Alexander Targaryen Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 I recently debated this subject with a friend and thought it would be interesting to continue it on this forum. Robert Baratheon in his prime was regarded as one of the strongest men in Westeros, comparable to a teenage Gregor Clegane, and was described as broad-shouldered, heavily muscled and around 6 feet and 6 inches (198 cm) in height. A man who loved war and battle, practicing for it whenever he didn't actually fight, he was a formidable combatant who could defeat even the renowned Rhaegar Targaryen in a duel. However, after becoming king at the age of 21, he began to let himself go with frequent drinking and feasting, gaining 8 stone (110 lbs or 51 kg) in weight. Nevertheless, he remained an avid and capable hunter, and even if out of practice he should still retain all knowledge of fighting he learned in his youth. So my question is; if Robert Baratheon at the time of A Game of Thrones put on a suit of armor and took up his warhammer, how capable would he be as a combatant? How much strength and skill do you think he still has after fifteen years of feasting and drinking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Storm Reborn Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Still capable, not legendary stuff like in his prime but capable of beating the vast majority of knights just on power alone. The way he ragdoll tosses a grown kinght like jaime to the floor while drunk is an indication he's still dangerous... BUT, not by far the reaper machine of the rebellion, who combined legendary warhammer skill with reach, power and speed (as an excellent hunter) that made a kill list only the 50 year carreer of barristan "the red painter" selmy can match... All this bla bla just to say he would still be a terrible foe to 90% of knights in agot, as oppose to 100% of knights in the series as his prime self Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illyrio Mo'Parties Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 NO HE'S DEAD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macgregor of the North Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Pit him against anybody at all who does not fear him and will not lose the fight before its begun out of fear (think Mike Tysons earlier opponents, they were all beaten already pretty much just by sheer intimidation) and decent enough skill at arms and enough sense to elude him until he tired, then quite alot of people could beat Robert in AGOT. To clarify. A fighter who does not fear him, is trained well enough at arms, and has the sense to elude Robert until his much diminished stamina fails, could beat Robert quite easily. Swinging his War Hammer around wildly for two minutes would leave Robert completely gassed out and vulnerable to most fighters. If you have any doubts on his stamina, he is breathing heavily and is red faced by the time he reaches the bottom of the stairs of the Stark Crypts, and this is travelling down the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illyrio Mo'Parties Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Serious answer: he would get creamed by pretty much anyone Weapons are equalisers, meaning that while a strong man has an advantage over a weak man in a fistfight, that advantage is significantly decreased if they both have swords; strength matters less than skill where a weapon is concerned. You only need to be strong enough to lift your weapon. Put it another way: a sword is dangerous because it's 3 or 4 kg of mass, multiplied by however much acceleration your arm can give it, which gives you however much force: this force is concentrated into a very small area, the sharp edge of the blade, and thus it cuts thru flesh and severs blood vessels, causing death. If we're both armed with swords and I'm relatively weak, and I can kill you by severing an artery, what benefit does your strength give you? You can apply more force than me, but if I'm already applying enough force to cut your arm off, then there's nowhere left to go, is there? So Robert's strength is no advantage. But even in fisticuffs, I say he'd be in danger against anybody with some training, because he's a big fat pig. If the fight lasts longer than 30 seconds then Robert's going to be out of breath and painfully slow. If he's fighting with weapons, that slowness will cost him his life within a minute, two at the outside. Fightin's about physical fitness. Watch a boxing match. In fact, watch this boxing match, wherein a tubby bare knuckle boxing champion squares off against a professional boxer that I've never heard of (not that I'm an expert on boxing). Fight starts at 2 mins in. It does not last long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukle Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 16 minutes ago, Illyrio Mo'Parties said: NO HE'S DEAD Um, spoilers much?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illyrio Mo'Parties Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Just now, Yukle said: Um, spoilers much?! Oh god I'm sorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukle Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 2 minutes ago, Illyrio Mo'Parties said: Oh god I'm sorry haha! Back to the topic, I think not. He was overweight, and this makes him a big target, as well as one that tires easily. Being fat bulks up muscle (since you need to carry more weight) but it also seriously affects your heart and lungs. Anything more than a few fast jabs (as he liked to do when hunting) and Robert would be done. Strength is one thing, but finesse is another. Look at Barristan - he was old but in his physical prime (as shown in that awesome moment he defeats an old pit fighter, and when he uses a stick to clean up Dany's would-be assassins). Robert's technique would be mostly gone. Bare-fisted he'd pack a punch but that'd also rely upon his opponent being very slow. A wrestle is the only contest he'd be very dangerous in. His massive size and strength meant that he'd be very hard to trip, pull over or break away from. In fact, his size would be an advantage. He'd hold his own wrestling anyone short of the Clegane brothers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GyantSpyder Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Robert in the books is only 36. He's way out of shape, but sober him up and give him six months of Barrython's Boot Camp, and he'd be able to get back in reasonable shape - he wouldn't be nearly as good as he was (rapidly gaining and losing weight hurts older fighters), but he could fight in a battle near the back without embarrassing himself or in a melee again at a tournament without everybody letting him win. As he is? No way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Redwyne Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 I think he would be comparable to Boros Blount. Both once were good fighters but now are slow, fat and drunk most of the time. I guess Robert could defeat Boros if they fought, but it's not saying much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purple-eyes Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 I think he is still a pretty good foghter. Sure, he gains a lot of weight, but this does not mean he loses all of strengths. My personal trainer gained a lot of weight after he graduated from college. but He is still very strong and can lift a lot of weights. He still has a lot of muscles, just under fatty tissues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Redwyne Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 49 minutes ago, purple-eyes said: I think he is still a pretty good foghter. Sure, he gains a lot of weight, but this does not mean he loses all of strengths. My personal trainer gained a lot of weight after he graduated from college. but He is still very strong and can lift a lot of weights. He still has a lot of muscles, just under fatty tissues. But your trainer probably trains from time to time and not spend most of his time whoring, eating and drinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Lia Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 I think that he would still be pretty strong and fast, if not as strong and fast as he was in his prime, and could probably take down an incautious opponent with a sudden burst of motion. But, as Macgregor of the North said, his stamina's completely shot. Anyone reasonably skilled and smart would just hang back and wear him down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purple-eyes Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 51 minutes ago, Paxter Redwyne said: But your trainer probably trains from time to time and not spend most of his time whoring, eating and drinking. But Robert probably also hunts, rides and fights from time to time, he likes these things. Just not that much as before. He is also quite young. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Yozza Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 47 minutes ago, Lady Lia said: I think that he would still be pretty strong and fast, if not as strong and fast as he was in his prime, and could probably take down an incautious opponent with a sudden burst of motion. But, as Macgregor of the North said, his stamina's completely shot. Anyone reasonably skilled and smart would just hang back and wear him down. Except most Westerosi nights wouldn't. Vardis Egen was one of the best knights in the Vale and yet his code of honour and nobility meant that he was ultimately defeated by Bronn's tactics. This is seen several times throughout the series. Beric chooses to engage the Hound head to head instead of dancing around and draining the larger fighters stamina, for example. It seems that for knights, they tend to stick to this concept of an honorable fight. So while Oberyn, Bronn or Syrio could likely wipe the floor with King Robert, your average knight would try and engage head to head and get overwhelmed by Robert's pure strength. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clegane'sPup Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 GoT c. 30 Seven hells, Ned, I want to hit someone." Ser Barristan Selmy spoke up. "Your Grace," he said, "it is not seemly that the king should ride into the melee. It would not be a fair contest. Who would dare strike you?" Robert seemed honestly taken aback. "Why, all of them, damn it. If they can. And the last man left standing …" "… will be you," Ned finished. He saw at once that Selmy had hit the mark. The dangers of the melee were only a savor to Robert, but this touched on his pride. "Ser Barristan is right. There's not a man in the Seven Kingdoms who would dare risk your displeasure by hurting you." The king rose to his feet, his face flushed. "Are you telling me those prancing cravens will let me win?" Who would dare strike the King unless they wanted or were ordered to kill him. Eddard and Barristan seem to have the right of it. Being as politically correct as they can be informing Robert that he ain’t what he used to be. Robert seems to living under the impression that he is still in his prime but as as John Bishop comically explains in his stand up routine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Storm Reborn Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Being fat as a horse in real life is not the same disadvantage as in asoiaf... If a 60 year old selmy can kick ass a fat 35 year old can too, and Robert doesn't swing a warhammer like fred flinstone, he has legendary prowess given by his creator, and with his feats only comparable by barristan i find it strange folks think he's going to unlearn his craft... The guy was a monster, the pinacle of a fighter with every genetic blessing, sure he's fat as heck and tires much more easily but still, a legendary warrior out of shape can still beat the majority of knights, the average to poor lot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Net-Viper X Posted November 23, 2016 Share Posted November 23, 2016 Wild Boar are extremely tough and dangerous animals. Robert while so drunk he could barely stand was able to get the boar in a headlock and stab it to death with his guts pouring out of his abdomen. I sure as hell wouldn't want to tangle with Robert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OtherFromAnotherMother Posted November 23, 2016 Share Posted November 23, 2016 Breastplate stretcher! Now! Quote The squires smiled nervously until the king turned on them. "You. Yes, both of you. You heard the Hand. The king is too fat for his armor. Go find Ser Aron Santagar. Tell him I need the breastplate stretcher. Now! What are you waiting for?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devilish Posted November 23, 2016 Share Posted November 23, 2016 Robert is the typical person who grow fat, lazy and bored in time of peace only to revitalize himself in times of war. My grandfather was like that in terms of the right to vote. He was a 70 year old, who was on his death bed only to jump from bed and vote. Ned warned Cersei because he knew that once he spilled the beans, the old Robert will be back and there would be nowhere for her to run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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