Post by hapchazzard on Sept 25, 2019 14:13:57 GMT
I'd suggest the following changes to Aegon's Conquest mechanics to make a generally historical outcome more likely/up the stakes in general. Right now, with the exception of the Durrandons, the great houses very rarely bite the dust during the conquest. I'd argue one should see 2-3 of the great houses get wiped out in a typical AI conquest run. To help with this, I'd argue for these changes (note, these special rules would only apply during the wars of the conquest themself, not afterward):
1. Make deploying a dragon on one of the great castles have a greatly increased chance of wiping everyone out the first time it happens
Basically, make Burning-of-Harrenhal scenarios far more likely to occur. Right now, if Aegon even bothers using a dragon during a siege on one of the great houses' castles, there's only a 20% chance he massacres everyone, and even then he is unlikely to kill everyone since there will inevitably be that one random family member off leading some random 100-man army somewhere.
I'd argue that the first time Aegon uses a dragon on a great house castle, there should be a dramatically increased chance of killing everyone. The rationale is that the normal 20% is because the dragonrider isn't actually trying to kill everyone, but causing just enough damage to scare the castle into yielding. Harrenhal was a completely different beast, however. It very much seems to me that Aegon was out to make an example out of the Hoares, and wiping every single living soul in the castle was his goal. If it hadn't been Harrenhal, some other castle/house would have almost inevitably been made an example out of for all of Westeros to see. Therefore, the first time Aegon uses a dragon on one of the great castles* he should either get a massively increased chance of wiping out the ruling house (including even family members that are leading armies somewhere else, since that unfortunately always inevitably happens. Only characters that are abroad would be excluded) or outright get an option in the siege event to kill everyone.
*excluding Casterly Rock, if Visenya is to be trusted
2. Make personally leading the vanguard of a large army dangerous not just for the ruler in question, but their entire house
This is to simulate the Field of Fire and the destruction of House Gardener, something that basically never happens in the current version. If the head of one of the great houses is personally leading a 1k+ army and a dragon gets deployed in the battle, there should be a non-negligible chance that not only the leader of the house gets burned to a crisp, but every single able-bodied, adult male member of the house (assuming they aren't fighting on Aegon's side). As I said, this would not only simulate the demise of the Gardeners, but something that could have potentially happened to the Starks, too - based on the material I've read, I've gotten the impression that a very large number of Stark men were present at the Trident and if another Field of Fire had happened there, it is not inconceivable that they'd suffered the same fate as the Gardeners.
3. Give Dorne huge defensive bonuses
Make it a proper pain to take, as it was historically. This is already somewhat implemented in the form of dragons being unusable in mountains and deserts, but I think it should be expanded. Give foreign armies horrendous attrition penalties in dornish land, and conversely give the dornish huge combat bonuses when fighting in home land (similar to some vanilla pagans). Make dornish lords and their families basically uncapturable through normal siege events, and make occupied holdings randomly revert in control after some time. Make any foreign characters commanding armies in the region occasionally get bad events ranging from getting captured to having them and their entire army vanish without a trace in the desert. Additionally, make any time a dragon is used in a dornish siege have greatly increased chances of getting immediately killed and their riders captured. If Visenya or Rhaenys are captured this way, make the war an auto-win for Dorne/white peace, since it is implied that this is what caused Aegon to falter and make peace in the first place.
Potentially, one could argue that similar bonuses could be granted to the North, if it chooses to resist. The North is a big, heavily forested place and good for guerrilla warfare in ways similar to Dorne.
These bonuses probably sound extreme, and some likely are, but it seems like the only way Dorne could ever have the chance of defeating the Targaryens as it did historically, due to the inherent OPness of dragons.
1. Make deploying a dragon on one of the great castles have a greatly increased chance of wiping everyone out the first time it happens
Basically, make Burning-of-Harrenhal scenarios far more likely to occur. Right now, if Aegon even bothers using a dragon during a siege on one of the great houses' castles, there's only a 20% chance he massacres everyone, and even then he is unlikely to kill everyone since there will inevitably be that one random family member off leading some random 100-man army somewhere.
I'd argue that the first time Aegon uses a dragon on a great house castle, there should be a dramatically increased chance of killing everyone. The rationale is that the normal 20% is because the dragonrider isn't actually trying to kill everyone, but causing just enough damage to scare the castle into yielding. Harrenhal was a completely different beast, however. It very much seems to me that Aegon was out to make an example out of the Hoares, and wiping every single living soul in the castle was his goal. If it hadn't been Harrenhal, some other castle/house would have almost inevitably been made an example out of for all of Westeros to see. Therefore, the first time Aegon uses a dragon on one of the great castles* he should either get a massively increased chance of wiping out the ruling house (including even family members that are leading armies somewhere else, since that unfortunately always inevitably happens. Only characters that are abroad would be excluded) or outright get an option in the siege event to kill everyone.
*excluding Casterly Rock, if Visenya is to be trusted
2. Make personally leading the vanguard of a large army dangerous not just for the ruler in question, but their entire house
This is to simulate the Field of Fire and the destruction of House Gardener, something that basically never happens in the current version. If the head of one of the great houses is personally leading a 1k+ army and a dragon gets deployed in the battle, there should be a non-negligible chance that not only the leader of the house gets burned to a crisp, but every single able-bodied, adult male member of the house (assuming they aren't fighting on Aegon's side). As I said, this would not only simulate the demise of the Gardeners, but something that could have potentially happened to the Starks, too - based on the material I've read, I've gotten the impression that a very large number of Stark men were present at the Trident and if another Field of Fire had happened there, it is not inconceivable that they'd suffered the same fate as the Gardeners.
3. Give Dorne huge defensive bonuses
Make it a proper pain to take, as it was historically. This is already somewhat implemented in the form of dragons being unusable in mountains and deserts, but I think it should be expanded. Give foreign armies horrendous attrition penalties in dornish land, and conversely give the dornish huge combat bonuses when fighting in home land (similar to some vanilla pagans). Make dornish lords and their families basically uncapturable through normal siege events, and make occupied holdings randomly revert in control after some time. Make any foreign characters commanding armies in the region occasionally get bad events ranging from getting captured to having them and their entire army vanish without a trace in the desert. Additionally, make any time a dragon is used in a dornish siege have greatly increased chances of getting immediately killed and their riders captured. If Visenya or Rhaenys are captured this way, make the war an auto-win for Dorne/white peace, since it is implied that this is what caused Aegon to falter and make peace in the first place.
Potentially, one could argue that similar bonuses could be granted to the North, if it chooses to resist. The North is a big, heavily forested place and good for guerrilla warfare in ways similar to Dorne.
These bonuses probably sound extreme, and some likely are, but it seems like the only way Dorne could ever have the chance of defeating the Targaryens as it did historically, due to the inherent OPness of dragons.