Game of Thrones/ASoIaF Quickfire questions. (spoilers in tags)

[slimjim]

I know their suppose to live in a world where high born boys are given training in swordsmanship and archery from the best teachers from like the age of one..... but still come on. In our world the children of the wealthy are given the best intellectual education..... yet it's not like all our grate scientists are the children of millionaires

[Gen. Chris]

You're comparing apples and oranges. In the world of GoT most of the men need to be at least competent warriors, while children of millionaires can live off of their parents' wealth and be brats about it.

[Crazedwraith]

I'm not buying this theory. Take People like Jaime Lannister, for example. He doesn't worry at all. It's like his primary character trait.

But taking what you meant rather than what you said... I still don't buy it. Most of the noblemen aren't great warriers objectively. But they're not only trained from an early age. They're the only ones with any training at all in the land of the blind the one eyed man is king and all that.

[slimjim]

Most of the noblemen aren't great warriers objectively

John now is a good fighter
Robb Stark is a good fighter
Eddard Stark was a good fighter
Benjen Stark is a good fighter
Robert Baratheon was a good fighter
Jaime Lannister is a good fighter
Khal Drogo is a good fighter
Jorah Mormont is a good fighter
Theon Greyjoy is a good fighter (and attractive & powerful enough not to have to pay for it but that's another issue)

[Crazedwraith]

Wow. All the main characters are good fighters? Who'd a thought it. You missed the objectively there. Yes the main character seem like good fighters mainly because the people they're fighting have had no training.

This is especially the case for Jon, who made mince meat out of the other boys in the night watch because he had training and they were peasant's who'd never seen a sword before.


plus we see noblemen who are not good fighters at all.
Samwell Tarly is not a good fighter.
Tommen Lannnister is not a good fighter.
Wilas Tyrel is not a good fighter.
Renly Baratheon is not a good fighter
Viserys Targaryen is not a good fighter
Aerys Targaryen is not a good fighter

Theon Greyjoy is a good Archer he's not as good at other stuff.

Taking the prequel story 'the hedge knight into account' you can add Daeron and Baleor's son as well who weren't good fighters.

eta: And on your list, Benjen being a good fighter is an assumption since the guy has no action scenes. He's first ranger but why he got that position we don't know. Mormont could just be sucking up to the Stark's who are the most loyal supporters of the Night Watch and since first ranger is a leadership role anyway. Well you can be a good leader without being a good fighter.

And for those of the older generation Robert/Eddard. They lived through a War. If they weren't good fighters they've be dead.

[The Mighty 6 platoon]

John now is a good fighter
Robb Stark is a good fighter
Eddard Stark was a good fighter
Benjen Stark is a good fighter
Robert Baratheon was a good fighter
Jaime Lannister is a good fighter
Khal Drogo is a good fighter
Jorah Mormont is a good fighter
Theon Greyjoy is a good fighter (and attractive & powerful enough not to have to pay for it but that's another issue)

That's hardly the best list. Some of those characters were great fighters, like Robert, but certainly aren’t by the time of the series. Others like Robb are competent but not brilliant, he deliberately avoids fighting Jaime Lannister, he knows he'd lose.

More to the point the nobles and knights make up a large number of the best fighters because as noted, they are the only ones who can afford decent equipment and training. If you're a poor peasant you can't hope to match them. Further if the nobles want to hold on to their power, they have to know how to fight, in the case of Drogo, he's Khal because of his strength and skill as a warrior.

That being said, there are plenty of decent fighters who aren’t nobles, Syrio Forel and Bronn could have killed most people on that list, with a couple of exceptions.

[slimjim]

Yes the main character seem like good fighters mainly because the people they're fighting have had no training

yeah no "official training" but still I find in fairly hard to believe Wildlings and violent teen peasants wouldn't have picked up enough stuff from like male relatives an actual experience of things like bar fights that they would be able to at least take one properly trained guy fighting in a group unless he had some damn good natural talent besides

Samwell Tarly is not a good fighter.
Tommen Lannnister is not a good fighter.
Wilas Tyrel is not a good fighter.
Renly Baratheon is not a good fighter
Viserys Targaryen is not a good fighter
Aerys Targaryen is not a good fighter

I'm talking about the TV show not the books, most of those characters either haven't been seen fighting or for all intensive purposes don't exist yet in the TV show's universe. As for Wilas Tyrel and Aerys Targaryen, he's a one of and he spends all his time surrounded by Dothraki so almost any body would appear to suck by comparison

[slimjim]

or am I just reading to much into the moving civilisation on horse back thing?

[magictrick]

All noblemen are trained in sword fighting since they are children. This is mentioned often and shouldn't come as a surprise. The system of governing is similar to the medieval system we know from our history, which also indicates the same thing - nobles and others with money and power were the ones trained in sparring.

I don't get the point of comparison to current times in our world. Its not like Obama became president for his ability to spar with a sword or shoot a gun. That's like asking why we don't burn women at the stake anymore for suspecting they are witches. Times change.

[Gatefan1976]

I would say they are based on the Mongol/Hun civilization yes.

[sholva1]

There are many noblemen, we just see a small fraction.

[Gen. Chris]

There are many noblemen, we just see a small fraction.

Plot skill...Instead of plot armor (not that plot armor matters in this show, from what people have told me)

[The Mighty 6 platoon]

Plot skill...Instead of plot armor (not that plot armor matters in this show, from what people have told me)

Not really, just realism. Nobles and Knights were the closest thing in medieval times to professional soldiers, and in order to keep your holdings you had to be good at fighting. Hell, knights are an entire class of people structured around receiving land in return for service in war.

[Ukko]

To put it simply...really simply.
If they're not, someone will kill them and take their stuff.

And im pretty sure that if in our world the Camerons were in danger of being attacked and killed by the Millibands, they would have learned early on how to fight.

[Gen. Chris]

I was joking guys

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

slimjim,

I know their suppose to live in a world where high born boys are given training in swordsmanship and archery from the best teachers from like the age of one..... but still come on. In our world the children of the wealthy are given the best intellectual education..... yet it's not like all our grate scientists are the children of millionaires

You mean like Samwell Tarly? He's a nobleman. But of course he's an awesome warrior too.

[slimjim]

I was annoyed that little finger found out about Tyrion's deception before he set of for the Iron islands, I wanted to find out how Theon would take the proposal?

[Ukko]

It wasnt a real proposal (book folk correct if wrong). Tyrion was just trying to find out who was spying for the queen. So he told different proposal stories to each to see which one would tell her.

[slimjim]

It wasnt a real proposal (book folk correct if wrong). Tyrion was just trying to find out who was spying for the queen. So he told different proposal stories to each to see which one would tell her.

I know, I still wanted to see how Tyrion would react before he found that out

[Gen. Chris]

Slim, why don't you just create a thread for all your questions rather than make a thread for each one of them?