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Let’s talk about castles


The Bard of Banefort

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If there’s one thing Westeros has in in spades, it’s castles. Which one’s your favorite? Least favorite? Which ones are most overrated, or deserve more love? I’ll start.

Best: Highgarden. I can’t wait to read a chapter set there.

Worst: The Eyrie. What good is a castle that you can only occupy for half the seasons?

Most Unique: Pyke, with Ten Towers as a runner-up. The Iron Islands certainly stand apart when it comes to architecture.

Underrated: Whitewalls. It sounded like a pretty stunning castle; shame Bloodraven had it torn down.

Overrated: Storm’s End. I just don’t think it pops off the page like the other major castles do.

Most Fascinating: Harrenhal. ‘Nuff said.

I wish there was more artwork of the interior of the ASOIAF castles. I have a hard time envisioning how big they all are and would like to see an artist’s interpretation to get a better feel for it.

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2 hours ago, The Bard of Banefort said:

Best: Highgarden. I can’t wait to read a chapter set there.

Seems like Disneyland from the descriptions so far

 

Winterfell for me, because of being the oldest, creepiest (ok, edit, second after Harrenhal), grandest (now in squalor) and the Stark quote. Not the winter one. The one about always a Stark in Winterfell. With TWoW too set there as one of the locations, just cant wait

Dragonstone too for similar reasons (not that old. but the magickiness) but I doubt we have much to see there as the story progresses. No abomination time shit too to be expected.

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I love Storm's End because of the cool origin story. Also I love rainy weather. But if I lived there I would have someone watch that portcullis tunnel. No shadow babies in my castle :angry:

Other than that, I would not want a castle in the middle of the desert or on the Iron Islands. North might be a bit too cold. I am keeping clear of the Riverlands as they seem to get invaded every single time. So Reach or Stormlands for me.

Highgarden sounds nice, and so do the Three Towers with their seaside view. I hope we actually see Highgarden at some point.

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Thats a very tougth question because quite a few of them have very unique and cool features. I guess my favorite would be the Hightower. A huge white tower taller then anything else in the land is just very cool. It also sits on a island wich makes it easly defencible and its base is a ancient and mysterious maze. 

I also like the Eyries but I agree that it being unlivable in Winter makes it lose some of its potential but damn it is pretty.

I also really like Pyke, it being on different islands make it cool and should make it almost impossible to take by storm, but some futur lord of Pyke really should built stone briges between all its tower and stop with those deadly rope bridges.

The Rock for me is overrated, sure it has a gold and is a literal mountain but living underground just is not a great sell to me.

I have very high hopes for Highgarden if we ever see it but it does loof pretty, defencible and a good place to live. The gardens and it being along the Mander does paint a very soothing picture.

Storms End has a cool story but just seems very normal to me, outside of its size it does not have anything going for it, it seems.

Winterfell is decent enougth and its story make it quite interresting but it does not seem to be anything special either.

Riverrun for me is really undervalued, it seem a pretty good place to live with the rivers along it, the lords loggia particularly. And its in a naturally very good spot for defence, it is the smallest of the lords paramount keeps but it seems of a decent enougth size.

The Twins are also a very good castle and I like the Idea, tho I would make the Water Tower alot more important, with putting the lords quarters in it.

Harrenhall is just ridiculously big and I dont see why family's still try and maintain it, the lands are suppose to be wealthy, just tare it down and use the stone to built a more modest castle not far. The curse does make it alot cooler.

Like you said they're is quite alot of castle and I could go on and on about them but I think that will be enougth.

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3 minutes ago, Vaegon the dragonless said:

Storms End has a cool story but just seems very normal to me, outside of its size it does not have anything going for it, it seems.

It does have anti-magic barriers.

3 minutes ago, Vaegon the dragonless said:

The Rock for me is overrated, sure it has a gold and is a literal mountain but living underground just is not a great sell to me.

I agree. Ever since I watched a traumatizing video about caves I've really gone off all the underground stuff. It could also be vulnerable to being flooded like Castamere.

The thing is I want the castle to be big and strong but not massive like Harrenhal because it would cost too much to maintain.

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1 minute ago, TheLastWolf said:

Moat Cailin :devil:

Wouldn't it cost a lost to repair though?

I'd never quite be happy there because it's vulnerable to attack from one side.

But if you like your history it's supposedly where the Children of the Forest brought down the Hammer of the Waters.

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16 minutes ago, Craving Peaches said:

Wouldn't it cost a lost to repair though?

With enough men, no need

16 minutes ago, Craving Peaches said:

I'd never quite be happy there because it's vulnerable to attack from one side.

The North, which would never attack it since its the gateway to the North, Neck bogmen always allegiance to the North

17 minutes ago, Craving Peaches said:

But if you like your history it's supposedly where the Children of the Forest brought down the Hammer of the Waters.

Exactly, magicky

The only castle never taken, badass.

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3 minutes ago, TheLastWolf said:

The North, which would never attack it since its the gateway to the North, Neck bogmen always allegiance to the North

Was it not taken by the Ironborn though? Admittedly this was an unpredictable scenario and they were barely holding on to it and had horrible symptoms from the Crannogmens' poison but I think they still took it when they attacked from the north.

3 minutes ago, TheLastWolf said:

The only castle never taken, badass.

All the castles that are supposedly un-takeable always seem to end up taken. It's like Titanic.

It's a cool castle but the asymmetric way in which it's vulnerable really bothers me for some reason.

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2 minutes ago, Craving Peaches said:

Was it not taken by the Ironborn though? Admittedly this was an unpredictable scenario and they were barely holding on to it and had horrible symptoms from the Crannogmens' poison but I think they still took it when they attacked from the north.

Not by force but treachery

2 minutes ago, Craving Peaches said:

All the castles that are supposedly un-takeable always seem to end up taken. It's like Titanic.

Technically Moat Cailin still untaken

2 minutes ago, Craving Peaches said:

It's a cool castle but the asymmetric way in which it's vulnerable really bothers me for some reason.

I understand

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3 minutes ago, TheLastWolf said:

Technically Moat Cailin still untaken

I would still categorise it as taken, even if it was by treachery. Stannis only took Storm's End by assassinating Ser Courtnay but everyone says that the castle has fallen to him or something.

Do you think Casterly Rock will be taken at any point in the series?

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3 minutes ago, Craving Peaches said:

I would still categorise it as taken, even if it was by treachery. Stannis only took Storm's End by assassinating Ser Courtnay but everyone says that the castle has fallen to him or something.

Fair enough, have it your way then...

4 minutes ago, Craving Peaches said:

Do you think Casterly Rock will be taken at any point in the series?

Yes I do, something to do with the Tyrek thread

BTW both the abovementioned castles, have they been taken at least once?

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2 minutes ago, Craving Peaches said:

I don't think the Rock has ever been taken. Storm's End has though.

  Reveal hidden contents

Twice if you go by the Arianne sample chapter.

 

So End and Cailin down, Rock and Eyrie never. Winterfell how many time btw...

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1 minute ago, TheLastWolf said:

Theon's show, thunder stolen

Theon could have pulled off a legendary move if he just took Bran and Rickon hostage, burned the place and went straight back to Pyke.

So would that technically mean that Winterfell was taken twice? Once by Theon and once by Ramsay?

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