Who are the 5 strongest characters of ASOIAF?
- Thread starter Etzel Andergast
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i always looked at him and Duncan the Tall as better knights than fighters. Though Duncan does have a lot of notable victories like the laughing storm and one of the Blackfyre Pretenders.
You can tell Cregan is a favorite of GRRM lol, and that goes for most of the starks. From certain povs Cregan's actions come across as very dickish and bloodthirsty.
Jon actually has some really notable strength feats. He was like 14 when he picked up a grown knight by the throat. I think Robb is properly rated as a commander. Do you think his physical prowess is overlooked? I think most people agree as a military commander he was one of the very best in the War of Five Kings, but I don't recall him ever being highlighted as being a strong fighter
Daemon did lose to Cristan Cole, I think it's clear he's not the best duelist, and I'd say that there are others in the Dance of Dragon's that are better than him.
I mean Borros Baratheon killed 12 knights in a single battle.
You can tell Cregan is a favorite of GRRM lol, and that goes for most of the starks. From certain povs Cregan's actions come across as very dickish and bloodthirsty.
Jon actually has some really notable strength feats. He was like 14 when he picked up a grown knight by the throat. I think Robb is properly rated as a commander. Do you think his physical prowess is overlooked? I think most people agree as a military commander he was one of the very best in the War of Five Kings, but I don't recall him ever being highlighted as being a strong fighter
Daemon did lose to Cristan Cole, I think it's clear he's not the best duelist, and I'd say that there are others in the Dance of Dragon's that are better than him.
I mean Borros Baratheon killed 12 knights in a single battle.
My estimation of Dunk is that he grew into his size and skill and skill with his size. He may have never had the grace to become a splendid jouster, but he was built extremely tough and durable, and as you say, he has notable victories. That's without us even knowing the full extent of his feats. imo, Dunk peaked as a top tier fighter, the noblest knight of his era, and the greatest sword of his time. I like to think he served as inspiration to Arthur Dayne.
For sure. Cregan was kind of a useless dickhead during the Dance as well.
Robb's skill as a commander is well acknowledged, yes, but I also think his ability with the sword is overlooked. He was no Jamie Lannister, but by Jon's own estimation Rob was better than him, if I recall correctly. And unlike Jon, Robb saw real war* and fought on open field against grown men from a young age. He wasn't just commanding battles from afar, he was fighting in them, and it's described in the books that he would return with broken shields and such - as in, Robb was really out there fighting a grown man's war at the age of 15-16. The Young Wolf, he was.
Criston Cole was the strongest knight of his time, I think.
I didn't put Oros in the honourable mentions because I think that figure is inflated for dramatisation purposes.
For sure. Cregan was kind of a useless dickhead during the Dance as well.
Robb's skill as a commander is well acknowledged, yes, but I also think his ability with the sword is overlooked. He was no Jamie Lannister, but by Jon's own estimation Rob was better than him, if I recall correctly. And unlike Jon, Robb saw real war* and fought on open field against grown men from a young age. He wasn't just commanding battles from afar, he was fighting in them, and it's described in the books that he would return with broken shields and such - as in, Robb was really out there fighting a grown man's war at the age of 15-16. The Young Wolf, he was.
Criston Cole was the strongest knight of his time, I think.
I didn't put Oros in the honourable mentions because I think that figure is inflated for dramatisation purposes.
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i agree. I think Duncan is supposed to be the "real" ideal, noble knight. Barristan switches sides many times, he would have served Joffrey if it wasn't for dismissal, and he and Dayne both did nothing against Aerys II. Just like his descendent Brienne, he's the only characters that really embodies the ideal Westeros knight.
that's fair.
yeah most likely. I remember that the last storm lord before the Baratheon was said to be 1v6ing 6 knights at the same time in old age.
i always found it amusing that he was only like 18ish during the Dance but he was treated as a "man" compared to the River Lads lol
what do you think is the greatest feat in the story? I think it's Barristan saving Aerys
that's fair.
yeah most likely. I remember that the last storm lord before the Baratheon was said to be 1v6ing 6 knights at the same time in old age.
i always found it amusing that he was only like 18ish during the Dance but he was treated as a "man" compared to the River Lads lol
what do you think is the greatest feat in the story? I think it's Barristan saving Aerys
I think every historic knight/fighter is overestimated due to a level of romantization in-universe. The Dragonknight, Daemon Blackfyre and his Targaryen namesake, maybe even Pate the Woodcock himself.
The reason I say this is the very clear fact that George already showed us how stories grow and change in the telling in the current time - one example is Robb Stark and his men riding into battle with wolfs heads; "The Hound" butchering people in the Riverlands. Commoners and even noblemen and women tend to add to the stories they hear, either to gas up their oposition thus making their win mean more or just villainizing them to the point they look and seem like monsters.
Then there's Mushroom and the other narrator from Fire and Blood. Each pushes a certain narrative and in the end, the maester compiling the work leans on the version Joffrey (the Lannisters) would like more since the book is written during his reign.
As for the greatest feat in the story, I'd give it to Donal Noye and the lads killing a Giant under the Wall. Very fantastical, yet made to make sense.
The reason I say this is the very clear fact that George already showed us how stories grow and change in the telling in the current time - one example is Robb Stark and his men riding into battle with wolfs heads; "The Hound" butchering people in the Riverlands. Commoners and even noblemen and women tend to add to the stories they hear, either to gas up their oposition thus making their win mean more or just villainizing them to the point they look and seem like monsters.
Then there's Mushroom and the other narrator from Fire and Blood. Each pushes a certain narrative and in the end, the maester compiling the work leans on the version Joffrey (the Lannisters) would like more since the book is written during his reign.
As for the greatest feat in the story, I'd give it to Donal Noye and the lads killing a Giant under the Wall. Very fantastical, yet made to make sense.
I think Barristan's only a human and that his story is about the hardship of faith. The act of believing something, and in this case it's his vows. You can rightly say he's been creative about who he keeps his vows to, but I think ultimately his honour compells him to keep a monarch of Westeros safe. But I digress.
Brienne is the finest example of a knight living, and she isn't even a knight. Interestingly enough, Dunk may not have been one either - or so goes a popular fan theory I've come across.
I love the Baratheons. Half of them are bastards, but none of them are bred cowards.
They inherited the Targaryen madness either through Orys or royal marriages down the line.
Yeah, I really don't get it. The source material is some of weakest shit George has written though, so maybe he goes back to flesh it out some day. He's already said he plans on doing so for King Viserys I. Otherwise, yeah, Cregan was kind of a useless shit during the actual war and then showed up like he deserved MVP honours for wanting to march on the castles of spent enemies.
I think this is up there, for certain, and so is slaying Maelys as a much smaller man.
It's hard to judge. George did more hyping up by describing skills and appearances than describing actual feats - that goes for all his characters.
Brienne is the finest example of a knight living, and she isn't even a knight. Interestingly enough, Dunk may not have been one either - or so goes a popular fan theory I've come across.
I love the Baratheons. Half of them are bastards, but none of them are bred cowards.
They inherited the Targaryen madness either through Orys or royal marriages down the line.
Yeah, I really don't get it. The source material is some of weakest shit George has written though, so maybe he goes back to flesh it out some day. He's already said he plans on doing so for King Viserys I. Otherwise, yeah, Cregan was kind of a useless shit during the actual war and then showed up like he deserved MVP honours for wanting to march on the castles of spent enemies.
I think this is up there, for certain, and so is slaying Maelys as a much smaller man.
It's hard to judge. George did more hyping up by describing skills and appearances than describing actual feats - that goes for all his characters.
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I think it's likely he'll get knighted by either Maekar or Aegon V if any Dunk and Egg novels come out, but I don't think he was knighted by his mentor. It's an interesting parallel. Duncan theories are very interesting. He probably fucked a Targ princess, and a lot of people think he may have even killed Egg in Summerhall.
i always felt like they were more retarded than insane.
At first I wasn't a fan of how it felt like they were all variations of Robert personality wise but they're all very entertaining. I did like how the Dance of Dragons flipped some "house" stereotypes.
Brave and loyal Freys, treacherous Baratheons, and a very loyal and devoted Lannister in Tyland.
It was mentioned that Cregan received many rewards from Aegon III for his service, so if we get a sequel to Fire and Blood I expect we'll learn a lot more about him in the section devoted to Aegon III. Everytime Cregan was the focus in the book it felt like Stark glazing fanfiction.
It did show a contrast between Ned and previous Stark lords. Ned is far more honorable, just and a better person. His time in the Vale with Jon Arryn had a big influence on his character.
I don't really care for Viserys I, but I wouldn't mind a full book on Viserys II or the fat bastard himself, Aegon IV. Aerys I and Jaehaerys II could also use some more development... and I think Daeron II needs some humanizing. Outside of maybe being too kind to the Dornish and not a warrior he feels a bit too "perfect"? Do you agree with that?
I would say that Robert winning 3 battles in one day is definitely up there as well.
Actually the best feat is probably wildings managing to shoot men on top of the 700 ft tall wall
i always felt like they were more retarded than insane.
At first I wasn't a fan of how it felt like they were all variations of Robert personality wise but they're all very entertaining. I did like how the Dance of Dragons flipped some "house" stereotypes.
Brave and loyal Freys, treacherous Baratheons, and a very loyal and devoted Lannister in Tyland.
It was mentioned that Cregan received many rewards from Aegon III for his service, so if we get a sequel to Fire and Blood I expect we'll learn a lot more about him in the section devoted to Aegon III. Everytime Cregan was the focus in the book it felt like Stark glazing fanfiction.
It did show a contrast between Ned and previous Stark lords. Ned is far more honorable, just and a better person. His time in the Vale with Jon Arryn had a big influence on his character.
I don't really care for Viserys I, but I wouldn't mind a full book on Viserys II or the fat bastard himself, Aegon IV. Aerys I and Jaehaerys II could also use some more development... and I think Daeron II needs some humanizing. Outside of maybe being too kind to the Dornish and not a warrior he feels a bit too "perfect"? Do you agree with that?
I would say that Robert winning 3 battles in one day is definitely up there as well.
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Actually the best feat is probably wildings managing to shoot men on top of the 700 ft tall wall
I quite like the idea of Dunk just never getting properly knighted.
Can't say I've come across any theories of him killing Egg though. That would be bleak.
I do enjoy this aspect of the Dance as well. Some of it was a bit pointed, but I found it largely well executed.
Also, House Peake. I love those treacherous cunts.
George's love for Paddy Considine's performance in the role is his declared motivation for wanting to go back to the character. I don't doubt it's the same for many others, and the role of Cregan seems well cast, so fingers crossed.
I do share your assessment of Daeron II. He's bit too cookie cutter of the righteous king stereotype. Perhaps George found it necessary that Daemon Blackfyre, who by all accounts was a gallant and well-liked man, rose up against a good king whose critics denounced him largely out of self-interest.
It's an impressive feat, but without details it's hard to contextualise how much of it came down to Robert's skill at command versus arms.
Can't say I've come across any theories of him killing Egg though. That would be bleak.
I do enjoy this aspect of the Dance as well. Some of it was a bit pointed, but I found it largely well executed.
Also, House Peake. I love those treacherous cunts.
George's love for Paddy Considine's performance in the role is his declared motivation for wanting to go back to the character. I don't doubt it's the same for many others, and the role of Cregan seems well cast, so fingers crossed.
I do share your assessment of Daeron II. He's bit too cookie cutter of the righteous king stereotype. Perhaps George found it necessary that Daemon Blackfyre, who by all accounts was a gallant and well-liked man, rose up against a good king whose critics denounced him largely out of self-interest.
It's an impressive feat, but without details it's hard to contextualise how much of it came down to Robert's skill at command versus arms.
the theory basically involves that he planned on using Rhaegar(and maybe a few others) as a blood sacrifice to bring back the dragons. Aegon V wanted the power of dragons to make the crown a stronger force so he could give the smallfolk more rights.
In the books at least Dany's dragons were hatched through unintentional blood magic, and I can see the ancient Valyrian's using some of the many slaves as blood sacrifices for their dragons.
Egg seemed like the best Targ King as a person, so i'm not the biggest fan of it. Instead I think it's more likely that he attempted to use pyromancers, wildfire or some other kind of magic and it just created a big accidental fire that lead to the deaths.
on the other hand I found the about of Boy Arryn Kings in Fire and Blood repetitive. Same with the Greyjoys. They're entertaining bastards... but the Ironborn should have been long gone by the time of the War of Five Kings imo. Balon and Euron's father was decent however.
Also the Blackwoods constantly being on the good side, and the Brackens constantly being on the bad side is annoying.
they're entertaining. Can't believe they're still around. Killed a king and a queen. On another note it's such a shame that Jaehaera died. If she did live and have Aegon III's children, it would mean Daemon Blackfyre would have the blood of the Hightowers. Which would, imo make the threat of the First Blackfyre rebellion even more believable.
He probably does have some major flaws that we don't know about. Jaehaerys I at least was a really bad father, but he seems perfect outside of being too kind to the Dornish and weak and chubby(and he has two sons that made up for it). I really don't believe the bastard rumors at all.
my theory is that he started the trend of using Bloodraven as a spy that was continued in the reign of Aerys I. Or maybe he mishandled the sickness that killed him and it's his fault idk
In the books at least Dany's dragons were hatched through unintentional blood magic, and I can see the ancient Valyrian's using some of the many slaves as blood sacrifices for their dragons.
Egg seemed like the best Targ King as a person, so i'm not the biggest fan of it. Instead I think it's more likely that he attempted to use pyromancers, wildfire or some other kind of magic and it just created a big accidental fire that lead to the deaths.
on the other hand I found the about of Boy Arryn Kings in Fire and Blood repetitive. Same with the Greyjoys. They're entertaining bastards... but the Ironborn should have been long gone by the time of the War of Five Kings imo. Balon and Euron's father was decent however.
Also the Blackwoods constantly being on the good side, and the Brackens constantly being on the bad side is annoying.
they're entertaining. Can't believe they're still around. Killed a king and a queen. On another note it's such a shame that Jaehaera died. If she did live and have Aegon III's children, it would mean Daemon Blackfyre would have the blood of the Hightowers. Which would, imo make the threat of the First Blackfyre rebellion even more believable.
He probably does have some major flaws that we don't know about. Jaehaerys I at least was a really bad father, but he seems perfect outside of being too kind to the Dornish and weak and chubby(and he has two sons that made up for it). I really don't believe the bastard rumors at all.
my theory is that he started the trend of using Bloodraven as a spy that was continued in the reign of Aerys I. Or maybe he mishandled the sickness that killed him and it's his fault idk
I always felt like the Mountain is underrated in those types of rankings.
Gregor is not just big, this dude is pretty much the largest man on Planetos (2.3-2.4 m). By comparison the worlds tallest NBA player is 2.31 meters. Him fighting any normal guy is like a fight between the adult and a child. Gregor is using a longsword with one hand so for starters he has an insane range advantage.
Add to it the fact that he is said to have freakish physical strength and can cut people in half with one strike. So basicaly if he lands a hit on you your dead. Then also add to it the fact that he's wearing full armor that is much thicker then a regular one, so even if you somehow land a hit, it wouldn't do much (unless you're using Valyrian steel or something). And finally he was said to have excellent instincts so even if he lacks in technique he is not falling for any basic tricks.
People use the fight with Oberyn to sleep on the Mountain, but lets remember Oberyn used poison, which is cheating. He also used a spear to have a proper range and went full agility without any heavy armor. Basically he planed the fight to be as much of the Mountain's kryptonite as possible.
Gregor is not just big, this dude is pretty much the largest man on Planetos (2.3-2.4 m). By comparison the worlds tallest NBA player is 2.31 meters. Him fighting any normal guy is like a fight between the adult and a child. Gregor is using a longsword with one hand so for starters he has an insane range advantage.
Add to it the fact that he is said to have freakish physical strength and can cut people in half with one strike. So basicaly if he lands a hit on you your dead. Then also add to it the fact that he's wearing full armor that is much thicker then a regular one, so even if you somehow land a hit, it wouldn't do much (unless you're using Valyrian steel or something). And finally he was said to have excellent instincts so even if he lacks in technique he is not falling for any basic tricks.
People use the fight with Oberyn to sleep on the Mountain, but lets remember Oberyn used poison, which is cheating. He also used a spear to have a proper range and went full agility without any heavy armor. Basically he planed the fight to be as much of the Mountain's kryptonite as possible.
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Daemon Blackfyre is an underrated pick.
Said to be the Warrior incarnate, fought the Commander of the Kingsguard Gwayne Corbray for 1 hr... Valyrian steel vs Valyrian steel. GRRM probably massively underestimated how tough it is to fight for 1 hour but that is the single best combat feat in the entire lore.
Dayne, Selmy, Jaime are obvious.
The Dragonknight & Duncan also have a good shout.
Said to be the Warrior incarnate, fought the Commander of the Kingsguard Gwayne Corbray for 1 hr... Valyrian steel vs Valyrian steel. GRRM probably massively underestimated how tough it is to fight for 1 hour but that is the single best combat feat in the entire lore.
Dayne, Selmy, Jaime are obvious.
The Dragonknight & Duncan also have a good shout.