From the moment Renly Baratheon stole the Iron Throne, King Stannis sent many ravens to Winterfell to inquire about the whereabouts of Eddard Stark. Maester Luwin always replied the same:
“Lord Eddard remains in the Riverlands searching for his youngest daughter, Arya, who was chased from King’s Landing by the Lannisters. He will return only after she has been found. Lady Catelyn governs the north in his stead.”
The Night’s Watch caravan Arya Stark joined had been difficult to track, having ventured off the kingsroad after a deadly run-in with Gregor Clegane. Since the Lannisters’ crushing defeat at the Green Fork, the Mountain had scrounged together enough lost Lannister and Clegane soldiers to form his own sellsword company, unimaginatively called the Mountain’s Men. The newly formed free company reeked havoc in the Riverlands; burning, killing, raiding, defiling every villager they crossed. The Mountain’s Men were proving to be even more vile than the infamous Brave Companions, and Gregor expected to soon have enough treasure to pay for passage across the Narrow Sea and begin his life as a mercenary captain in Essos.
The Mountain’s Men set fire to another ill-fated home. The villagers fled, leaving their belongings behind. Over two dozen men ran to their carts, led by the recruiters who brought them here from King’s Landing. Gregor spotted the Night’s Watch conscripts and grinned. Arya watched helplessly as the Mountain signalled to his men and headed in her direction.
A hand grabbed Arya firmly by the shoulder. “A girl is frightened.”
“How did you know I’m a…” Arya trailed off. The stranger had long straight hair, red on one side and white the other. It was the man she saved when her caravan was first ambushed by Gregor a few weeks past. “Yes, I’m frightened! That’s the Mountain, and he’s coming to kill me, you, all of us!”
“Valar Morghulis,” the man responded calmly. He pointed towards the nearby forest. It was very dark, but through the glimmer of the firelight Arya saw an enormous direwolf; teeth bared, eyes aglow.
The Story
"Gregor is well known for his size, cruelty, and prowess in battle. He is extremely tall, being close to eight feet in height. He has "massive shoulders and arms thick as the trunk of small trees", and a voice like stone breaking. Gregor weighs over 420 lbs, nearly all of it muscle, making him near inhumanly strong."
Gameplay & Strategy
This is another What If? scenario inspired by our Campaign of Thrones narrative campaign. It uses similar rules to the Desolation of the Riverlands custom scenario since they're similar events involving unhinged free companies raiding the Riverlands. The 'Put to the Torch' special rule adds a unique dynamic to the game as you have to consider if you want to use valuable actions to potentially score extra VPs. It's fun to have both Ned and Robb share the battlefield, and the Starks get a huge boost from the low cost Night's Watch Conscript unit. Bring the main Stark units to the front and have the Conscripts heal them constantly from the safety of the backlines.
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.