celebrated as though he
were standing in the door.
Merild Kytley
Twin sister to Robert, she and her brother have felt from
birth to be two parts of a single whole. Every experiencea
meal, a flower, a piece of stonehad not happened until one
had shared it with the other. The two children often acted as a
single entity, and were seldom seen out of sight of each other.
That ended the day Robert was taken to Seagard, and since
then Merild has felt incomplete. Experiences that she has not
shared with Robert feel only partly real, and she needs his
confirmation to know that they happened as she remembers.
Bright and a quick study, Merild used to look forward to her
lessons with Maester Thomnas. Now it is another bit of tedium, like the needlework she is expected to do.
She has learned enough of her familys history to worry if
her unceasing need for her twins presence is a sign of hereditary madness, some remnant of Jamyss evil echoing down her
lineage. She tried to broach the subject with Maester Thomnas, but he dismissed her fears as childish imaginings. For the
time being, Merild hopes he is right. And she hopes Robert
can be returned to the family before the old Maester can be
proven wrong.
Walder Kytley
Bright and fair, Walder is the spitting image of his mother
and approaches the world with the same sense of charm and
childlike wonder. Most regulars who dwell within Hammerstone have learned to look twice when they hear the fiveyear-olds musical laughter because he is likely to be underfoot or running past.
For now, he is allowed to be a boy and he has a boys passionsrunning, climbing, and playing among the animals
without concern for his station. While Lord Ambrose and
Maester Thomnas feel that the time has come to begin
Walders studies, Lady Braya has so far stonewalled the effort.
Instead, young Walder spends each day in pursuit of whatever
has seized him at the moment while the rest of Hammerstone gives him berth.
51
Collys Pace
As the Rooks only child, young Collys has lived her entire
life within Hammerstones walls. Her mother died giving birth to what would have been her brother, and her fathers responsibilities made him inattentive at best. She has
learned, therefore, to entertain herself through exploration
and discovery. She knows the stones of her home as though
52
they were the bones of her body, and knows of alcoves and
redoubts that are unknown even to Ser Morys.
A woman grown now, the walls that raised her have become a cage she longs to escape. She works in her fathers
kitchen to the best of her ability, but her every moment free
is spent with Adam Rivers. What started with her fascination
in his stories of the lands beyond the walls has grown into a
powerful romance that she is certain he returns. As of yet, he
has not asked her father for permission to wed, and his tardiness in this has become a point of consternation for Collys.
She has seen some of the other kitchen drudges eyeing her,
and she has decided that if he will not act out of love then
perhaps she can spur him into action with jealousy.
Guildmaster Raulin
Egger Raulin, while not a resident of Hammerstone, visits so
often that many have assumed that he maintains quarters in
the hall. In truth, he finds the castles stone walls drafty and
colder than his own warm manor house in Smithton, but he
comes to the castle regardless. Comfort and convenience are
far less important to him than being near the seat of power.
The head of the influential linen guild in Smithton, Raulin
works hard to maintain Lord Ambroses ear to insure the best
possible treatment for both the smallfolk growing the flax,
and those who work within his heckling and spinning houses.
He is not ashamed of the wealth his position has brought
him, and sees it as his due for seeing to the welfare of his guild
in much the same way as a Lord profits from the work of his
lands. For obvious reasons, this is not a comparison he makes
in front of the Lord of Hammerstone.
Indeed, his behavior towards Lord Ambrose borders on
the sycophantic. Guildmaster Raulin knows that House Kytley wants to expand its influence into Market Town, and he
plans for Kytley linens to be at the forefront of that expansion. Currently, he is willing to play the willing servant of
Hammerstone, but if he feels that Lord Ambrose might turn
against him Raulin has no qualms about moving to more aggressive means of getting his way.
House Marsten
Heraldry: Per chevron sable and vert, a lightning bolt argent
Motto: Let the Heavens Reign
Amid the foothills of the
Mountains of the Moon,
House Marsten guards the
western border of the Vale of
Arryn. A proud house, still
with the blood of the Andals
within its veins, though recent
years have seen it falter under
cruel circumstance. Alliances
and intrigue are all that remains of
Marstens once-vaunted strength. Can
such weapons still prevail, however, against the threats of time
and steel?
History
The blood of the Andals runs deep in the Vale of Arryn. The
Seven live here as nowhere else in Westeros, kept ever in the
minds and hearts of the Vales inhabitants. The Andals, the
wild race that wrested the lands from the First Men, have their
roots here in the Vale and in House Marsten. Of the Houses
still in existence, only House Arryn has a more venerable Andal lineage, tracing back to the Kings of Mountain and Vale.
As befits a family with such a long history, the events that
brought House Marsten to its historical stature are well
known throughout the Vale. The House was founded by Petyr
53
Holdings
House Marstens stats and narrative elements are featured in
this section. While this is a comprehensive overview, players
and narrators may feel free to add their own details or embellish as needed to work House Marsten more easily into their
chronicle.
Influence 46
Lands 40
Mountains with Stream (10), Hills with a River and Small Town (30)
Law 24
House Fortunes -2
Population 32
House Fortunes +3
Power 41
Wealth 33
54
Law: 24
For the smallfolk who live and work within Marsten lands,
life is calm and peaceful. The attacks by the Clans that happen throughout the Vale happen only rarely here. The market
brings its share of trouble, of course, but nothing too serious.
Folks expect thatmoney and strangers together are a recipe
55
Population: 32
While there are smallfolk who live among the hills, tending
flocks, the majority of the population resides in and around
Hartsbridge. The river valley is home to most of the fertile
ground within Marsten lands, and so most of the farmers and
smallholds stay within a mile on either side of the river. Rock
walls form a patchwork grid between the farms, giving the
appearance from the mountains above as emerald tiles lining
the sparkling water. The smaller hills are home to vineyards,
while the land in the river valley proper is given over to fruit
orchards and vegetable farming. Two of the more common
products that hail from here are a fine hard cider and wine of
moderate quality.
Rather than costly wood and iron, most of the buildings in
and around Hartsbridge are built of stone. The town is home
to a marketplace in the town commons, a small sept and an
attached school, a blacksmith, a cooperage, a mill, and a halfdozen small merchants and traders, in addition to two proper
inns and a tavern.
Castle Garrison
Trained Garrison * 5 Power
Easy (3) Discipline at home or Challenging (9) away
Awareness 3, Endurance 3, Fighting 3
Marsten Cavalry
Green Cavalry * 6 Power
Easy (3) Discipline
56
Animal Handling 3
Hartshorn
The castle known as Hartshorn initially belonged to a lesser branch of the Targaryen family, who took it from House
Taryk, a sworn ally of House Arryn who broke faith with the
Kings of Mountain and Vale to fight against the Targaryen
invaders. House Taryk was wiped from the face of Westeros by the Targaryens, and their lands were given to one of
Aegons commanders, his cousin Rhenyr, in thanks for his
support. It was the Targaryens who built Hartshorn, Rhenyr
Targaryens standard being the silver stags head in profile on
a green field.
During the Dance of Dragons, Rhenyrs descendant, Aeden, supported Rhaenya Targaryen. When House Arryn
chose to fight on Aegon IIs side, the Warden of the East then
called his banners against Aeden Targaryen and Lord Edric
Marsten answered, putting Aeden and all his family to the
sword. In thanks for his service, House Marsten was granted
the former Targaryen lands and castle, which they have held
ever since. Its said, though, that the ghosts of Aeden and his
lady still walk in the halls at night. Perhaps that has contributed to the exceptional piety of the Marsten family throughout the generations.
Hartshorn Castle is the most defensible structure within
House Marstens lands. In the event of attack or natural disaster, all the smallfolk women and children are expected to
The Hall
The grandest room in the keep, the hall is where Lady Isobel
holds court for the smallfolk of her realm and administers
disputes. It is austere, with a high ceiling and gothic arches.
Tall thin glazed windows line the west wall, sending down
slanting beams of light across the entire hall throughout the
afternoons. The walls are white, covered with plaster and
ornamented with painted scenes of the Maidens Veil, the
Seven, and portraits of Marsten lords and ladies throughout
the generations.
The Catacombs
The architects of Hartshorn knew that some things should not
be left in the open, and so they not only built up into the sky,
but also tunneled into the earth. From within the inner yard
theres a door that leads to stairs that descend into the earth.
From there one finds what was once a dungeon built of stone,
with rooms that have bolts still placed in the walls to hold
shackles, and where floors slope slightly to drain whatever liquids might collect in an underground room with no windows.
These rooms are largely in disuse, though those closest to the
stairs have been co-opted for use as root and wine cellars.
Characters
This section includes the primary characters in House
Marsten, both within the household itself and in Hartsbridge.
57
Middle-Aged Expert
Abilities
Awareness 4
Notice 1B
Cunning 4
Memory 1B
Endurance 3
Fighting 1
Healing 3
Treat Injury 1B
Knowledge 4
Education 1B
Persuasion 4
Status 5
Will 4
Attributes
Combat
Defense
Intrigue
Defense
13
Health
Composure
15
Destiny Points
58
Gareth Stone
Gareth was a foundling, left on the doorstep of the house sept
and discovered by Lady Isobel on the way to her morning devotions. The same age as her second son, he shared a wet nurse
with Erryk (her youngest son) before being placed in the care
of the servants. Corben and Isobel decided that when he grew
of age, he would be placed in the service of the Seven and become a septon. He showed a decided talent for management
and husbandry, however, and thus Lord Corben apprenticed
him to the house steward instead against his wifes wishes.
With the disasters that have befallen House Marsten and
Adolescent Expert
Abilities
Agility 3
Quickness 1B
Awareness 3
Empathy 1B
Healing 3
Knowledge 2
Education 1B
Language 3
Persuasion 5
Charm 1B
Status 4
Stealth 3
Warfare 1
Will 4
Attributes
Combat
Defense
Intrigue
Defense
Health
Composure
12
Destiny Points
6
Benefits: Heir
Drawbacks: Nave
59
Gareth Stone
Middle-Aged Expert
Abilities
Abilities
Agility 3
Dodge 1B
Agility 3
Dodge 2B
Animal Handling 3
Ride 1B
Animal Handling 4
Ride 1B
Athletics 3
Run 1B
Athletics 4
Strength 1B
Awareness 2
Notice 1B
Awareness 3
Cunning 3
Decipher 2B
Endurance 4
Endurance 3
Fighting 5
Fighting 3
Short Blades 2B
Persuasion 2
Knowledge 4
Status 3
Persuasion 3
Warfare 3
Status 4
Stewardship 2B
Will 5
Coordinate 1B
Combat
Defense
Health
Intrigue
Defense
10
Composure
15
Destiny Points
Dirk
Long Blades 2B
Marksmanship 3
Language 3
Attributes
Intimidate 1B
Command 2B
Will 3
Attributes
Combat
Defense
Intrigue
Defense
Health
Composure
Destiny Points
3+2B
1 Damage
Off-hand +2
60
Middle-Aged Fighter
Longsword
5+2B
5 Damage
Dagger
1 Damage
Fast, Off-hand +1
Crossbow,
Light
4 Damage
Luke Seldon
Luke Seldon is the mayor of Hartsbridge, which means primarily that he handles the daily business of the town, adjudicates disputes among business owners, and collects the
rents due to the Marsten family (minus a small percentage of
his own). Luke is the ideal face of benign corruption. He is
charming in an avuncular way, does care about Hartsbridge
and is willing to do his job, but if a bribe or two should come
his way or if the repairs for this or that in town are delayed,
who will be the worse for it? Since Lord Corbens death, Seldon has lost most of his fear of discovery, the only thing that
kept him relatively honest. He has begun to cement his power
base, quietly blaming the lack of oversight in the town on
Lady Isobel and bemoaning the lack of a lord to keep things
in order.
Seldon is of average height with heavily thinning hair, watery grey eyes, and a paunch for a belly. He talks often about
his exploits in Roberts Rebellion, but if he actually had any
they were very long ago now.
Septon Aeryn
The sept in Hartsbridge may not be the largest or most beautiful in Westeros, but Septon Aeryn is quite content to be its
septon. With a holy site nearby and a town and noble family
counted among the local faithful, he feels he has the religious
lives of those in his charge well in hand.
Septon Aeryn is of modest ambition. Born to Riverlands
smallfolk, he was given to the local sept as a child, there
taught to read and write along with the mysteries of the
Seven. He is in his late-thirties, tall and thin with brown
61
Septa Heloise
Septa Heloise is the family septa, retained to see to the education and care of Lady Corrine. She also leads family worship services in the Hartshorn sept, acts as an advisor to Lady
Isobel, and ministers to the spiritual needs of the rest of the
household staff as well. This might seem like a lot, but Septa
Heloise was blessed with an insatiable curiosity and a wellspring of energy that makes the industrious ant look lazy. She
has wispy brown hair and a quick, determined way of moving,
and does her best to ensure that her charge is kept on task at
all times.
Maester Leopold
The Marstens do not keep the services of a Maester, but
that was not always so. Maester Leopold was a part of the
Marsten household up until three years ago and still has contacts in Hartsbridge whom he sees on occasion. He and Gareth maintain a correspondence. Gareth has tried to convince
Lady Isobel to bring Maester Leopold back, but she flatly
refuses to consider it.
Maester Leopold currently has lodging in Gulltown and
works as a tutor for the sons of minor nobles. It is unusual
that he has not yet been assigned to the service of some other noble family, but he has gained permission to stay where
he is. Why he wishes to stay, however, is another question
entirely.
62
Gorton Hare
Hare is the town smith and farrier, keeping horses shod and
plows sharp and blades repaired. He is not a weaponsmith or
armorer, but Ser Markus would rather have someone keep the
horses and tack in good repair regardless. Hare is well liked in
town and is often chosen to represent the merchants from the
market to Luke Seldon in disputes, a fact for which Seldon
bears him little love.
Lyndan Flowers
Of all the merchants and smallfolk who come to the market,
the undisputed king of them all is Lyndan Flowers. Bringing exotic and storied items from across Westeros and all
throughout the east, Flowers is a mountebank of the first water, entertaining his audience even as he sells his trinkets and
treasures. He always has bits of information hes willing to
part with for the right price. Hes been trying to get an audience with either Lady Isobel or her steward, Gareth, in order
to deliver one such morsel, but thus far hes been unsuccessful.
Rhaemon Ansel
The towns most honored (and ancient) inhabitant, Rhaemon
gets respect throughout Hartsbridge. Hes rumored to be almost 80 years old, enough that his hair is thin and white and
his clouded violet eyes see very little anymore. Supposedly he
was descended from the local Targaryen family branch that
once lived here, but he has no relatives now and relies on a
pension he receives from the Marsten family and the kind-
House Tullison
Heraldry: Red mountains on a blue field.
Motto: Stone Endures
Set on the edge of the Riverlands, among the rocky outcroppings on the westernmost face of the Mountains
of the Moon, House Tullison
rose from the humble beginnings of its founder to a place
of prominence among the lesser
Houses of the Seven Kingdoms.
As a loyal ally of House Tully,
House Tullison looks to the heart of
the Riverlands for guidance and fuels the
defenses of its namesake House with iron from its mines.
History
According to family lore, Joston Rivers, the founder of House
Tullison, was born around 115, the natural son of the Lord
of Riverrun. The Lord claimed Joston as his child, but sent
him to be fostered at the Eyrie to protect the bastard against
the machinations of his disapproving wife. Joston showed potential in the martial arts from an early age, and was made a
squire to one of House Arryns sworn knights. At the age of
14, Joston accompanied his master to the armies of Aegon
II, and continued to provide faithful service through the war
that would become known as the Dance of the Dragons. By
wars end, Joston had come to his majority and was knighted
by his grateful master.
With the war over, Ser Joston was left a soldier without
any battles to fight, and so became a hedge knight. He traveled the lands of Westeros for five to ten years before coming
across the mining camps on the western edge of the Mountains of the Moon, and it was in this unlikely place that he
found his destiny. Joston arrived in the camps minutes before
clansmen swept out of the mountains, howling their barbarian war cries, intent on slaughtering the miners, stealing
the camps women and anything else they could carry away.
Joston organized a hasty defense of the camp, and, though
several miners were killed and Joston was seriously injured,
managed to drive off the raiders.
As the smallfolk tended to his injuries, they told Joston of
their near-daily battles for survival in defense of their claims.
Taking it upon himself as a true knight to provide for their
protection, Joston taught the miners how to defend themselves. According to his instruction, the smallfolk surrounded
their camps with ditches filled with sharpened wooden stakes,
and constructed mantlets covered with wetted leather to provide cover from arrows both hot and cold. He trained men
and women alike to fight using their picks, axes and shovels,
and children to standby with pails of water and dirt to fight
fires. After several months, the smallfolk began holding their
own against the clansmen and, while the attacks never ceased
entirely, the clans began to seek out other, easier, targets just
as often as they raided the camps.
The appreciative miners and their families began to refer
to Joston as Lord Ser, regardless of how many times he
told them he was bastard born, and no lord. Joston arranged
for the iron ore produced by the miners to be transported to
Riverrun, and there the smallfolk beseeched the Warden of
the Riverlands to make Joston their lord in name as well as
in deed. Impressed by the noble behavior of his natural son,
the Lord of Riverrun sent a raven to Aegon III, citing the
accomplishments of his bastard, and asking for Joston to be
ennobled. In 145, the King granted the Lords request, and
gifted Joston with the lands around the mining camps for the
new House. Now a lord in truth, Joston set aside the bastard
name Rivers and took up the surname Tullison, in honor of
his father.
Shortly after his marriage to Lady Casserdre of House
Piper, Lord Joston began to build his seat on a small spur
of the Mountains of the Moon, using the stone quarried as
a byproduct of mining iron for the construction. Completed
in 150, Joston named his small castle Mountains Reach. The
castle was designed to incorporate the rocky terrain as part
of its defenses, giving Jostons Rock (as it shortly became
known) the appearance of having grown out of the mountain.
63
Holdings
Following is an overview of both the mechanical and narrative elements of House Tullisons holdings.
ing. It is in, and directly around, Jostons Rock that the majority of the population lives.
Influence 23
Lands 25
Law 18
House Fortunes -5
Population 24
House Fortunes +1
Mountaineers: (Veteran Guerillas; 7 Power) - Routine (6) Discipline - Athletics 3, Marksmanship 4, Stealth 4
Power 20
Castle Garrison; 5 Power - Easy (3) Discipline at home or Challenging (9) away - Awareness 3, Endurance 3,
Fighting 3
Green Support; 3 Power - Formidable (12) Discipline - Endurance 3
Expendable 3
Wealth 48
Mine (10, House Fortunes +5), Sept (15, House Fortunes +3), Ren Alyard (Artisan 10, House Fortunes +1), Maester
Haelis (10, House Fortunes +3)
Total House Fortunes Modifier +8
64
around Jostons Rock are slightly cooler than the lands dominated by the Trident and its forks. Other than Jostons Rock
itself, the only settlement of any size is Lordsview, a hamlet
sheltering in the shade of Jostons Rocks walls (see the population section for more details).
Not long after Lord Joston completed the initial work on
Mountains Reach, he began construction of a road to link
his castle to the Kingsroad. Completed by his son, the River
Road is the only major road to be found in Tullison lands,
and is a vital connection to the Riverlands. It is down this
ditched and cobblestoned road that iron ore flows from the
mountain to the Green Fork and down to Riverrun or other
buyers. In return, food, lumber and other goods necessary
for the survival of the House trundle back up the road on
carts and wagons, headed for Jostons Rock or Lordsview.
Rarely washed out (thanks to the stone-lined ditches that
parallel it), the River Road is wide enough to accommodate
two moderately sized carts travelling side-by-side. Larger
transports dominate the road, requiring smaller ones to
undertake the laborious procedure of pulling off into the
ditches to make way.
Law: 18
The same clans that harassed Joston Rivers still plague House
Tullison to this day. Even though Jostons descendants have
continued his tradition of teaching the smallfolk how to defend themselves, the clans represent a constant threat, especially to the smaller mining camps out of sight of Jostons
Rock. The two most numerous and active clans in the area are
the Black Goats and the Rock Chewers. Since Lord Jostons
time, House Tullison has trained rangers in mountain fighting. Ser Mather Warrens is the current head of these rangers,
called the Mountaineers.
The Black Goats takes their name from the black-dyed
goats hide cloaks that they wear, and are led by a man named
Horag. Preferring to attack by night when the black of their
cloaks conceals them from view, the Black Goat clansmen
are the boldest of the local clans, and have been known to go
raiding down the River Road, hoping to catch merchants on
their way to Jostons Rock. The Rock Chewers mix rock dust
into their meals, in the belief they are taking the strength of
the mountains into their bodies. Less daring than the Black
65
on the site of the camp from which Joston oversaw the construction of Mountains Reach. No more than a half-dozen
buildings in size, Lordsview is home to smallfolk without a
place in Jostons Rock. It boasts an inn, a whorehouse, and a
small trading post.
Population: 24
Smallfolk Levy
Green Peasant Levy * 1 Power
Hard (15) Discipline
Population -2*
Survival 3
Castle Guard
Trained Castle Garrison * 5 Power
Easy (3) Discipline at home or Challenging (9) away
Awareness 3, Endurance 3, Fighting 3
Mountaineers
Veteran Guerillas * 7 Power
Routine (6) Discipline
Athletics 3, Marksmanship 4, Stealth 4
Endurance 3
66
Mountains Reach
Built with rock quarried from the iron mines, Mountains
Reach is one with the terrain on which it rests. Even as it has
The Mines
Entrances to the iron mines can be spotted all over the Tullison lands, even inside the walls of Jostons Rock. The mineshafts inside the castle are among the oldest active mines in
the area, some of them going back to the days before Joston Rivers. Other than to produce the high quality iron ore
for which House Tullison is known, the mines also provide
shelter for the smallfolk of the region in times of trouble.
When the signal fires high atop the towers of Jostons Rock
blaze, the smallfolk know an enemy is approaching the
mountain and they hurry to seek refuge inside the castle.
Dead end shafts where the iron has played out are used for
storage, converted into rough-and-ready shelters, and serve
as temporary housing for smallfolk whose homes have been
ravaged by the clans.
The Forge
House Tullison is proud to be self-sufficient when it comes to
the arms and armoring of its soldiers. With the exception of
bows and crossbows, every piece of military equipment used
by House forces is made inside the castle grounds. Master
Smith Ren Alyard, and his numerous journeymen and apprentices are capable of making full suits of plate mail as well
as the chain and breastplates worn by the majority of the
troops. Swords, daggers, maces and all other sorts of weapons are made and maintained in the forges. In times of war,
the smallfolk levies are equipped with military versions of the
picks and axes they use daily.
The Sept
Situated inside the walls of the castle, the sept at Mountains
Reach is the only formal place of worship to be found for
leagues. As such, religious smallfolk in the area travel to the
sept for ceremonies like weddings, funerals and religious
observances. The building that forms the sept was built specifically for the purpose of worship and is seven-sided, with
stained glass windows on each side that portray stylized images of the Seven. Inside, the sept is aglow with candlelight
reflecting off highly polished stone floors and benches. Septon Weyls oversees the sept, offering guidance and worship to
the faithful. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Smith and the Warrior are the two aspects of the Seven that are venerated most
frequently here.
67
Characters
This section is devoted to the personalities to be found in the
mountainous holdings of House Tullison.
Abilities
Agility 3
Athletics 3
Strength 1B
Endurance 3
Stamina 1B
Fighting 4
Bludgeoning 2B
Language 3
Knowledge 4
Persuasion 3
Status 5
Survival 3
Orientation 2B
Warfare 3
Will 3
Attributes
Combat
Defense
Intrigue
Defense
Health
Composure
Destiny Points
68
Mace
4+2B
3 Damage
Shattering 1
Knife
1 Damage
Defensive +1,
Off-hand +1
Empathy 2B
Cunning 3
Deception 4
Bluff 2B
Language 3
Knowledge 3
Persuasion 4
Status 4
Reputation 1B
Survival 3
Orientation 1B
Will 3
Attributes
Combat
Defense
Intrigue
Defense
10
Health
Composure
Destiny Points
69
only adds to her appeal as it give suitors some hope that they
might inherit rule if something unfortunate were to happen
to Lord Dunstan. That is, as they say, the rub.
Unlike her brother, Yve is as cunning and self-possessed as
she is attractive. Taught intrigue at her mothers elbow, Yves
age belies her capability. She is only too aware of the fact
that most of her suitors envision themselves sitting on the
stone throne of House Tullison. So she uses her beauty as a
weapon and her charm as a shield, flirting and blushing her
way through attempts to ensnare her in marriage. The dance
of intentions she performs is sad in a way. Like every girl, Yve
dreams of true love and marital bliss, yet she willingly puts
her duty to her House and her love for her brother before her
own desires. Yve hopes to find Dunstan a good wife that will
care for him, and gently guide him through the quagmires
Adult Fighter
Abilities
Agility 3
Athletics 3
Awareness 3
Cunning 3
Endurance 4
Fighting 3
Language 3
Marksmanship 5
Bows 3B
Status 3
Stealth 3
Sneak 2B
Survival 3
Will 3
Attributes
Combat
Defense
Intrigue
Defense
Health
12
Composure
Destiny Points
70
Longbow
5+2B
5 Damage
2 Hand Axes
2 Damage
Close Range
The Warrens family has served House Tullison with distinction for several generations. While not quite a hereditary title,
the last three Captains of the Mountaineers have all been Warrenses. Ser
Mather replaced his father as Captain when the elder Warrens
was killed by the same rockslide that gave Mather the
long, jagged scar that mars
his otherwise handsome features. Given a practice bow
almost before he learned to
walk, Ser Mather is feared by
the clans as a deadly shot; they have taken to referring to him
as Scarhawk. Rather than downplay his injury, Mather makes
use of his scarred appearance to intimidate his opponents and
has considered adopting the mark of a scar on his personal
heraldry.
Mather is long and lean, with short-cropped black hair
and penetrating grey eyes. Normally clean-shaven, when
stubble begins to crop up on his face after a long patrol, the
hair around the scar is a silvery white. Other knights have
been known to mock Mather for his preference of engaging enemies at a distance with his longbow and for his hide
armor, both which suit his duties better than the up-close
brutality of blade work. Mather answers mockery with a grin
and a challenge. He wagers his longbow and 5 gold dragons
Maester Haelis
Maester Donnen served House Tullison ably and well for
over 50 years before succumbing to the sickness of old age.
Upon his death, Lady Moraine sent to the Citadel for a
replacement, and Maester Haelis was dispatched to them.
In the three years he has served in Jostons Rock, Haelis
has learned the basics of survival in the mountains, as is
expected of every member of the House, noble or smallfolk,
and assumed the responsibility for the education of Lord
Dunstan and Lady Yve. When Lady Moraine became ill,
he did all he could to ensure her comfort and sent ravens to
the Citadel in search of a cure. Noting early on the tendencies of Lord Dunstan to look before he leaps, Haelis offers
counsel to the young lord, aided and abetted by Lady Yve,
with whom he has become friends.
Haelis is short, skinny and completely average in appearance. His brown hair and his brown eyes have never caught
the attention of maidens, which is fine by him. He was the
natural born son of some Riverlands lord that his mother
never shared the name of and was sent off to the Citadel at an
early age. The few people in Mountains Reach that are aware
Haelis was bastard born tend to overlook the defect in light
Maester Haelis
Adult Expert
Abilities
Animal Handling 3
Awareness 3
Cunning 3
Diagnose 1B, Treat Ailment 1B,
Treat Injury 2B
Healing 4
Language 3
Knowledge 5
Persuasion 3
Status 4
Survival 3
Attributes
Combat
Defense
Intrigue
Defense
10
Health
Composure
Destiny Points
71
72
Septon Weyls
A bald, paunchy, good-humored man, Septon Weyls is a
valued member of the Mountains Reachs community. He
oversees the prayers and offerings of the faithful, and always
makes time for those in need. Mildly disapproving of the
whores that live and work in Lordsview, he makes no move
to bar them from the sept, and hears their confessions in the
hopes of turning them to the path of virtue. From time to
time, he asks Lord Dunstan to provide him with an escort so
that he may visit the smallfolk outside Jostons Rock, spreading the word and forgiveness of the Seven. Even though the
Smith and the Warrior remain the most popular figures of
worship in Mountains Reach, Weyls does his best to remind
his flock that those are only two aspects of the whole that the
Seven represents.
With the aid of Maester Haelis, Septon Weyls keeps in
touch with the septs of other Houses and shares his knowledge with Lord Dunstan and Lady Yve. It is in this manner
that much of the news of current events in Westeros comes
to Mountains Reach. Without a doubt, the most unbiased
information the Septon gains in this manner comes from his
fellows at the Septry at Shattered Rock (see p. 103). Weyls
visits Lady Moraine weekly to pray at her bedside for healing,
and assists Yve, in his own quiet way, in discouraging suitors
Any attention she lavishes on Old Gaunt (as she calls him in
private) is sure to be forgotten by Brom by the time her other
suitor has given up, and departed. Brom consoles himself
with what he deems as his future wifes indiscretions with
the attention of the whores in Lordsview, who never cease to
be impressed by hisvitality.
73
Horag
Horags legend among the Black Goats began when he left
his bloody handprints on the walls of Mountains Reach at
the age of ten-and-two, stealing a woman from Lordsview
on his return trip. By the time he came to his full growth,
Horag had already strung the tongues of the five men he
killed on a necklace, and claimed leadership of the clan.
Horag claims that his strength comes from his full, bushy
beard, which he has never cut or trimmed since it began to
sprout from his face. His black, goats fur cloak is trimmed
in the silver coins hes stolen from his victims and the longsword he claimed from the body of a dead Mountaineer is
the pride of the clan.
Lately, Horag has undertaken a strategy of raiding that is
considered the height of tactical genius by the other clansmen. He sends the women and the weakest of the clan to
attack a smallfolk camp, just close enough to Jostons Rock
for word of the attack to carry to the castle. Then, while the
Mountaineers are busy chasing the dregs of the clan, Horag
attacks a merchant traveling up the River Road. The attacks
are coordinated by the position of the sun in the sky, with the
raids on the merchants usually coming just as dusk approach-
74
es. Ser Mather has begun to put two-and-two together, however, and is planning a surprise for Horag the next time the
Mountaineers catch a whiff of an impending raid.
Kashal
The leader of the Rock Chewers clan has a single burning
desire: to drink wine from Ser Mathers skull. Kashal was
leading a raid on a smallfolk camp when Ser Mather and his
father ambushed the clansmen from behind. Although he
escaped, Kashal was shot in the buttocks by Ser Mather as
he fled; a humiliating wound that forced Kashal to eat meals
standing up, and sleep on his stomach for a month. Unknown
to Ser Mather, Kashal was behind the rockslide that killed his
father. Kashal was furious when the slide failed to kill both
father and son, leaving his oath of vengeance unfulfilled.
The Rock Chewers have watched with some jealousy the
success of Horags raids on the caravans moving on the River
Road. Thus far, Kashal has kept his clan from joining the
Black Goats on the raids, which has led to some mutterings
among the clansmen, and forced Kashal to kill one man to
prevent a revolt. As much as hed like to claim the goods and
weapons from the traveling merchants, Kashal has refrained,
instead skulking along in the wake of the Black Goats, and
watching. He realizes that Ser Mather is bound to figure out
Horags plan, eventually, and when Mather makes his move
to ambush the Black Goats, Kashal intends to ambush the
Mountaineers in return, and claim his revenge.
THE RIVERLANDS
75
The Riverlands
Market Town
In the hundreds of years since Market Hill was first settled,
Market Town has been a fort, a castle, and two different cities. It has been abandoned, razed by raiders, and destroyed by
plague, but the people always return and rebuild.
History
The secret of Market Towns persistence is its ideal location.
A creek called Skys Daughter winds its way down from the
Mountains of the Moon and across a fertile plain called the
Lions Run before joining the Green Fork and flowing to
the sea. In the center of Lions Run, Skys Daughter nearly
encircles a tall, broad hill with a gentle slope and a firm
bedrock base. With its commanding view of the surrounding territory, defensible position, easy access to prime soil
and water, and good foundations, Market Hill is an ideal
place to build a city, which is why generations have built and
rebuilt one there.
The first incarnation of Market Town was a fort called Arros built more than five thousand years before Aegons Landing by Andal invaders as they swept north across Westeros
and made war against the First Men. When the battle lines
moved north, Arros remained and became a small city.
Centuries before the Targaryens arrival, Arros had become
nothing but rotten timbers and abandoned structures. Local
legends claim that the Children of the Forest took the inhabitants away, and might one day return for the citys current
inhabitants.
The next incarnation of Arros was a walled city made of
wood and stone built by the Andal Lord Larson Dally. This
iteration of the city, called Hill Town, outlasted its founder
and his family and was rebuilt many times. Hill Town survived until a generation after the Conquest, when it joined
the Faith of the Sevens revolt against the Targaryens and was
burnt to the ground by dragonfire. Although the maesters of
Oldtown record the battle as a slaughter, many of the smallfolk survived by fleeing to the surrounding mountains. The
towns leaders, however, were hung, drawn and quartered, and
fed to dragons for their temerity.
The Targaryens, never ones to waste prime territory, rebuilt
the city as Dragonfire Hill in shortly thereafter and gave it to
House Asrig. The name was chosen to remind the populace
most of whom were the sons and daughters of the survivors
of Hill Townof the price of defying Targaryen might. Perhaps as a result if this inauspicious beginning, Dragonfire Hill
76
The Riverlands
one hoping to make Market Town theirs will have to outmaneuver the other houses and Market Towns wily mayor,
Esra Stone.
Locations
Market Town is roughly square, surrounded by a palisade wall
with watchtowers at every corner. The walls are made of layers of old, solid wood and thick iron bolts. Some sections of
the city wall date back to Dragonfire Hill or Tobis Stones
resettlement. The watchtowers, on the other hand, are new
stone. They date back to the tense days of Roberts Rebellion,
when the mayor feared that a local noble house might use the
brewing conflict as an excuse to seize the city. In addition to
the usual fortifications, Market Towns watchtowers use a system of huge braziers and signal mirrors to send information
from tower to tower quickly in emergencies.
Market Town is divided into two neighborhoods. Old
Townbuilt primarily out of old stoneis the rebuilt remains of Dragonfire Hill. Thanks to an old superstition that
the old structures are haunted by the plague that destroyed
Dragonfire Hill and unsafe, Old Town is a poor neighborhood. Drunkenness and desperation are more common than
crimes of violence or passion, but those crimes do happen.
New Town, on the other hand, is the part of the city built
since Tobis Stones resettling of the city. New Town is prosperous and clean, and the people are proud, happy, and ambitious.
77
The Riverlands
the Ravens Pub in the night, and the darkness hides the features of conspirators from observation at a distance.
Local traders have made a half-hearted effort to beautify
Market Square. A small raised-bed flower garden surrounds
the statue in the middle of the square and several of the surrounding shops have made their storefronts bright and attractive. For most of the week Market Square is a park. Young
men and women come here to walk with their sweethearts,
old men come to sit on the edge of the raised flowerbed in the
center of the square and feed bread crumbs and corn to the
ever-present ravens, and children come to play.
On first day of every week, Market Square undergoes an
amazing transformation. All the storefronts along the edge
of the square expand onto the street, displaying their best
wares. Locals who arent wealthy enough to own or rent
storefronts on the square and merchants from all across the
region set up stalls in the square. All kinds of products are
available for purchase, from fine swords to butternut squash.
Because Market Town only pays taxes to the crown, prices
are extraordinarily low. (In game terms, Market Town merchants are considered to be Amiable towards most shoppers for the purpose of Bargain tests.) Other entrepreneurs
come to feed and entertain the shoppers, filling the square
with meat pie sellers, beer stands, jugglers, singers, and poets. Market Day is a lively, amiable chaos of sights, sounds,
and smells.
Endras Sept
Unlike most septs, Endras Sept is a relatively new building.
It was built by the septa Endra Cooper ten years after Tobis Stone resettled the location. Market Towners had been
avoiding the old septthen one of the oldest buildings in
townout of fear that the plague that had wiped out the city
had somehow sunk into the timbers of the building. Because
the nearest sept was nearly a days walk away, the Faith feared
that it was failing the people of Market Town. Septa Cooper
walked all the way from the Starry Sept in Oldtown to ritually restore the sept.
Endras Sept was originally a humble seven-sided building with an attached dormitory for the septa and her staff, a
small hospital, and a few extra multipurpose rooms. Over the
years, wealthy merchants hoping to buy the favor of the Seven
have donated heavily to the sept, resulting in an increasingly
ornate building. Today, Endras Sept is one of the few stone
buildings in New Town. It stands two stories tallvaulted
ceilings in the chapel, two floors in the administrative and
dormitory buildingswith white marble walls and stained
glass windows. The simple cloth icons that Endra brought
with her from Oldtown have been replaced by marble statues
inlaid with precious metals (though the originals are still kept
in a place of honor in the septs archives). Septon Finch and
his staff live in a sprawling compound, complete with gardens
and their own library. Although Market Towners are proud
of their sept, most outsiders find it gaudy, and Endra herself
would probably be horrified.
78
The Riverlands
clean, but the dcor and the music are a little too gaudy and
the accents a little too countrified. Still, The Maidens House
is a better brothel than most in Westeros, and like the rest of
Market Town, its inhabitants and proprietors are ambitious
and determined.
The Godsgrove
Outside of Market Town, down the hill and across the plains
to the east, past the fields and farmhouses, a forest clings to
the foothills of the Mountains of the Moon. This wood represents the eastern edge of Market Town and the beginning
of the noble houses. When the men who built Market Town
came here seeking wood, they left empty-handed. Instead of
trees to cut, they found an ancient and overgrown godswood.
The folk of Market Town are generally adherents of the Faith
of the Seven, but they refuse to cut down the ancient weirwood and its fellow trees. Today, those few Market Towners
who seek the favor of the Old Gods take the journey to the
godsgrove to be alone under the trees.
The Old Faith has no clergy, but an old man called Peter
Hasting is the Godsgroves de facto keeper. Despite arthritis in
his fingers and knees, Peter makes the journey to the Godsgrove twice a week to brush fallen leaves from the moss. Peter
is the man locals come to when they seek the blessing of the
Old Gods, and Peter advises them in how to behave in the
Godswood and how to pray.
cities that came before it. This is where Mayor Stone and his
closest alliesincluding Hadrianscheme to keep the nobilitys collective hands off Market Town and stock the arms
and armor they will need if it ever comes to blows.
Town Hall
The Town Hall is Market Towns second-most ostentatious
building, following Endras Sept (and followed by the Hall of
All Guilds and the Maidens House). Town Hall is another
stonework New Town structure, situated so that the back of
the building has a balcony overlooking Market Square. The
building houses an audience hall, where the Mayor hears petitions, a courthouse, and several administrative offices. When
the mayor must address the populace of Market Town, he
does so from the balcony in the rear, with the people gathered
in Market Square.
In addition to serving as Market Towns center of government, Town Hall is the town guards nerve center. Town Halls
central spire receives messages via mirror or signal fire from
the four watchtowers and sends more guards to deal with any
trouble. The basements beneath the building are also home
to Market Towns jail. The cells are rarely occupied, however,
because Market Towns justice is so swift: violent criminals
are hung, liars and cheats are exiled, and lesser criminals are
lashed or pilloried and then released.
Characters
Esra Stone, Septon Harald Finch, Dame Adrienne, and Yorik
Ralk are the leading figures in Market Town.
79
The Riverlands
Esra Stone
Adult Schemer
Abilities
Awareness 4
Empathy 2B
Cunning 4
Memory 2B
Deception 5
Bluff 2B
Persuasion 3
Status 3
Reputation 2B
Will 4
Attributes
Combat
Defense:
Intrigue
Defense:
11
Health:
Composure:
12
Destiny Points
80
couldnt back up, lied, stolen, and ordered murder, all to keep
Market Town free. The people love him for it, though they
might love him a little less if they knew some of the sacrifices
he has made for their sake.
Himself a liar and manipulator, Esra does not trust easily.
However, he was raised on stories of the iniquity of the nobility and has a soft spot for smallfolk whom the nobility have
taken advantage of. On the other hand, Esra has a grudge
against the highborn and loves to frustrate their schemes.
Most importantly, Esra is smooth and composed, all smiles
and gentle words, no matter what. Esra is an unapologetic
believer in nepotism, but makes sure to leave room for promising peasants outside his immediate family.
Esra Stone lives with his wife, Devra, in the mayors mansion in Market Town, not far from Town Hall. They have four
children. Lilah and Maryan, twelve and fourteen, still live at
home. Their oldest daughter, Daisy, has married a local craftsman and lives in Market Town and their oldest son, Niall,
has set himself up as a merchant in Lannisport and writes
infrequently. Esras younger brother HansKurt and Eliass
fatherlives in Market Town as well.
Esra would be hard pressed to defend himself in a fight
and doesnt bother to carry any weapons. Instead, he surrounds himself with reliable young men in the city guard,
like his nephews Kurt and Elias. Although these game sta-
The Riverlands
Tertiary Characters
Abilities
Esra Stone keeps his secrets well, but not even the Wily
Mayors schemes can protect him forever. Below is a small
sampling of some of Esra Stones deeds. Everything he
has done, he did for Market Town, but even that excuse
might not save him from the consequences if these secrets
were to come to light.
Athletics 4
Awareness 4
Notice 1B
Endurance 3
Fighting 3
Bludgeon 1B
Attributes
Combat
Defense:
Health:
3+1B
3 Damage
Off-Hand +1
81
The Riverlands
This last traitpliability in the face of authorityis how
Harald Finch earned the position of Septon of Endras Sept.
The previous Septon was a stronger and more ambitious man
who borrowed heavily from local merchants to fund his charitable endeavors. The guilds and associations of Market Town
practically own Endras Sept, and they were able to arrange
for a more agreeable Septon.
At his root, Harald Finch is weak, and hides from the
knowledge of his own weakness. He allows himself to be manipulated, out of fear and ignorance of his own strength. His
faith in the Seven and the Father is very real, and he prays
every day for strength, wisdom, and courage, unaware that all
these traits are close at hand, if only he would grow a backbone. Harald Finch has never been in a situation where his or
anyone elses life was at risk, and no oneleast of all Septon
Finch himselfknows what he will do if he is. There may be
more to Harald Finch than meets the eye, or perhaps he is
exactly what he seems.
Dame Adrienne
The Madame of the Maidens House
is a statuesque woman in her midthirties. She wears her red hair up in
a variety of elaborate hairstyles and
uses a Maesters toolbox of cosmetics to ensure that her appearance is
just so. Adrienne dresses her best, in
heavily embroidered gowns cut and
dyed to complement of her dramatic
coloring and flatter her ample
figure, and wears a great deal of
gold and ruby jewelry.
Dame Adriennes manner
is defined by two words: vice
and class. As the Madame of Market Towns only brothel,
Adrienne is conscious that she occupies a place outside
of polite society. She is self-consciously naughty, encouraging others to indulge themselves in a way that is both
alluring and motherly. At the same time, Dame Adrienne
puts on every appearance of class and breeding, from her
assumed title of dame to her style of dress to her perfectly clipped accent. Dame Adrienne isnt just selling sex
at the Maidens House, she is selling the fantasy that her
clients are powerful and important peoplelike the nobles
they admire and fearwith seraglios full of beautiful and
willing women. Dame Adrienne rarely sees clients herself,
and only by invitation. A passing nobleman or wealthy
82
Dame Adrienne
Tertiary Character
Awareness 3
Empathy 1B
Cunning 3
Deception 4
Intrigue
Defense:
Disguise 1B
8
Composure:
The Riverlands
Tertiary Character
Abilities
Athletics 3
Strength 1B
Awareness 3
Notice 1B
Fighting 4
Bludgeon 1B
Attributes
Combat
Defense:
Health:
12
4+1B
2 Damage
Off-Hand +1
er than lesser men in his service. Some of his men have seen
him take injuries that would kill or cripple most mensuch
as during the Flashing Peak Bandit raids of five years ago
and survive with more scars to add to his already significant collection. Yorik wears a standard issue boiled leather
breastplate painted the guard colors of red and white.
Yorik Ralk is about as laconic as a man can get without
simply refusing to talk at all. He leads mostly by example and
through quiet conversations with his lieutenants. And yet,
things get done, and those lieutenants are fanatically loyal to
their commanding officer. Captain Ralk acts with a degree
of honor not seen in most sworn knights. He has never left
a guardsman in danger and considers himself responsible for
their safety. When a guardsman is killed or injured, Yorik personally sees to it that his family is taken care of.
Ralk speaks of his past even less frequently than he does
anything else. Mayor Stone almost certainly knows details
most Market Towners find it hard to imagine the wily mayor
allowing Yorik to keep his position of he didntbut he isnt
sharing, either. Yorik has a castle-forged sword and has been
seen practicing with it, though in his capacity as captain of
the guard he wilds a stout cudgel, like all his men. Is Yorik
a dishonored knight? A noblemans bastard son seeking to
escape the shame of his birth? Or is he something else altogether?
Despite his mysteries, Market Town is fond of Yorik. Like
Mayor Stone, he is a local hero, a good man fighting hard to
keep Market Town safe, prosperous, and free. Yorik lives in
the guard barracks, and has no other home. He has no wife or
children that anyone knows of, and despite a concerted effort
on the part of the towns busybodies, no one has ever seen
him enter or leave the Maidens House. Dame Adrienne is, of
course, silent on the matter.
Durains Forest
One of the larger stretches of forests in the Trident, Durains
Forest has proved difficult to tame as far back to the Andal
invasion, due to its many hidden glens, dense thickets, and
twisting trails. These features have encouraged bandits to use
Durains Forest for centuries, but for most of that time such
bandits have been more trouble for farmers than noble lords.
Recently the bandits under the leadership of one Dugan the
Red have became bolder, striking the Kingsroad itself, leading to the restoration of the old fortress Rugar Hold as a
noble holding in the hopes that a new lord can deal with the
bandits.
83
The Riverlands
History
The original inhabitants of Durains Forest were the First
Men, who named the forest after a local hero from the Age
of Legends. Its said that before Durain came to the region
there was no forest, but after he slew an ancient wyvern the
creatures blood gave birth to Durains Forest. This legend is
still known today by those who live near the forest and many
credit the maze-like nature of the forest to the wyverns anger
at the man who killed it. The forest is sometimes called the
Wyvern Wood, but that name is usually only used when cursing the bandits that now call the forest home.
Due to the density and lack of navigable paths in the forest
it has been the home of the hunted for centuries. During the
Andal conquest, it was a stronghold of the First Men for decades
after the surrounding region fell due to its defensive advantages. The same occurred during the Targaryen conquest when it
served as a safe haven for deserters and Andal soldiers long after
the war ended. In every major war since then, Durains Forest
has become a haven for deserters, thieves, and criminals that gets
cleared out a few years or decades after the conflict is resolved.
A century after the conquest, the Targaryens tried to name
a noble lord of Durains Forest by building a fortress in the
forest to serve as a base of operation to pacify the criminals it
sheltered. This fortress, Rugar Hold, did not provide much in
the way of safe haven and the first lord awarded the territory
was assassinated in his own bed within three months of arriving. For a century Rugar Hold was held by a succession of
lesser lords charged with cleaning up the forest, but in the end
they all have found it to be far more profitable and healthy to
turn a blind eye to the unsavory elements in the forest. The last
noble lord of Durains Forest died five decades ago after getting
entangled in a power struggle between the bandit factions.
During the War of the Usurper, some of the criminal inhabitants of Durains Forest sided with the Targaryens in exchange for promises of clemencywhich ultimately proved
impossible for the Targaryens to keep. During the war the
bandits of Durains Forest harried the forces of Robert
Baratheon throughout the Trident, but in the wake of the
defeat of the Targaryens they withdrew into the forest and
did their best to be inconspicuous. The crown has had bigger
problems to deal with so far and is only now getting around
to seeing Forest Durain put to rights.
Use in a Chronicle
Durains Forest is an excellent fit for a young house, especially
one created in the wake of the War of the Usurper. It provides
an opportunity for a young house to prove itself loyal and
84
The Riverlands
cunning by pacifying the forest, but it is also a chance to end
up in an early grave. Any house claiming Durains Forest has
an enemy within its borders that is difficult to find and corner,
making any long term restoration of law and order a delicate
process. Will the new lord try to bargain with the bandits?
Or will the noble use a vast array of soldiers to beat his lands
into cooperation? Once the War of the Five Kings begins the
situation may change drastically since having well defended
terrain inhabited by experienced combatants who know the
land is a defensive advantage not to be overlooked. Perhaps
clemency may be in the houses best interests.
Instead of a new house taking Durains Forest, the players
could be a branch of an older house assigned to clear up the
forest which is near or within the larger houses territory. This
is similar to the previous option, but allows for players to create older houses.
Defense: 30 or more,
Invested: 30 or less (Rugar Hold)
Located at the heart of Durains Forest, Rugar Hold straddles the only road that leads through it. The small castle
is made of a wooden outer wall and a stone keep within.
There is little room within the walls aside from the keep.
The trees were long ago culled for fifty paces in every direction around the castles walls, but little effort has gone
into preserving this cleared area, so trees now grow almost
right up to the outer wall. This makes it remarkably easy
to approach the castle without being seen, which has been
the reason so many of its past inhabitants have been assassinated. Stables are located in the courtyard along with a
secondary wood barracks, but the barracks are largely rotted
and falling down now.
The keep has not been well maintained and some sections
of its walls are on the verge of falling down. The damage is
serious and will require a sizable investment to get the keep
back into top shape. Rugar Hold has no decorations, statues,
tapestries, or other luxuries to speak of, those having long
ago been stripped away. Animals have taken to roosting in
some of the more remote rooms and will have to be driven
out for the castle to be fully inhabitable. The keep has a large
central hall, kitchens, an armory, smithy, barracks for one
hundred soldiers, and several rooms for the lord, lady, other
nobles, and visitors.
Rugar Hold is the primary fortification within Durains Forest, though there are several other fortifications built during
various attempts to pacify the forest. Most of these other fortifications are little more than ruins, though some see use by the
locals and could be salvaged given time and resources. All the
Influence: 40 or less
There is no particular Influence level attached to ruling Durains
Forest except that ruling a holding of such questionable value is
not something a house of high Influence would do. It is likely to
be a region awarded to a house of lesser Influence, possibly one
with strong military assets. If the forest can be pacified, the house
that does it is likely to receive respect and Influence for their success, but until then they will be known as the nobles who live in
a forest of thieves, if not said to be thieves themselves. Striking
deals with the bandits may negatively impact the houses Influence, depending on the details of the deal.
85
The Riverlands
Law: 20 or less
Any house that wants to claim Durains Forest needs a substantial amount of soldiers to do so. Rugars Hold must be
defended, but that alone will not return law and order to the
forest. If the forest is to be won through force of arms, soldiers must patrol, search, and lead other efforts to root out the
bandits. These activities require a large number of people to
carry out. Also, these troops had best have some experience
under their belt to face a foe that can strike and disappear
with ease; green troops do not last long in guerilla warfare.
Cavalry are of questionable usefulness in Durains Forest
since they can only patrol the road and the forests perimeter.
Archers, infantry, and guerillas are the most useful in Durains
Forest, though engineers would also be useful keeping Rugar
Hold in repair.
Population: 20 or more
Durains Forest has a surprisingly large number of people living in it, but any noble lord will find they are not the sort of
subjects who pay taxes or report for levies. A small number
of law-abiding peasants live on the edge of the forest. Most
of them are farmers or lumberjacks, but even they have come
to an understanding with the bandits. The territory has the
capacity to support a large population if some of the land was
cleared for farms, roads were laid, and law was restored.
Wealth: Any
Durains Forest could be a vast source of wealth due to all the
timber that could be harvested from it, but doing so will be
difficult until the bandit problem is dealt with. Any house
that takes over Durains Forest is going to have to survive
on whatever wealth they brought with them; gaining income
from Durains Forest will be difficult for a time.
House Barnell
In the militaristic eyes of House Barnell, the continued lawlessness of Durains Forest is an embarrassment to all houses
in the region. Lord Barnell has made clear he thinks that
rooting the bandits out of Durains Forest is an important
cause, but has not made any moves to do it himself. There are
rumors that if the bandits in Durains Forest grow any bolder
House Barnell will move to quash them itself, though the
chances of success for such a maneuver are questionable.
House Bartheld
Traditionally, House Bartheld has had little to do with Durains Forest, but a recent attack on several nobles traveling to
Hart Hall and the ascension of Lord Davain Bartheld have
changed this. While none of the nobles were killed in the
attack, a great deal of wealth was stolen, including several
family heirlooms of House Connington, also sworn to House
Baratheon. Those in the know say that the new Lord Bar-
86
The Riverlands
theld is hiring a mercenary force to clean out the forest, but
so far there is little truth to these rumors. Considering the
limited military assets of House Bartheld, they would likely
require allies in such an effort.
House Dulver
Lord Harald has bought goods from the bandits of Durains
Forest on occasion. Short Tom Tinker has built up a relationship with the bandits where they contact him when they find
particularly valuable or hard to sell items, which he purchases through a number of intermediaries to avoid suspicion.
House Dulver has no interest in controlling Durains Forest
or even seeing it pacified; the bandits are more useful to Lord
Harald than another noble rival in the area.
House Frey
While House Frey has decried the bandit haven of Durains
Forest, the going rumor is that they actually deal with the
bandits, hiring them to make trouble for those who would
try to undermine House Freys control the Green Fork crossing. House Frey has made several forays into Durains Forest
hunting bandits, but some say the actions are all for show;
others say it is House Frey preparing to claim Durains Forest
by force under the pretense that any current owners cannot
control it.
House Kytley
More concerned with internal matters, House Kytley has
little time for bandits outside its borders. Some shipments
of iron to Smithton have gone missing due to the efforts of
Dugan the Red, but so far Lord Kytley has not had the resources to pursue them. The bandits of Durains Forest had
several encounters with Jerrold Blackbow, the foremost bandit of House Kytleys land, during his bloody career and the
two bandit gangs had built up a bloody rivalry before Jerrods
execution.
House Marsten
While the bandits of Durains Forest have little direct interaction with House Marsten, the declining loyalties of House
Kriegar have given rise to rumors that House Kriegar might
make an attempt to pacify Durains Forest and claim it as
their new home. So far these rumors seem to be just that, but
a patrol of House Kriegar recently went into Durains Forest
to hunt bandits, which is odd given their problems at home.
Bandits
Trained Guerillas * 5 power
Routine (9) Discipline
Athletics 2, Marksmanship 3, Stealth 4
Bandit Rabble
Trained Criminals * 4 power
Formidable (12) Discipline
Endurance 2, Fighting 3, Stealth 4
House Tullison
The bandits of Dugan the Red have stolen several iron shipments House Tullison has sent to Riverrun, drawing the ire of
House Tullison but so far there has been little result. House
Tullison has too many problems with the mountain clans to
send troops so far afield.
House Tully
House Tully has engaged in several attempts to clean our Durains Forest over the years, but has never had a sustained success. House Tully is interested in the lumber resources Durains Forest represents and hopes to secure it for itself, or at
least the service of the house that holds the area.
Important Characters
Dugan the Red and Thalia Pemm are two bandits of note
who call Durains Forest home.
87
The Riverlands
of twenty years. A fearsome combatant and a skilled leader
of men, it is widely rumored that he served one of the great
houses or was a hedge knight before taking up banditry. He
speaks little of his past before becoming an outlaw, but rope
burns around his neck and three missing fingers indicate it was
not a pleasant life.
Dugan now leads scores of men, keeping them fed, clothed,
and busy out stealing for their greater good. He works to make
sure everyone gets a share both of booty and food, spending
as much time keeping peace among his own people as raiding.
He harbors a deep-seated hatred of nobles and attacks them
whenever possible, but does not kill them exclusively, since
that would attract too much attention. Dugan has a good idea
Middle-Aged Fighter
Abilities
Agility 3
Athletics 3
Awareness 3
Notice 1B
Cunning 3
Endurance 3
Fighting 4
Marksmanship 4
Bows 2B
Persuasion 3
Intimidation 1B
Stealth 4
Sneak 1B
Survival 4
Warfare 3
Tactics 1B
Will 3
Attributes
Combat
Defense
Intrigue
Defense
Health
Composure
Destiny Points
88
Longbow
4+1B
5 Damage
Mace
3 Damage
Dagger
1 Damage
Long Range,
Piercing 1, TwoHanded, Unwieldy
Defensive +1,
Off-Hand +1
Thalia Pemm
Once a camp follower in the War of the
Usurper, Thalia ended up in Durains
Forest after stabbing a knight who
tried to rape her. Fearful of punishment she fled to Durains
Forest and joined the bandits
there, rising to a position of
leadership due to her ruthlessness and cunning. She is
Dugan the Reds major rival,
but while he organizes and
plans, she leads through terror
and force. The two work together
openly but despise each other in private; eventually, there will
be a reckoning between them. Such a battle will be bloody
since a large number of bandits are more loyal to Thalia than
Dugan due to her promises of striking and killing nobles and
other rich targets Dugan thinks are best avoided. Whatever
house controls Durains Forest could use this schism to fracture the bandits.
Thalia Pemm
Tertiary Character
Awareness 3
Cunning 3
Fighting 2
Short Blades 1b
Persuasion 3
Warfare 3
Will 3
Coordinate 1b
Intrigue
Defense:
Composure:
The Riverlands
Riverthorn
For decades Riverthorn was well known in the Trident for
being a verdant fief ruled by the wealthy House Orell, but
an outbreak of plague in the closing days of the War of the
Usurper has ravaged this pastoral territory. Now the villages of
Riverthorn are empty places haunted by a few plague-scarred
individuals and House Orells hall is completely empty after
the death of the entire house. Normally such desirable ungoverned territory would be the target of a great many houses,
but the specter of plague keeps such intrigues to a minimum.
Whoever ends up ruling Riverthorn is going to have years of
rebuilding and must conquer the specter of plague to attract
smallfolk to work their fields, but the results of such work can
be great indeed.
History
Riverthorn was a productive farming territory since the First
Men settled the Trident in the Age of Heroes. From the earliest settlements in Riverthorn, the region was well known
for the vibrant wild rose bushes scattered across the region,
for which the territory was named by the Andals. The fertile
soil and ready water supply from the Trident made farming in
89
The Riverlands
smallfolk forced into service, the rose bushes of Riverthorn
were uprooted and trimmed to line major roads and form a
number of gardens around the hall, which became known as
Rose Hall after the work was complete.
Riverthorn managed to weather the Blackfyre Rebellion
and the War of the Ninepenny Kings without being drawn
into the conflict. This was largely due to the fact that House
Orell burned its fields and any food stocks on hand when any
enemy force drew near. This removed the primary strategic
value of Riverthorn, though at extensive economic cost. The
cunning management of House Orells finances and farms
allowed it to quickly recover and return to prosperity in the
wake of both wars. House Orell was not above war profiteering when it came to selling its crops.
Despite using the same tactics during the War of the
Usurper, House Orell did not fare well. Riverthorn was a
major supply center for the Targaryen troops in the Trident,
forcing it to the forefront of the war. Unfortunately for the
people of Riverthorn, they would not live to see the armies
of Robert Baratheon conquer their lands. In the days leading
up to the Battle of Ruby Ford a sickness broke out in Rose
Hall. The plague is thought to have been brought to the area
by a group of Braavosi mercenaries in service to House Targaryen. Within a few weeks the entirety of House Orell was
stricken with plague, as were many of the smallfolk. Worried
that his men might become infected, Aerys II ordered the
land burned and quarantined, a decision that cost the lives of
hundreds of soldiers and smallfolk. The outer villages of Riverthorn were razed, but the area around Rose Hall remained
standing since no one dared go near it. In the end the plague
was halted, but at the cost of the very life of Riverthorn.
After Roberts victory, little attention was paid to Riverthorn and Rose Hall for a several years. This allowed it to
become a haven for plague survivors, scavengers, miscreants
and criminals. Five years after the end of the war talk began
in Kings Landing of resettling Riverthorn, but few houses
were interested in claiming what they feared was still a plague
ridden area. Riverthorn could be a valuable prize if it could
be restored, but few are interested in taking on that challenge.
Chronicle Use
Riverthorn works best for a young house, especially one just
elevated due to its deeds in the War of the Usurper. Riverthorn may not be much of a prize to one of the great houses,
but it represents a great opportunity for the birth of a new
house. Such a house will have its work cut out for it attracting smallfolk to work the fields, restoring the buildings, and
90
living down the reputation of their new home, but the potential is there. While many of the normal concerns of noble
houses, such as bandits or intrigues, will still be present, any
house that rules Riverthorn will also have to deal with more
mundane and more unpleasant matters, such as working extra hard to keep their smallfolk happy and arranging mass
graves to clear out the remains of plague victims who remain
unburied.
To use Riverthorn as the long-time home of an older house,
assume that the plague that wiped out House Orell came at
an earlier time, such as during the War of the Ninepenny
Kings or the Blackfyre Rebellion. In either case the immediate after effects of the plague are likely to have been dealt
with, but the lingering specter of death will still hang over
Riverthorn. Such a land will still be seen as cursed even if the
immediate threat has passed.
Another option is to remove House Orell from the history.
Instead the house who currently calls Riverthorn home has
been there since the Targaryen conquest or longer. In such
cases the house barely survived the plague, or maybe the current house is made up of house members who were wards,
fosterlings, or students elsewhere when the plague struck. In
such cases the survivors may suddenly be catapulted to leadership of the house after the death of everyone above them in
the chain of succession. This may make the plague even more
menacing as now it enabled the new leaders rise to power, but
only over the corpses of their family.
A Narrator might even start his chronicle at Riverthorn
during Roberts Rebellion, allowing the players to run
through the events of the war itself as well as the terror of the
plague and subsequent rebuilding.
The Riverlands
on anything less than a down mattress, but its soldiers often were forced to sleep in the main hall due to the small
size of their barracks. While it may not be well maintained,
the core defensive value of Rose Hall remains. Its walls are
made of solid stone quarried from the Mountains of the
Moon and it is very well built with stout, iron bound doors,
cleverly concealed arrow slits, and a number of secret passages. These passages allow one to move unnoticed through
the major rooms of the hall or escape into the nearby rose
gardens.
Like most of Sulla, Rose Hall is surrounded by rose bushes. Once these were orderly and well kept, organized in rows
along paths and to create beautiful gardens around the Hall.
Now they have all gone wild with many of the paths they
once lined completely overgrown. The years of neglect seem
to have helped the roses thrive such that they are said to be
the reddest in all of Westeros. Many of the remaining smallfolk believe that the roses are fed on the blood of those who
died in the plague.
Influence: Any
Due to its questionable history, Riverthorn is not necessarily
an attractive territory to one of the great houses, but to those
with sufficient foresight its value is unmistakable. Riverthorn
could either be foisted off on a house of little influence in order
to gain an ally of that house, or it could be claimed by a more
powerful house with an eye towards its long-term development. Either case allows for houses of all Influence levels to
claim Riverthorn, though any that do are likely to be treated as
if they too had the plague until the past is forgotten.
Any house that gains Riverthorn would be well suited to
invest Influence in an heir as soon as possible. In a region
known for plague, nothing creates a feeling of security in the
continuance of government like knowing an heir is ready
should the head of the house not survive. If the heir is abroad,
so much the better.
91
The Riverlands
Law: 30 or less
While there are few inhabitants in Riverthorn to cause trouble, there has been no law and order to speak of in the area
since the plague. The specter of the plague has kept most
scavengers and bandits away, but not all. Most of the high
value items have already been removed from Riverthorn so
the scavengers are few these days, but a number of bandit
gangs have taken to hiding in the outskirts of Riverthorn
since many outsiders are unwilling to chase them there.
Luckily due to the sparse nature of its population, restoring
order should be relatively easy if the new house has sufficient
troops. Guarding Sulla and the main farms will be far easier
than securing the borders of Riverthorn from those who
would use its reputation as a shield from pursuit.
Population: 15 or less
Unsurprisingly there are few people in Riverthorn in the wake
of the plague. Those that remain are mostly pox-scarred survivors or more recent arrivals risking disease for the chance at
taking on one of the abandoned farms in the region. In either
case the inhabitants are a fearful, suspicious bunch that are desperate for someone to lead them out of their miserable lives but
also fear the plagues return if the excesses of House Orell return. The locals have become very superstitious since the plague,
blaming all manner of ill omens or acts by House Orell for
their misfortune. The smallfolk continue to see such portents
all around them and many believe that the plague will return to
finish the job it started. This fatalistic streak is an impediment to
restoring the region to its previous glory, since the smallfolk all
believe whatever they rebuild will be torn down again.
Power: Any
Soldiers are not the key to restoring Riverthorn, so the house
that claims it need not have any specific level of martial power. Soldiers will be useful in keeping order and making sure
the smallfolk stay in line, but a heavy hand will only get the
lord so far in Riverthorn. The locals are already completely
demoralized and have lost their families and friends, so it will
take more than force to motivate them. Military force will
be useful in bringing law to the region, particularly in hunting down those scavengers or bandits that may be using the
reputation of the region to hide.
While Riverthorn has several rivers within its territory they
are not deep enough for ships of any great size. Infantry, cavalry, and archers are the most useful troops in Riverthorn, particularly cavalry due to the roads allowing them great mobility
92
and the flat terrain making them useful in most any battle. Due
to the lack of population it is unlikely the ruling house will be
able to count on smallfolk levies for emergencies.
Wealth: Any
While Riverthorn has a great deal of money invested in its
infrastructure, including a market, a smithy, and a sept, none
of these facilities have the personnel required to operate. Also
these structures have suffered years of neglect so getting them
operational again is going to be about as expensive as building them from scratch. While Riverthorn has the capacity to
generate great wealth once its farms return to productivity,
the owning House will need years of effort to get it to that
point, since the farms now lie fallow.
House Barnell
Seeing Riverthorn as a strategic liability and having little
wealth to invest in rebuilding the area, House Barnell has
no interest in Riverthorn. Lord Barnell is one of the few local lords who will pursue bandits into Riverthorn, thinking
little of the threat of plague, but even he does not go far into
Riverthorn. Daveth Oberyn recognizes the future economic
value of the land, but has yet to convince Lord Barnell of this.
Even if he could, House Barnell lacks the wealth necessary to
rehabilitate Riverthorn.
House Bartheld
The nobles of House Orell were once regular visitors to Hart
Hall and in return often hosted the nobles and guests of
House Bartheld in Rose Hall. Indeed the Hart Hall gardens
contain Riverthorn rose bushes. Despite the threat of plague,
the new Lord Bartheld has put some thought and research
into maneuvering one of his guests into claiming Riverthorn,
hopefully clearing out his house of some of his more bothersome guests. So far he has had little success.
House Dulver
There are rumors that the first scavengers to strike Rose Hall
were actually agents of House Dulver and that to this day
House Dulver occasionally sends agents in to steal what remains in Riverthorn. Lord Harald denies these stories, but
the rose themed tapestries hanging in Deepen Hall speak
otherwise. House Dulver is interested in acquiring River-
The Riverlands
thorn, having the money necessary to rebuild the region, but
the other local lords have subtly indicated that they would
oppose Lord Haralds taking the holding for himself.
House Kytley
Primarily concerned with internal matters, House Kytley has
little time for worrying about Riverthorn. Some of the bandits that lurk in the edges of House Kytleys territory have
hidden in Riverthorn when pursued, so House Kytley would
like to see the area reclaimed. They just have little time for
concerning themselves with how this is done.
House Marsten
Located far from Riverthorn, House Marsten has little interaction with Riverthorn aside from soldiers of House Marsten
killing several members of House Orell in Roberts Rebellion.
There was bad blood between the two families and before
his death Lord Corben had made clear he would rather see
Riverthorn left to the vultures than House Orells ancestral
lands restored.
House Tullison
Lord Sterl Tullison struck down Lord Orell during the Battle
of the Trident, which some say gives House Tullison a fair
claim to Riverthorn by right of conquest. Lord Sterl did not
survive to make that claim and Lady Tullison seems little inclined to do so, but their support for another house claiming
Riverthorn would be very valuable.
Important Personages
Miles Tanry, Douglas Wotlin, and Karya Hough are just
some of the people who call Riverthorn their home.
Miles Tanry
One of the surviving farmers in Riverthorn, Miles serves as
the leader of the surviving smallfolk in the area of Sulla. A
gaunt man in his later years, his eyes are
hard and his body has been carved by
years of backbreaking labor. Forced
to bury his wife and two daughters
in the plague, Miles has little to live
for. No longer fearing death, he is
more than willing to oppose whatever
fancy noble thinks he can come into
Riverthorn and start pushing people
around. A noble who tries to rally
Douglas Wotlin
The last surviving member of House
Orells guards, Douglas Wotlin stands
a solitary watch over the remains of
Rose Hall. He has kept his little corner of the barracks in proper order
but knows nothing of stonemasonry or carpentry to fix the rest
of the structure. Douglass mind
has been addled by the experience of surviving the plague and
on some level he has not acknowledged that it happened.
Instead he lives in a world of madness where he still serves
House Orell along with his long dead fellows in the guard.
The locals leave him his illusions and feed him out of pity,
though he has proved himself useful the few times bandits
have come to Sulla. While Douglas does not accept what
happened in Riverthorn in general, on some subconscious
level he seeks solace in death in any fight he can find. Hes
chased off more than one bandit group by playing the part of
the demented berserker, but afterwards has no memory of his
despair-driven rage.
Karya Hough
A new arrival after the plague struck
Riverthorn, Karya arrived along with
several other scavengers, determined
to pick over the bones of House
Orell. She and her fellows found
a good deal of loot in Rose Hall
before they were chased out by a
larger group of scavengers. Karya
herself found a map in an old ledger. She believes the map leads to
a secret cache of wealth hidden
somewhere near Sulla by House Orell to protect it from the
invading forces of Robert Baratheon. While her comrades
have left Riverthorn to seek their fortunes elsewhere, Karya
tries to follow the largely illegible map to find the treasure.
Shes beginning to believe the map is a fake or decoy of some
sort, because she hasnt found anything, and cant read High
Valyrian, which much of the map is written in.
93
The Riverlands
Port Maril
For decades the small town of Port Maril had the distinction
of being a place where men of a questionable living on the
high seas came to sell their ill-gotten goods with few questions and far from the prying eyes of the forces of law and order. This ended with the War of the Ninepenny Kings, when
the Blackfyres used Port Maril to supply their troops in the
Trident. Targaryen forces captured Port Maril and the Blackfyre sympathizer leading the town was removed. The new lord
that the Targaryens appointed as a replacement soon found
it was far more profitable to keep the town running in its
former state and take a cut of the profits than to stop the illegal activities. Port Maril has become a town of the criminal
underworld where little openly illegal happens, but one need
not dig deep to find such activities.
History
Port Maril began as a small fishing village protected by a
natural, rocky bay deep within the Bay of Crabs. It was first
founded by Andals centuries ago and its founding was such
an unimportant event that no record of it remains. At the
time it was little more than a dozen fishermen erecting a series of shanties. Due to the abundant fishing, crabs, and the
protected bay it lays upon, Port Maril grew slowly but steadily
in population if not wealth or prestige.
This began to change with the arrival of one Ester Killian,
a woman who claimed to be from the Iron Islands. Ester
came to the town quietly, buying a boat and rowing it out
on foggy nights when most fishermen were busy drinking
home-brewed rotgut by the fire. She would come back in
the morning mist, her boat laden with mysterious boxes.
After several weeks the locals grew curious and confronted
Ester, who was more than willing to tell them she was meeting pirate ships out in the Bay of Crabs and transferring
their goods to land to sell to fences she knew in Riverrun,
Kings Landing, and other such places. She had planned on
moving on after a few months, but it turned out that the
locals werent too concerned about piracy, so long as it didnt
bring violence with it.
Word was put out among the pirates and criminals of the
region that Port Maril was a safe location to offload stolen
goods and for fences and investors interested in buying those
goods. After a number of pirate ships began to use the docks,
more people moved to the village, including innkeepers, prostitutes, criminals, and others attracted to pirate money. Within the span of five years the small town of Port Maril went
94
The Riverlands
Use in a Chronicle
Port Maril is an excellent base of operations for a player house
that wants to be involved in the shadier side of Westeros, or
wants to be involved in naval matters. The locals and their
lord are jointly involved in a criminal enterprise that would
get them all killed, or at least in serious trouble, if anyone outside the town learned what was going on. Given the events in
the next few years there will be much bigger concerns for the
powers that be than one town working with pirates and will
instead put Port Maril in a better position, having access to a
wide variety of goods and contacts with many pirates. Aside
from times of war, however, living in a den of thieves is not
such a good idea.
The house controlling Port Maril was probably installed in
the wake of the War of the Ninepenny Kings after the criminal activities of the inhabitants were first discovered, but if
desired the house could have claimed the town before or after
that time. Maybe the Portmaster is a hereditary title reaching
back to the founding of the town and the Targaryens decided
elevating the Portmaster to Lord would be a better way to
keep the town under control? Or maybe the town chose the
wrong side again during the War of the Usurper and needs
another new lord? Being named to be Lord of Port Maril
95
The Riverlands
defending the inlet of the bay and keeping an eye out for
ships. The tower has several siege engines for attacking ships
but no one has actually fired them aside from target practice. Many are worried that the Storm Tower may actually be
washed out in a few decades by the waves that hammer the
peninsula during storms, but it remains stable for now.
Lately the town has grown in obvious wealth and has begun attracting more attention from the Royal Navy and the
ships of Dragonstone, leading to some on the Port Council
to voice concerns about the defenses of the town in general.
Some are now calling for building a castle, or at least a hall,
in Port Maril to better provide for its defenses. Given the
income of the town most think this a reasonable request, but
it will actually happen remains to be seen.
Influence: Any
Due to the rather unsavory reputation of Port Maril and its
questionable mercantile value to the outside world, it is unlikely
that any house of stature and respect will be assigned to rule it,
meaning that the house is unlikely to have very high Influence.
Indeed, ruling an area with such a checkered past may in fact
besmirch the reputation of any house that takes on the task.
Law: 20 or greater
For a town of criminals and pirates, Port Maril is well behaved.
The locals know their continued prosperity depends on keeping
up their criminal activities hidden, so they put forth extra effort
in keeping obviously illegal acts in check. Some errant criminal
activity does persist, but it is usually perpetrated by visitors. To
keep disturbances to a minimum and to keep their more rambunctious visitors under control the town has formulated a very
simple code of conduct for all inhabitants and visitors:
BB
BB
BB
BB
BB
All fights are done with fists. First to draw steel dies.
No stealing.
Do not bring your trouble here. If any officer of the King
or a great house comes looking for you here you will be
handed over without question.
The Portmasters word is law.
The Kings law holds sway generally, but these laws are
more important to the inhabitants of Port Maril.
Portmaster
The Lord of Port Maril is called Portmaster by most of the towns residents, which to them is a higher sign of respect than the
title of Lord. Previously, the Portmaster was chosen by vote of the town, but that practice has since fallen out of favor. Due
to the longstanding involvement of the locals in the choosing of their leaders, if the Lord of Port Maril fails his people he
may receive more than simmering anger from his subjects. Securing enough Influence to name an heir is likely to be a major
goal of the Lord of Port Maril. Since the Portmaster is not a hereditary title, the Lord is going to have to force his heir on
the locals on his own.
96
The Riverlands
Matters of law are brought before the Portmaster for judgment or the Port Council in his absence. Punishment in Port
Maril is famously harsh to ensure the town does not attract
any unusual attention and to make clear to visiting pirates
that they are not to cause trouble. To further this impression, the town has several gibbets hanging along the road to
town and near the docks, all of which are kept filled with
relatively fresh corpses. The fact that the Lord of Port Maril
occasionally pays grave robbers to keep up this appearance is
only known to the Lord.
While the Lord of Port Maril holds power over the town
and its environs and is the ultimate power in the area, he has
allowed the inhabitants to appoint what they call the Port
Council to advise him. Originally the Port Council was created to help the Lord of Port Maril navigate the vagaries of
dealing with pirates, fences, and other criminals that he was
not accustomed to, but it survives as an advisory body to the
Lord. It has no real power, but it makes the locals feel like
they have a voice in their rule and thus improves morale. To
the Lord of Port Maril it is a source of information and makes
it easier to rule his subjects since they feel they have some say
in his decisions. Members of the council serve at their own
discretion, and choose their replacement when they are ready
to step down. The current leader of the Port Council is an
aging pirate captain named Robert Garrys who has settled in
the town after a long life at sea.
Population: 20 or less
The population in Port Maril itself is not large and the surrounding swamps are nigh empty, save a handful of hunters
and hermits. The inhospitality of the region has always inhibited its growth and its unlikely the town will grow substantially without major changes. Port Maril already takes up just
about all the stable ground in the swamp and gets almost all
of its food from the sea, so without expanding the Lord of
Port Marils lands beyond the swamps the town is unlikely to
get any larger.
The people of Port Maril have a long tradition of exuberant
religious festivals, during which they try to counteract their
many and various daily sins with public outpourings of faith.
97
The Riverlands
Wealth: 20 or more,
Invested: 20 (marketplace 10, port 10)
Port Maril is a town based on earning money, and it takes
coin to earn coin. Any house that rules Port Maril will need
cash on hand to keep everything running, but can expect to
see returns quickly. The town already has a port and a marketplace, but the more that can be added to a trade town like
Port Maril the more it will flourish. The main concern with
income in Port Maril is making it appear fairly earned. The
Lord of Port Maril will likely never be able to publicly display
the entirety of his wealth to his noble peers without raising
lots of uncomfortable questions.
House Barnell
Having little traffic with Port Maril, House Barnell knows
nothing of the illegal activities going on there. In his ignorance, Lord Barnell respects the Lord of Port Maril for his
tough stance on crime. To this end Lord Barnell has talked to
his seneschal Farris Leed about directing some of the grain
stock from House Barnells land to be transported through
Port Maril instead of Saltpans and other nearby ports.
House Bartheld
While the new Lord Bartheld does not know the truth of Port
Maril, Brom Bartheld did, as do some of the guests in Hart
Hall. Brom Bartheld regularly used Port Maril to secure rare
goods, such as fine wines, and seldom asked many questions
about their origin. Several of the current guests of Hart Hall
also avail themselves of the pirates of Port Maril, but if their
activities are discovered by the current Lord Bartheld they are
likely to be punished severely and the secret of Port Maril will
be made public.
House Dulver
For many years goods bought and sold by House Dulver
passed through Port Maril and many of the acquired goods
by the house were pirate loot. While Lord Harald does not
know exactly what happens in Port Maril, he knows goods
of questionable origin can be purchased there and has several agents check the city regularly for good deals. Short Tom
Tinker has learned the secrets of Port Maril but thus far has
98
kept them from his lord to protect Lord Harald should the
secret and House Dulvers role in it become public.
House Kytley
While no one in House Kytley knows the secrets of Port
Maril, the weapons produced in Smithton are regularly
purchased by agents of the pirates who dock in Port Maril.
Smithton weapons have unintentionally equipped the pirates
of Port Maril for decades, a situation they have no desire to
disrupt. So far House Kytley has not asked many questions
about where these weapons are going or who the buyers are,
but if they do they would be in an excellent position to find
out what is really going on in Port Maril.
House Marsten
House Marsten occasionally purchases goods that traveled
through Port Maril, but has little traffic with the pirate haven.
Over the years the Marstens have heard rumors of a pirate
port in the Bay of Crabs, but never paid much attention until
stories surfaced that Lord Mikael Marsten had been seen on
what is believed to be a pirate ship several years back. Before
his death Lord Corben Marsten was pursuing this rumor and
getting closer to finding Port Marils secret, but his death cut
those efforts short.
House Tullison
Maester Haelis has made a few trips to Port Maril searching
for foreign herbs and remedies to help with the illness of Lady
Moraine, but thus far has had no success. House Tullison as a
whole has little interest in Port Maril, but Maester Haelis sees
it as his best option for getting medicines from far off lands.
Maester Haelis does not know the truth of Port Maril, but the
Port Council fears he may puzzle it out and thus have begun
scheming up a trap to trick Maester Haelis into knowingly
buying stolen goods and then blackmailing him into silence.
Important Personages
Robert Garrys, Danielle Tayle, Harold Raris, and Edwin Manester are among the notable figures who call Port Maril home.
Robert Garrys
Robert Garrys leads the Port Council and has settled into a life
of quiet drinking after a wild youth of piracy and adventure. He
bears the scars of those days long past in the form of a missing
ear and a badly misshapen jaw, but he feels it merely increases
The Riverlands
his fearsome visage. Robert Garrys sees
Port Maril as his best chance of living
to a ripe old age and so is willing to do
what it takes to protect his future, even
if it means killing. Robert has done a
lot of bad things in his day, so hes
unlikely to worry about adding a few
more, especially if it is in service to
his new home.
Danielle Tayle
Danielle Tayle runs the foremost
brothel in Port Maril, the Black Mermaid Inn,. A loyal supporter of the
Lord and of the towns great deception, she works her best to keep everything running smoothly. Knowing men often run their mouths too
freely when intimate, Danielle runs
her business as much for the knowledge her women learn as the money
they make. While Danielle doesnt
want trouble in town, she is more than
willing to sell rival pirate ships information on each others operation, resulting in a number of deceits in the high seas. For
her information Danielle always gets a cut and so far her information brokering activities have led to lead back to her.
Harold Raris
The foremost shipwright in Port Maril,
Harold is one of the main proponents
of trying to turn Port Maril into
more of an honest city. The Raris
family is one of the oldest families
in the town and they have been
making boats and ship for the
locals for as long as anyone can
remember. This gives Harold a
great deal of influence in the city,
which he generally uses against
those who cause trouble in town or wish to drag the town
further into illegal activities. If someone wants to try and
clean up Port Maril they will find a ready ally in Harold Raris
and his family. Ordinary locals find him to be a self-righteous
prig; if it werent for his wealth and talent he probably would
have been dropped off a pier long ago.
Traditional
Events
The following pages details some of the traditional events of
this area of Westeros.
99
The Riverlands
among you! Thenceforth, ye shall know no peace but struggle
one against the other until the day the Children return and
take back what you have overthrown!
And then, as the story goes, the old man became a great white
bird and flew away, but his curse fell hard upon the brothers.
Their harmony turned to dishord, and thousands died as the seasons passed and the wars ground on and on without relent.
Then, one spring as the brothers gathered above a grand
plain, ready to water the land with the blood of their kin once
more, a man stepped forth dressed in the robes of a septon.
I am the mouth of The Seven and I bid you all to stay your
hands! For too long has this curse turned brother on brother
and brought death to the Riverlands. You are the Blood of the
Andals! And your gods are the Seven who are One! Heed not
the old ghosts of the forest. They are driven out and have no
power over you! And the old man, who was the Great Septon
and the first to hold his office, went among the camps and
blessed each brother in his turn, and gave him a lance of ash.
Go now, back to your castle, and lay this lance beneath the
tree whose seed you brought across the sea. When it blooms,
you will take up that lance and face your brothers again, not
as enemies but as friends, and all shall test their arms one
against the other and do glory to the Seven who have freed
you of this curse.
From that day forth one tree of the seven would bloom
each year and in that year the lord of the castle would hold
a tourney beneath its boughs to do honor to the Seven. Ever
since then, the seven castles that house the trees have been
called The Brotherhood.
For six thousand years the tradition has held. Though the
castles themselves have changed hands over the years and the
names of those brothers have been lost to history, the cycle has
always continued. Be it during the Summer, Winter, Spring
or Fall, each year the Tourney of the Brothers is thrown by
one of the seven houses.
While the tale of the Brothers is regarded as one of the
foundations of the Faith in Westeros and the blooming of the
Brothers a genuine miracle sent by the Seven, the cycle isnt
perfect. History recounts a spate of years where one tree alone
bloomed four years in a row. The run was ended, its said, when
one of the lords of the brotherhood wrote to the High Septon to intercede with the Seven and guide the blessing of the
blooming to another house. The name of the lord that made
the request is not a part of the record, but the prevailing rumor
is that it was, in fact, the lord of the castle that had been blessed
so fruitfully. The burden of hosting a grand tourney four years
running had beggared the house and while they were rich in
honor and prestige, they had been made poor in all else.
100
Narrators Notes
The Tourney of the Brothers is an event that can be used for a
wide variety of purposes. At its most basic it is a tournament
with all the attendant opportunities to gain Experience, Glory
and Coin in the name of the PCs house. All of the usual events
associated with a tournament are available for participation:
the joust, the archery competition, and the grand melee as well
as banquets and feasts, mummer shows and minstrels.
If politics is more to your fancy, there is no shortage of
fodder for a wily band of schemers either. Any gathering of
so many nobles is going to be rife with intrigues and political
maneuvering. Many an alliance is hatched, and many more
scuttled in the crowded stands overlooking the lists. And the
months before the tourney can be just as fruitful. The honor
of the blooming is, in itself, a source of Glory, but what if
the house is too poor to host the tourney? The Brothers are
widely believed to be the only seven trees of their sort in all of
Westeros, but what if another were suddenly discovered? Or
perhaps a lord desperate to elevate his house sends a mission
east to bring back an eighth?
And finally, the Brothers themselves are prizes much coveted by certain of the lords of the Riverlands, and not only
because they bring notoriety to the name of the house that
holds them. The specifics of which house and domain lay
claim to the Brothers is left to the Narrators discretion, but
as a rule, the Brothers inhabit strong, well-situated keeps in
The Riverlands
well-appointed domains. They have been the spoils of war
many times over the centuries and there is every reason to
believe that they will change hands many times more far into
the future. The PCs could as easily be cast as the defender of
one of the Brothers as an ambitious house eager to improve
their own fortunes through warfare.
wood and the fires are lit. For seven days the kilns burn, rendering the wood within them into charcoal. For seven days,
the faithful sing praises to the Smith and feast in his honor.
On the eighth day the kilns are opened and the bounty of
the Smiths forge is celebrated. The great heaps of charcoal are
divvied up amongst the faithful. Those that labor count them
a great blessing, an assurance from the Seven of a prosperous
and profitable year to come.
Narrators Notes
Every religion has its zealots and divine favor is a currency
as valuable to those in power or seeking power as gold or
silver. What can be gained can also be stripped away. In hard
times, a small thing like the Smiths blessing can make the
difference between steadfast smallfolk struggling diligently
to win through and riotous mobs howling after the blood
of their lord.
Whether its a southern lord making a gift of a captured
weirwood for the fires or a northern lords sabotage of the ceremony offered by a rival in order to sow doubt in the minds of
his followers, divine favor and its lack are potent weapons in
the battles of intrigue. Furthermore, any gathering of people
is an opportunity to make friends and enemies.
101
The Riverlands
102
The Riverlands
ed on Dorne and the Mummers Joust went out across the
land. In a week the songs went from Sunspear to Starfall. In
a fortnight, Daerons steward was dead and all of Dorne was
alight with rebellion. The Young Dragon died on a Dornish
spear, but it was the mummers that put the spear in Dornish
handsor at least thats how the mummers tell it.
Few Mummers Jousts have a definitive end point or conclusion. More often the players that have gathered simply
wander off to other markets in other towns to sell their songs
or japes or plays. Now and then, though, a certain performance will put a cap to the events and signal the close of the
Joust. Usually its a performance of remarkable skill or prescient relevance, but not always. A monumentally poor show
can just as easily end a Joust and sour the peoples mood,
sending the players away again and off to friendlier climes.
And just as the tourneys of knights and squires, the Mummers Joust comes with its prize: The crowning of the King
of Mirth and Mayhem. Sometimes the Court of Fools never
reaches the necessary threshold of organization to bestow it,
and sometimes so many are named the office has no meaning.
But now and then a single player distinguishes him or herself
in such a way as to earn the office alone. Whether awarded
ironically or in earnest admiration, the title is a dubious honor
at best. Being crowned immediately makes a man a ripe and
ready mark for the japes and jibes of his peers to say nothing
of the wrath of the lordly personage that has just endured a
week or more of being the butt of every joke in his or her domain. There is no better target than the man that stands apart.
Narrators Notes
There is little in the way of centralized organization or leadership in the formation of a Mummers Joust. They tend to arise
spontaneously, organize by word of mouth and execute in a
disorderly and haphazard fashion. That said, a consensus does
tend to develop as the mood of the community asserts itself.
The Court of Fools is many things at once. It is a party, a
source of entertainment for people who tend to be in need.
It is a means of finding social justice in a system that permits
very little. And it is, for its participants, a money-making venture that might very well launch a career.
For PCs, the Mummers Joust has a wide variety of uses. A
Joust might simply be a backdrop for the characters far more
dire intrigues. Plotting murder in the midst of festival of jugglers and minstrels makes for an entertaining juxtaposition
of images. Or, should the PCs House become the target of
a Joust, damage control and the subtle maneuvers necessary
to exact retribution without spreading the flames of a mum-
mers revolt can make for a tense and suspenseful story. Clever, brave or foolish PCs might actually sponsor a Mummers
Joust. If they can weather the embarrassments that come out
of it, they might even glean a strange sort of Glory for attending to their smallfolk in so generous a manner. As well,
minstrel characters can easily walk away from a Joust with a
little extra Coin in their purses and, if they do well, perhaps a
little Glory of their own.
Consider a band of PCs tasked by their lord to break up a
Mummers Joust. Do they capture and kill every player they
find? Do they embark upon intrigues to discredit the most
prominent minstrels, or perhaps turn them to their lordships
service? What consequences does their approach bring with it?
Or maybe the PCs are just-minded minstrels intent on
bringing down a tyrant. They could very easily be risking their
lives and face violence, imprisonment and death for speaking
out against a powerful and despotic lord. The risks are great,
but the rewards could be too.
Then again, maybe the PCs are agents of a house intent
on a Mummers Joust against a rival. Do they masquerade as
mummers themselves? Pay minstrels and players to prosecute
the vendetta? Or maybe just take advantage of the opportunity of a burgeoning Joust to exacerbate the targets woes with
the murder of a few players while wearing the targets livery.
Whether the Mummers Joust is the crux of the plot, or just
a distraction to hide the real meat of the story, it should rarely
fail to provide ample fodder for intrigues, actual combats, and
dramatic confusion.
Interesting Places
This serves as a collection of Riverlands locations not associated with any particular house or political agenda. No attempt
has been made to cover them in detail so that the locations
can blend easily into your chronicle as places for Intrigues,
Warfare, or other conflicts.
Except where a specific location has been provided, the
Narrator and players are encouraged to place these areas in
a location that seems appropriate in their game. Even those
locales that have specific locations described can be moved
easily enough.
103
The Riverlands
fugitives as readily as to the smallfolk. The monks openness,
and their refusal to allow anyone within the septry to come to
harm has made Shattered Rock a popular location for tense
negotiation between rival houses.
Septon Ranulph, the current master of the septry, aggressively
maintained its neutrality during Roberts Rebellion, and in minor conflicts since. He has personally turned away armies from
the gate, rather than give up victims to the slaughter. His hardline stance has earned him the enmity of most of the Houses of
the Riverlands, though none have yet been disrespectful enough
to attack a stronghold of the faith. The pervasive rumor that the
septry secretly maintains the Poor Fellows of the Faith Militant
has helped to stay the Lords hands as well.
The septry is extremely self-sufficient; the monks grow
their own food, and even spin the wool of their sheep into
cloth for their simple brown habits and scapulars. Many
smallfolk marvel at the brothers ability to grow a crop in even
the harshest of weather, and all manner of rumors have circulated that they harbor some sort of secret knowledge or dark
pact that grants their skill.
104
The Riverlands
Silent Sisters sometimes wander the field, though their reasons
and their purposes are known only to the Seven.
Hardhands Folly
Another artifact of the ironmen conquest of the riverlands is
Hardhands Folly. It isnt known whether the tower known
as Hardhands Folly was actually built by Harwyn Hardhand
or by one of the numerous lesser houses that followed him
to the region. Certainly House Hoare established many such
small towers across the riverlands to guard against invasion,
so the rumors of its founding are possible if not confirmable.
Any name the redoubt might have initially carried in life has
been lost to history. All that is known for certain is that it
had already fallen into disuse when Belarion the Black Death
burned Harrenhal and all who lived there.
What remains of the stone tower sits in an inaccessible region of marshland though the land was dry when the tower
was built. A change in the flow of the one of the Tridents many
tributaries glutted the small streams that fed the area and turned
spongy but defendable land into nightmarish swamp. With the
loss of its tenants, the stone walls quickly succumbed to the encroaching marsh. Sections sank at different rates and the walls
were wrenched apart by the twin forces of time and gravity.
Historically, the ruin served briefly as a base of operations for the cutthroat Jerrold Blackbow. From the difficultto-reach location he avoided capture for over two years and
developed a series of safe paths through the swamp. That he
used those paths to prey upon smallfolk and noble-born alike
has mostly been forgotten by the smallfolk, and Blackbows
stories persist to this day.
Ostensibly a part of House Kytleys demesne, no effort has
been made to recover the ruin or put it to any further purpose.
Rumors abound of the ruin being haunted, and sightings of
witch-lights bobbing in the surrounding swamp are common. Those few who have braved approaching the ruin claim
to have heard voices echoing from the stones themselves,
though obviously these tales have never been confirmed.
Hags Mouth
Stagnant ponds are common in the marshy north of the Riverlands, especially when Summer has run long and the land
feels the clench of drought. Unlike those oases of insect and
algae that are its cousin, Hags Mouth is both larger than
most other ponds, and as barren as the deserts beyond the
Free Cities. Brackish and smelling of eggs too long in the sun,
Stags Moor
Low swamplands with treacherous footing are common among
the upper reaches of the Riverlands and well into the Neck. In
that respect, Stags Moor is not unique. Named for the herds
of marsh deer that are often seen dancing from one dry path to
another, this lowland has also been known to host lizard-lions
and (if the rumors are to be believed) shadowcats. The spongy
vegetation of Stags Moor often gives way beneath a travelers
boots, and no one can stay dry long in the constant mire.
Hunters have been known to travel leagues to reach Stags
Moor, where the challenge of pursuing the small, fleet-footed
deer is considered a high sport. The smallfolk living nearby
who rely on the deer for food, not recreationhave nevertheless
taken advantage of this influx, and most settlements near the
moorland boast a number of guides who know the one safe way
through the marsh. Lodging and hunting gear also often cost
more than in other places in the Riverlands, especially during the
yearly Great Hunt, a two-week-long event that draws nobility
from across Westeros, all vying to bring in the largest stag.
Maelyss Crossing
Four days travel along the Green Fork from The Twins will
bring a voyager to the patch of rocks known as Maelyss
Crossing. While it is theoretically possible to cross the river at this point, footing on the mossy stones is treacherous.
Furthermore, any heavy rain brings the water to a level that
hides all but the largest stones from view. Fording the river
on horseback is equally dangerous, as the slick rocks and unstable footing have lead to several mounts with broken legs,
destined only for a swift, merciful death.
The Crossing is significant in that it was the site where
Maelys the Monstrous and a handful of his personal guard
held off an attack by five times their number during the War
of the Ninepenny Kings. By holding the central stone on the
crossing, Maelys forced his pursuers to navigate a bottle-
105
The Riverlands
neck of water and rock, and could dispatch threats as they
approached. When bows were drawn, Maelys relied on the
cover of his fellows and retreated across the Green Fork and
out of his assailants reach.
Small groups on foot still come to the Crossing rather
than pay House Freys exorbitant toll to cross at The Twins,
and Walder Frey has frequently railed against its use. He has
gone so far as to send soldiers down to hold the crossing and
prevent its use, but the expense in salaries seldom makes up
for the increased toll revenue. Should any House attempt to
develop the crossing into a more usable form, either by establishing a ferry, or by building a bridge, the Late Lord Frey
would waste no time in mustering his forces to stop them. For
now he is content to leave Maelyss Crossing alone, and turn
a blind eye to its use. As a result it has been a popular point
for moving small items of contraband across the Green Fork,
rather than slipping past guards at The Twins.
Orphans Hill
One of the tallest hills for a league in any direction, the rocky
promontory known colloquially as Orphans Hill harbors a
dark tradition of the old faith. Smallfolk who desire the favor
of the old gods, or those with more mouths than they can possibly feed, have traditionally brought their youngest children to
Orphans Hill and abandoned them to exposure. Though the
practice has been frowned upon since before Aegon the Conqueror arrived at Kings Landing, it has never been officially
outlawed and a winter does not pass when carrion birds have
not assembled at least once to take a meal on the Hill.
Tradition dictates that any child taken to the hill is considered never to have been born. The family removes any trace
of the child from the house, and references to the child by
name are met with confused stares. While the abandoned
childs former siblings may not understand at first, the pressure of their parents and the rest of the community brings
them into line and they forget the other ever existed. On the
rare occasion when an abandoned child finds his or her way
back to a settlement, they are considered bastards and given
the surname Rivers (or in rare cases Hill). Their birth family
will not recognize them, nor will they take them in.
From time to time, noble houses attempt to crack down
on the use of the hill without success. Even the prevailing
efforts of wandering septons has only lowered the number of
children abandoned. When the Seven wont send the rain a
farmer needs, it takes very little time for the smallfolk to remember the tales of older powers who are willing to exchange
fair weather for payment in kind.
Harrens Justice
Though nearly three centuries have passed since Harren the
Black hung his iron gibbets from this ancient oak tree, it still
bears his name and still sees its grisly use. The tree no longer
grows leaves and most believe it to be dead, though its blackened
trunk has not collapsed and its lower branches remain strong.
While few Houses of the Riverlands use the tree for its old purpose, groups of vigilante smallfolk have been known to take the
law into their own hands, and it not unusual to pass Harrens Justice and see at least one body slowly twisting beneath its boughs.
Rotted lengths of rope hang from the branches, and carrion
birds perch waiting in the trees for an easy meal.
While it is the hangings for which Harrens Justice is remembered, the space beneath the boughs also served as home
to a headsmans block for several decades. The rebellious brigand Jerrold Blackbow was drawn and quartered here after
his capture, and his limbless torso was tied to the trunk as a
warning to any who might follow in his footsteps.
Alchemists approach Harrens Justice for their own reasons
during certain phases of the moon, as it is widely known as an
excellent source for nightshade. This ingredient features promi-
106
The Riverlands
nently in a number of ancient formulae, though it now sees use
primarily as a curiosity and in folk remedies. Attempts have
been made to curb the collection of the plant, as skilled hands
can create a dangerous poison from it, but nothing short of a
constant armed guard works to dissuade smallfolk who believe
the human-shaped root can ward off curses or cure infertility.
While not a set place that can be marked on a map, this travelling mummers troupe moves from settlement to settlement
within the Riverlands, and has performed for most of the major houses. As artists, they are afforded a sense of safe passage
in most areas of the Riverlandsthe notable exception being
House Dulver. A jest about the prior Lord Dulvers tightfistedness raised his wroth, and he barred the gates of Deepen
Hall to the company forever, upon pain of death. Wherever
they set their stakes, the encampment draws in large numbers
of smallfolk eager to forget their lives for a while and be carried away by the Troupes performance.
The current master of the Casque and Wren, Cyrol Barleg,
tries to tailor the performances to the audience. Tales of Jerrold Blackbow are popular among the smallfolk, for example,
while classical plays and histories are more popular among the
nobility. The popularity of the troupe allows Barleg to have his
pick of performers in the Riverlands, and many lesser minstrels hope to catch his eye and win a spot among the Casque
and Wrens vaunted ranks. The troupes master tries to balance
talent with trustworthiness, as their wide-ranging travels allow them to see a greater swath of the Riverlands than most
individuals, and occasionally happen upon things they werent
meant to notice. Cyrol Barleg recognizes the power of information, and cannot afford performers who share such secrets
without proper discretion and remuneration.
The Casque and Wren takes its name from an ancient tradition, where a wren is drowned in a casque of fine wine to hasten
the end of winter. While it has been some time since a winter
has come to the Riverlands, the troupe continues to maintain a
pair of wrens in a cage, in case their sacrifice is needed.
and empty. Many of the stones have been carted off to form
new structures, both noble and low.
As with most sites associated with the dead, a number of
conflicting rumors have sprung up in regards to the Barrow
Plain. The most popular are tales of a lost grave, supposedly
holding anything from a treasure trove of ancient Valyrian
weaponry, to the eggs of the last dragons, to the final resting
place of the blade Blackfyre. The fact that no one has ever
found this kingly burial site has not caused the rumors to fade
in the leastif anything it only fans them higher.
Smallfolk avoid the Barrow Plain after dark, though not from
any fear of the restless dead. Wolves are common among the
sheltering stones, and these Barrow-wolves have no fear of humans. Some witnesses have claimed that the animals show a surprising amount of cunning, though others have said the beasts
show nothing more uncommon than a particularly savage mien.
Smalls Defense
107
108
what they must, or have nothing at all. That is the iron price;
that is the Old Way.
This adventure is designed to give both the Narrator and
the PCs an initial foray into the world of Westeros and its
intrigues and dangers. It begins at the PCs house but takes
them quickly beyond its walls, to complete a task that rapidly
becomes more involved than they were led to believe. It is assumed in this adventure that the lord of the house with which
the PCs are affiliated is a Narrator Character. If this is not the
case, minor changes will be needed
Note: The term home house is used to refer to the house
that the players characters are affiliated with.
Synopsis
When the houses liege lord demands hospitality, hospitality is given, even when its unexpected. Its on such a night
and such an occasion that the lord whose bannerhouse this
is comes calling. On his way to Kings Landing, the lord decided to turn up at the seat of the home house, and break his
Act I
It is a pleasant time of the year, with hunts and diversions of
all sorts available to the nobles of Westeros. A good time for
travel, as King Roberts forces see to it that the main roads
are safeor at least as safe as one traveling could expect. It is
of little surprise then when guests arrive seeking respite and
shelter. Most travelers have their bread and salt, rest, and then
are on their way again in the morning, with none the wiser
(or much poorer) for their passing. When a traveler requests
hospitality from the lord of the local House, however, that is
something to note.
The PCs are about their business within the confines of
the houses hold and property, when a messenger bearing the
badge of the bannerhouses liege lord rides in through the
gates. He informs the household that his lord is approaching and bids a place be made ready for him for the next two
nights.
It shouldnt take long for word to circulate. There are preparations to be made, the family to be consulted, and food to be
prepared. If appropriate, one of the PCs can be directed to
find the lord and lady of the house and see what their wishes
are. The lady will begin directing preparations or else give the
steward leave to do so, as appropriate for their situations per
the Narrator. The lord should send a party to greet his liege,
preferably including him, his heir, and his closest advisors or
knights. It should be appropriate to include a few of the PCs
in this party, if not all of them.
109
Traveling Groups
The number and type of people a lord chooses to bring with him when he travels is very indicative of both that individuals
personality and the things that he values. Escorts and followers should be different for each lord, giving observant characters
insight into who this person is and what he deems important.
Edmure Tully
Lord Hoster holds the Riverlands in secure hands, as safe a realm as one could wish. He is an older man, though, and not as
spry as he once was, so his son Edmure travels on his behalf. His progress is slow and steady, with pack horses to carry their
lords gear and add to his comfort. The young heir to House Tully can be blustery, but good humored under all. He brings
host gifts for his bannermen and shows interest in their welfare. Edmure Tully travels with a few servants, as well seven loyal
knights of his household.
110
Portents
In Westeros, events of note are often preceded by portents, such as the discovery of the dire wolf killed by a stags antler, not
to mention its orphaned cubs and their links to the Stark children. It is therefore thematically appropriate for Narrators to
use similar events to foreshadow upcoming plots.
If the Narrator would like to incorporate similar events for this plot, the following are suggestions based on the liege lords
house.
Arryn
The party finds an injured hawk with a broken wing, lying on the ground. When they approach, it begins thrashing wildly,
almost convulsing, before lying still on the ground. Examination of the animal shows that its wing had been broken as a result
of a fight with another animal, but it finally died from a chunk of rockmostly iron that had become lodged in its throat,
causing it to choke.
Baratheon
A fire starts at the farriers smithy at the keep. The forge collapsed and the fire raged within its ruins unchecked, quenched
only when it grew so hot that the nearby iron ore melted, rushing in and quenching in liquid form the fires source.
Frey
As the party rides, one of the PCs realizes that an important stream they should be riding alongside has slowed to a trickle. Upon
investigation, it appears that a log jam or a beaver dam has blocked the stream, threatening flooding. When the characters take
the logjam apart, they discover a rusting iron sword at its core that somehow became lodged between two slender trees.
Lannister
An old yellow wildcat is found dead near the path, an iron-tipped arrowhead found lodged and festering in its breast. The
animal had succumbed to infection and is filled with rot and decay despite its normal outward appearance.
Stark
A wolf is found with its paw caught in a rusting iron trap. Its pack can be heard in the distance, howling and circling, but does not
approach. If the characters wish to engage the wolf, use the stats found on page 214 of the Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying Game.
Tully
At dinner the first evening, a large trout is served whole, with the plate presented to Lord Hoster as befits his status as both
lord and guest. When he cuts into it, however, to take his portion, his knife hits something hard. Its revealed that the fish
has a cruel, three-prong fishhook embedded deep within its mouth that was somehow missed during the preparation of the
animal. Once tasted, its discovered that the entire fish has an unpleasant tang of iron, corrupted from being cooked with the
hook in place. It is deemed unsuitable and taken away.
Arrival
Upon arriving at the household, the liege lord retires with
the lord of the house to discuss business, while the rest of
the household prepares for dinner. It quickly becomes known
that he intends to stay for two nights only before continuing
on his wayan unusually short stay for such a visit, regardless
of the length of travel.
The first night passes uneventfully. Dinner is prepared and
turns out well, the liege lord and the household dine as befits
their stations. The lords company are housed and fed as well,
and if their entertainment is a bit rougher or if a bit more ale
was drunk than was needful, they are still guests and have still
taken salt and bread as per the custom. Their safety is assured.
The next morning, the lord of the home house and his
liege lord get an early start on the day. They ride out from
the house with a very small party, no more than two or three
others, to survey the household lands and take account of the
houses general welfare. If the Narrator feels that the liege
lord would be unlikely to go himself (or would rather bring
along an advisor or other companion as well), the situation
can be altered to accommodate that. The bannerlord might
also wish to bring along an extra companion, especially one
or more of the PCs.
111
The two lords talk a great deal about their personal lives and
business. If there are unmarried children, there might be talk of
fostering or possible betrothals if the bannerhouse is on good
terms with the liege lord (this is particularly true if the liege
lord is Ser Stevron Frey). If asked, the liege lord will comment
on his travels and eventual destination (Kings Landing) but
will avoid any details regarding his business or travel.
While touring the lands, the party may run across an unusual situation that can seem to have a wider implication
to those who believe in signs and try to interpret the world
around them. It is up to the Narrator whether or not he wishes to use such a situation. For suggestions of what might be
found, see the Portents sidebar.
Once the lords return to the household, the liege lord excuses himself to his chambers, ostensibly to rest for the evening and recover from his travels. This should give the PCs
an opportunity to share news, question members of the liege
lords retinue, rest themselves, or accomplish other tasks.
An Audience
The liege lord does not emerge from his rooms again until
dinner is announced that evening. The meal passes uneventfully, a quieter event than that of the previous day by the liege
lords own request. After dinner, each PC is asked to join the
house lord in his study.
Once the group arrives at the study, they discover that their
lord isnt alone; his liege lord is there with him as well. He
addresses the group of PCs as a whole, saying the following
(feel free to rephrase this as befits the liege lords identity and
personality as described in the novels):
Ive spoken with your lord, and he has sworn your service to
me. Are you all loyal and ready to do service? When the PCs answer in the affirmative (as they are sworn to do) he will continue.
Good. I have need of you then. It is a trifling matter, but one for
which only trusted allies will do. I cannot directly interfere and
hope for a positive outcome, yet something must be done.
I have heard word that there is trouble brewing in the area,
old wounds that fester anew. Things are peaceful at the moment,
112
but open fighting is insupportable right now. The king and his
Hand have told me they will put down harshly any open hostilities between the houses, and with equal vigor reward those who
further the cause of peace. The house to which I ask you to travel
owes me no allegiance so I cannot command their attendance. It
must be diplomacy, not loyalty that sees this task through.
Present yourselves to this household, learn of their grievances,
and see if it be possible to turn their arguments to a better end. If
it is not, report back to your lord with such information as you are
able to gather.
He answers questions shortly and to the point. It is clear
that he believes this to be a small diplomatic or informationgathering task and thus of no great risk beyond diplomatic
embarrassment should it go awry. He gives minimal additional information, saying that the house lord will answer
their questions on the morrow. For this evening, he instructs
them to tell no one else about it and that they will leave the
day after tomorrow. It is an urgent matter and must be settled
as soon as may be.
The Houses
Below are described two houses, either one of which may be
a secondary antagonist for the remainder of the adventure.
Both are described in brief here; more detail can be found in
the Houses chapter of this book, pg. 5. Use the information
here to fill out the conversation for the PCs as described in
An Audience.
Bandit Attacks
Whether the bandits are hedge knights, clan members, or
common criminals depends on where the PCs are when they
are attacked and what criminal element is most present in
that community. Please review both the PCs house of origin
and House Bartheld or House Dulver, as appropriate. There
113
Act II
Depending on which house the Narrator has chosen, the
PCs will wind up either at Hart House trying to discover
whether or not an assassin exists or at Deepen Hall trying to
decipher how to stave off a war. Neither may be particularly
easy, though the PCs have no reason to suspect their tasks
are quite as difficult as all that. They have been asked merely
to observe and report, though if they feel the situation calls
for additional action to accomplish their goals, they are welcome to take itwithin reason. The line between reasonable
and unreasonable may quickly blur, however, as the PCs draw
closer to the truth.
114
For that matter, it isnt simply the local smallfolk who may
need to be convinced of the PCs intentions. Lord Harald
Dulver is not a man to tolerate interference, nor one to waste
the resources of his house on food and shelter for strangers
without an excellent reason to do so. Sending word ahead to
Lord Dulver of the PCs desire to talk to him on a matter
of business is the surest way to get inside the castle gates on
good terms. (A Routine (6) Status (Breeding) roll can provide
this suggestion.)
Arrival
Assuming the PCs have sent word ahead heralding their arrival and desire to discuss matters of trade, the party will be
ushered brusquely into Deepen Hall to await audience with
Lord Dulver. Their mounts (if any) will be stabled, the baggage collected and taken to adequate chambers.
If, on the other hand, they arrive unannounced or profess
some purpose other than trade, they will find entry considerably more difficult to get. The guards at the gate are loathe
to draw Lord Haralds ire by admitting uninvited guests.
Any parties arriving unannounced will be met with an initial refusal. If the visitors persist, the guards will question
the party as to their purpose with Lord Dulver, their allegiances and their place of origin. After hearing the answers
to these questions, the guards will refuse a second time and
urge the PCs to come back tomorrow! (when the duty shift
has changed and the interlopers have become someone elses
problem).
These men know their job and will resist any attempt to
convince them to open the gate to anyone approaching uninvited, but they are common folk to a man and thus susceptible
to the influence high status characters wield over them. Any
character passing a Routine (difficulty 6) Status or Persuasion test can get the guardsmen to fetch either Lord Haralds
brother and master-at-arms Ser Gambol Hill or Maester
Falstan to hear the partys plea. Either of these men can be
persuaded to admit the party (via an Intrigue), whatever their
stated purpose and will see that they are properly accommodated.
Once inside Deepen Hall, the next item on the agenda will
likely be an audience with Lord Dulver. Harald is a brusque
man and not given to ceremony or pomp. Once the party is
settled in chambers he will meet with them in his audience
chamber, seated on the simple and ancient bronze chair of the
Dulvers. He drives straight to the point.
Characters arriving under the auspices of buying from
Lord Dulver should expect to spend between 1 and 5 Wealth
The Players
Lord Harald Dulver
Lord Dulver is cunning, ambitious, shrewd and stubborn.
Over the past two years, he has also come to feel utterly alone.
His son and heir has abandoned him for a fat septon and
seven gods that have never done a thing for the family. His
wife rebukes him and sides with his son. His bastard uncle
has no respect for him. His smallfolk scorn him and his peers
mock him.
Or so he thinks.
Harald Dulver has always harbored a sense that he was
meant for more, that he was due much more. Lord of nearly
worthless lands, trader in the basest metals the earth can yield,
heir of a family rich in history and poor and bloody all else.
115
Maester Falstan
Falstan is a cool, cunning and subtle man. He is not given to
rash action or impetuousness. He will not jeopardize himself
or his scheme by haring off to his hidden benefactors at the
first sign of suspicion, either. He knows full well that his best
course of action is simply to sit quietly and wait, should it become clear that someone has caught the scent of his plan. He
is confident that no one can tie him to anything incriminating. All he has done has been in service to his lord.
If the PCs should come to the gates of Deepen Hall proclaiming their intentions to sway Lord Dulver from his course
toward conflict, Maester Falstan will eagerly usher them into
Haralds presence to make their case to his lordship directly.
He knows that such a confrontation can only harden Haralds
resolve to continue the march to war.
If suspicion should fall on him by some unhappy chance,
Falstan will first plead innocence, and then ignorance, depending on the evidence presented. He has a great deal of
cover in any event. Only the ironmen know of Falstans collusion and theyll die before they talk, if they can even be found.
Maester Falstan
Secondary Character
Abilities
Awareness 3
Cunning 3
Logic 1B
Deception 4
Bluff 2B
Healing 3
Knowledge 5
Education 2B
Persuasion 4
Convince 2B
Stealth 3
Attributes
116
Combat
Defense
10
Intrigue
Defense
10
Health
Composure
Karyl Kays
Lord Dulvers chief stonemason has very little to do with war
and even less to do with politics. Mountains Reach is one of
the few castles in and about the Riverlands that he has absolutely no knowledge of. If it comes to a siege, hell be working
with no advanced knowledge whatsoever.
Karyls place in this scenario has more to do with his
knowledge of Deepen Hall. Should the PCs request a tour of
Dulvers fabled cellars it will fall to Karyl to conduct that tour.
He knows the cellars better than anyone.
In the course of the tour, Karyl comes across an old tunnel,
sealed years ago, thats recently been reopened and used. The
tunnel, Karyl will relate, was an old sally port dating from
darker days. It descends steeply into the Deepmont and below, coming out in a gully some miles from the castle and
hidden from view. It was originally dug as a means of escape
should the Dulvers need to make a quick getaway but hadnt
been used in years. Its clear by the disturbance of the dust on
the floor that someone has used it quite recently.
What Karyl doesnt know (and indeed no one does) is that
Maester Falstan has been using the tunnel to slip away from
the castle unseen and from there, meet up with the four hidden conspirators.
There is no evidence indicating who has used the tunnel.
The footprints are unremarkable and muddled. Maester Falstan learned of the tunnels existence from Karyl himself, but
that was long ago when the young Maester first came to serve
the Dulvers and old Karyl has no hope at all of remembering.
117
the services of his lord and father wherever Lord Dulver may
see fit to employ them. If it comes down to it, Walton will go
to war, but he wont like it.
If anyone can get through to Lord Dulver, its Walton. As
the scenario opens, Walton and Lord Harald arent speaking
to one another. But, if the PCs can get evidence of the plot to
the young ser and convince him of the danger to his house,
Walton will gladly put aside the dispute and endorse their
appeal to his father. Walton is both the most likely and the
most effective supporter the PCs will find. And if they can
succeed, the PCs might very well save both the Dulver House
and the family.
For character statistics for Lord Dulver, see pg. 33.
Septon Arlyn
Septon Arlyn is dismayed by the strife he knows is tearing
apart the Dulver family, in no small part because he has been
an unwitting contributor to it.
Should the PCs wear out their welcome prematurely, Septon Arlyn can provide an option for continuing their investigation, though at something of a remove from the environs of
Deepen Hall. There is no inn in the hamlet at the foot of the
118
Traveling Salesmen
There is very little in the way of hard evidence for the PCs to
find, but there should be enough strangeness going on to give
them a feel that something is not right. Lord Harald is a man
virtually alone. He has but one advisor, Maester Falstan, hav-
House Tullison
Lord Dunstan Tullison is fuming. His people have always
suffered the raids of the mountain clans, but over the past
few months the raids have become more frequent and the
raiders far better armed. After one such raid, Lord Dunstan
had some of the weapons taken from the fallen clansmen put
before Ren Alyard, his master smith. Alyard recognized the
makers mark as that of a smith in Fairmarket. When that
man was pressed he immediately recognized the blades as
part of a lot he had sold to Lord Dulver a year past.
It looked for all the world as though Harald Dulver was
arming Tullisons enemies.
Dunstan began politely enough, asking for parlay, offering
truce but his messages got no reply. As weeks went by and
more of his smallfolk were killed by raiders bearing the very
same arms, he grew angry. He wrote to Dulver again, this
time demanding reparations and cessation of hostilities. He
got back derision and denial. It was then that Dunstan Tullison began girding himself for war.
That was three weeks ago. Now Lord Dunstan is having
second thoughts. As his blood cooled, he began to think
again of peace but his course seems to be set. He cant see
any way out of the coming conflict. His pleas for peace fall
on deaf ears. His threats and demands are thrown back in his
face. If Dulver wants war, Tullison will give it to him.
Dunstan has considered sending a messenger rather than a
raven, but he fears for the life of any emissary sent to Deepen
Hall after the replies he received to his most recent letters.
Should a neutral party (the PCs, for instance) arrive to volunteer, however, he would gladly try one last time to open the
channels of communication to talk of peace.
119
Arrival
The PCs need have no pretext for coming to Hart House.
Lord Davains doors are open to any that come to call (any
noble, anyway). He is an open, honest and approachable man.
He also finds the idea that someone is actually out to kill him
frankly rather absurd.
After the PCs have been welcomed, given chambers, had
their mounts groomed and stabled, Lord Davain will gladly
120
invite them to attend him in his solar to discuss their business in Hart House. If, in the course of conversation, the PCs
should reveal their purpose Davain will express surprise and
even a touch of amusement.
Why kill me? he asks. He has no enemies hes aware of. His
lands, while prosperous, are by no means rich, his house nowhere near powerful enough to merit such sinister attention,
or so he believes. He dismisses his recent plague of mishaps
as mere accidents and coincidences or, at worst, the comeuppance due his family for years of debauchery and ignoble living. I can but live well myself, and pray the Seven have mercy.
If the PCs press the point, Davain will politely but firmly
end the conversation. The PCs are welcome to stay at Hart
House for so long as they wish, but his lordship doesnt care
to discuss imaginary assassins or nefarious plots any further,
thank you very much.
The Players
Lord Davain Bartheld
Davain doesnt believe there is an assassin and will politely
brush aside any inquiries or attempts to convince him otherwise. Hes a quiet, reserved and sober young man. He is not
given to excess in anything except, perhaps, a certain naivet
regarding the political machinations of his noble peers. He is
not, however, a fool. If presented with solid evidence of a plot
against him he will come around and act in short order.
Cecily Cooper
Just discovering the existence of Cecily Cooper is a matter of
some difficulty. Shes lived much of her life hiding from the
authorities and knows the countryside better than even Lord
Davain himself, let alone the PCs.
Cecily is not the assassin. She may well have motive, but
there is no evidence that she was anywhere near Hart House
on the occasions of Lord Davains mishaps. In fact, her band
was some distance away having struck a small merchant caravan passing through one of Lord Davains neighbors lands.
Should the PCs decide and insist on pursuing her, they
will find she is maddeningly elusive and hunting for her in
the woods about Harthome is far more dangerous for them.
For as long as they remain in the woods and on the hunt
for the bandit leader, the PCs and any entourage will find
themselves harried by hidden attackers every few hours. Cecilys bandits know better than to stand and fight, though.
They strike from range and even then they rarely fire more
than a single volley at the troupe of hunters before fleeing
into the woods.
Any hunt for Cecily Cooper will begin with little hope and
end in pain and frustration. And even if by some miracle the
hunters should find and capture her, Cecily isnt the assassin
anyway.
121
Bleak Counsel
Three pigs died that night after being fed tainted slops. The
other half only succeeded in giving Lord Davain a flux of the
bowels and acquainted him more dearly with his privy.
This time he thinks hes got it, though. He got some more
poison. There is a nameday feast coming up to celebrate Lord
Barthelds birthday. Mot heard the cook talking about a special dish she was preparing for Davain. If he can just get the
poison into that pot, Lord Davain will be dead and Mot can
leave the letters he was given and escape.
It cant come soon enough for Mot. Hes pretty sure the
chief maid suspects him of something. He might just have
to kill her too, but hed rather not, since another corpse wont
equal more coin.
Mot sleeps in an old pantry in the ruined castle near Hart
House. It smells of moldy beets and rats, but its out of the way.
Rose Clay
Rose is the single most likely member of the Bartheld household to realize that the household staff is (unwittingly) harboring an assassin. In fact, shes seen him on several occasions
and took note of his distressing ineptitude in carrying out
even the simplest housekeeping chores. Also, the man smells
like a dungheap.
122
BB
If the PCs give chase, Mot will run all out for the nearest
door and do his best to escape on foot. He has the letter with him and will, in an attempt to stall his pursuers,
throw it on the ground behind him for the PCs to find.
BB
If the PCs ignore the entire matter, the dish will be served
without complaint and Lord Davain will suffer the effects of wolfsbane poisoning appropriately (see p. 134 of
the SIFRP rulebook for effects).
BB
BB
Act III
In this act, the treacherous men of the Iron Plot are undone
by their own kin as Reavers from the Iron Islands attack, slay
the conspirators and uphold the old ways,
This act can be run in one of two ways:
First, as a normal combat with the PCs focusing on a single, confined segment of the larger force while battle rages on
around them.
Second, as a warfare event with the PCs acting as heroes or
commanders attached to the defensive units of House Dulver
or House Marsten.
House Dulver
The events of this act can occur immediately upon Lord
Haralds resolution to forego war (or his acceptance of Lord
Dunstans offer of peace) or at some time shortly thereafter at
the Narrators discretion.
At dusk, as the sun is sinking behind the shoulder of the
Deepmont a cry goes up from the towers: Smoke on the horizon.
The longship that brought the men of the Iron Plot to
Westeros shores has been captured and set aflame by two
more longships. As it burns, the newcomers run in to shore,
pile out of their ships, and attack.
If you have chosen to run this act as a normal combat, the
raiders have found the bolthole tunnel that Maester Falstan
has been using to slip out of Deepen Hall and down to the
shore to meet with the conspirators. Shortly after the smoke
is sighted and the alarm raised, the sounds of fighting erupt
in the corridors of Deepen Hall. Men begin boiling up from
the cellars with steel and fire in their fists. The Reavers are
inside the walls. The PCs can face Theobald Redhands in the
catacombs beneath Deepen Hall or in the courtyard under
Reaver Tactics
For purposes of running the Warfare, Captain Redhands
will refuse to engage in parley and will not offer terms. He
will begin the combat attached to his unit, but will break
off to engage the PCs when they get close enough. The
reavers will only undertake basic combat actions, and will
engage in a Fighting Withdrawal and then an outright
Retreat once they have become disorganized. If need be,
Redhands will re-attach to the reavers in order to reorganize them.
123
Ironborn Reavers
Secondary Character
Theobald Redhands
Captain of the Black Rimer (Commander)
Abilities
Agility 3
Athletics 3
Awareness 3
Endurance 4
Stamina 2B
Fighting 5
Axes 2B
Warfare 3
Attributes
Combat
Defense
Intrigue
Defense
Health
12
Composure
House Marsten
The events of this act begin upon the arrival of the PCs at
castle Hartshorn, seat of House Marstens power.
Lady Marsten receives the PCs at dusk as a storm blows
in from the East, cutting the darkening sky with slashes of
brilliant lightning.
As the matter of the plot is exposed and the truth is wrung
out, quickly or slowly, Lady Isobel summons her advisor Ormand, only to find him absent from the castle. Whether the
meeting is a confrontation (if the PCs arrive not knowing
that the letter Mot left was a forgery or that he was ordered
124
Battleaxe
5D + 2B
Damage 3
Adaptable
Shield
5D
Damage 1
Defensive +2
Reavers
Agility 3
Athletics 3
Climbing 1B
Fighting 4
Long Blades 1B
Combat
Defense
Health
4D+1B
Damage 4
Aftermath
As the dust clears, certain revelations are made, certain mysteries persist, and heroes and villains alike get their just rewards.
House Dulver
When the raiders are finally pushed back and the dead are
gathered, Lord Haralds men return with a strange tale. The
bodies of four ironmen were found, not slain in battle but
drowned near a cave known to some to have been an old
smugglers hideout. Lord Dulver and his people are baffled as
to what it might mean.
If you ran the standard combat scenario, Lord Dulver will
order Karyl Kays to see that the old bolthole is pulled in,
sealed forever lest invaders again breach his walls that way, or
worse yetthieves steal in and empty Deepen Halls legendary cellars of all their wealth.
In either case, the PCs are thanked for their aid in the matter of the Iron Plot and the defense of Dulver lands and are
assured that Lord Harald is in their debt.
House Marsten
When at last the attackers are thrown back and fled, Lady
Isobel will thank the PCs for their aid in defending her lands
and her people. She will be grateful as well for their help in
thwarting a vicious plot to put her and House Bartheld at
each others throats.
While no sign is ever found of Bleak Ormand, reports do
come in of a third longship burned to the waterline and left in
the wake of the two that bore the raiders to Marsten shores.
Rewards
For completing the story, each character should receive 3 experience points and one Destiny point. For successfully repelling
the Reavers raid each character may receive a single point of
Glory for their House and if they successfully averted war between the houses at odds in the story they can have a second.
The End?
Although this is the end of this adventure, it can also serve as
the beginning of your chronicle. There are still a great number of questions to answer: Which of the ironmen houses is
responsible for the plot, why did they choose this area of the
riverlands and why now? Who were the four ironmen found
on the shores of Ironmans Bay, and why were they drowned?
For whom did they work? Where did Bleak Ormand go? Was
he killed by the raiders or did he escape to some safe and
distant fastness to begin hatching new plans to sow chaos in
Westeros? Was he working alone or was he a pawn as much
as Mot was?
These are questions for you, the Narrator to answer. Will
your chronicle recount tales of treachery, treason and betrayal
from the Iron Islands? Or has some oth er menace recruited
these unscrupulous men to serve an even more inscrutable
master from across the Narrow Sea? Its your story now. Do
with it as you will.
Game on!
125
INDEX
A
Aeryn, Septon.................................. 61
Alyard, Master Smith Ren.............. 72
Ansel, Rhaemon.............................. 62
Arlyn, Septon.................................. 37
Atus, Wenefryd............................... 51
B
Barnell, Daveth................................ 15
Barnell, Lady Alianna...................... 13
Barnell, Lord Tomas........................ 11
Bartheld, Lady Ayleth..................... 23
Bartheld, Lady Ysme....................... 28
Bartheld, Lord Brom................. 26, 73
Bartheld, Lord Davain..................... 22
Bartheld, Ser Edmund..................... 27
Bartheld, Ser Fendrel....................... 27
Black, Anton.................................... 26
Black Goats..................................... 74
Bogwalkers...................................... 44
C
Castle Grenward................................ 7
Celtigar, Ser Corbin......................... 24
Clay, Rose........................................ 28
Clay, Ser Rowan.............................. 28
Company of the Morningstar...... 910
Cooper, Cecily................................. 27
Copperton....................................... 32
D
Dame Adrienne............................... 82
Davains Forge................................. 21
Deepen Hall.................................... 31
Diggers Road.................................. 31
Dugan the Red................................ 87
Dulver, Helen.................................. 39
Dulver, Horas.................................. 39
Dulver, Lady Falyse......................... 38
Dulver, Lord Harald........................ 33
Dulver, Ser Walton.......................... 35
Durains Forest........................... 8388
Defense........................................... 85
History........................................... 84
Influence......................................... 85
Lands............................................. 85
Law............................................... 86
126
Population...................................... 86
Power............................................. 86
Wealth............................................ 86
E
Elias................................................. 81
Elridge, Ser Markus......................... 60
Endras Sept..................................... 78
F
Falstan, Maester............................... 40
Festival of the Fires................ 101102
Finch, Septon Harald...................... 81
Flowers, Lyndan.............................. 62
Forthwind, Maester......................... 25
G
Garrys, Robert................................. 98
Godsgrove....................................... 79
Grenward Forest................................ 8
Growne, Michal............................... 17
H
Haelis, Maester................................ 71
Hags Mouth................................. 105
Hammerstone............................ 4546
Hardhands Folly..................... 44, 105
Hare, Gorton................................... 62
Harrens Justice.............................. 106
Hart House............................... 2022
Hartsbridge..................................... 56
Hartshorn.................................. 5657
Hartville.......................................... 19
Heart and Crown, the...................... 79
Heloise, Septa.................................. 62
Hill, Ser Gambol............................. 39
Hite, Ser Ulbert............................... 73
Holdings.................................... 4345
Horag.............................................. 74
Hough, Karya.................................. 93
House Barnell.............................. 617
Characters................................ 1117
Defense............................................. 7
History......................................... 67
Holdings..................................... 711
Influence........................................... 8
Lands............................................... 8
Population........................................ 9
Power............................................... 9
Wealth............................................ 11
House Bartheld......................... 1729
Characters................................ 2229
Defense........................................... 19
History..................................... 1719
Holdings................................... 1923
Influence......................................... 19
Lands............................................. 19
Law............................................... 19
Population...................................... 20
Power............................................. 20
Wealth............................................ 20
House Dulver............................ 2940
Characters................................ 3340
Defense........................................... 31
History..................................... 2931
Holdings................................... 3133
Influence......................................... 31
Lands............................................. 31
Law............................................... 32
Population...................................... 32
Power............................................. 32
Wealth............................................ 32
House Kytley............................. 4153
Defense........................................... 43
History..................................... 4143
Influence......................................... 43
Lands............................................. 43
Law............................................... 44
Population...................................... 44
Power............................................. 44
Wealth............................................ 45
House Marsten.......................... 5363
Characters................................ 5763
Defense........................................... 54
History..................................... 5354
Holdings................................... 5457
Influence......................................... 55
Lands............................................. 55
Law............................................... 55
Population...................................... 56
Power............................................. 56
Wealth............................................ 56
House Tullison.......................... 6374
Characters................................ 6874
Defense........................................... 64
Index
History..................................... 6364
Holdings................................... 6468
Influence......................................... 64
Lands............................................. 64
Law............................................... 65
Population...................................... 66
Power............................................. 66
Wealth............................................ 66
J
Jamys the Sybarite........................... 41
Jostons Rock.................................... 64
Julyan the Smith.............................. 52
K
Kashal.............................................. 74
Kays, Karyl...................................... 40
Kriegar, Lord Kellan........................ 62
Kurt................................................. 81
Kytley, Hawys.................................. 50
Kytley, Lady Braya Frey................... 48
Kytley, Lord Ambrose..................... 46
Kytley, Merild.................................. 51
Kytley, Robert.................................. 51
Kytley, Walder................................. 51
L
Leed, Farris...................................... 16
Leopold, Maester............................. 62
Littlefoot, Persal.............................. 40
Lordsview........................................ 66
Lyras, Lord Aaron........................... 62
M
Maelyss Crossing.................. 105106
Maidens House, the........................ 78
Manester, Captain Edwin................ 99
Market Square................................. 77
Market Town............................. 7683
Marks, Ser Willain.......................... 73
Marsten, Lady Corrine.................... 58
Marsten, Lady Gwyneth............ 61, 73
N
North Hall....................................... 85
O
Orell, Kieran.................................... 16
Orphans Hill................................. 106
P
Pace, Collys..................................... 52
Pace, Hewrey................................... 52
Pemm, Thalia................................... 88
Port Maril.................................. 9499
Defense........................................... 95
History........................................... 94
Influence......................................... 96
Lands............................................. 96
Law............................................... 96
Population...................................... 97
Power............................................. 97
Wealth............................................ 98
Portmaster....................................... 96
R
Ralk, Captain Yorik......................... 82
Raris, Harold................................... 99
Raulin, Guildmaster........................ 52
Ravens Pub, the............................... 77
Riverroad Riders.............................. 10
Rivers, Adam................................... 51
Riverthorn................................. 8993
Defense........................................... 90
History........................................... 89
Influence......................................... 91
Lands............................................. 91
Law............................................... 92
Population...................................... 92
Power............................................. 92
Wealth............................................ 92
Roberts Hammer............................ 21
Rock Chewers................................. 74
Rugar Hold..................................... 85
S
Sand, Bevan..................................... 26
Seldon, Luke.................................... 61
Sept on the Heath........................... 33
Septry at Shattered Rock....... 103104
Short Tom Tinker........................... 36
Smalls Defense.............................. 107
Smithton......................................... 44
Smithton Watch.............................. 44
Snow, Garret.................................... 14
South Yard....................................... 19
Stags Moor................................... 105
Stone, Gareth.................................. 59
Stone, Mayor Esra........................... 79
Stony Heath.................................... 31
Strangers Farmstead............. 104105
T
Tanry, Miles..................................... 93
Tayle, Danielle................................. 99
Thomnas, Maester........................... 49
Tourney of the Brothers.......... 99101
Troupe of Casque & Wren, the..... 107
Tullison, Lady Moraine................... 72
Tullison, Lady Yve........................... 69
Tullison, Lord Dunstan................... 68
U
Urgont, Jarion.................................. 10
W
Warrens, Ser Mather....................... 70
Wellyn............................................... 9
Weyls, Septon.................................. 72
Wotlin, Douglas.............................. 93
127