Your Hero: Top 3

[The Lord of the Crossing]

Who are your top three heroes in the story?

Mine are:

1. Willem Darry - He smuggled baby Daenerys and young Prince Viserys out of Dragonstone.  He remained loyal to the royal Targaryens.
2. Qhorin the Halfhand - He sacrificed his life for his mission.
3. Daenerys Stormborn - She is working to end the slave trade.  Liberated the Unsullied from the masters.

[Lucius Lovejoy]

Nice OP @Lame Lothar Frey, I like how open ended the definition of hero is.  There was recently a thread of most heroic and cowardly acts in the forum that you might enjoy.  Mine are probably going to be pretty standard fare.

1. Davos - his heroism is rooted in his courage and willingness to follow through with his duty.  He is not as rigid as Stannis or Eddard, but I'd argue has as much honor or more than either.  He is extremely self-aware, one of my favorite lines is when he is telling Melisandre that he is a man mixed with some parts good and some parts bad.  I love his chapters in ADWD when he is captive in Sisterton and then the next two in White Harbor.  His stealing away Edric Storm, his learning to read, and his honesty are incredibly likable.  A real man of the people.
2. Jaime - maybe he isn't a hero yet, but I see him getting there.  His transformation from a man who thought he was acting out of love and that was the be-all end-all to him now trying to find some atonement is very relatable.  Being honest with himself and finding the courage to change his ways and work for the betterment of others is incredibly heroic.  Imagine your soul as a bright white shirt.  It's a lot harder to restore the shirt to the original brightness if you've spent years staining it as opposed to if you've always avoided the activities ("sins") that would stain it.
3. Eddard Stark - probably requires no explanation.  Ned was naïve and trusting when he shouldn't have, but it takes a real hero to give Cersei and her kids the chance to escape King's Landing.  Also, his willingness to lie about Joffrey and shame himself in order to try to save the lives of his girls is heroic.  Plus there's the whole Jon thing.

As for individual acts, Griff saving Tyrion, Qhorin sacrificing himself, and Sam Tarly's whole adventure with Gilly back to the wall are definitely up there.

[Smirking Knight]

1.  Barristan. He's extemely vanilla in some ways, but also an excellent counterpoint to the Hound in terms of exploring the heroism and hypocrisy inherent in knighthood. Especially in later chapters, his reflections on the ramifications of all his deeds, however spectacular, show him to be a much more three-dimensional character that he might have been. 

2.   Brienne. She gets a lot of criticism for being naive but I think people forget that she's relatively young and sheltered and, like Sansa and Quentyn, she does her best to learn, adapt, and overcome. She's one of the few to stick to her guns (err... swords?) even when things get hairy. Obviously this may change depending on what she really intends for Jaime at the end of DwD. 

3.  Meera / Jojen. Selfless and loyal, even though they are physically limited they seem tireless in trying to help Bran. Jochen in particular deserves credit for willingly helping Bran reach the CotF even though he likely knows far in advance that it will be the death of him. 

[The Commentator]

1. Daenerys Targaryen.  Liberator of Meereen,the Mother of Dragons, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar,and the First Men, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Azor Ahai, heir to the Seven Kingdoms, and heir to Valyria.  She wants to help the enslaved even if they have nothing to offer her in return.  She brought dragons back to the world.

2.  Daenys the Dreamer.  She saved her family from the doom.  You could say, she was responsible for saving the Targaryens, Velaryons, and Celtigars.  Because of her, remnants of Valyria's greatness still remain to this day.

3. Barristan Selmy.  He has realized the error of his ways and sought out the heir to the Iron Throne.  He was willing to sacrifice himself forhis queen at the Pit of Daznak.

 

[300 H&H Magnum]

Duncan stood up for Tansy.  Daenerys saved a lot of people from slavery.  Barristan went alone to Duskendale and pulled Aerys out of captivity.

[Bowen Marsh]

1. Lancel.  He killed Robert, one of the worst kings ever to sit the iron throne and a usurper at that.
2. Bowen Marsh.  He killed Jon Snow, one of the worst Lord Commanders in the history of the Watch, traitor, and an oathbreaker.
3. Jaime.  He stopped Aerys from burning down King's Landing.

 

[Weirwood Ghost]

1. Ghost: Bonded, loyal, protective, and very bloody quiet... he's got it all

2. Khal Drogo: The bell-jingling long-haired Khal of Khal's (Khan of Khan's) of a massive screaming bow-slinging horse-punishing Mongol horde. That and and being a maiden's wet fancy.

3. Toss up between Drogon and Tyrion: Who doesn't want to ride Drogon the Black Dread (who is really the incarnation of Khal Drogo). Tyrion is funny as a fart. Quick witted quips and knowledge have been know to win a maiden's fancy too ("I drink and I know things").

[Shi Qiang]

1. Aegon the Conqueror because he united the unruly petty kingdoms of Westeros, saved them from themselves, and built the 7 Kingdoms.
2. Willem Darry because he saved the royal children, Dany and Viserys, from the usurper's goon squad.
3. Daenerys because over a quarter million former slaves are now free because of her.

[Coolbeard the Exile]

On 2017-03-18 at 2:26 PM, Mr. Bowen Marsh said:

1. Lancel.  He killed Robert, one of the worst kings ever to sit the iron throne and a usurper at that.
2. Bowen Marsh.  He killed Jon Snow, one of the worst Lord Commanders in the history of the Watch, traitor, and an oathbreaker.
3. Jaime.  He stopped Aerys from burning down King's Landing.

 

wtf lol?

[Ser Snowflake]

1 hour ago, Coolbeard the Exile said:

wtf lol?

My sentiments exactly. 

I was about to reply, but decided not to become ensnared by troll bait.

in regards to OP,

Ser Duncan the Tall-- what more can I say....he defends the weak from the strong. He's my definition of a true knight.

Brienne the Beauty-- she's cut from the same cloth as Ser Duncan.

Lord Commander Snow--what more can I say...defended Sam from his brothers, saved Mance's child, turned down his father's seat and sexy a** Val for honor and the watch, refused to let King Stannis use the wildlings as arrow fodder, etc etc

Queen Danaerys-- Freed ever slave that she's encountered since leaving Qarth. She is the fantasy equivalent of John Brown and doesn't get nearly enough praise for this act. Is she perfect? No.....but I can't hate on her for freeing slaves.

Lord Davos-- defends children and has the balls to tell Stannis the truth, a grave act considering that risks a horrible death by burning everytime he defies his liege.

[Byfort of Corfe]

Here are mine,

1. Danerys Targaryen, breaker of chains.
2. Jaime Lannister, sacrificed his personal honor ta save thousands of lives, never thanked for it, indeed condemned a "The Kingslayer" for the rest of his life.  True he is flawed but he is growing, I think that Jaime will die a heroic death.
3. Sandor Clegane, the Hound.  The anti-knight, he saves Arya from having to see the worst of The Red Wedding by knocking her unconscious.  He saves Sansa from the mob.

And three for honorable mention,

1. Jon Snow, realizes that the Wildings are people too, helps them and pays with his life.
2. Ser Barristan Selmy, perhaps the last of the Knights.
3. Eddard Stark, a man of honor in a den of vipers.

[Roswell]

8 minutes ago, Byfort of Corfe said:

Here are mine,

1. Danerys Targaryen, breaker of chains.
2. Jaime Lannister, sacrificed his personal honor ta save thousands of lives, never thanked for it, indeed condemned a "The Kingslayer" for the rest of his life.  True he is flawed but he is growing, I think that Jaime will die a heroic death.
3. Sandor Clegane, the Hound.  The anti-knight, he saves Arya from having to see the worst of The Red Wedding by knocking her unconscious.  He saves Sansa from the mob.

And three for honorable mention,

1. Jon Snow, realizes that the Wildings are people too, helps them and pays with his life.
2. Ser Barristan Selmy, perhaps the last of the Knights.
3. Eddard Stark, a man of honor in a den of vipers.

Here are mine

1. Nymeria led her people to safety and founded a new home in Dorne.
2. Daenerys fought to free slaves in Essos.
3. Drogon saved his momma from the warlocks in Qarth.

[The Young_Lion]

More antiheroes but:

1. Tywin Lannister: rebuilding of house from failures of Titos, and I love the Reyne-Tarbeck stuff

2. Petyr Baelish: just everything.

3. Jamie Lannister: everything

[snow is the man]

dany

jon snow-He stands up for what he believes in no matter what. He has an extremly strong sense of honor.

ghost-Just because he is so cool!

[Wolf's Bane]

6 hours ago, The Young_Lion said:

More antiheroes but:

1. Tywin Lannister: rebuilding of house from failures of Titos, and I love the Reyne-Tarbeck stuff

2. *Petyr Baelish: just everything.

3. Jamie Lannister: everything

*I can see this.  Petyr's plotting brought destruction down on the families who rebelled against the Targaryens.

 

My top 3

1. Arthur Dayne [Fights fair.  Fights with honor]
2. Dany
3. Dunk the Tall

[Renly's Banana]

1. Duncan the Tall
Honorable, fair, loyal. Just a guy trying to get by in life who wants to protect the weak and defend the innocent. 

2. Davos Seaworth
Doing everything for his family and the man who gave him a chance. Genuine good guy all around, although his blind fanboyism over Stannis can get a little problematic at times. 

3. Maester Aemon 
The single most selfless character in our entire story. Dedicated his entire life to helping people and passed the chance to be king just so he could continue helping the Nights Watch. 

On 3/18/2017 at 9:26 AM, Mr. Bowen Marsh said:

1. Lancel.  He killed Robert, one of the worst kings ever to sit the iron throne and a usurper at that.
2. Bowen Marsh.  He killed Jon Snow, one of the worst Lord Commanders in the history of the Watch, traitor, and an oathbreaker.
3. Jaime.  He stopped Aerys from burning down King's Landing.

You sure you don't wanna squeeze in Walder Frey while you're at it? He did kill that traitorous Robb Stark and his mother after all. 

[Aetta]

Brynden Rivers: He threw off Daemon Blackfyre and Bittersteel.....T

Lord Bloodraven: He busted DB2 at WhitewalIs......K

Three Eyed Crow:   He offed that pansy Aenys Blackfyre (BTW, what kind of Blackfyre asks permission? Sissy).....O

You see, without Lord Badass Rivers, you wouldn't have the story you have today.  No King Aerys, no Prince Rhaegar, no Dumbslut Stormborn and no dreamy Jon Snow.  Or you might, but they'd all have the last name Waters after DB1 named Daeron and his heirs illegitimate bastards of the Dragonknight's seed.

[Lord of Raventree Hall]

1. Catelyn Tully - She continued to fight despite losing her family members one by one. She kept her head up tell the very end. I would have lost it well before she did. 

2. Tormund Giantsbane - Now hear me out. He leads his people into unknown waters. He chooses to trust Jon Snow, but also making a deal with your enemy that in many ways puts you subservient to them in order to save your people seems extremely brave to me.

3. Daenerys Targaryen - She frees the slaves. She changes her typical role in a society, and she seems to genuinely want to save and protect everyone. 

Honerable Mention : Jon Snow and Eddard Stark - They very much meet the requirements of an average hero, but asASOIAF is a special series, I wanted to choose special people (not typical).

[aventador577]

1. Daenerys Targaryen - She frees the slaves

2. Jaime Lennister - Saved the entire population of kingslanding.

3. Jon Snow - For saving the wildlings

[Ralphis Baratheon]

Davos- closest thing to a well rounded morally good character in the series. Loyalty is a huge one in his favor.

Mance-tried to save a whole people from genocide.

Ned- has been cleaning up after his siblings messes his whole life. Done without complaint and never cursed his family or friends for their poor decisions that negatively effected him. A second son with none of the freedom and all the responsibility of a first.