Introduction To The Free Folk And Myself
We are proudly descended from the First Men, and stay true to the Old Gods. I am Tormund Giantsbane, Plenty of little men tried to put their swords through my heart. And there's plenty of little skeletons buried in the woods. Both the Crows and kin have fallen before my blade. On my back I wear the armour of a Crow. Whom I beheaded after I was held in Shadow Tower long enough to lose track of days.
I will fight alongside the King-Beyond-The-Wall, whoever that may be and we shall take the land that has always been ours!
Character Creation
Your past is your own...however your father nor you are any noble. There are no nobles in the true north, only criminal crows and Wild Men. Where you rise only through stength and victory...
Culture-- The culture of any future kingdom you have will be decided by the Culture you choose at the beginning, meaning if you choose to be of Ironborn ancestry, then your kingdom would have an Ironborn culture, troops ect.
Traits
Your main choice will be that of your trait. Being a leader or a warrior, this is important as both have great benefits but you can only have one.
The Warrior-- It allows you to do a fearsome shout that causes all nearby enemies to back away from you or even flee a matter of feet. This is more useful for the individual, though in seiges can be used to open up the top of a ladder or a hole in the enemies lines. If you command from the front then this is for you.
The Leader-- This allows you to do a rallying cry, beating your shield as all your men join their voices in a choir of death. Recovering their health by as much as 20%, the only danger is for a brief moment they are exposed as they cheer. If you are one to sit on a horse and observe the battle more tactically then this is for you.
A Bow Is A Wildlings Best Friend
Be sure to upgrade in your skills with bows and throwing weapons as these will both be quite important later on.
In many cases as a Raider and wildling your foes will lack shields. And even if they have a shield you can aim for their knee or a little below it to still injure them.
Throwing weapons such a spears, javelins and throwing axes are best for armoured foes as I will explain in the tactics section later on.
Early Game Steps And Advice
You will begin your journey in Kings Landing, your first task will be to travel to the north beyond the wall. Should you wish to be King-Beyond-The-Wall one day, then you should seek to be somewhat more honorable. If you wish to simply aid Mance and unite your band with the tribes of the Free Fole to overcome the Crows. Then honor is not necessary and even a great hinderance.
Two Choices
A. You could travel there immediately
B. Or the smarter choice might be to take part in petty banditry in the 7 Kingdoms, most of all those south of 'The North' faction. As it is unlikely you will come across 'The Reach' again for possibly years.
Money is hard to come by in the real north, here are some ways to engage in common banditry before you travel deep into the snowy wastes.
-Taking goods foricbly from villages
-Cattle raiding
-Attacking clergy you dislike(always fun)
-Raiding a Septry if you find one
-Slaughtering villagers
-Poaching animals from the Kings Forests
-Bounty Hunting(from tavern keepers, 300S per contract)
-Fighting other Bandit groups
-Looting And Burning Outskirt villages!
-If a lord likes you they may possibly ask for you spy on another city(however I say Damn the Kneelers and do not serve them anything but death)
My one warning would be to not Enslave villages early on because it lowers your relation with all villages by 2.
~Ways to Spend 2000 Silver Stags~
After you saved up few thousand Stags here are a few ways you could put that to use.
Hiring Bandits-- This can be quite costly depending on the size and quality, but try to imagine that each will charge atleast a hundred. So for 20 men, have over 2000 on hand because if you can't afford to pay them they try to attack and sell you to the slavers. There are many different types, I would recommend the clansmen near and in Vale. As they have both bows and axes
Hire companions-- Many cost atleast 1000, they are always a good investment as they be used as a bodyguard in towns and villages ect. and most importantly to raise your right to rule by three if you send them out to do so.
Buy you and your men drinks- This cost money in the tavern portionally to your party size, raises moral by 10
Risk it all-- You can gamble your money on a coin toss with a tavern keeper with the chance to double that 2000. Or have a drinking game with someone if your strength is high.
Invest in yourself-- Look at getting yourself a Mule that travels atleast 25-30 speed. Or perhaps a better bow or arrows.
Or visit a brothel in Kings Landing or Winterfell. ;)
The Arena And Tournaments-- In this you use your own weapons and armour. The reward for winning an Arena is 750 if you survive till the end. In a Tournament it is harder, but you can bet on yourself for greater rewards. There are many different arena scenes, some with structures, others in open clearings.
ONCE BEYOND THE WALL
1.) Set up bases of recruitment
First, it is important to set up as good of relations as you can get from the villages to recruit as many Wildlings as you can. They have strength in numbers, if you do not outnumber them atleast two or three to one then YOU are at a disadvantage. Even with three times the numbers 60 VS 20, you can still lose all your men due to lacking tactics.
They have will have better weapons, armour, stats and more horses than you. However, what you do have greater than the crows, is sheer numbers, speed, and Wit if you heed a few of my warnings.
2.) Get a Merc Contract or begin to fight the crows on your own
Speak to the chiefs and attempt to gain a merc contract, though these do not pay well and only through a quest with Mance can you gain vasselship. However, the benefit of this contract is that even with low honor, Chiefs that hate you, will not deny you entry to their castle. When normally if you are by yourself and a person hates you, then they will deny you entry to their keep.
AND, listen to this part. You can back out of the contract after one month and seek another one for an additonal signing bonus. Or travel back into Nights Watch areas and attempt to save imprisoned Wildling Chiefs.(this is dangerous though and I wouldn't recommend it unless you are a skilled fighter)
When speaking to Chiefs--Always ask them 3 times, then click on ask private question, then ask for tasks again. I've had times when on the 4th try of asking them, then they offer me a task.
FIRST FIGHTS
3.) Hunt the Crows who stray to the north of the Wall
Once you get a band of around 60 men then you can confidently begin to hunt Crow patrols in the north. They patrol all around the Haunted Forest and even above Fist Of The First Men.
The reason I say 60 is because with any more men and its near impossible to catch them unless you chase them toward the Frostfang Camp patrol. The only issue is if they catch them instead of you, you can only join the battle on their side and get a lesser cut of the loot then if you had engaged alone.(or you could use this chance attack a fellow hated tribe by siding with the Crow Patrol)
A Nights Watch patrol can be anywhere between 10-25 men. Usually well trained, fighting them is highly profitable. Due to the fact that each who you take captive can be sold for a few hundred on average to the slave traders that like to hang within Thenn and the Frostfang camp nearly constantly.
This is your main source of revenue as looting is quite difficult unless you find an opportune moment in which to loot the four villages that lay close to wall. Even then, you must commonly fight the locals in the village and then risk attack by patrol or a lord. Cattle raiding the village on the west side may be best option if you must for a quest or money.
To engage a Crow Lord at this point alone would be sucidal. Unless you find them with very few troops.
4.) Being Offered Vasselship
It is possible, as in my case. That after fighting for a time you will be contacted and offered land and title by Mance, you will then have a month to find him and pledge yourself. What happened to me though is I was not able to contact Mance as he was imprisoned, and failed twice to break him out. Hopefully you will have better luck than I.
Layout Of The Far North
The Free Folk have three places of Interest.
CITIES
Thenn-- The northern most city and home of the Thenn tribe
Frostfangs camp-- Just South Of Thenn guarded by a large patrol of around a hundred
CASTLES
Fist Of The First Men-- A keep along the Milkwater river within the Haunted Forest.
Crasters Keep-- Just north of The Wall within the Haunted Forest, the battlefields of this area are littered with bones of past slain in the snow of those dark woods. [This keep is NOT in the latest version.]
PORTS
Hardhome-a castle and a port along the eastern shore of the Shivering sea. Here you can dock or buy a ship if you ever choose to raid freelance but keep good relations with the Wildlings.
To the northern most part of the map is the Lands of Always Winter
THE NIGHTS WATCH
Along The Wall are three castles and one city. There are only two ways by land through it..
A.The well guarded middle where Castle Black is.
B. The other less guarded route is around the west part of the wall by ferry over the river, use this for raiding and regular travel.(A ship is not required)
Castle Black-- Is the Nights Watch only city and it's also the most heavily defended with atleast over 500 men in it.
The Wall-- Has 150 Elite Rangers at all times guarding it with close patrols, commonly is manned by Crow Lords as well.
Shadow Tower-- Manned Castle the west end of the wall
Eastwatch-- Manned Castle on the east end of the wall(Also a PORT)
Troop Tree
The Free Folk have an interesting progression on their Troop Tree. Cheaper than most in both upkeep and cost.
First Tier:Cost varies
Wildling~ No Shield, they use clubs mostly. As a mob however they can swarm and beat others into submission.
Second Tier: Cost 60
Wildling Warrior~Still no Shield but now have a bone axe
Wildling Hunter~Uses a short or hunting bow. Arrows are weak but when many are being fired one is bound to finds its mark. Have a shield on their back and a wooden stake for stabbing.
Third Tier: Cost 60
Wildling Champion~Have a square shield, stone axe and possibly a throwing weapon. (end of tree)
Wildling Stalker~Use only a Stake but use it quite well.(trains into Horsemen and raider)
Fourth Tier
Wildling Horsemen~Low tier men on low tier horses with no Shields(end of tree)
Wildling Raider~Cost 110, have both a Bow and a nicer shield and Axe.(end of tree)
Other Units
GIANTS~Yes they do exist but only seem to be within Mances army...the only way to get them seems to be if they are captured and you save them....very strong.
Thenns~They have better armour and weapons than regular wildlings. However they only seem to guard Thenn and accompany Styr Magnars army.(He is from the Thenn Tribe so it makes sense)
Wildling Huntress~Have Bows and can be upgraded into a Spearwife
Wildling Spearwife~These women are rare but they have full round shields and are quite handy in an battle.
Small Battle Tactics
The Crows are a crafty foe, deadly with bows and in an one on one fight. Here are some tactics to win a battle or simply reduce the losses you take. This starts with the assumption that your battle size is on 750. Because you need all your troops on the battlefield at once to be the most effective.
It is best in my opinion to have an army that is roughly...
2/3 Bowmen
1/3 Infantry
A few Calvary, even just one is useful for reducing losses as decoy.
In a larger army a few dozen can be used for the Hammer and Anvil.(To be explained in large battle tactics.)
Two sections here will be covered; small and large battles. This section is for the first, we'll go through the battle in phases.
SMALL BATTLE
In this case let's imagine you are engaging a patrol whom you outnumber 3 to 1. Two things can happen; they either...
A. The Enemy Holds~ It is likely in this setting they will be able to sit on a hill top and will have no calvary to charge you. You will be forced to advance, if you advance badly then most of your troops will be dead before you even reach them for hand to hand fighting. Here is what to do first to increase your mens survivability.
1.) Form RANKS--
This is done by clicking the down arrow twice(default controls) or by selecting it in the backspace tactical view.
Only Infantry can form ranks and what this does is put the best men up front or in simple turns those with Shields to block arrows.
It also possible to form squares...
2.)Tell Bowmen To Hold Fire--Doing this will cause your bowmen to put away their bows and take out their shields. Tell them to 'Fire At Will' and they will quickly pull out their bows ect. and begin firing and throwing.
3.) Getting close
Approuch from the lowest incline possible...with your Bowmen spread out on one side. Infantry on the other side closer together to attract arrows.
You could have one flank around each side with one taking the arrows.
Remember they have no shields and once close you can use javelins and have all your men fire at will for a short bit before charging.
4.) Decoy
You can use a lone Horseman as a decoy. Have him circle around one side on the edge of their range so they fire arrows. The moment your men come to charge over a hill, have him charge into their lines! His sacrifice will allow your men to maybe charge closer before losing men.
If your either very brave or very foolish you could even do this yourself.
5.) They may back up
They likely may begin to back up shooting, regather your men wide and charge again. Pick off straggers yourself with throwing weapons. Every arrow they shoot can be a dead Wildling on your side.
The Enemy Charges~This is advice for if the enemy is charging at you full speed with their patrol.
1.) Still Form Ranks
Form your bowmen wide enough to be in a single line and even with a bit of space between them for you men to charge through.
2.) Look for a postion
The best plan is to find a spot where you can cover the distance most quickly between your groups with your superior numbers.
3.) Get into Postion
Have your Bowmen just in front of your Ranks ready to march to the top.
Such as just behide a slope and then when they begin to near it's peak, CHARGE over it...first march your bowman over and have them for a few seconds unleash a volley from hell upon them.
Then march your Ranks through the gaps in between the bowmen into the Crows and then be sure to charge at the last moment. Everyone, even the bowmen, and most of all you as well.(Tip:Be sure to yell at your screen as you plant your axe into a Crows head for the first time)
3.) B. If your on an open field
Have your single row of Bowmen on the left or right flank, a little higher ground if you can.
Then have your men to their side and a bit more ahead to attract the main group. If you lack shields charge then in a formation that is wide with 3 or so men thick, so keeping loose at the same time, OR you can march in a very wide formation and then get much closer the moment before you charge..
Large Battle Tactics
(Pic of a large battle I fought, on the left are the crows, on the right are my men, coming over the hill are also allied wildlings)
Some of what you learned in your smaller engagements will be applicable here. Such as about Ranks and holding fire.
But with some new threats on the battlefield, you will have to adjust. You should outnumber them as much as possible if you have allied with other wildlings or joined them on the battlefield. However, this poses one problem, you will have to mold your fighting to that of your allies. Such as 150 Nights Watch VS 600 Wildlings
Your biggest Threat~ Is the Crow Calvary, they still have no shields but are fast and deadly. They are also seem quite agressive. Later on any mounted Calvary are your greatest threat.
Where to stand in a battle with allies~ It is a good idea to take a Flank and wrap around when the main force hits.
Phases of the battle~
If they charge you...
Your first threat is the calvary charge which could be 50 Calvary in a single line. In this battle for instance I saw that my allies had spread themselves to thin and would be ran through by the mounted men. In response I fell back with my men to a hill and watched as they were hacked apart, after holding for a short time longer I retreated from the battlefield.
Your first objective is to kill these calvary. Form closer together and hold fire till they are close, then about about 15ft away 'Fire at Will'. Hitting them with javelins, arrows and then tell your archers to hold fire again to pull out their shields and sharp stakes that act like short spears against Horsemen.
OR
You place your Infantry in a mid thickness rank and then your archers just behide them. When your ranks stop them, your archers will hit them off their horses. After they are all dead, loosen your ranks before the Nights Watch Archers can begin to pepper your ranks with their very deadly arrows.
~HAMMER AND ANVIL~
This is an ancient yet very basic tactic...Steps
1.) The Anvil
Use your best ground troops as the Anvil, best done with a tighter group with shields. Take into account wildlings do not fight well in a very tight formation, they need a little space to envelop their enemies. Every sword hit can take down on your wildlings, so they win when 3-4 of them gang up on one. Or if they hit them with ranged weapons.
2.) The Hammer
Your few dozen Mounted Wildlings are your hammer. Before the fight wrap them in a wide movement around behide the enemy. Staying out of range...
3.) Smash The Anvil
As your ground troops engage the Crows or both groups charge one another.
Have the Calvary charge in straight into the back of their lines. (Possibly with you personally leading the Hammer)
OR in a large battle of hundreds on hundreds where you have lets say less than 100 men. You could lead your entire force around the enemy and then charge into them as they engage your larger allies force.
~~~~~~~~~~
If they hold....
Draw out the calvary~
Chances are they will be in front of the Crows ranks. Use your archers or you yourself, to pepper their horses then fall back behide your infantry lines.(Fall back your archers as you advance your Infantry at the same time for quicker speed.)
OR
Tell your archers to hold fire, and get close then back up to the side of your Infantry as they smash into you. Then have your infantry charge into their slowed horses and hack them apart as you then allow everyone to fire at will. Hopefully the javelins will kill many of them at that point...
~ENGAGING The GROUND FORCES~
The Key is to attack their archers as quick as possible. While at the same time, to keep your own archers firing. This was gone over somewhat in the Small Battle tactics.
You can face them head on, flank them, flank on two different sides. Or even three if you have Archers on the left, Infantry on the right. And Horsemen charging around the back or up the middle.
If done correctly, victory is likely but it is still dependent upon your own fighting skills and ability to lead your men effectively.
Mid Game Strategy
~How To Join The Free Folk~
1.) Talk to Mance for the quest
2.) Kill Nights Watch patrols
3.) Bring him back a Nights Watch set of armour
4.) You prove your worth and are allowed into the Free Folk
Trick~Get the armour beforehand and then speak to him. Any Nights Watch armour will do.(you'll likely get to keep it so don't worry)
At this point you are a vassel and playing an active part in the war against the Crows.
~Where to siege first~
Shadow Tower and EastWatch the best places to siege first, as they are the weakest of the Castles of the Nights Watch.
~Should I kill Lords?~
It carries a heavy cost, but you do get their armour. And very much weakens the crows. The cost is a large drop in honor which makes all lords dislike you. So if you don't care about honor then this is fine. However, if you do care about honor and wish to become King-Beyond-The-Wall more easily. Then it would be better to spare them and talk to lords at feasts who sometimes will offer to buy them directly from you and imprison them in their castles.
Except do not kill Cottor Pyke. In fact make good relations with him if you can. I won't tell you why but its always good to ask Mance for tasks as he can give some cool missions.
Unite The Clans
The best way to attack is together. Convince lords to siege castles and then when they are sieging it talk to them again. And then offer to attack the castle together, this allows for a siege attack as quick as a single night. If you convince the Marshal to siege a castle while he has the army gathered, then he will take them with him.
If you are the marshal then it's even better. The more you have the better, Castle black I would advice should be your last target. As it has over 500 men in it, plus usually the Lord Commander of the watch. The best way to siege a Castle with a large garrison is to first strave and begin to reduce their numbers till they are forced to charge to out. At that point you swarm them with your numbers before they get far outside the gate.
King-Beyond-The-Wall
If you defeat the Nights Watch or are on the brink of doing so, you should begin to think of if you will follow Mance beyond the Wall. Or will you attempt to take his place before you defeat the Nights Watch and then begin the larger war. Yes Mance does have a large army that could be of use, but do you wish for your childern to be lowborn or lords?
If you want to get further as a people then perhaps Mance is the man to lead. If you wish to advance your own family further, then perhaps you should consider the possiblities.
~Improving Relations With Wildling Leaders~There are various ways to improve relations.
-Do tasks(such as training men if you have high renown.)
-Aid them in battle, most of all if they are struggling wait till they are low on men before joining to save them.
-Speak to them after sieges and major battles to improve relations with any lord involved
-Speak to Mance or lords after winning a major battle and capturing a enemy lord
-Give them a suggestion and then have it work out.
-Give them alot of men when they don't have many.
-Affliate with their family~This means if you have a strong friendship or wish to have a strong longterm friendship with a certain lord or family. You can become adopted into their family as a Brother or a son of a King or lord.
~Marry In~
Male- Most lords will not allow you to marry their daughters unless your a vassel, but if you do with their permission it improves relations
Female- Wildlings will likely be far more open to marrying you and if you do you secure that lord to your side more or less. Most of all in the case of a rebellion.
~Rebellious Lords~
Many of the lords have personalities that make them highly suspect to openly rebelling, such as
-The Weeper
-The Lord Of Bones
It would be wise to attempt to get them more lands if you plan to rebel in time.
More Loyal Lords
Tormund is not openly rebellious nor is craster so it is likely they would stay loyal.
-Tormund
-Craster
-Styr Magnar
Warmonger
Every kingdom has a warmonger though it is not known if she would turn or not.
-Harma Dogshead
STIKE BEFORE OR AFTER THE WALL?
If you were to rebel beforehand then it would most likely be an isolated conflict. With perhaps Nigths Watch intervening for or against you depending on who they attack.
If you were to rebel after you had gotten passed the wall and likely begin fighting 'The North' then you could face Starks army, possibly a threat to wipe you or The Free Folk itself out of existence.
Weigh your options carefully. The best option would be to get him captured by either side and then rebel when he is in prison and refuses to give you a fief you have taken.
Good Luck
If any more sections are requested I will write them but Until then...
Music For The Dark Ages
If you wish for music to best fit a character who worships the Old Gods, The Drowning God or R'hllor then this playlist is perfect for the griddy reality of a harsh realm. Follow or listen to the Playlist below on spotify for 10 hours of handpicked Dark Ages music for your travels and battles...with dark griddy music. Perfect for dark Pagan characters in other mods.(Pagan styled music from Wardruna is included in the playlists and the best Vikings songs and much more.)
https://open.spotify.com/user/josh42392/playlist/2qZrnhe91iH5wWWhQZuwri
Below is a second Playlist called 'FOR GLORY!' more fitted for followers of the New Gods. Focused more on epic music with choirs for the pious christian knight fighting for Glory.
https://open.spotify.com/user/josh42392/playlist/7afCqCx1EbQDWKZebMEMJY
A World Of Ice And Fire Mod Link
"Be prepared to create your own House and challenge the Seven Kingdoms in this adaptation of A Game of Thrones. A gritty world awaits you full of treachery and traitorous Kings, Lords and Knights. Will you survive the slaughter and take the Iron throne, or will you succumb to the traitorous ways that goes forth in Westeros and Essos"
http://www.moddb.com/mods/a-world-of-ice-and-fire
All Guides
~The Way Of The Poacher and Peddler Duel Guide~
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=716241891
~The Way Of The Wildling~King-Beyond-The-Wall Full Guide~
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=719333819
Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=719333819
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