Why is Stannis an Appealing Character?

[Batbob45]

Stannis is appealing because he is what men like Varys and Littlefinger fear. He prefer honest       council(like Davos) over yes men(like Pycelle). He is also appealing because he reward people on merit(He made Davos his for his honest advice)    Stannis is like a not evil Tywin. I  have a feeling that Tywin wish Stannis was the older Barathreon( Like Tywin, Stannis is a serious man who is about duty). Tywin would see Stannis as a less embarrassing  son-in-law than Robert was(Stannis doesn't drink or go to brothel). The only problem Tywin might have with Stannis is that Stannis might have Gregor         Clegane  gelded or killed for his crimes against Elia and her kids.

[The Exiled Septa]

On 1/8/2016 at 11:53 AM, Future Null Infinity said:

Personal opinion : it's a matter of preference and taste, some people like realistic heroes and some like fantasy heroes, the good thing is that the story gave us the two types, he's one of my favourite characters because his story is realistic, he's a man on a mission, he get usurped and he did whatever he can to restore justice for him and his house, he is the only character who think about the smallfolks in his story, as a character I like his courage and his sense of justice.

and stannis is a one of the most human characters, he tried, he made mistakes and he died, this why his story is realistic

and his story doesn't contain elements of mary sueing like my four other mary sue characters

I totally agree with you.I for myself never liked Stannis more than i liked the rest secondary characters but i too believe that he is appealing cause somehow he has simplier and more realistic opinions that the rest who either are always confused like Jon and Dany or they always change their minds like Varys and Tyrion.Furthermore i have some friends who like him so much because he is an active character who fought 3 wars(Blackwater,Willdings,Boltons).He is a man whose only option is war so for  those who want that he is the perfect choice!!

[CaptainTheo]

I see Stannis (in the books - don't get me started on the show) as a morally grey person in the 'neutral' category, but closer to 'evil' than 'good'. Interesting how one of his closest advisors is pure good and the other is pretty close to pure evil. He gets off to a shocking start in the books when he treats Maester Cressen like dirt, becoming more likeable when seen through Davos, whom he tends to treat well, sometimes too well. I don't like his double standards. For example, Davos despite planning to kill Melisandre is made hand of the king, whereas the opposite happens to his cell-mate, Lord Florent, who commits a lesser crime with good intentions of planning to offer to marry Shireen to Myrcella, gets burned to death. I've never forgiven Stannis for that one.

That said I do find myself on his side at the latest point in book #5 as he helped the Night's Watch and I'd like to see him retake Winterfell.

[Sanrast]

For me he became appealing just for one reason. Because of Shireen. She was dying and yet he paid healers from all the world to save her. Her face was gruesome but as he said with loud voice in the most badass scene, she was the Princess Shireen of House Baratheon and she was his daughter! 

But then he burnt her so he can rot in hell.

[Quade Patrick Ong]

What I like about him is a king, he's the only one who legitimately understands what he's doing. Every time we here Joferry, Viserys or even Daenarys talking about the Iron Throne they always just make a spiel about how it's their birthright so they should rule, meanwhile Stannis actually talks the responsibilities of the ruling. He genuinely wants to bring justice and order to the realm.