The Might of Skagos

[Shane the Llama]

The umbers. 500 on both sides no ? (whorebane and crowfood) Old men for Hother, kids for Mors. Both umber and Karstark houses were exhausted by the war.

I'm not english by the way. Well i barely speak english or write it correctly so thats obvious. So i'm not prone to compare westeros to England.

But im puzzled to see the amount of informations seemingly so accurate for a place which doesnt exist...

Ok made a mistake bout mance's posse. 50000, not 500000. Im not even close to 100000. 50000 wildlings for 5000 skaggs, and, as said earlier, its very optimistic.

Mormont (the late) said EVERY noble house in the north could gather as much men as the nw. IMO he was joking or boasting. Or he was referring to his own garrison (300?). The north is considered the least populated area after Dorne. And ... 1 to 2 thousands of men for humber and karstark...all the manpower got away.

4 years in the books ? A game of Throne in 298 after aegons landing. Now 300. Ok i dont do math but... Or you mean the prologue when a royce get sliced by a other.

You said before that you are drunk; come back when you're sober please. This stuff makes little sense.

[Lord Klax Stark]

I'd be suprised if they could feild more than 3,000 men. These men are probaly poorly equiped but are well suited to winter fighting conditions. We have been told that there are very few unicorns left so I doubt that are many riders.

Id say that that is a matter of perspective. There could very well indeed be only a few unicorns left in comparison to the old days, and still be hundreds to thousands. Just look at the mammoths and giants. They arent even supposed to exist anymore according to most people, and yet there are hundreds of both

[Silent_Hero]

I'm expecting Skagos to turn up more than 2000+ men, god knows the North needs some more manpower to stay relevant in the war otherwise a Northman army numbering under 9000 won't square up with a Southern army or even the Others too well.

[thelittledragonthatcould]

Id say that that is a matter of perspective. There could very well indeed be only a few unicorns left in comparison to the old days, and still be hundreds to thousands. Just look at the mammoths and giants. They arent even supposed to exist anymore according to most people, and yet there are hundreds of both

The difference here is that the lands beyond the wall are vast and largely uncharted by Westerosi. Surely if there were many of these beasts running about someone would of attempted to take some and breed them on the mainland. If they are as awesome as some are speculating some bright chap would of got some after the Skgosi rebellion.

[Lord Klax Stark]

The difference here is that the lands beyond the wall are vast and largely uncharted by Westerosi. Surely if there were many of these beasts running about someone would of attempted to take some and breed them on the mainland. If they are as awesome as some are speculating some bright chap would of got some after the Skgosi rebellion.

True, but it might be hard for them to live outside of their native climate, not to mention the fact that they are probably hard to tame. Plus the Skagosi might not be so chill with people stealing their stuff

[thelittledragonthatcould]

True, but it might be hard for them to live outside of their native climate, not to mention the fact that they are probably hard to tame. Plus the Skagosi might not be so chill with people stealing their stuff

They were put down by the Starks so they would not get a lot of say about stuff that gets took. Plus soldiers love plunder and with a lack of wealth on the Island you can bet your ass that this ultra rare animal that does not exist in the Westeros mainland is going to be liberated.

[Lord Klax Stark]

I dont think the common soldiers would be able to get their hands on one, if not for social then for purely economic reasons. A unicorn thats roughly the size of a horse can't just be carried off like a sack of chickens or some gems, especially considering the fact that you would have to transport the damn thing via ship off the island. That pretty much means that the only ones that could have gotten a unicorn if they wanted one would be the Northern nobles who participated in the rebellion, and im not sure they would even WANT one. I mean yeah sure unicorns are cool and stuff, but the Nothern nobles arent exactly forward thinking entrepreneurs like Littlefinger. What the hell would they do with a unicorn? Keep it as a pet? Breed them and sell them to someone else? Doesn't seem like their style. Besides, other then the novelty factor I doubt the unicorns would make much better cavalry then normal horses, so the rest of the Northern houses wouldnt even want them to make some sorta ultra elite unicorn unit

[Buckthorn]

3000 infantry, 1500 cavalry tops.

[thelittledragonthatcould]

I dont think the common soldiers would be able to get their hands on one, if not for social then for purely economic reasons. A unicorn thats roughly the size of a horse can't just be carried off like a sack of chickens or some gems, especially considering the fact that you would have to transport the damn thing via ship off the island. That pretty much means that the only ones that could have gotten a unicorn if they wanted one would be the Northern nobles who participated in the rebellion, and im not sure they would even WANT one. I mean yeah sure unicorns are cool and stuff, but the Nothern nobles arent exactly forward thinking entrepreneurs like Littlefinger. What the hell would they do with a unicorn? Keep it as a pet? Breed them and sell them to someone else? Doesn't seem like their style. Besides, other then the novelty factor I doubt the unicorns would make much better cavalry then normal horses, so the rest of the Northern houses wouldnt even want them to make some sorta ultra elite unicorn unit

The first time we hear of Unicorns we are told that they are all but gone. Textual. Now I have also given logical reasons why they must be very rare, at least at this moment in time. If you want to believe that they are not, then fair enough.

[assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar]

I dont think the common soldiers would be able to get their hands on one, if not for social then for purely economic reasons. A unicorn thats roughly the size of a horse can't just be carried off like a sack of chickens or some gems, especially considering the fact that you would have to transport the damn thing via ship off the island. That pretty much means that the only ones that could have gotten a unicorn if they wanted one would be the Northern nobles who participated in the rebellion, and im not sure they would even WANT one. I mean yeah sure unicorns are cool and stuff, but the Nothern nobles arent exactly forward thinking entrepreneurs like Littlefinger. What the hell would they do with a unicorn? Keep it as a pet? Breed them and sell them to someone else? Doesn't seem like their style. Besides, other then the novelty factor I doubt the unicorns would make much better cavalry then normal horses, so the rest of the Northern houses wouldnt even want them to make some sorta ultra elite unicorn unit

... The unicorns are one-horned goats. Seriously. Goats.

[Free Northman]

Why the obsession with unicorns? If even mammoths do not make a difference on the battlefield then what difference is a big goat going to make?

[Free Northman]

Ninja'd by Apple Martini..

[Fire Eater]

... The unicorns are one-horned goats. Seriously. Goats.

I think it is Elasmotherium, or some other Pleistocene rhino, not the pretty white horses in fantasy, especially since the idea of unicorns came from descriptions of rhinos in India. The goat is described as an "enormous", "great, shaggy" and apparently a unicorn's head is large enough to be made into a helm.

[SeanF]

Why the obsession with unicorns? If even mammoths do not make a difference on the battlefield then what difference is a big goat going to make?

It might, if it was a vicious goat.

On topic, I suspect Skagos is very sparsely populated. Some parts of the Scottish Highlands and Islands have no more than two or three people per square mile, and I'd expect Skagos to be similar. That suggests 100-150,000 inhabitants, which would imply they could field 2-3,000 soldiers.

[Free Northman]

It might, if it was a vicious goat.

On topic, I suspect Skagos is very sparsely populated. Some parts of the Scottish Highlands and Islands have no more than two or three people per square mile, and I'd expect Skagos to be similar. That suggests 100-150,000 inhabitants, which would imply they could field 2-3,000 soldiers.

That sounds about right. For the population size. But if they are a warlike culture like the Ironborn, then they would be able to raise a larger portion of their population to arms than other similar sized regions.

In any case, my view is that the Skagos storyline will in fact entail a lot more than just some troops aiding Rickon. I think that the Skagosi will be trying to escape the very real threat of the Northern Ocean freezing over, thus linking their island to the mainland Beyond the Wall - and thus leaving them utterly vulnerable to the Others.

Hence, Skagos as a whole will need to be evacuated, so I don't expect just a couple of thousand Skagosi troops to come with Rickon, I expect their entire civilization migrating with Rickon at their head, to find refuge in the North itself. So not 2000 or 3000 troops. Rather, 100,000 people, all migrating en masse, much like the Wildlings did.

Only instead of invading, they will now have a legitimate reason to move in, namely that they have the true heir to the North at their head.

A shrewd political move, with their very survival as its underlying motivation.

[C0bR]

That sounds about right. For the population size. But if they are a warlike culture like the Ironborn, then they would be able to raise a larger portion of their population to arms than other similar sized regions.

In any case, my view is that the Skagos storyline will in fact entail a lot more than just some troops aiding Rickon. I think that the Skagosi will be trying to escape the very real threat of the Northern Ocean freezing over, thus linking their island to the mainland Beyond the Wall - and thus leaving them utterly vulnerable to the Others.

Hence, Skagos as a whole will need to be evacuated, so I don't expect just a couple of thousand Skagosi troops to come with Rickon, I expect their entire civilization migrating with Rickon at their head, to find refuge in the North itself. So not 2000 or 3000 troops. Rather, 100,000 people, all migrating en masse, much like the Wildlings did.

Only instead of invading, they will now have a legitimate reason to move in, namely that they have the true heir to the North at their head.

A shrewd political move, with their very survival as its underlying motivation.

They better bring some food with'em. But I agree with you about the possibility.

[Free Northman]

They better bring some food with'em. But I agree with you about the possibility.

Jon's gonna sort out food for everyone, by importing it from Braavos and paying for it with Iron Bank money.

[The Holy Goat]

5,000 men seem like a likely number for the Skagosi IMO. They seem to be sparesly populated, but with a warlike culture. I don't view them as a powerhouse though, not compared to the Starks, Boltons, Umbers, Manderlys, Mormonts or Karstarks and their sworn houses.

[Fat King Robert]

I'd reckon they could muster about 6000 warriors. I've heard the skagosi being compared to the ironborn and even the wildlings. Well, we know that wildling women are rather good fighters. Do we know anything about the women of skagos? Are they comparable to woldling women?

[illrede]

Why the obsession with unicorns? If even mammoths do not make a difference on the battlefield then what difference is a big goat going to make?

Mammoths made a real difference. Stannis just dealt with it. Articulated separated striking-wedges responding to events and coordinating with eachother as they head-hunt gelling strongpoints is a bit beyond most hosts' performance in this. One big brave wave of cap-a-pied Tyrells would have had a different experience, I think.