How would YOU organise succession?

[lordHodor]

Okay, you are Azor Ahai Reborn.

You just saved the realm, and everybody listens to you.

Sure, you can be king, if you want. Until you die.

But you can also change how westeros is ruled.

How will you minimise civil wars?

Will you make Westeros seven independent kingdoms again?

If so, what institutions will prevent alliances and wars?

If you keep the concept of the Iron Throne, how will you prevent the endless wars of succession?

Will kingship be heriditary?

What about sick/mad/unfit heirs?

Who will arbiter disputes?

Kingship rotated between the 7 ruling families?

Every major house puts forward a candidate, but who votes?

Let the citadel, the faith, the NW, and the brothel union, cast the deciding vote?

Corruption and conspiracies are everywhere.

Will kingship have a term limit?

Can mad kings be voted out of office? By whom?

Show me your ideas for lasting peace!

(Remember: Westeros is a feudal society, and you will not be able to significantly change the micro structure of the seven kingdoms. Not in your lifetime. So no classless society yet, sorry.)0

[Ser Joe the Unknighted]

A theocracy led my the immortal Melisandre!!! A peoples Revolution! Nothing matters because this is the end times!!!

[Caspoi]

Making it an elective monarchy where the lord Paramounts and such can vote on a new king and if he does very badly they could have some sort of "vote of no confidence".

[lordHodor]

A theocracy led my the immortal Melisandre!!! A peoples Revolution! Nothing matters because this is the end times!!!

Sorry, end times are over. And no people´s revolution either, please read the fine print.

[Alester Florent]

Firstly I'd rename myself because Azor Ahai is a stupid name and not very Westerosi. Then I'd essentially return the overall structure to how it was under the Targaryens, with a single royal family that rules the lot. I'd consider moving to a seniority rather than primogeniture system to insure against child kings but that would probably just cause more problems down the road. Set out a clear line of succession in the event that the dynasty immediately fails in case I don't have children.

The Iron Islands would be stripped of their independent title and granted to whichever of the Westerlands or Riverlands I happened to prefer at the time. I'd give the New Gift back to the LP of the North. Consider adding the Riverlands to the Crownlands.

I'd put together some form of representative body for the nobles so that they can communicate their concerns to the king, and a similar one for the smallfolk to balance that of the nobles. Both bodies would be clearly and closely limited in their actual power and authority with the majority of it resting with the king and small council. The small council would be better defined and officialised rather than relying on the somewhat ad hoc nature of the present system, while allowing for ministers without portfolio to be added as appropriate.

Write up some actual statutes, specifically to address the limits of crown power (a bill of rights, as 'twere). Institute a proper judicial system with trained judges and lawyers rather than relying on the lords to handle it themselves. Guarantee a place for one of them, whether the most senior individual or one nominated by them, on the small council.

It's difficult to tell how the Faith(s) would be handled since it would depend almost entirely on their actions and usefulness during the war. If any of them were shown to be useless and/or in cahoots with the baddies, get rid of them. Abolish the Faith Militant in any case. Bring both the maesters and the faith (whichever) under more direct oversight of the crown, with its being clear that the buck stops with me.

[Beautiful Balon]

Westeros shall go to the strongest!

[Jon's Queen Consort]

First things frist; split Westeros. If some regions want to be together then be it, but everyone who wants to be independent they will be protected by law.

Ceremonial monarchy & Westerosi Triumvirate, with the precence of regional parliaments; each region has a parliament and they pass their problems or ideas or whatever to the Triumvirate (the King or the Dynasty a Maester and a Wildling chief) who are really ruling. Even the Triumvirate has its own laws tho.

(I am only talking about the North and their allies because I really only care about the North)

[Isobel Harper]

Your "rules" are to leave Westeros as a feudal society, so I'll try to leave that element of Westeros society in my decision.

First and foremost, inheritance to the throne would be based on birth order regardless of gender, similar to the Dornish.

I would encourage the Citadel to allow women to become maesters. In exchange for this, the children (sons and daughters) of the royal family will apprentice at the Citadel until a certain amount time and/or amount of links are acquired - links that would befit their status: economic studies (gold links), warfare (iron links), and history (copper links) would be most important. Other studies and links that are related to ruling should be acquired, although it's not clear (yet) what some of the links signify. (See here.)

The king/queen would select their own Hand, but my council would represent the realm, with each member having been selected from the section of society they represents. That is, the Vale Representative would ultimately be selected by the House Arryn, etc. There would be eight council members representing the kingdoms, with the Iron Islands and the Riverlands having their own representatives. I would also have members representing the Citadel, the Faith, and The Night's Watch.

I would (re)instate Aegon V's policy of compensatory pay to soldiers (and their families) who have died or been maimed in military conflicts.

Rape would not be tolerated. A prince or a commoner who did the deed would receive the same punishment. Rape during war would also not be tolerated.

[Balerion the kitten]

Well one thing that's a major problem is having an heir who is mad/bratty/dumb. And of course cases where kings want to hand over good heirs in favour for a child that they prefer (Aegon the unworthy, basically started Blackfyre rebellion and Aerys wanting to name Viserys heir instead of Rhaegar).

So to solve this i would say if a king wanted to denounce his heir he would have to call a great council and let the people decide 1) if they want this person to in fact rule and if they don't 2) who should replace him.

That way if a king sits the throne who can't rule it's no ones fault but the kingdom's.

Edit - I'd also follow the Andal way with succession. It's the one that presents the least problems. Problems with dornish succession is that marriage arrangements for women heirs is tricky, you can't have a person of higher birth if you want the name to continue.

And andal succession does allow female heirs and it's the succession that's the most popular.

[Singer's stew]

Let westerosi ( or whatever left of them ) do whatever they want, my job is done and I would proudly walk into the sunset like classic movie heroes.

[King17]

1 make them one kingdom 2 give women a few more rights I would make them equal but the lords of westeroes would not like that 3 give lords Paramount the power to vote a king out of office also make it clear only males can inherit the throne but on the bright side if a lord has has female children the female will inherit the lands and can do with them as she wishes she does not lose her lands when she marries the only reason women cannot inherit the throne is that I want to avoid a dance with dragons so sorry girls but the realm comes first

[Grey Daughter]

One ruler, by choice

- The Council must consist of at least one member of each noble house. Additional places are added if needed. This way, matters can be brought directly from the Lords of each Kingdom to the King.

- Once the King dies, either he makes a clear will about sucession, with witnesses, or the Council decides among the royal children, male or female, who shall reign.

-Wait... Won't that cause a civil war?

-Not in my mind, considering the Council is represented by the Seven Kingdoms. The majority wins, of course.

Kingsguard

-Kingsguard are allowed to marry and have children. The children will not become Kingsguard by birth. Instead, they take their father's name and are considered heirs for the Kingsguard's family, if he was the previous heir. Wife and children must live in Kings Landing. If they lived somewhere else, come a war the Kingsguard might be compelled to abandon his dity to go to his family.

-They can be removed from their posts, but cannot ask to be removed. They take vows for life, and it is for the king to say otherwise.

The King

-Can no longer yell "I am the king!", because his decisions shall be supported by the Council. This gives more power to the 7 Great Houses, and stops the King from doing mad decisions.

Royal Marriage

-Incest as a form of "keeping the bloodline pure" shall not happen. If by any chances royal siblings wish to marry, their children are forbidden to do so.

-It is encouraged that each generation's Queen comes from a different family, in order to balance power. It is not necessary that the 7 Kingdoms and Dorne provide a queen before a new cycle, but an alliance between the Royals and only one of the Great Houses for several generations is not encouraged.

[TimJames]

Succession:

The new Succession Law of Westeros is a form of Tanistry.

Essentially, a great council is called to select who gets to be King next. Bastard who are nominated become legitimized upon election, but anyone from a cadet dynasty who is elected must take the name of the dynasty (for example, if a Blackyfre or a Baratheon is elected than he must change his name to Targaryen).

Women only qualify for nomination if either A. they are unmarried or B. they got a matrilineal marriage.

This is a free election, so anyone who tries pulling Bloodraven Bullshit is automatically sentenced to being drawn and quartered (he asks to be sent to The Wall instead, we'll agree ... and send his remains there after he has been drawn and quartered).

In order to enforce this, the king will hold the council while still alive and will abdicate after a decision being reached. Part of the tradition will be that the abdicating king will only be informed of the decision after he has abdicated, so he can't say "I have the army, I make the rules!" if he doesn't like which relative was chosen.

This ensures that the king has popular support, and should prevent succession crisis. The decision will be considered blessed by The Gods both old and new, so it will be really hard to justify not agreeing with it.

Marriage:

Polygamy is once again allowed, incest no longer is. I can "keep the bloodline pure" by picking wives from the noblewomen of Volantis, Elyria, Mantarys, and Lys. That will also have the effect of increasing international trade.

Kingsguard:

The Kingsguard can get married and have children, and those children will not have to be Kingsguard themselves. The Kingsguards families will live in the Capitol, and their children will be raised along with the royal heirs.

Citadel:

The Citadel shall be moved to Kings Landing, as the High Septon was. That way the Maesters are within reach should they try anything sneaky. Maesters will be allowed to marry and have children, but those children (if highborn) will be sent back to their house upon birth. However, Archmaesters will still be have to be chosen the way they always have been.

[three-eyed monkey]

I'd first get rid of the Iron Throne, as the small folk of Westeros have been too long repressed by tyrannical monarchs. Our new leader will be for the people, of the people, and by the people.

I would then create a two-party political system, one that caters for people of liberal persuasion, the other that caters for those of a conservative nature. The leaders and representatives of these parties will be determined largely, if not entirely, by the financial backing they receive from the great noble houses and other wealthy types like the mercantile and banking classes.

Next, create a massive military-industrial-complex with 54 silver dragons out of every tax dragon allotted to it. This is very important as Westeros does not have enough resources to sustain the type of society I envisage, so we will have to look to Essos to make up the shortfall. This should not be a problem once our military has grown to unrivalled strength. If some of you are feeling uncomfortable about this please remember that the Free Cities are not really free, they are ruled by tyrants and support despicable practices such as slavery and are home to nasty subversive groups like the Faceless Men. Not to mention the Queen of Mereen reportedly has weapons of mass destruction. Don't be fooled people. Westeros is the land of the free and the people of Essos will hate us for that freedom. If we don't strike first then they will.

Of course our freedom will not just be threatened externally, but internally too, so we will need to expand the role of the Night's Watch to protect the security of our homeland, from the Wall to Dorne. Tinfoil hat wearing critics of our system will need to be severely ridiculed, or perhaps even silenced... forever.

The Citadel will be in charge of educating our young, no matter how poor they are. Yes folks, free education for all, it doesn't get much better than that. From a young age the children will be taught how wonderful our system is. Critical thinking is dangerous and will be outlawed. Once we invent the printing-press then there will be no need for them to think at all. We shall do their thinking for them, leaving them free to work the fields five days a week and watch jousting and melees on the weekends.

This utopia may seem like a far-fetched dream but it is achievable, trust me. So the only question is, are you with us or against us?

[TimJames]

I'd first get rid of the Iron Throne, as the small folk of Westeros have been too long repressed by tyrannical monarchs. Our new leader will be for the people, of the people, and by the people.

I would then create a two-party political system, one that caters for people of liberal persuasion, the other that caters for those of a conservative nature. The leaders and representatives of these parties will be determined largely, if not entirely, by the financial backing they receive from the great noble houses and other wealthy types like the mercantile and banking classes.

Next, create a massive military-industrial-complex with 54 silver dragons out of every tax dragon allotted to it. This is very important as Westeros does not have enough resources to sustain the type of society I envisage, so we will have to look to Essos to make up the shortfall. This should not be a problem once our military has grown to unrivalled strength. If some of you are feeling uncomfortable about this please remember that the Free Cities are not really free, they are ruled by tyrants and support despicable practices such as slavery and are home to nasty subversive groups like the Faceless Men. Not to mention the Queen of Mereen reportedly has weapons of mass destruction. Don't be fooled people. Westeros is the land of the free and the people of Essos will hate us for that freedom. If we don't strike first then they will.

Of course our freedom will not just be threatened externally, but internally too, so we will need to expand the role of the Night's Watch to protect the security of our homeland, from the Wall to Dorne. Tinfoil hat wearing critics of our system will need to be severely ridiculed, or perhaps even silenced... forever.

The Citadel will be in charge of educating our young, no matter how poor they are. Yes folks, free education for all, it doesn't get much better than that. From a young age the children will be taught how wonderful our system is. Critical thinking is dangerous and will be outlawed. Once we invent the printing-press then there will be no need for them to think at all. We shall do their thinking for them, leaving them free to work the fields five days a week and watch jousting and melees on the weekends.

This utopia may seem like a far-fetched dream but it is achievable, trust me. So the only question is, are you with us or against us?

Couldn't resist a jab at the (admittedly somewhat flawed) U.S. Government, could you?

[Damon_Tor]

The closest thing we've seen to a perfect system in out society are the "Five Great Emperors" of Rome. The first four of them had no sons, and so they chose their own successor, "adopting" the adult man as his son to make him heir. The older Emperor would generally share the burden of rule with his younger successor, and so when the emperor eventually died, the transition was very smooth: the new emperor had already been ruling. This system meant that rather than relying on random chance, HOPING that the emperor's first son is worthy, the emperor chooses for himself the sort of man he WISHES was his son, for a much better result.

This fantastic winning streak was ended when Great Emperor number 5 had a son by blood, and he turned out to be a major asshat, so we'd need a way to prevent this.

So on Westeros this would work much the same way

1. The man who becomes Hand of the King is always the king's adopted son.

2. Upon becoming Hand of the King, the Hand will name his successor, who would become his Son by Law.

3. This would be a young man with no wife and no children and he would forever be prevented from having children via vasectomy. (No need to remove "root and stem" as was done in Yi Ti.)

4. He would apprentice with each of the Masters of the Small Council in turn, then he would serve in each of those roles himself.

5. When the King (his Grandfather by law) dies and his father becomes King, he becomes the Hand, and names his successor.

This way there are always two in clear succession to the throne, the Grandfather (the King) the Father (the Hand) and the Heir (who rotates through the Small Council) If by some tragedy the King and Hand are both killed, the Heir becomes king without becoming Hand: he names his Hand immediately, who subsequently names his Heir. All the same rules apply to these appointments. If all three die, the Small Council elects a King (who must qualify) who then selects his Hand and King. If for some reason the Small Council cannot or will not elect a King, the Lords Paramount will elect a King. If they cannot or will not I will descend from the heavens once more to restore order to my Kingdom.

The King, Hand, and Heir would not be prevented from marriage if they wish it, though they may not be married when they are selected, to reduce the risk of secret sons.

How the Kings and Hands select their heirs are their own business, but to this end I will create an academy at the Capitol (notably not King's Landing), akin to the Citadel but with a focus on statecraft. Young men from across the continent would come to this academy to learn to rule, and promising students would find themselves taking on tasks of governance, and in this way they would interact with the Heir as he takes on his duties in the Small Council. This would expose him to a large number of viable candidates, so that when the day comes that he must become Hand, he will be able to choose a capable successor.

[The Gallows Knight]

In the words of Bender Bending Rodríguez:

"Citizens of me! The cruelty of the old Pharaoh is a thing of the past! Let a whole new wave of cruelty wash over this lazy land!" ;)

[BitsOfBrains]

work the fields five days a week and watch jousting and melees on the weekends.

If you want to have weekends you have to invent labor unions first.

I have to say i read your post in the old 1950s reporter voice in my head, "Dateline Westeros..."

[Ser Joe the Unknighted]

Ottoman style. After the King's death the potential Heirs spend the next few months or years killing each other either through duels, assassinations, or wars and the winner gets the crown. Hooray for the victor.

[three-eyed monkey]

Couldn't resist a jab at the (admittedly somewhat flawed) U.S. Government, could you?

No offence intended, just kidding around. It's not the government I blame, I have the greatest respect for many of the principles of the founding fathers, but money talks and principles walk.

If you want to have weekends you have to invent labor unions first.

I have to say i read your post in the old 1950s reporter voice in my head, "Dateline Westeros..."

Good point. Ser Jaime of House Hoffa was working on that until he went swimming with Ashara Dayne. My personal crackpot theory... Hoffa=Daario.