Stannis' recruitment plans

[messem]

First of all, I agree that this thread belongs in the WOW forum.

Second, Massey's job (storywise) is it to

1. learn about Dany and the dragons

2. Bring Arya back to Westeros

[bel]

The Volantenes have their tigers.

Yes they mainly use the Tiger Cloaks but they must have some units of free men as a balance to the TC. Otherwise its totally unrealistic. Not all slaves can be as obedient as the Unsullied.

[Stannis Eats No Peaches]

They're both. The political party who favors military action as well as their slave soldiers.

I really need to do a reread.

[Naathi Prince]

There are lots of mercs in the world and even more sellswords.

[Faint]

I agree, this thread should be in the WoW section - I made the same mistake myself the other day... but:

''In general, the first month or three after a release (it depends on the span of time between the releases in the U.S. and overseas) will be considered a spoiler period, and topics should be marked by [spoilers] at the beginning of its titles. The titles themselves must not reveal spoiler information as well (such as, '[spoilers] Winterfell Sacked?!' shortly after the release of ACoK). Ran will make appropriate announcements concerning spoilers at the time of a new release.''

Yeah, it's the wrong section - but the Theon chapter has (I believe) been out for at least a year, and thus according to the Board FAQ Privacy Policy page is not required to be marked as a spoiler in the title.

The quote above is in reference to published material. Excuse me for stating the obvious but the The Winds of Winters has not been published yet.

I would not mind so much if the thread was titled "[TWoW Spoilers] Stannis" but the current thread title itself is a spoiler.

[Garlan Marius]

You're telling me that there are people who haven't read the Theon and Arianne chapters from the NAB?

[Stannis Eats No Peaches]

You're telling me that there are people who haven't read the Theon and Arianne chapters from the NAB?

Yes, there are. Some people prefer to read it all in one go and believe that sample chapters ruin the experience. Hence I will no longer be reading them, if any more come out.

[Gingerchu]

You're telling me that there are people who haven't read the Theon and Arianne chapters from the NAB?

I read the Theon chapter but I have avoided anything else like the plague the same way I don't use the internet until I've at least started playing a game or watched an episode of a show I watch.....

[unSonofStannis]

There could be merc companies in Bravos we don't know about.

[NewJeffCT]

Massey is leaving in Winter and would have to travel east past Winterfell and down southeast to White Harbor. From White Harbor, he'd have to pick up a boat to sail across to Braavos. Even if the snow breaks and Massey has good weather, it will still take him weeks just to get to White Harbor, no? And, then more weeks to sail in Winter to Braavos. How often does travel go uneventfully in A Song of Ice & Fire?

So, one month there and one month back, and then probably at least a month (or more) to procure mercenaries. These are just guesses on my part, as I'm sure dozens of people on here know Westerosi climate & geography better than me. Edited to change - scanned the Theon chapter again. Massey first needs to go to Castle Black and then from Castle Black to Eastwatch. So, that makes the journey to Braavos even longer and more hazardous (long journey from Eastwatch to Braavos, but not too long from White Harbor)

I don't recall 20,00 as a number, either. In the Battle of Winterfell, I'm guessing several hundred fresh men of good quality could swing the tide either way. Though, obviously Stannis would want more to move beyond just the North.

The mercenary army returns to either Stannis in Winterfell as King in the North, or else returns to see Roose Bolton still in charge there and Stannis dead. Do the mercs just leave and go home if Stannis is dead? Heck, how many men do the mercenaries lose crossing the sea in winter and then trekking through snow from White Harbor to Winterfell? Essos is warmer than the North, so those Essosian men may not be able to handle the cold, either.

[Lewton]

There could be merc companies in Bravos we don't know about.

There pretty much has to be, and a whole lot of them. Maybe not is Bravos, but somewhere in Essos.

So far, there have been 12 named sellsword companies. One of them doesn't exist anymore (Brave Companions), and we have been told the strength of six others, totaling 16,800 men. Golden Company is obviously the biggest with 10,000 men, followed by The Company of the Cat with 3,000 men and Windblown with 2,000. All others have less than a 1,000 or their strength is not known, and Stannis still wants at least 20,000 mercenaries even if the Golden Company is not available. All the known companies put together minus the Golden Company do not even come close to that number, so there must be plenty more out there.

[AegonSnow]

What if he means Jon @ the wall. Sent a fake letter to try to get reinforcements

[Bright Blue Eyes]

Massey is leaving in Winter and would have to travel east past Winterfell and down southeast to White Harbor. From White Harbor, he'd have to pick up a boat to sail across to Braavos. Even if the snow breaks and Massey has good weather, it will still take him weeks just to get to White Harbor, no? And, then more weeks to sail in Winter to Braavos. How often does travel go uneventfully in A Song of Ice & Fire?

So, one month there and one month back, and then probably at least a month (or more) to procure mercenaries. These are just guesses on my part, as I'm sure dozens of people on here know Westerosi climate & geography better than me. Edited to change - scanned the Theon chapter again. Massey first needs to go to Castle Black and then from Castle Black to Eastwatch. So, that makes the journey to Braavos even longer and more hazardous (long journey from Eastwatch to Braavos, but not too long from White Harbor)

I don't recall 20,00 as a number, either. In the Battle of Winterfell, I'm guessing several hundred fresh men of good quality could swing the tide either way. Though, obviously Stannis would want more to move beyond just the North.

The mercenary army returns to either Stannis in Winterfell as King in the North, or else returns to see Roose Bolton still in charge there and Stannis dead. Do the mercs just leave and go home if Stannis is dead? Heck, how many men do the mercenaries lose crossing the sea in winter and then trekking through snow from White Harbor to Winterfell? Essos is warmer than the North, so those Essosian men may not be able to handle the cold, either.

Fun fact: Eastwatch lacks ships. Not a single one available to carry Massey to Essos.

Furthermore, it is a detailed plan laid out in a written chapter. There have been a lot of those. Not a single one worked. Plans that work out are those we learn only when they are executed or even in retrospect.

No, Stannis won't get any sizeable mercenaries out of Essos. Doesn't mean his plan isn't sensible though.

[kkae]

I wonder if Prince Oberyn's merc company makes its appearance. That would be cool and intriguing.

[The Night's Prince]

The quote above is in reference to published material. Excuse me for stating the obvious but the The Winds of Winters has not been published yet.

I would not mind so much if the thread was titled "[TWoW Spoilers] Stannis" but the current thread title itself is a spoiler.

So after this gets moved are you going to add anything to the discussion or just stop harping on it like you're a mod?

Anyway I think it'll be a lot more difficult if Massey only goes as far as Braavos. Does he even have the man power to go to any other cities or the coin to convince them?

[Lewton]

So after this gets moved are you going to add anything to the discussion or just stop harping on it like you're a mod?

Anyway I think it'll be a lot more difficult if Massey only goes as far as Braavos. Does he even have the man power to go to any other cities or the coin to convince them?

Seeing as the Iron Bank is supporting his quest, if he actually stays loyal to Stannis money should not be a problem. Otherwise the Bank's reputation would be highly deceptive.

[Faint]

Fun fact: Eastwatch lacks ships. Not a single one available to carry Massey to Essos.

Perhaps this is when Davos enters the picture. I've no strong feelings about it but I think this particular impediment could be overcome easily enough.

[mrlukeduke]

The Iron Bank have pulled all loans and are demanding payment from outstanding loans. You must realise how significant that is. So on top of everything else, the IB is crippling the Westerosi economy through constriction of the money supply. The bank will demand soldiers and sellswords from anything or anyone it wants, or simply take assets and armies by force or threat of force as part of their contracted repayments. That's one possible source. They'll be training their own anyway, that's another. There are many, many small sellsword companies scattered throughout Essos. The Iron Bank will gulp them up too, that's another major source. Last, there are minor lordlings and pirates and sellswords, not to mention tribes, captains and bandits of various scattered armies throughout Westeros too, many of whom desire food or silver or who just don't want to piss of the bank. So that's yet another source.

So, 20,000? You kidding?! For the Iron Bank, the most powerful single institution in the entire series... well that's a piece of piss. The Iron Bank will have its due.

[Stallion That Mounts Texas]

There pretty much has to be, and a whole lot of them. Maybe not is Bravos, but somewhere in Essos.

So far, there have been 12 named sellsword companies. One of them doesn't exist anymore (Brave Companions), and we have been told the strength of six others, totaling 16,800 men. Golden Company is obviously the biggest with 10,000 men, followed by The Company of the Cat with 3,000 men and Windblown with 2,000. All others have less than a 1,000 or their strength is not known, and Stannis still wants at least 20,000 mercenaries even if the Golden Company is not available. All the known companies put together minus the Golden Company do not even come close to that number, so there must be plenty more out there.

Stannis' problem may not be so much the numbers, but the quality. All of the reputable and trusted companies are all accounted for. The GC would have been the perfect building block for his new army, but they are already taking care of business for Aegon. No more Unsullied can be created thanks to Dany. But, the biggest problem of all is time.

If Ser Justin is loyal (and I still have my doubts), he should be able to put together the force that Stannis requires. The question is how long it will take. My own thoughts are that Justin will get wind of Dany at Slaver's Bay and go to declare his loyalty. He is a man of the Crownlands and from AFFC we know that the Crownlands are still fiercely loyal to House Targaryen.

[mrlukeduke]

The real problems, are the brutal snows and blizzards.