After two long months, a raven from Lord Eddard Stark finally reached Dragonstone. His daughter Arya was safe, and her search party was about three weeks away from returning home to Winterfell.
“We should not delay further...” Alester Florent began.
“And this victory cannot be seen as yet another triumph for the north,” his brother Axell interjected. “The realm must see Stannis Baratheon take back the Iron Throne. King Stannis must win the fight, not some northern boy and his pet wolf.”
“Foolish,” Stannis sneered. “Only one truth matters: I’m far more likely to defeat Renly with House Stark and the north by my side.”
Davos Seaworth nodded in agreeance.
“Perhaps, but how long will you hold onto power?” retorted Axell. “The Young Wolf outwitted Jaime Lannister, dethroned the Mad Cub… he killed the Mountain That Rides. If he covers himself in glory against Renly, your usurper brother who boldly challenged your capicity to lead the Seven Kingdoms, it won’t only be the wolves howling for Robb Stark.”
“Let them howl. I am the king. No amount of wailing will change that,” said Stannis.
Flames twisted and swirled inside the brazier. The Red Woman stared at the fire. “You are more than a king,” Melisandre said to Stannis. “You are Azor Ahai come again, and the Florents are right.”
Axell grinned at Davos, who tugged at his lucky pouch.
“For all the wrong reasons,” she clarified. “The Wolves of Winterfell must remain in the north. The great war is upon us, a war far more important than any ever fought for a throne. House Stark must hold back the dark so that we have time to muster the strength of all Westeros. March on King’s Landing and unite the Seven Kingdoms, now, my lord. The fate of all living things depends on it.”
The Story
“Renly's crown of soft gold depicts a ring of roses. On its front is a stag's head made of dark green jade, with golden eyes and antlers. Through his charisma with and ties to House Tyrell and familiarity with his stormlands bannermen, Renly's claim to the Iron Throne is backed by the largest army in the War of the Five Kings, despite his elder brother Stannis having the better claim.”
Gameplay & Strategy
Since this battle was replacing Blackwater Bay, I wanted to do something that was different but also epic. Siege towers immediately came to mind, which lead me to creating this:
I purchased two 3D printed siege towers that are just over 8 inches tall and they look awesome on the table.
As you can see in the Ours is the Fury battle report, the rules ended up working quite well as a specific counter to castle walls. To balance them to be a siege-specific unit I made their main ability focused solely on damaging castle walls and not some general wound generating attack. Though they are a cheap activation that is extremely strong defensively, I don’t think they would do well in regular game modes because they are worth quite a lot when destroyed (D3 victory points plus 1 more from Victory Through Combat) and cannot control objectives. They really serve two purposes: destroying castle walls and tying up enemy units that try to stop them from destroying castle walls.
This scenario also utilizes the new siege and castle wall rules I’ve been working on. I’ve tried several iterations on siege mechanics in the past, but I feel like this update finds the sweet spot of being challenging for the attacker yet still full of important strategic choices and fun to play for both players.
This scenario is designed as a mega battle, best for 50+ point armies. Anything less and I would recommend dropping 1 castle wall and using a standard 4 x 4 play area.
This is a fan-made scenario inspired by CMON Limited’s A Song of Ice & Fire: Tabletop Miniatures Game and is in no way associated with CMON.