65 replies to this topic

[Marco]

Alright, Starks are destroyed, and Boltons usurps Starks to become overlords of the North with treachery,
i want to ask, which is the strongest if Starks ever existed in the North ?

-Mormont
-Umber
-Bolton
-Karstark
-Manderly
-Glover
-Dustin

My vote for House Karstark.

[Garlan Marius]

If the Starks never existed, there wouldn't be any Karstarks.

[Tagganaro]

Garlan Marius, on 17 July 2012 - 05:24 PM, said:

If the Starks never existed, there wouldn't be any Karstarks.

Probably same for all the other houses too lol, except maybe Boltons.  Manderley's relied on Stark generosity to survive, that's why Wyman is so loyal to the Starks.  I'd imagine other Houses have similar stories.

[The Roaring Bear]

As stated above, if the Starks never existed, neither would the Karstarks and the Manderlys probably wouldnt have settled in White Harbor.

My vote would be between houses Umber and Glover.

[lojzelote]

I go for the Boltons. Weren't they the Starks' most bitter rivals and the last house which swore fealty to them?

[LordBloodraven]

House Dustin. They live in the barrowlands where it is less cold and close to the Bite, . Plus, the grave of the First king is in their domains.

[Winterfell is Burning]

lojzelote, on 17 July 2012 - 05:34 PM, said:

I go for the Boltons. Weren't they the Starks' most bitter rivals and the last house which swore fealty to them?

Yes, but they also flayed people alive; without the Starks, some other family would eventually become the leader of the resistance against them.

[E-Ro]

I aggree with winterfell is burning the boltons would never rule the entire north, they are to crazy.

[Garlan Marius]

Tagganaro, on 17 July 2012 - 05:28 PM, said:

Probably same for all the other houses too lol,

What I mean is, the Karstarks are descendants of Karlon Stark, so no Starks literally means no Karstarks.

There has been a Stark-Bolton rivalry for the longest time in the North, so Bolton is probably the second most-powerful house in the North.

[Kittykatknits]

I'd guess Boltons too. Certainly not the Mormonts, Bear Island was given to them by the Starks.

[Artos Stark]

My vote goes for Umber

Edited by Artos Stark, 17 July 2012 - 09:26 PM.

[Ramsay Gimp]

It's obviously the Boltons. They were once Kings as well, and that tells you something

[Ramsay Gimp]

Ramsay Gimp, on 17 July 2012 - 10:19 PM, said:

It's obviously the Boltons, historically. They were once Kings as well, and that tells you something

[David C. Hunter]

As of today? I'd say the Dustins

[NomadicDirewolf]

the boltons and the manderlys,one was the starks rival for many years,and the other has ownership of the largest town in the north, and a fleet to go with that

[Ramsay Gimp]

You left out the Tallharts, Cerwyns, Ryswells and Hornwoods by the way

[Swordsaint]

Ramsay Gimp, on 17 July 2012 - 10:19 PM, said:

It's obviously the Boltons. They were once Kings as well, and that tells you something

Keyword there being "once". You can't be a loon and rule. It didn't work very well for the Targs either.

My vote go's to the Umbers.

[Artos Stark]

Ramsay Gimp, on 17 July 2012 - 10:19 PM, said:

It's obviously the Boltons. They were once Kings as well, and that tells you something

Yeah VIserys was once a "king" too.  If the Starks never exsisted some other house would have became the kings of the north and untied the others to take them down.

[Artos Stark]

Now that I think about it, if the Starks never exsisted that would mean that Bran would have never built the wall.  Which would mean that either some "wildling" would likely rule over the North or everyone would be dead from the Others attacks.

[Free Northman]

If you mean who would be the most powerful lord in the North today if the Starks ceased to exist, and there was no southern backing for one or the other?

Undoubtedly the Manderlys.

A very simple comparison is that the Manderlys are the Hightowers of the North, whereas the Boltons are the Tarlys.

One is more militaristic, but the other has vastly more resources and manpower.

So the Boltons are more aggressive, and probably the third most powerful House in the North after the Starks and Manderlys (and probably on a par with the Dustins), but the Manderlys have at least twice the manpower that they have. Probably more like 3 times.

The Bolton lands are more defensible though, and their Keep near impregnable (it took the ancient Starks 4 years of siege to eventually conquer it).

But in terms of ability to project power, the Manderlys outrank them in terms of resources, men and money. And probably in terms of good alliances too (prior to the Lannisters backing the Boltons for nefarious reasons).

12,000 men (plus the ability to import mercenaries by ship thanks to your vaults full of silver) beats 5,000 men in my book.