the red viper vs Barristan Selmy

[Knight of the fallen]

who else think this would be a badass fight?

[CrowsBeforeHoes]

Naturally. With their fighting styles it would be quite interesting. But the Dornishman doesn't fight fair. Any penetration of Selmy's armor would eventually end in his death. I would predict a Gregor-like ending, where the Viper would get in a few minor blows with his speed, but Selmy would kill him in the fight, with Selmy dying later from poisoning.

[Gneisenau]

Is Selmy good with a spear/polearm ?

[Raving Stark the Mad]

I agree it would be a good fight, but not for long. Oberyn wins, with or without poison.

[Barristan the G.O.A.T]

I agree it would be a good fight, but not for long. Oberyn wins, with or without poison.

So the greatest knight of all time would lose to Oberyn......makes sense. Barristan defeated the titans bastard with a staff in a matter of seconds. Give him a sword or spear and Oberyn is easily defeated.

[Sullen]

I'd go for Barry as well.

The man is a legend.

Oberyn won against Gregor because Gregor is all power, no finesse, Barry has skill to spare.

[Knight of the fallen]

I think it would be good but Barristan is calmer than the mountain and would have the advantage of experience but Oberyn is a lot quicker and could capitalize on mistakes a lot faster

[Twenty of House Goodmen]

In his heyday, Barristan for sure. Now, I'd still say Barristan would win. He's no doubt slower now, but he's got years of experience, and is probably still more skilled than Oberyn.

[Gneisenau]

I'd go for Barry as well.

The man is a legend.

Oberyn won against Gregor because Gregor is all power, no finesse, Barry has skill to spare.

"Gregor's lance goes where he wants it to go". It is very hard on horseback to precisely direct your heavy unbalanced lance to impale someone right through the gorget, so Gregor is far from being unskilled.

[Sordelor]

Depends on the weapons used.

[Raving Stark the Mad]

I don't think Barristan is the greatest of all time. I think most would agree that Arthur Dayne was better. The titan's Bastard wasn't any good. And while Barry might have skill to spare, so does Oberyn. Oberyn is also younger and has the advantage of the spear.

[Twenty of House Goodmen]

I don't think Barristan is the greatest of all time. I think most would agree that Arthur Dayne was better. The titan's Bastard wasn't any good. And while Barry might have skill to spare, so does Oberyn. Oberyn is also younger and has the advantage of the spear.

Grrm has stated that Arthur Dayne and Barristan were equals if Dayne fought without Dawn. Also, they're both comparable in skill, along with others like Daemon Blackfyre, and Aemon Dragon Knight Targaryen. Despite being as good as Barristan, none of them have a resume as impressive as Barristan does.

[Nictarion]

Is Selmy good with a spear/polearm ?

He kicked serious ass with just a staff, in his sixties, so yeah...

I'd take Barristan the Bold all day. The only person who was his equal, was a 2 handed Jaime.

[Augustus Stark]

I'm not so sure, all of Barristans victories seems to be against men who are wielding swords themselves but there i may be wrong and feel free to correct me, to face someone trained in spear work as well as any of the finest swordsman could prove to be the death of Barristan. Oberyn was a master with a spear, fast, agile and able to dance around his opponents, spears are seen as generally peasants weapons but if trained properly and for as long as Oberyn then i think that Selmy would have fought fought valiantly, but eventually lost.

[PrimeRhaegar]

I put my money on Barry although i know he will die right after his victory.

[White Ravens]

It depends on the hypotheticals. If the young(ish) Oberyn who battled The Mountain fights the old Barristan who serves Daenerys, my money is on Oberyn. If they are both in their prime I put my money on Barristan.

[Gneisenau]

I'm not so sure, all of Barristans victories seems to be against men who are wielding swords themselves but there i may be wrong and feel free to correct me, to face someone trained in spear work as well as any of the finest swordsman could prove to be the death of Barristan. Oberyn was a master with a spear, fast, agile and able to dance around his opponents, spears are seen as generally peasants weapons but if trained properly and for as long as Oberyn then i think that Selmy would have fought fought valiantly, but eventually lost.

How are spears peasant weapons when knights use lances (a spear variant) ?

[Elan Morin Tedronai]

Barristan would definately win if in his prime. In his 60's I guess as well, the man is a legend and is still kicking but. He is much more skilled than the mountain, although Oberyn would probably be better calmer and not make a mistake like against Gregor, so it's hard to say. Of course you can never know for sure, a momentous loss of concentration, a bit of (bad) luck, can be decisive.

[Bright Blue Eyes]

Oberyn. They have about the same amount of talent, and comparable experience, but Oberyn is in his prime, Barristan is thirty years later.

[Augustus Stark]

How are spears peasant weapons when knights use lances (a spear variant) ?

Lances were used to add even more shock power to the charge of heavy horse and were only used from horseback due to their size and weight but it took a lot of skill and training in order for a man in full armour to ride a horse doing 30mph while controlling a three meter long lance that weighs i dont know how much. Spears on the other hand were easy to make and given a couple of months training then almost anyone could use them and when they were used they were most used in formation alongside hundreds or thousands of others using them. When Janos Slynt is raised to a lord his son attempts a joust using a lance and fails spectacularly because he has had no training, due to the weight of them a lance is far more difficult to aim on horseback that a spear. Spears were peasants weapons, or at least weapons of the levy meaning that they could add their support to the trained swordsmen etc and could also be used on horseback with minimal training due to them being so much lighter.