Banner Houses and House Actions

[coldwind]

Banner Houses don't get to make House Fortunes rolls, but do they get to take House Actions separate from their lieges?

I would think so, but just figured I'd check.

[Gurkhal]

I would think that would be possible, yes.

[crowofpyke]

That is the way I am doing it right now in my campaign....

[coldwind]

That is the way I am doing it right now in my campaign....

Are you letting the players pick the House Actions for their banner houses?

I've had plenty of NPC houses with banner houses, so it hasn't much mattered before, but I'm finally getting some players looking into the option for my new campaign.

[DaimosofRedstone]

That is the way I am doing it right now in my campaign....

Are you letting the players pick the House Actions for their banner houses?

I would not do that, since that takes a huge part of the charm (for me) of the Bannerhouses away.
Bannerhouses, again to me, combine a powerful ally and a fallguy. And you might antagonize them bad enough that they will work against you. They are in one word independent.
If your players choose the actions for the house that stops.

[Roadspike]

I would generally assume that a liege lord can suggest a House Action for one of his banner houses, but the banner house can still take another action if its lord thinks it's a better idea.

[coldwind]

Seems reasonable.

So let's throw out a wrinkle... Do you change your thoughts if a PC is a member of the banner house? What if they're the head of the banner house?

[Kival]

Seems reasonable.

So let's throw out a wrinkle... Do you change your thoughts if a PC is a member of the banner house? What if they're the head of the banner house?

In that case, this player can decide things but not the group of player. This player would no longer be strictly part of the main house though.

[Daerys]

Banner house must assist his lige for the purpose of war, lige must provide protection to banner house when needed.
Nothing less and nothing more, the two have their own destiny so no player of my campaing will décide one action. They may suggest and that's all.

[crowofpyke]

That is the way I am doing it right now in my campaign....

Are you letting the players pick the House Actions for their banner houses?

I would not do that, since that takes a huge part of the charm (for me) of the banner houses away. Banner houses, again to me, combine a powerful ally and a fall-guy. And you might antagonize them bad enough that they will work against you. They are in one word independent. If your players choose the actions for the banner house that stops.

Agreed. I don't let the players choose actions for the banner house(s). They may suggest actions, but that doesn't mean that will happen as they want it. My players rolled an atrociously BAD house history during the "historical events" part of the house creation process, and as a result they are VERY paranoid about any further bad events impacting the house's holdings. They bought a maester and created the NPC for it with the "head for numbers" benefit just so they could steer the house monthly rolls to the highly beneficial side (which is fine with me since they are deciding how to invest their house resources). And then they created a banner house with the express purpose of "dumping" bad house rolls on their banner house. In response, I made their banner house tied to them by blood - it is the result of an ancient "third son" earning the right to create his own house. So, if they dump on them too much, that might have VERY BAD results (we all know how easily the Karstarks turned on the Starks right?).

My players, luckily, are highly interested in not only the fortunes of their own characters, but that of their house as well. So far, so good.