Westeros: Total War

Overview:

Westeros Total War is a modificiation of Creative Assembly's Medieval II Total War. It's aim is to recreate the wars of George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. This mod does not require Kingdoms to play. Beginning from the start of the War of the Five Kings, this mod allows the player to play as any of the Great Houses of Westeros. All research and planning for the mod is as accurate as possible, with information taken from the Citadel Concordance, the Tower of the Hand website, the Song of Ice and Fire wiki or from Martin's books. The world map encompasses most of Westeros. The northern end of the map breaks off just below the Wall, and the Stepstones and the Free Cities are not on the map. The Eastern Continent or the Summer Isles are not included due to the lack of information we have about these lands. The northernmost province of the mod is Last Hearth. This means that the Night's Watch and the Wildling factions are not included.

The mod begins right after the execution of Eddard Stark. House Tully is under attack by the Lannisters, Robb Stark wants to take revenge on Joffrey Baratheon for the execution of his father, Renly and Stannis want to seize the Iron Throne from their nephew while the Greyjoys, Arryns and Martells are biding their time. There are three main alliances: Stark-Tully, Lannister-King Joffrey and Tyrell-King Renly. Lannister and Joffrey are at war with Tyrell, Renly, Stannis, Stark and Tully. Tyrell and Renly are at war with Lannister, Joffrey and Stannis. Stark and Tully are at war with Lannister and Joffrey. The other factions are neutral.

Settlements are all largely developed, but cities and castles cannot be converted. Upgrading is also out, as the mod timeframe is short. This places an even higher emphasis on the huge cities and citadels, which are now very precious. There are several rebel provinces. In the books the faction leaders can give orders to their lords bannermen but it's not guaranteed that they will follow these orders. This subtle system is impossible to translate in M2TW. It's either full control or no control at all. So that's why we decided to give most of the provinces to the factions but not all. Of course the most insurgent castles of the books are given a rebel status.

All the ancillaries from the vanilla game will be gone. You will be able to acquire a very diverse retinue of over 180 different ancillaries consisting of court attendants, couriers, mistresses, whores, thugs, maesters, champions, squires, merchants, septons, and more. Several ancillaries will be faction-specific. Others will be unique because they are characters from the books. If you are lucky enough you may be able to collect swords or even a Valyrian steel blade which you can pass on to the generals worthy of wielding it. You can assign lordships of the provinces you hold or have conquered to your generals. For the holder of King's Landing there will be a special title.

The map is more or less finished, but some faction settlements need tweaking and balancing. Some character traits are mere placeholders, and character ages need checking. Unit rosters need testing and balancing, and mercenaries need to be added. So it’s a bit of chicken and egg situation. Faction icons and symbols are complete, but light reskins of most factions are yet to be complete (so far, Joffrey, Stark and Tully are the only completely reskinned factions). The UI and custom battle rosters need to completed as well. The completion date for the first version of the mod will be September / October, but this will in no way be a finished product, as there are more tweaks, add-ons and factions to re-skin. Also, there are two possible routes for an expansion, one possibly being the North of the Wall, where the Wildings fight the Night's Watch, or the return of the Targaryen queen, Daenerys Stormborn. New unit models may also be made for additional releases.

Overview taken from official previews and FAQs of the Westeros team

Faction List:

House of Joffrey Baratheon
Starting as the acknowledged king of Westeros, Joffrey Baratheon holds the crown city of King's Landing, but little else. He begins with no standing army, and with Stannis on Dragonstone waiting to destroy him. However, Joffrey is allied to the Lannisters, and his grandfather, Lord Tywin Lannister will surely help him.

House of Renly Baratheon
The youngest of the Baratheon brothers, Renly inherited Storm's End when his brother Robert became king and Stannis became lord of Dragonstone. With the Stormlands and their experienced armies at his back, Renly has a good chance of becoming king of Westeros, especially as the powerful Tyrells back his claim.

House of Stannis Baratheon
SJoffrey Baratheon is a spawn of incest between Queen Cersei and her brother, Ser Jaime the Kingslayer. In such a case, Stannis is the rightful king of the Seven Kingdoms and he means to claim his throne. His starting armies are weak, with few levies and fewer knights at his call, but Stannis's secret weapon is Melisandre, a shadowbinder from Asshai and a priest of the Red God, Rh'llor.

House Stark
The last Great House of the first men, the Stark's control the North, which is less densely populated but is as large as the whole south. Robb Stark, the young lord of Winterfell, wishes to take vengeance on the Lannisters and pull down the pretender, Joffrey Baratheon. His armies are not vast, but the Neck is a natural bottleneck, which the armies of the Southerners have never been able to pass. However, to take the fight to the enemy, the Young Wolf must go south.

House Tully
The Tullys of Riverrun control the rich Riverlands, with many rich fields of grain and much trade. However, they are at the centre of Westeros, with potential enemies to all sides. Lord Edmure is untried in battle, but the Tullys' greatest asset is Ser Brynden Blackfish, a great knight and general. Whether his experience will be enough to fend off the Lannister threat remains to be seen.

House Lannister
Rich and cunning, the Lannisters of the Westerlands wish to control all of Westeros through the puppet king, Joffrey Baratheon. Lord Tywin Lannister, the former Hand of the King, is a calculating and fearsome commander, with many powerful captains. The war that he brings to the Tullys will be great and terrible. House Lannister starts the richest and begins with armies already in the field.

House Arryn
The Arryn's of the Eyrie are allies of the Tullys and Starks, but Lysa Arryn, sister of Catelyn Stark, fears the Lannisters and will not join in the war. The great warriors of the Vale clamour for war, but will their wish be satisfied and the many knights of the Vale ride to battle?

House Tyrell
The Tyrells of the Reach command the greatest manpower of all the great Houses. They control rich lands, and hold Oldtown, a great city of Westeros and the Arbor, a capitol of trade. They are closely allied with Renly Baratheon and support his claim to the throne of Westeros. The Tyrells will not be slow in destroying their enemies as Renly's former squire and great friend, Ser Loras Tyrell, has the ear of Lord Mace, and will be quick to support Renly should he need help. With many knights and armsmen, the Reach is a power to be reckoned with.

House Greyjoy
Lord Balon Greyjoy claimed a crown years ago, in the disastrous Greyjoy rebellion. With too many kings in the Seven Kingdoms, it will be easy to claim a crown again. However, their armies are lacking in cavalry, and may not be able to stand against a concerted charge from the heavy cavalry armies of the Green Lands. However, the Iron Islands boast the greatest fleets in the world, only rivalled by Lord Redwyne of the Reach, and they can easily take seaside provinces. What the kraken grasps, it will not lose...

House Martell
The Martells of Dorne burn for vengeance for Elia. Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper, is ready to bring war to House Lannister and kill Gregor Clegane, the alleged slayer of Princess Elia. However, between Dorne and the Westerlands lie the marcher lords of the Reach, whom have feuded with the Dornishmen for a thousand years. The Dornish culture is also different to the rest of Westeros, and their armies will fight differently to the rest. Will the Martells gain their vegeance, or will their bones be buried under shifting sands?