Season 2, Pre-Game

General Summary

Game Master Intro

Jack Handy
Welcome to the sequel game to Melodies of Spring. I'm very excited about this game and plan to throw many more Tournaments but now we have gold and the ability to gift it, so it should be a lot more fun.
***I ask all RETURNING PLAYERS to please post a description of your character/House from the first game and what happened.
***New players, welcome and if you have any questions, please ask the group
I did my best with starting troops numbers from the first game, asking players and using spy cards. If I didn't get it 100% right, I'm sorry but it is what it is. There has been a time jump of about 2 years between games, so that can explain any difference.

Game Notes:

• Visenya's Wall is only 20 feet tall, not as tall as the Wall of the North, but it is formidable.
• The last Stark was timid and weak. He lost Winterfell and after that several lords fought for the castle and titles. The Queen has made House Stark whole again, after several years of infighting. They control Winterfell and a decent amount of land but are nowhere near the strongest Lords of the North and lords from the Vale and Iron Islands control parts of the North now.
  The title of High Lord and Warden of the North is unclear at this moment... something the Queen and the other lords of the area will want to figure out.
• Talk of the Queen being "literally in bed" with the 2 Dornish Princes is not something that is talked about publicly, it just is.
• Also, Lord Webber was the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard but he was removed, rather bluntly, by the Queen. A great dishonor for his family and the Reach. But she appointed Lord Footy, Keeper of Visenya's Wall, as the New Lord Commander.
• Also the first game had no Essos and no Wildlings. Lord Crowl and his armies did kill off a player who was the Children of the Forest but some say a curse was placed upon the Realm.... (something for the 3rd game, in time).
• There were 2 major tournaments in the first season. The first was won by the King Consort, Lucaelarr Targaryen. The second was won by a surprising underdog, Lord Ækron Baelish.
• Also there are no dragons but this is the strongest the Targaryens have been in over 150 years.

Approximate Alternate History Timeline

• 308~ Daenerys Targaryen and her husband, Aegon Targaryen (Jon Snow) both ascended to the Iron Throne, where they agreed to rule as one
• 310~ Dany gives birth to a son, Samwell Targaryen. A healthy baby
• 313~ Tyrion Lannister drowns when his ship sinks off the coast of Lannisterport. He is 40. His death brings an end to House Lannister
• 314~ Dany gives birth to a girl, Rhaella Targaryen. A healthy girl
• 318~ A tournament is held in Winterfell for Samwell's 10th name day. Lord Robyn Arryn of the Vale falls ill and never recovers. Thus begins a long rivalry between the North and the Vale. House Arryn falls into disarray without a successor. House Royce is named High Lord of the Vale
• 320~ Daenerys Targaryen dies from a burst belly. She is 36. The Realm mourns her death, especially her husband. The last known dragon, flys east and is never seen again
• 321~ King Aegon (Jon Snow) begins contraction on a new Summerhall Palace for his daughter
• 323~ King Aegon agrees to marry his son to the daughter of Lord Samwell Tarly, newly appointed High Lord of the Reach. Prince Samwell Targaryen is not pleased as he believes the daughter of House Tarly to be basic and unattractive
• 327~ Prince Samwell Targaryen and his sister, Rhaella Targaryen, marry in secret. King Aegon, enraged by this, considers banishing his son but can not do it. In the end, the union is approved and all seems to be at peace
• 328 - 332~ The heir to House Manderly is killed off the coast of the Three Sisters. House Sunderland is blamed and House Manderly invades House Sunderland, Coldwater and Handy. The War of the Sisters is brutal, as the larger and more advanced House Manderly massacres the poorer Vale houses of the Fingers. House Royce and Grafton engage with the Manderlys, who at this point were joined by House Bolton and Dustin. House Flint of the Widow's Watch, through marriage to House Royce, joins the Vale campaign and invades the Dreadfort of House Bolton when most of their armies are in the Vale, burning the castle to the ground after the Boltons refuse to surrender. After losses in the Vale, House Bolton is no more. House Stark is drawn into the conflict to support its bannermen. King Aegon, begins an invasion of the Vale to support the North, where he grew up, but is advised to not get involved, as both the Stormlands and the Reach would possibly rebel because of his blind support for the North. In the 4th year of the war, peace is brokered between the North and the Vale, thanks to House Tully, who shares blood with both kingdoms. A feast is held at Harrenhal to celebrate. On the last night of the celebrations, a fire breaks out in the castle. All 4 members of House Tully perish in the fire. The Curse of Harrenhal continues...
• 338~ King Aegon Targaryen (Jon Snow) dies in his sleep at age 55. His son, Samwell Targaryen becomes King at age 30. Young Sam, as he's called, has become a cruel man. He sires many bastards with the whores of King's Landing, but has both the babies and their mothers killed. He seems to gain pleasure from others pain
• 340~ At the Tournament of Knights, held in King's Landing to determine the next Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Arthur Hightower, heir to Hightower and known as the bravest knight in the Realm, is accused by King Samwell of raping his wife, Queen Rhaella. In truth, Ser Arthur and the Queen were in love, as she had become disgusted by her husband. Ser Arthur was forced to compete in a Trial by Combat, where he stood against 6 other knights. After a bloody battle that lasted 6 hours, Ser Arthur has vanquished all his opponents, but at a cost. Bleeding and stabbed multiple times, Arthur Hightower could barely stand. At this time, the King entered the arena and killed the wounded Knight, in front of all the Lords of the Realm and the Queen
• 340~ House Hightower, House Tyrell and House Redwyne all declare war on the "Mad King Sam" and begin to march to war. At the Battle of Oldtown, Royal forces with the help of House Dayne, House Greyjoy, House Tarly and the Westerlands sack the city. The Citadel is burned to the ground and the Hightower tower is partially destroyed. Highgarden is sacked by House Crakehall and House Harlaw. The Reach begins to fall into disarray, with Lords fight lords, bandits becoming more dangerous. House Baratheon, attempts to invade King's Landing and stop the King but is defeated by Royal Forces and House Velaryon. The most notable Baratheons are publicly executed, but it is rumored at least one were able to escape. On his 32nd name day, a cold morning in King's Landing, King Samwell Targaryen is found murdered in his sleep, by a common whore girl. Her face is black and blue... While a Valyrian steel blade is stuck in his guts
• 341~ Queen Rhaella Targaryen gives birth to a son named Raegar Targaryen. He is healthy, with golden hair and green eyes. He is born 14 days after his "father" King Samwell has been killed. The Small council agrees to rule together until the young Prince is ready to serve as King
• 344~ A deadly plague, known as Samwell's curse, sweeps the Realm. No one is safe, as it kills the young, healthy and old. Within 12 hours of feeling chills and coughing, even the strongest of men die from it. The lands outside of cities become too dangerous to travel, as bandits take over the countryside. Inside the cities, disease spreads and famine runs rampant. Dorne is spared the worst of it when it closes its borders and its hot temperatures. The Small folk of King's Landing rise up and begin to kill the nobility and burn the city. The Young Targaryen and his mother are barely saved when Lord Velaryon sneaks them out of the city and to Dragonstone
• 345 - 382~ The Realm falls into darkness... Many Lords declare independence after the Burning of King's Landing, and the exile of the Targaryens to Dragonstone. Dorne spends over 10 years fighting various Free Cities, winning most wars against them and keeping Westeros safe from Eastern invaders. House Bracken slowly becomes the dominant House of the Riverlands. The Reach Kings wage constant war amongst themselves. Iron Born reavers raid and rape the west coast and there is little to stop them. The North and the Vale fight a long and bitter war, with the North losing land and Castles, especially to House Pryor. House Umber emerges as the last line of defense against the Vale and Iron Born, winning countless battles and protecting much of the North. House Swann and House Yronwood engage in a major naval war. With House Martell fighting in the Stepstones and House Dayne fighting off the Reach Kings, House Yronwood is defeated and lost to history
• 384~ Raegar Targaryen and his wife, Lady Velaryon, give birth to a healthy baby named Visenya Targaryen
• 387~ Lady Velaryon gives birth to a son named Lucaelarr Targaryen
• 389~ Princess Gwaen Targaryen, sister to Raegar Targaryen, dies in childbirth but the baby is saved. A young boy they name Vaegon Targaryen
• 389 - 398~ Raegar Targaryen names himself King of the Seven Kingdoms and with the financial support of Pentos and the Iron Bank of Braavos, launches an assault on the Crownlands, the Vale and the Stormlands, securing many victories. He begins rebuilding King's Landing. Raegar, a man raised by his mother, who spent most of his youth on Dragonstone and in the Free Cities, names his eldest child and daughter, Visenya, as his heir. Slowly, other parts of the Realm begin to throw their support for the new Targaryen King and bend the knee
• 406~ King Raegar Targaryen dies at the age of 65. The Maesters say his lungs had turned to black and his body could not support him
• 407~ After taking the Iron Throne, Visenya Targaryen marries her brother, Lucaelarr Targaryen but makes it clear that she is the sole Ruler of the Realm

Report Date

05 Jan 2023

Next: Season 2, Turn 01