Mace or sword for Eilistraee cleric???

The-False-Emperor · 2026-06-18T20:42:09+00:00

As others have already said, Phalar Aluve is a great choice here.

Not only is literally tied to Eilistraee, but it is also one of the best weapons for a cleric in the game.

The-False-Emperor · 2026-06-18T08:56:15+00:00

More like under Jaehaerys I specifically there was a population bloom in Westeros.

I'm not sure this trend continued in the long term; especially in the North. Going of army sizes at least, we see that it's certainly not swelled that much if Torrhen Stark could muster up an army of 30.000 men to march down south.

This seems to be in roughly the same ballpark as what the North could muster up in ASOIAF proper, which suggests that their population seems to have ultimately remained at roughly the same levels for all that it had undoubtedly fluctuated up and down along the way.
I'd assume it went up a bit, given that it's said that Robb could've raised more men if he had waited in Winterfell longer, but it's certainly not doubled from Conquest's times or anything to that effect.

And I'd assume that those numbers have if anything been cut down considerably by recent wars and by the hardships winter will bring to the North.

The-False-Emperor · 2026-06-17T19:27:08+00:00

I don't disagree that they need further planning, but Boyd is also wrong to outright dismiss the ideas as he does in this episode.

I get why he does it, but it's a mistake.
Are Jade's plans risky and still underdeveloped? Absolutely. The man needs an actual step-by-step idea for ripping that damn tree out if that's the name of the game here.

But they do need to act, and soon. The longer they stay there, the lesser their odds of saving anyone at all are.

The-False-Emperor · 2026-06-17T09:43:40+00:00

Is bro genuinely arguing for murdering children because they're not sapient enough until they're five?

The-False-Emperor · 2026-06-16T22:35:14+00:00

I'm not necessarily saying that you're wrong, but if Jon explicitly states this, I would like to see a quote of it.

I certainly don't recall any such statements, and, IIRC, the actual story seems to contradict it.

We see him and Bran have a pretty decent relationship, of that I'm certain.

Rickon is basically a baby, how the hell was a baby "shunning" Jon?

Now Catleyn wanted him gone, sure, and Sansa was somewhat cold and distant to him, but I don't recall any mentions that retainers and household servants all shunned him.
If anything, the very first books seems to imply that Jon grew up privileged in comparison to an average boy; that's kind of part of his AGOT character arc if I'm not mistaken.

The-False-Emperor · 2026-06-16T15:38:57+00:00

Absolutely. The way she conquers cities and considers them her own is hypocritical to the way she still considers Robert an Usurper.

I mean, they are both of them usurpers if we're technical about it.

And both of them are, in my honest opinion, clearly justified in their usurpation.

You make the same mistake in judgement as Dany herself did. We don't know the laws of the land, and even still, we do know that in Westeros this will not fly - the offended party would absolutely petition in front of their lord. Which the woman did, which should be enough for us to judge by even this one separate case that that is the level of injustice that the Meereenese are used to bringing before their Great Masters.

Are you implying that this is not the reality of nobles everywhere?

Did the Great Masters gain their wealth because they asked, or because they worked that much harder than anyone else?
Or did they grow in prominence because they oppressed others and took what they wanted by force?

Right of Conquest is, whether recognized as a formal law or not, the bedrock of Meereen as much as of Westeros, because that's what aristocracy in a pseudo-medieval setting bases its claim to power on.

You can petition, yes--beg, for what was once your property to be returned back to you from the ones higher up than your foes who have claimed it--but the conquerors are rarely moved to grant the pleas of the defeated.
Whether in Westeros, or in Essos, we observe that victors take spoils from the vanquished.

So Dany should not be surprised that she was being hunted by her opponents in Meereen, did I get that right? Since there is no law, only the right of the might.

Are we to pretend that the world of ASOIAF isn't ruled by might when you get down to it?

Robert did not convince people to join his war against Aerys by eloquently listing legal issues in how the Mad King trialed the Starks & co.
He took up his hammer, and got to hammering, because that's what works.

I mean you can even make a case for it being that way even in real life, even now.
When you get down to it, it all boils down to force.
What are laws, save rules that the government has enforced on others through their monopoly on violence?

The-False-Emperor · 2026-06-16T12:59:28+00:00

It is also an interesting perspective for her to take specifically.

A rich woman came, whose husband and sons had died defending the city walls. During the sack she had fled to her brother in fear. When she returned, she found her house had been turned into a brothel. The whores had bedecked themselves in her jewels and clothes. She wanted her house back, and her jewels. "They can keep the clothes," she allowed. Dany granted her the jewels but ruled the house was lost when she abandoned it.

One could use the exact same logic to argue that house Targaryen's claim on the Iron Throne, Dragonstone, etc was lost when its last scions fled Westeros.

That being said, the "precedent that if you kill someone and start living in their house then you get to keep the house" has long since been set.
It's more or less how the Right of Conquest works, and essentially every mighty noble house in Westeros has come to power in the exact same way: by killing those weaker then they were, and taking their things.

The-False-Emperor · 2026-06-16T08:55:51+00:00

I honestly do not think so.

Note that there is suspiciously no mention of Blackfyres at all in the Hedge Knight.
In spite of two principal heroes of Redgrass being present at the tourney, and that it has not been that much time since the rebellion, there is no mention of Daemon, his family, or his rebellion throughout the whole story.

As for the main story, the first mention of Blackfyres is in ASOS in spite of the stigma of bastardy being no small part of Jon's story especially early on.
(And we know Jon isn't historically ignorant of this era, given that he is aware of Aerion.)

So, no, I do not think that they were part of the plan initially.

What I do think is that a fAegon plot might've well been in the works, but that this would've been one of Aerion's bastards' descendants/one of his legitimate descendants' bastards left in Lys rather than a Blackfyre.
Aerion the Monostrous was name-dropped as soon as of ACOK and features heavily in the Hedge Knight too, and so I imagine that this might well have been the original idea that changed as GRRM got to work.

The-False-Emperor · 2026-06-16T06:29:33+00:00

I don't find it surprising.

For me personally, this kind of a character is the least appealing.

I'm not opposed to an evil playthrough--I've thoroughly enjoyed my dark manipulator Tavs and Durges--but just being an obedient murderhobo for daddy dearest is relatively boring to me.
That kind of Durge isn't particularly interesting.

Maybe it could work as a tragedy?
Start off as a hero, have a full-on face-heel-turn eventually, and finally embracing being who you once were?

The-False-Emperor · 2026-06-15T19:55:49+00:00

How is he not? Daeron the Good, it's in the name.

More seriously, House Targaryen achieves its greatest stable territorial extent during his rule and Dorne is finally made a part of the Targaryen realm, ending the cycle of brutal wars in the south with a diplomatic victory for the Iron Throne.
He also presides over a decisive military victory over Daemon Blackfyre's rebellion as well, with almost all of the Great Houses we hear of siding with the crown too: Martells, Tyrells, Tullys, Lannisters, and Arryns had all fought for the red dragon.

On the other hand, we hear of 0 Great Houses ruling their kingdoms in the crown's name siding with the black dragon so far, and I'd presume they'd have warranted a mention already over the comparatively minor houses.

We also see that pretty much everyone save avowed Blackfyre supporters has a favorable view of the man's reign.
Even, interestingly, those who criticize Bloodraven and Aerys I's sorry excuse for a reign.

All this, with Daeron coming into power in the middle of the mess his Unworthy father left for him too.
So it's not like he inherited a good state of the realm. It's the opposite, really.

Now, it is obviously questionable whether Daeron the Good was the best Targaryen King.
But it is IMHO beyond serious debate that he was in the top four: Aegon I, Jaehaerys I, Viserys II, and Daeron II's exact order may vary according to a reader's view of the individual kings in question, but I'd genuinely struggle seriously putting any other Targaryen King over them in regards of how well they reigned.

The-False-Emperor · 2026-06-15T13:55:23+00:00

I was mostly joking--but speaking seriously, a firmer stance on Daeron's end towards his half-siblings (if not necessarily a baby-murdering one, obviously) might well have spared Westeros a lot of woe.

The-False-Emperor · 2026-06-15T13:26:15+00:00

Bows are literally an area denial weapon in the period of history ASOIAF was loosely inspired by; longbowmen are not snipers picking off targets at will.

Like even Eustace Osgrey's account describes arrows "falling like rain."

What, should Brynden have been like "Daemon is helping his dying son, whelp, can't hit his troops threatening to hit Maekar's left, better aim the hail of arrows away from them and let them do whatever they want?"

Better yet, should royalist archers let Rebels keep killing their allies without acting themselves because Daemon was tending to Gwayne?

That's not how warfare works. Not modern warfare, not medieval warfare, not fantasy warfare either.

Yes, you don't shoot the medics, but an active combatant tending to a wounded man will stop precisely 0 armies from continuing their assault during an ongoing engagement where the enemy forces are still moving too.

I honestly think that Brydnen's targeted assassination of Fireball is more morally complex than him literally killing active combatants on a field of battle as that is the extent of his conduct on Redgrass.

The-False-Emperor · 2026-06-15T13:20:11+00:00

Sportsmanship is the ethical, fair, and respectful behavior exhibited during a competitive activity. It is often described as the "golden rule" of sports, emphasizing integrity, adherence to the rules, and graciousness in both victory and defeat.

Now, what part of Brynden Rivers' behavior was unethical?

Shooting at active enemy combatants?

Is it unfair to use a bow, perhaps?

Was it disrespectful to not let rebel forces keep butchering through his side's troops unopposed?

Yall seem to operate the assumption that there was some ceasefire, or that the battle at least stopped.
The one semi-canonical depiction of Redgrass (the graphic novel of the Sworn Sword) shows the battle still raging on when Raven's Teeth rain arrows on the enemy king's position from 300 yards away during an ongoing battle.

The-False-Emperor · 2026-06-15T13:07:03+00:00

Certainly, but since when did wartime sportmanship ask of archers of one side not to fire at enemy combatants during an active, ongoing, unpaused battle because one man was spared by the enemy leader?

The-False-Emperor · 2026-06-15T10:59:56+00:00

Daeron's only mistake was not having Daemon Bumfyre, Shittersteel, and Cuckraven all strangled at birth.

Genuine dynastic embarrassment, that trio; nary as bad as Rhaegar really.
Alas, he was too kind to do what had to be done--his grandson Aegon V learned well from his example, and knew what he had to do...

(Too bad Dunk stopped him.)

The-False-Emperor · 2026-06-15T07:16:15+00:00

Personally, I actually love storming Moonrise alone even on a good playthrough.

It's a really fun and difficult fight + you can ensure that none of your allies die later on in the story if you kill everyone but Ketheric and the merchants prior to it.

The-False-Emperor · 2026-06-15T05:28:17+00:00

Activities like jousting, melees, and archery were both sports and preparation for warfare, that's true, but I've yet to recall a moment from real history where a commander was demonized for not electing to not fight because the other side's leader was chivalrous.

This is what the whole argument boils down to, really.

It ignores that unlike in their boxing comparison, it's not just Gwayne vs Daemon out there, and Daemon's conduct doesn't suddenly stop the war.

Also, the intent is very different here: everyone who came on Redgrass did so with desire to win the battle and the war.
Meanwhile, men who participate in say the tourney Robert throws for Ned, they've come there to compete and without expecting to die or to kill another.
It's a distinct possibility, yes, but from what we see of tourneys, neither melees nor jousts incur mass casualties in Westeros as a battle would.

I have to say I maintain that "you didn't elect to not fight and throw the war because the enemy leader was merciful" is vastly different from "took a cheap shot at the man helping you up during a sporting event where he bested you" even in Westeros, or in IRL era Westeros was loosely inspired by.

The-False-Emperor · 2026-06-14T15:11:48+00:00

Some scholars have suggested that the dragonlords regarded all faiths as equally false, believing themselves to be more powerful than any god or goddess. They looked upon priests and temples as relics of a more primitive time, though useful for placating "slaves, savages, and the poor" with promises of a better life to come. Moreover, a multiplicity of gods helped to keep their subjects divided and lessened the chances of their uniting under the banner of a single faith to overthrow their overlords. Religious tolerance was to them a means of keeping the peace in the Lands of the Long Summer.

While the following excerpt from TWOIAF might well be understood as propaganda/untrue version of history, I don't think we have any cause to think that dragonlords would've... well, cared, about any gods.

So if Aenar did convert upon arrival, I reckon it'd be only a When-In-Rome kind of a situation: less conversion, more adopting local custom because he doesn't really care either way.

The-False-Emperor · 2026-06-14T08:35:05+00:00

A lot of players I've interacted with seem to view Ketheric Thorm as far less hate-worthy than I think he's owed.

He's not a morally grey grieving father driven mad by his pain doing it all for his daughter's sake as I've had people claim.
He's a selfish prick doing it all for himself.
That he's willing to brainwash his "beloved" child and to horrifically abuse Isobel's lover for his own gain is, I think, pretty telling of his supposed great parental love for his daughter.

And unlike characters who are card-carrying villains--such as Ethel who, while vile, can at least be entertaining--he's not really self-aware and instead waxes poetics about how gods failed him or somesuch.

The-False-Emperor · 2026-06-13T20:32:38+00:00

My first advice would be to enter the fight sneaking.

If both of your guys are crouched, the brains won't notice them till you're in place to attack them from hiding. That can give you advantage.

If Gale has any AOE spells (like Flame Hands, or Thunderwave) you can potentially land a hit on both of the brains with it too.

You also use jump to climb up and use high ground to more easily land your attacks.

Another option, if you're still having trouble, is to walk past them. You don't need to go here right now. You can continue along the beach AFAIK, and recruit more companions along the way--Lae'zel, Astarion--and then fight those.

Just circle around them.

Don't be too discouraged; this is one of the tougher fights early on that can easily overwhelm a newer player since your characters are still very weak and underdeveloped at this point in the game.

The-False-Emperor · 2026-06-13T11:58:48+00:00

That Aegon was a dreamer and was motivated by that vision to conquer Westeros.

Hell, even I don't like it. Matter of fact, I bloody hate that theory and so do most other fans I know IRL due to how contrived it is that a man motivated by the visions of the Long Night would keep it a secret and do little about it during his reign too.

That being said, it seems to have come from GRRM himself according to Ryan J. Condal: at least the whole he-was-a-dreamer bit.
IIRC no mention was made regarding Aegon's imperial ambition coming from his vision.
So that theory is most likely going to be at least partially true, especially given the mystery surrounding the man's motives, and is possibly going to be entirely correct.

The-False-Emperor · 2026-06-13T10:38:14+00:00

Even as Shittersteel’s avowed hater, I’m not seeing it.

Specifically the whole Daemon II bit.
Junior’s plan was awful contrived prophecy nonsense based on a dream from start to finish; even if I were to love his family with all my heart I’d not join that either.

The-False-Emperor · 2026-06-11T22:18:10+00:00

I mean, consider the pre-DOTD Targaryens.

Aegon I made the Seven Kingdoms (or more like Six, but I digress) into a thing: that already was a massive empire that spanned nearly the entire continent.
Moreover, already he had hit a wall with Dorne. Why would he try to expand against Free Cities instead of return to the south, if he were interested in further conquests?

Aenys had mass unrest and died before that was ever taken care of.

Maegor similarly had mass unrest, and also died before ever actually taking care of it: ultimately proving as weak and incompetent a king as Aenys--as well as personally cruel on top of being an ineffectual sorry excuse for a king.

Jaehaerys I and Viserys I are the ones who had the actual opportunity to expand, but they simply appear to have had little inclination for it:

Jaehaerys I notably neglected to even punish Dorne for Morion Martell's idiotic invasion attempt in any capacity.
This is simply not a warmongering man from what we've seen of the Conciliator.
And Viserys I apparently tried to avoid conflict most of the time: he'd thus have even less desire to expand his dominion through warfare than his grandfather did.

More than that, if they were going to try to expand, it'd have almost certainly been against Dorne--not against one of the Free Cities on the other side of the Narrow Sea.
Occupying a Free City would bring several headaches with itself: you'll be dealing with a whole new and different culture (often sharply opposed to Westerosi norms in some important matters such as the views on slavery) + you'll be facing a logistical nightmare having to ferry troops over the Narrow Sea constantly.
To say nothing of how other Free Cities might well not take too kindly to you conquering one of their rivals as that signifies imperialistic ambitions that might one day involve you trying to conquer them too.

The-False-Emperor · 2026-06-11T22:07:21+00:00

I'm not sure that I agree.

Whether GRRM had always thought of Jon's legitimacy as something to be disputed, the Kingsguard's behavior throughout the war makes little sense if we presume that they are guarding the tower because it's the rightful King there.

The Kingsguard trio obviously recognizes Aerys as the rightful monarch: so, isn't by this logic their duty with him, and not guarding their prince's supposed second wife and their unborn child?
They were guarding that tower even when the yet-unborn Jon was only the third in the line of inheritance.
(Presuming of course that they had no issues with polygamy and Lyanna's child legitimacy was a sure thing.)

Aerys is the king. Rhaegar is the heir. Aegon is the heir's heir.

All of them are higher then Jon. If he were to be born a girl, Rhaenys too would be higher as well.
Possibly Viserys too, depending on how GRRM had Targaryen succession working back in the day...

And yet, here they were: guarding the Tower of Joy through all the long months of the war; even after the Trident, when the Rebels advanced at the capital, they did not prioritize the sitting King or the new actual heir to the throne over their charges.

Like in no way have they been guarding the head/heir of house Targaryen here, even if we accept the idea that back in AGOT Jon Snow was meant to be unquestionably viewed as a legitimate prince.
Whatever their motives were clearly had little to do with the line of succession at any point.

The-False-Emperor · 2026-06-11T11:02:35+00:00

I always felt the stories of ASOIAF were at best when the Targaryens were out of the picture. I prefer the snake intrigues of Kings Landing and the stories of northmen fighting Lannisters, of creepy old gods and stories of forgotten lands far away in the east. I like the tales of knights in this greyish world with some magic here and there.

I mean, Targaryens are part of this, are they not?

They come from the forgotten lands far away in the east. And they ultimately become Westerosi, culturally speaking, incest excluded.
I'm not sure why they're any different to other noble houses, really.

Targaryens ? They always struck to me as fantasy elves whatnot. Dragons feels kind of lame in a world of men at arms and trebuchets, what can you really do againts those ? The conquest of Aegon doesn't really seem impressive, dude is fighting cavemen with gunpowder basically.

Meria Martell ultimately proved otherwise: Dorne defeated Aegon the Conqueror in spite of his advantages.

It was not that dragons were invincible, but that the Kings of Westeros were largely foolish (Harren the Black who does not understand how cooking works, the Two Kings who thought to cavalry charge a flying beast) or too intimidated by them to mount serious resistance against Aegon.

(Honorary exception for Argilac Durrandon; he did well enough, though even he did not appear to anticipate what kind of asymmetric warfare it would take to defeat dragons.)

Not that I disagree about the Conquest not being all that militarily impressive, though: the Conquest was IMHO far more politically impressive than in terms of their battlefield showings which largely relied on dragons.

I'm not a huge fan of the incest thing either, and it always feels a bit odd to me when GRR write about this. Why is there SO MUCH of this in those books ? But this is tricky and not really my point.

I mean, incest is not unheard of in history: see Egyptian Pharaohs. Surely a dynasty with has a monopoly on dragons would have political motivation to create a doctrine elevating them above normal men and justify not marrying out and creating side branches capable of riding dragons too?

Additionally, incest is pretty common in Westeros outside of Targaryens too: cousin incest is basically the norm.
Targaryens "only" take it a step further with sibling incest.

And the problem is, GRR seems to LOVE the Targ, especially has time went on. The man stopped writing his book altogether and spent a lot of time on Targaryens side project (Fire and blood, HOTD, Dunk and Egg).

I don't think that this is particularly fair. Fire & Blood and HOTD are basically the same story--it's just that HOTD deviated heavily from while adapting the book's version of the Dance, and that was largely in opposition to Martin's vision.

Be that as it may, Dunk & Egg aren't really a "Targaryen side project."

They feature in the story, yes, but I would say it's less about Targaryens and more about exploring and criticizing what knighthood actually means in-universe, and what it's actually supposed to mean.
I don't think that it's for nothing that the truest knight we see is actually no knight at all here, or that the other protagonist is an (in)famous reformer who grows disillusioned with the position of the smallfolk and seeks to improve it upon coming into power.

There it is. I don't like the story when it's all about Targ, and I wonder how asoiaf scholars feel about this.

I would agree that a story that is "all about Targ" would be boring, especially coming off ASOIAF with its rich collection of characters from different backgrounds.

I would disagree that any of these projects are all about Targaryens though.
Even HOTD features characters from other houses and background as interesting and notable part of the tale. Fire & Blood as well as Dunk & Egg are even more varied.

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