What do you think?
Rate this book
A Song of Ice & Fire RPG: A Game of Thrones Edition
Based on George R.R. Martin's fantasy epic, A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying gives you everything you need to play and run games in the Seven Kingdoms using an easy-to-learn system specifically designed to evoke the atmosphere of the bestselling novels and hit TV show! The A Game of Thrones Edition includes the entire contents of the original core rulebook, revised and updated, plus the full-length adventure Peril at King's Landing and a gorgeous new cover by fan-favorite artist Michael Komarck. You and your fellow players take on the roles of key members of a noble house navigating the perilous waters of Westerosi politics and intrigue!
320 pages, Hardcover
First published August 29, 2008
About the author
Robert J. Schwalb
117 books40 followersRobert J. Schwalb, a writer and award-winning game designer best known for his work on Dungeons & Dragons, got his start in 2002 and has never looked back. He has designed or developed almost two hundred gaming books in both print and digital formats for Wizards of the Coast, Green Ronin Publishing, Black Industries, Fantasy Flight Games, and several other companies. Some of his best-known books include the Dark Sun Campaign Setting, Player’s Handbook 3, A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying, Grimm, and Tome of Corruption. Look for Robert’s first novel in late 2011.
What does Rob have to say?
Fresh from my second go at college, all flushed and giddy for having graduated Magna cum Laude with special honors, I was ready to start writing fiction for a living. Reality didn’t waste any time intruding on my grandiose dream. The need for a steady job—beyond peddling liquor at the now closed Esquire Discount Liquors—became evident when the student loans clamored for repayment. Carpet, tile, and hardwood sales would be my future for a time. A friend ran a store in town and offered me a job. My previous careers had been selling men’s clothes, fast food, and then extended warranties. Flooring was none of these things so I jumped at the chance.
I was terrible. I shouldn’t have been surprised. I had a degree in English and Philosophy. Flooring customers don’t quite get pre-Socratics humor. I stuck it out though and supplemented my income by selling liquor a few days a week. I got to chat up the regulars at the liquor store who happened by for their thrice-daily pints of Kessler/Skol/Wild Irish Rose. It seemed my fate was to join many other Philosophy majors and do nothing with my training.
However, one night, I ran across Mongoose Publishing’s open call for book proposals. I thought about it for all of 3 seconds before working up my first pitch. A little under a year later, my first book, The Quintessential Witch, hit the shelves. When I wrote the Witch, 3rd edition rules for Dungeons & Dragons were still new and fresh. The d20 system was gathering steam and gaming entered something of a renaissance as companies were created just to feed the insatiable appetite for all things D&D. There were probably more companies than there were writers and thus it proved a perfect time to break into the industry.
Now I was no stranger to gaming. My Dad introduced me to board games when I was very young with Wizard’s Quest by Avalon Hill. Then I discovered Conan, Dune, Gor, the Lord of the Rings, Narnia, and so on. My interest in fantasy kept growing so when my neighbor offered me Tracy and Laura Hickman’s Rahasia for a quarter, I happily paid. That little adventure changed my world forever. I didn’t have the rules and had no idea what I was doing. I was hungry and figured out enough from the adventure to design my first roleplaying game. “Passages” became popular in my class for a week or two. We’d play during study hall or recess.
My Dad noticed and when he went off to a publishing convention (he worked for a famous Bible publisher in Nashville), he talked with a TSR rep, who I imagine might have been Gary Gygax. My father told him that I was designing my own games, so the TSR fellow, in a deft and generous move, gave him a stack of books and adventures. I had everything but the rules of the game. Luckily, a trip to the bookstore and meeting my soon-to-be Dungeon Master Landon, put the Red Box in my hands and my first character in my imagination. Creating the character was far less interesting than talking about comics, yet when we broke out the dice the next week and played the first game, I was hooked for life.
This all happened at a time when conspiracy theories about Satanism gripped the nation. Certain members of my family bought into the hype and thought my soul was in peril. So I stepped into a much wider world of RPGs. I played everything I could. Top Secret, DC Superheroes, Gamma World,
What does Rob have to say?
Fresh from my second go at college, all flushed and giddy for having graduated Magna cum Laude with special honors, I was ready to start writing fiction for a living. Reality didn’t waste any time intruding on my grandiose dream. The need for a steady job—beyond peddling liquor at the now closed Esquire Discount Liquors—became evident when the student loans clamored for repayment. Carpet, tile, and hardwood sales would be my future for a time. A friend ran a store in town and offered me a job. My previous careers had been selling men’s clothes, fast food, and then extended warranties. Flooring was none of these things so I jumped at the chance.
I was terrible. I shouldn’t have been surprised. I had a degree in English and Philosophy. Flooring customers don’t quite get pre-Socratics humor. I stuck it out though and supplemented my income by selling liquor a few days a week. I got to chat up the regulars at the liquor store who happened by for their thrice-daily pints of Kessler/Skol/Wild Irish Rose. It seemed my fate was to join many other Philosophy majors and do nothing with my training.
However, one night, I ran across Mongoose Publishing’s open call for book proposals. I thought about it for all of 3 seconds before working up my first pitch. A little under a year later, my first book, The Quintessential Witch, hit the shelves. When I wrote the Witch, 3rd edition rules for Dungeons & Dragons were still new and fresh. The d20 system was gathering steam and gaming entered something of a renaissance as companies were created just to feed the insatiable appetite for all things D&D. There were probably more companies than there were writers and thus it proved a perfect time to break into the industry.
Now I was no stranger to gaming. My Dad introduced me to board games when I was very young with Wizard’s Quest by Avalon Hill. Then I discovered Conan, Dune, Gor, the Lord of the Rings, Narnia, and so on. My interest in fantasy kept growing so when my neighbor offered me Tracy and Laura Hickman’s Rahasia for a quarter, I happily paid. That little adventure changed my world forever. I didn’t have the rules and had no idea what I was doing. I was hungry and figured out enough from the adventure to design my first roleplaying game. “Passages” became popular in my class for a week or two. We’d play during study hall or recess.
My Dad noticed and when he went off to a publishing convention (he worked for a famous Bible publisher in Nashville), he talked with a TSR rep, who I imagine might have been Gary Gygax. My father told him that I was designing my own games, so the TSR fellow, in a deft and generous move, gave him a stack of books and adventures. I had everything but the rules of the game. Luckily, a trip to the bookstore and meeting my soon-to-be Dungeon Master Landon, put the Red Box in my hands and my first character in my imagination. Creating the character was far less interesting than talking about comics, yet when we broke out the dice the next week and played the first game, I was hooked for life.
This all happened at a time when conspiracy theories about Satanism gripped the nation. Certain members of my family bought into the hype and thought my soul was in peril. So I stepped into a much wider world of RPGs. I played everything I could. Top Secret, DC Superheroes, Gamma World,
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 13, 2026
RPG framework set in the fantasy continents of Westeros and Essos, where noble families battle for power in a brutal, politically unstable world. The central conflict revolves around the Iron Throne—the seat of rule over the Seven Kingdoms—while a far older and more existential threat gathers in the frozen North.
3/5 Essentially the opposite of the motives for a DND campaign.
Political strategy and intrigue, Running a House over generations, and fights usually WILL kill charecters. Fun, but best done with players familiar with the franchise.
3/5 Essentially the opposite of the motives for a DND campaign.
Political strategy and intrigue, Running a House over generations, and fights usually WILL kill charecters. Fun, but best done with players familiar with the franchise.
April 25, 2021
Some interesting ideas and focus but the application is disappointingly crunchy. Best suited for gamers who already like a lot of crunch in their games.
MY GRADE: B minus to B.
MY GRADE: B minus to B.
March 31, 2016
Nicely done rpg, some niggles about the sheer amount of rolls needed for some parts but looking forward to running and playing a campaign from this
May 25, 2010
With the upcoming HBO mini-series based on A Game of Thrones, there is buzz again about George R R Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series.
The other day, my gaming group tried out the quickstart rules, and I was quite impressed. At no time did I feel lost, or that I was just playing a generic fantasy role playing game. We were all members of the same house, a young lord, who has taken over the house at the age of 14; his uncle, the proud knight; his bastard brother who dreams of one day being the master of horse; the young squire, who has hidden her gender in service to her dream of becoming a knight; and so on.
So I picked up the rulebook. I have the ugly orange cover, but the rules are well done, and my original feeling that the game will ground you in a nobel house is born out. There is a chapter telling the players how to design their own house. Players will get to decide on building castles, towers, and other buildings to hold their lands. They will have to chose between devoting resources to defensive fortifications, political infulence, lands, law, population, military power, and wealth.
Like any role playing game, there is a chapter on combat. There are also chapters on intrigue and large scale warfare. Seduction, poisoning, lies, and the rest of the staples of court intrigue are covered.
The rules follow the books very closely. You can create a character like any of those found in the books. You can be a cripple who has had his third eye opened and can see through the eyes of his dire wolf like Bran Stark. You can be a nobelwoman who stays within the boundaries of her class and gender while striving to protect her house and family like Catelyn Stark. Or a dwarf (human) nobleman with a big mouth and bigger wit like Tyrion Lannister. And so on.
Besides gold and experience, the players also work for glory. Glory is a resource for their house, which can be spent to improve the house's fortunes.
The cover art is annoyingly bad, but some of the other illustrations are fine.
If you wonder about roleplaying in a fantasy world based on a series that is not complete, this game is set just *before* Game of Thrones.
Recommend for George R R Martin fans who are gamers.
The other day, my gaming group tried out the quickstart rules, and I was quite impressed. At no time did I feel lost, or that I was just playing a generic fantasy role playing game. We were all members of the same house, a young lord, who has taken over the house at the age of 14; his uncle, the proud knight; his bastard brother who dreams of one day being the master of horse; the young squire, who has hidden her gender in service to her dream of becoming a knight; and so on.
So I picked up the rulebook. I have the ugly orange cover, but the rules are well done, and my original feeling that the game will ground you in a nobel house is born out. There is a chapter telling the players how to design their own house. Players will get to decide on building castles, towers, and other buildings to hold their lands. They will have to chose between devoting resources to defensive fortifications, political infulence, lands, law, population, military power, and wealth.
Like any role playing game, there is a chapter on combat. There are also chapters on intrigue and large scale warfare. Seduction, poisoning, lies, and the rest of the staples of court intrigue are covered.
The rules follow the books very closely. You can create a character like any of those found in the books. You can be a cripple who has had his third eye opened and can see through the eyes of his dire wolf like Bran Stark. You can be a nobelwoman who stays within the boundaries of her class and gender while striving to protect her house and family like Catelyn Stark. Or a dwarf (human) nobleman with a big mouth and bigger wit like Tyrion Lannister. And so on.
Besides gold and experience, the players also work for glory. Glory is a resource for their house, which can be spent to improve the house's fortunes.
The cover art is annoyingly bad, but some of the other illustrations are fine.
If you wonder about roleplaying in a fantasy world based on a series that is not complete, this game is set just *before* Game of Thrones.
Recommend for George R R Martin fans who are gamers.
August 11, 2010
A solid addition to the RPG library. I like the flexibility of the rules, which keeps all the stuff I like about d10 roll-and-keep (my preferred system) while eliminating ridiculousness like calling raises. Some of the advanced rules, like for applying bonus die from one trait to another, made perfect sense, too. Overall, a better system than the Game of Thrones d20 RPG, and one I'm looking forward to running correctly (I'm sort of winging it right now, but I think the players are really liking it so far.) May I also add how awesome the House construction rules are? They're so much fun, it's ridiculous, and wonderfully immersive, especially if used in conjunction with the Campaign Guide.
December 17, 2017
As someone who is at least a casual fan of the Game of Thrones series [1] and certainly a fan of tabletop role playing games [2], this book was tailor-made for a reader like myself, putting the popular fictional world of the series in a form that would not be particularly demanding for those who like to roleplay and imagine themselves as one of the noble houses within that complicated universe. This book, to its considerable credit, does manage to create a game engine for the universe that is compelling as well as simple in terms of its mechanics, something that will interest those who are interested in the story and who do not want to get bogged down in complications of a mathematical nature. If you want a game that forces you to think and craft a compelling story as well as immerse yourself in a world of intrigue where you are small fish in a big and dangerous pond, this game will definitely do the trick.
In terms of its contents, this book at over 300 pages is a challenging read unless you are familiar with tabletop role playing games as well as the Game of Thrones series. The book begins with a discussion on the history and worldbuilding of Westeros and then moves to the game rules and mechanics of various classes/archetypes. After that a short chapter on character creation follows before a longer chapter on abilities and specialties. A chapter on the destiny and qualities of various characters and specializations as well as a short chapter on houses and lands follows. Chapters on equipment, intrigue, and combat follow which flesh out the game and the way it is played before the author discusses a chapter on warfare giving a large-scale battle mechanic that is fairly rare in games of this type which are focused generally on the affairs of the small party and not massive and epic conflict. The rest of the book focuses on the role of the game master/narrator of this game with two starter campaigns, an introductory campaign about a journey to King's Landing that involves some conflict and a much longer and more complicated one on peril in King's Landing where the character's party have a dangerous and unseen enemy that wishes to destroy them without their knowledge and that involves a lot of the game mechanics as well as some quick-thinking role playing. The book ends with some reference tables, and index, and a sample character sheet.
It is pretty obvious what sort of target audience this book has, and as someone in that target audience I can say that I found this game and its mechanics to be pretty compelling. To be sure, I do not think it would necessarily be easy to get seven people with way too much time on their hands around a table for a period of quite a few hours to work out some of these longer campaigns who happen to be fans of fairly simple mechanics involving only d6 rolls as well as a lot of complicated intrigue that will test the abilities of the game master to give a stiff challenge that has the potential for a long series of campaigns where a party has to deal with powerful enemies. There will also be some discussion as to what characters are to fit which roles, as this game cares a lot about status and there will be some characters who are needed in various roles like maester, sept, merchant, heir to a noble house, and various knights and guards that will likely require the players to engage in some political savvy in real life as well as in the game. That's something that many gamers can appreciate.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
[2] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
In terms of its contents, this book at over 300 pages is a challenging read unless you are familiar with tabletop role playing games as well as the Game of Thrones series. The book begins with a discussion on the history and worldbuilding of Westeros and then moves to the game rules and mechanics of various classes/archetypes. After that a short chapter on character creation follows before a longer chapter on abilities and specialties. A chapter on the destiny and qualities of various characters and specializations as well as a short chapter on houses and lands follows. Chapters on equipment, intrigue, and combat follow which flesh out the game and the way it is played before the author discusses a chapter on warfare giving a large-scale battle mechanic that is fairly rare in games of this type which are focused generally on the affairs of the small party and not massive and epic conflict. The rest of the book focuses on the role of the game master/narrator of this game with two starter campaigns, an introductory campaign about a journey to King's Landing that involves some conflict and a much longer and more complicated one on peril in King's Landing where the character's party have a dangerous and unseen enemy that wishes to destroy them without their knowledge and that involves a lot of the game mechanics as well as some quick-thinking role playing. The book ends with some reference tables, and index, and a sample character sheet.
It is pretty obvious what sort of target audience this book has, and as someone in that target audience I can say that I found this game and its mechanics to be pretty compelling. To be sure, I do not think it would necessarily be easy to get seven people with way too much time on their hands around a table for a period of quite a few hours to work out some of these longer campaigns who happen to be fans of fairly simple mechanics involving only d6 rolls as well as a lot of complicated intrigue that will test the abilities of the game master to give a stiff challenge that has the potential for a long series of campaigns where a party has to deal with powerful enemies. There will also be some discussion as to what characters are to fit which roles, as this game cares a lot about status and there will be some characters who are needed in various roles like maester, sept, merchant, heir to a noble house, and various knights and guards that will likely require the players to engage in some political savvy in real life as well as in the game. That's something that many gamers can appreciate.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
[2] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
November 28, 2024
5/5: An easy read.
This is a pretty good RP book due to the fact that it literally has easy, digestible information about everything from The Reach, the Arryn family, to The Wall itself. Anyways, I kinda knew everything, so I did skim a bit. Nonetheless, it was a good read. If you need basic information on Westeros, Essos, etc. this is the book I would recommend - in addition to George's Known World book guide.
- Constant Reader
This is a pretty good RP book due to the fact that it literally has easy, digestible information about everything from The Reach, the Arryn family, to The Wall itself. Anyways, I kinda knew everything, so I did skim a bit. Nonetheless, it was a good read. If you need basic information on Westeros, Essos, etc. this is the book I would recommend - in addition to George's Known World book guide.
- Constant Reader
February 25, 2025
What a great system! Interesting. Sort of complex, but at least it's different.
September 8, 2025
I like the idea more than the systems the game presents.
October 4, 2019
I'm a fan of the A Song of Ice and Fire series, both the books and the television series and I was intrigued to see how the setting was adapted into a role playing game (RPG). This book covers setting information (including a basic primer on the city of King's Landing), character and house creation, game mechanics, a bestiary, a game master's section (which the game calls the "Narrator") and two adventures that could be played separately or linked together. While I won't go in-depth on details, here are some of things that I believed were "Pros" and "Cons" of the book:
Pros:
- Setting. This is a rich setting and fans of the books and shows will enjoy that aspect of the game. The default setting in the game is the time period after Robert's Rebellion, but before the first book in the series. There is some information on playing a campaign during a different time period but the historical information on other time periods is limited.
- Game Mechanics. The basic game mechanics involves rolling a number of D6s (based on your character's attributes, skills and situational modifiers) and trying to roll equal to or greater than a target number representing difficulty that is set by the Narrator. There are are rules to add or re-roll the dice and keep the highest.
- Character and House Building. The mechanics offer the ability to create interesting character make-ups. You can make a child character, an elderly character or anything in-between and create most archetypes portrayed in the books and shows. The House creation rules are very neat (and the highlight of this system) where a player group collaborates with random tables and other information to create the house they hail from.
- Combat and Intrigue Rules. There are rules that cover both combat and intrigue (which is very much a part of the books and shows). Characters have a Combat Defense and an Intrigue Defense that needs to be beat to acquire a successful "hit" in these situations and are defeated when their "wounds" in these situations (Wounds or Composure) are reduced to zero.
- Adventures. The two included adventures are not that bad. One is a road trip to King's Landing where the party will have to negotiate social encounters and combat bandits. The other takes place in King's Landing where the party is involved in conflict and intrigue during a Tourney hosted by the king; this adventure can be run right after the first.
Cons:
-Game Mechanics. This is the only con but I think that it's a big one. While the baseline mechanics are simple, I think they become quite complicated because some stats are added together to create another stat (similar to what's done in the Polaris RPG) and there are special abilities/perks/flaws that modify skill rolls and situations, and some of these are not permanent and can be swapped out throughout a campaign. Additionally, there are modifiers to different weapons, combat tactics and such and I think all this starts to bog down everything because of all the number crunching involved (I'm sure some of this will eventually become second nature to those that are veterans of playing the system).
Overall this is a good RPG (I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could) with some promise for some good times for those interested in the setting and willing to put some work into grasping the game mechanics.
Pros:
- Setting. This is a rich setting and fans of the books and shows will enjoy that aspect of the game. The default setting in the game is the time period after Robert's Rebellion, but before the first book in the series. There is some information on playing a campaign during a different time period but the historical information on other time periods is limited.
- Game Mechanics. The basic game mechanics involves rolling a number of D6s (based on your character's attributes, skills and situational modifiers) and trying to roll equal to or greater than a target number representing difficulty that is set by the Narrator. There are are rules to add or re-roll the dice and keep the highest.
- Character and House Building. The mechanics offer the ability to create interesting character make-ups. You can make a child character, an elderly character or anything in-between and create most archetypes portrayed in the books and shows. The House creation rules are very neat (and the highlight of this system) where a player group collaborates with random tables and other information to create the house they hail from.
- Combat and Intrigue Rules. There are rules that cover both combat and intrigue (which is very much a part of the books and shows). Characters have a Combat Defense and an Intrigue Defense that needs to be beat to acquire a successful "hit" in these situations and are defeated when their "wounds" in these situations (Wounds or Composure) are reduced to zero.
- Adventures. The two included adventures are not that bad. One is a road trip to King's Landing where the party will have to negotiate social encounters and combat bandits. The other takes place in King's Landing where the party is involved in conflict and intrigue during a Tourney hosted by the king; this adventure can be run right after the first.
Cons:
-Game Mechanics. This is the only con but I think that it's a big one. While the baseline mechanics are simple, I think they become quite complicated because some stats are added together to create another stat (similar to what's done in the Polaris RPG) and there are special abilities/perks/flaws that modify skill rolls and situations, and some of these are not permanent and can be swapped out throughout a campaign. Additionally, there are modifiers to different weapons, combat tactics and such and I think all this starts to bog down everything because of all the number crunching involved (I'm sure some of this will eventually become second nature to those that are veterans of playing the system).
Overall this is a good RPG (I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could) with some promise for some good times for those interested in the setting and willing to put some work into grasping the game mechanics.
July 1, 2012
So, its a well thought out, and well written system. I have the pocket edition, and thats why it gets 3 stars instead of 4. The pocket edition apparently has extra rules in it compared to the original, however, they also forgot to put in the poison cost table (I had to pencil them in from a PDF version of the original) and they didn't include the stats for The Others in this edition either, so I had to print off a copy of them from the PDF of the original. Character creation takes a while, but makes for well defined characteristics, while leaving enough room for roleplay without it being restrained by stats. Having a separate character sheet for the noble house the players belong to is a cool idea, and its fun making the house and its history with the players. Its a good way of forging the players into a unit that works together. (though looking at some of the characters that my players have made, I'm expecting poisonings and knives in the dark within 3 sessions, and thats just on each other)
I ran my first game of this last night, and it went well. Some of the PCs managed to get into an argument with Robb Stark and Jon snow, and that was fun. Especially as the guy playing the house heir revealed himself to be a complete shit in regards to bastard borns, which was fun. He impressed me with the level of vitriol and bile he managed to get into his voice while the argument went on, to be honest.
anyway, hopefully this game will go well. I'm still getting my head around the intrigue and combat rules, but I'll get there, and it should be fun.
I ran my first game of this last night, and it went well. Some of the PCs managed to get into an argument with Robb Stark and Jon snow, and that was fun. Especially as the guy playing the house heir revealed himself to be a complete shit in regards to bastard borns, which was fun. He impressed me with the level of vitriol and bile he managed to get into his voice while the argument went on, to be honest.
anyway, hopefully this game will go well. I'm still getting my head around the intrigue and combat rules, but I'll get there, and it should be fun.
January 19, 2019
For those who love D&D, and Game of Thrones, will like this book. The idea of role playing in this setting is awesome. It has quite a lot to read and make sense of. I like the concept of players being from the same house, and creating your own house is fantastic. As it is meant as a game your can tweak things to suit. I imagine after a bit of feedback they may add some additions to house creation i the future. Creating characters has even more choice. I like the charts that help create characters- either random dice rolling or selecting. Having a back story, with vices and virtues among a few, is a nice way to flesh out your characters. In D&D you had 6 main stats- here you have 19! And you can further specialise. Rather than "Charisma" you can choose to have "Cunning", Deception" or "Persuasion" which definitely has a Game of thrones feel to it. There are a few other extras such as having destiny points. Being able to choose is great as you are limited to a traditional character class, yet can use those as an example. It feels like your characters have a lot of depth to them.
As far as game play goes it seems you have running your House, combat, warfare and intrigue.
I would think being the Narrator (DM) would require quite a bit of preparation, but the flip side is that you can basically create loads of NPC's to suit your story direction. The book comes with two adventures that seem quite comprehensive, and could follow on from each other. I hope they come up with a few more in future. A good read.
As far as game play goes it seems you have running your House, combat, warfare and intrigue.
I would think being the Narrator (DM) would require quite a bit of preparation, but the flip side is that you can basically create loads of NPC's to suit your story direction. The book comes with two adventures that seem quite comprehensive, and could follow on from each other. I hope they come up with a few more in future. A good read.
March 1, 2021
Can't give it 5 stars yet since I haven't run a campaign, and on top of that it's a pretty well-developed system with lots of options that players will have to run through a couple of times before diving in... but this looks fantastic, and if your DM (this ruleset calls the narrator) and players have experience with something like D&D, this should a super fun experience with minimal "growing pains". From developing your own House and playing at a strategic level, to making a single character and playing the micro-level, or doing both and playing the characters that will lead your House to greatness, there's a lot for DMs to play around with and adjust campaigns. More than that, I love the three combat systems -- small-form Combat like D&D, Warfare combat for strategic House interplays, and a cool Intrigue "combat" that shames D&D and really develops the books' focus on persuasion, seduction, deception, intimidation, and negotiation.
I ran through House creation and character creation, got a PDF that I split into sections to give to players (I bought the hardcopy, and at least one of my friends who wants to play has a hardcopy as well), and I also got the Campaign/Chronicle Starter which I'll take a look at soon. The Campaign Guide is basically a lorebook (in the vein of Martin's The World of Ice and Fire), and so won't give ASOIAF fans much new info, but is worth at least taking a look at for the stats of book characters and Houses (if your characters might meet Robb, or do business with the Lannisters, etc.).
Looking forward to this!
I ran through House creation and character creation, got a PDF that I split into sections to give to players (I bought the hardcopy, and at least one of my friends who wants to play has a hardcopy as well), and I also got the Campaign/Chronicle Starter which I'll take a look at soon. The Campaign Guide is basically a lorebook (in the vein of Martin's The World of Ice and Fire), and so won't give ASOIAF fans much new info, but is worth at least taking a look at for the stats of book characters and Houses (if your characters might meet Robb, or do business with the Lannisters, etc.).
Looking forward to this!
July 6, 2018
The premise of this RPG is great as most People by now have a good idea about Martins world. That means that the GM wont need to spoonfeed the players information about the world, we can just jump in and play. The problem With this is that you are not free to do anything (the Author says that you can do everything as this is Your Version of the world, but for myself at least I would have a problem whit the characters killing Cercei for example. Even if a compleat reimagination of the main story would make a great campange).
The system is quite simple and D6 based, perhaps a few to many rules around combat for my taste. And what I really like when you start making characters is that first you make Your own great or small house. Something that makes this game a bit different from most generic fantasy games. The main problem I have With the game is how intrigue Works. There are a lot of rules around it, and it supposed to be a main part of the game (it is A song of ice and fire after all), but I think it might be quite hard to rollplay to make it interesting. And put a lot of preassure on the GM to make it work better then just game mechanics. But we will see, it might work excellent when I get my players to finally play it.
The system is quite simple and D6 based, perhaps a few to many rules around combat for my taste. And what I really like when you start making characters is that first you make Your own great or small house. Something that makes this game a bit different from most generic fantasy games. The main problem I have With the game is how intrigue Works. There are a lot of rules around it, and it supposed to be a main part of the game (it is A song of ice and fire after all), but I think it might be quite hard to rollplay to make it interesting. And put a lot of preassure on the GM to make it work better then just game mechanics. But we will see, it might work excellent when I get my players to finally play it.
June 22, 2011
Have been stoked watching Game of Thrones Season 1 on HBO. So much so that I decided to read this RPG book and run a game for my pals. There is a great multi-page overview of the history of Westeros, which was awesome. The rule system is interesting and tries to strike the balance between focusing on the intrigue/conspiratorial elements of GoT, while also allowing combat and epic battles. Hoping I'll get to play it soon!
October 4, 2010
Small and portable, with all of the errata incorporated into the rules. Very nice.
November 18, 2013
A really cool idea for a roleplaying setting. I hope to run a campaign in this setting sometime in the future.
January 8, 2016
Great system. Put's you into GRRM's Westeros. The system really adds to the sensation and suspension of disbelief while playing or Narrating the game.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews