Crusader Kings 2 [official site] is a grand strategy game about human beings instead of armies, and it spins gripping Shakespearean yarns about medieval social climbing, full of murder, betrayal and bastards. It’s brilliant, but you might be a little intimidated by its setting. That’s just one of the reasons why the Game of Thrones mod is so good – and it’s just hit version 1.0.
This mod changes the entire world map to that of the canon ASOIAF universe, allowing the player to control any ruler in it at any point starting shortly before Aegon's Conquest. There are numerous starting scenarios (such as Robert's Rebellion), and while the player certainly can try to keep things similar to the canon they can try to screw around for Hilarious Results™. Want to put Lancel Lannister on the Iron Throne? Go ahead. Want to blow up Joffrey with some manure? Who doesn't eagerly anticipate the chance to do so? Even if you try to avoid constant shocking swerves, it can still result in hilarious anecdotes. For instance, in one file I married Margaery Tyrell to Robb Stark. Over the years, Margaery gave birth to more than a dozen children. As soon as she popped one out, she got pregnant again. Years later, it turned out none of the children were Robb's. Margaery was carrying on an affair with Theon Greyjoy ever since she arrived in the North, and all of the children were his. Robb couldn't care less, as he was having an affair with the elderly Maege Mormont. That's not even including that time I watched in horror as the entire Stark dynasty died of gonorrhea (yes, including Jon Snow). Anyway, enough rambling! After some fiddling, I was finally able to install the latest version of the mod and decided to post a Let's Play on these forums for your general amusement (or annoyance). Rather than choosing how I shall start, I'm going to leave it up to you guys to vote on. Starting off, you guys will have to decide which starting scenario I should choose and who I should play as. I would prefer a major character, but I'm totally fine with playing a count. On Friday, I'll tally up the votes and start the file. There are eight starting scenarios for you to vote on:
Seven Kingdoms: Set centuries before the books/show take place, Westeros is ruled by seven different kingdoms. I once played this start in a multiplayer match, and it was actually sort of boring.
War of Conquest: Aegon and his sisters have arrived at Blackwater Bay, starting their conquest of the Seven Kingdoms. (Spoiler alert: they win.) Conquest of Dorne: Prince Daeron, a descendant of Aegon, wishes to respect his ancestor's legacy by conquering Dorne. I've never actually played this start, and have little-to-no knowledge about the lore behind it. After the Spring: Soon after a plague ravages Westeros, there's uh..stuff that happens. From what little I know about this, it involves a rebellion led by the Blackfyres. Robert's Rebellion: Ned 'Sean Bean' Stark's father and his eldest brother has been executed by a tyrant, and his sister has been kidnapped by the tyrant's son. All in all, a pretty bad time to be a Stark. Robert Baratheon, the man Ned's sister is berothed to, begins a rebellion against the Mad King. The Crowned Stag: Robert has become the new king at the cost of his beloved. The once powerful Targaryen dynasty has been wiped out, reduced to an insane jerk and a baby. The Greyjoy Rebellion: Lord Balon Greyjoy, believing Robert's grip on the Iron Throne is weak, declares a war for the independence of the Iron Isles. A Clash of Kings: This is pretty much the start of the second season (and the second book, I assume), and my personal favorite scenario. The North is at war for independence, the Iron Isles are doing what they do best, and both Stannis and Renly Baratheon are pressing their claims on the throne.
The Game of Thrones mod switches the game’s real world setting for Westeros, and switches out its nobles and royals for the nobles and royals of the Song of Ice and Fire novels. That means you can take control of Ned Stark and try to survive, or any of the more minor characters in any of the series’ houses of assholes.
It’s been a great, polished mod for a while, but version 1.0 brings finishes “integration of World of Ice and Fire” material, improves the White Walkers and otherwise rounds off the package. It doesn’t necessarily mean the end of development, but it’s everything the developers wanted to have in for a 1.0 release. There’s a full changelog at that link above.
Thanks, PC Gamer.
With hundreds of characters, swordplay and sorcery, personal drama, and political intrigue, George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire is fantastic source material for strategy games and RPGs. The conclusion of HBO's Game of Thrones is nearly upon us (and presumably, at some point, we might actually see the next book in the series as well), so it feels like the perfect time for a roundup of mods that bring Martin's world to PC games.
Crusader Kings 2—A Game of Thrones
It's hard to find a better match between game and mod than Crusader Kings 2 and the full-conversion A Game of Thrones mod. It transforms CK2's medieval Europe into the continent of Westeros. With random events and your own decisions quickly entangling the characters you know and love (or hate), your game will quickly veer from the story you remember into a kind of bizarro-world fan-fiction.
We've written a few times about our experiences using the mod, with Rich McCormick playing as Ned Stark in Surviving Westeros, and my diary about playing as Littlefinger's next-door neighbor, Game of Checkers.
Mount and Blade: Warband—A Clash of Kings
Rather than playing as one of the main characters, you can get a view of the drama in Westeros from ground level with the A Clash of Kings mod for Mount and Blade: Warband. The mod adds thousands of custom items, naval battles, and a huge map of Westeros, plus plenty of notable figures from the fiction.
I made an attempt to align myself with both the Lannisters and Baratheons and had a nasty encounter with Gregor Clegane in my write-up of the mod here.
Minecraft—Westeroscraft
Westeroscraft is a Minecraft server with its own custom launcher and mod suite. While it someday hopes to become an open world MMORPG, it's currently in build mode, creating Westeros (and someday Essos) in blocks. And it looks spectacular so far. Anyone can join and explore the world but if you want to help build it, you'll need to apply here.
Civilization 5—A Mod of Ice and Fire
This is one of our favorite mods for Civ 5—it adds a sprawling map of Westeros and lets you play as a number of civs and leaders, like Robb Stark in The North, Stannis Baratheon in The Stormlands, Daenerys, of course, and even Mance Rayder of the Free Folk. Each civ has a unique trait plus special units and buildings.
Civilization 6—A Civ of Ice and Fire
Play Civ 6 as the Starks, Boltons, Greyjoys, Baratheons, Targaryens, and even The Night King representing the White Walkers. Maps cover both Westeros and Essos, and wonders include Casterly Rock, The Red Keep, the Titan of Braavos, and more. There's support for the Gathering Storm expansion as well (and it's required to play as the Night King).
Total War: Attila—Seven Kingdoms
This total conversion for Total War: Attila delivers over two dozen playable armies you can use to recreate the fiction's massive historical battles, plus it adds scores of recognizable characters from the HBO show.
Medieval 2: Total War: Kingdoms—Westeros: Age of Petty Kings
Rather than taking place amidst the current events of Game of Thrones, the Age of Petty Kings mod takes place a thousand years prior, though it's still based on George R.R. Martin's lore.
Ages of Empires 2: HD Edition—War of the Five KingsGame Of Thrones S8 E1
This scenario for Age of Empires 2 recreates the devastating civil war in Westeros following the death of King Robert. Eight players can join the fray as the Greyjoys, Starks, Tyrells, both Baratheons, and the other major factions in the War of the Five Kings.
Crusader Kings 2 Game Of Thrones ModSkyrim—The Game of Thrones Adaptation
You can't play it yet—it's currently between versions, with the older version having been taken down ahead of the release of a new beta—but this is definitely one to bookmark. It's an overhaul that plans to transform Skyrim into Westeros, with dozens of locations and characters from the fiction and custom quests. Ambitious, to be sure, and there's no mention of a release date at the moment.
While you wait, you can check out a trailer below, which is already looking pretty great.
Game of Thrones is over for another year, and the prospect of waiting till late 2018 for our fantasy fix is almost unbearable. As Jon Snow and his motley crew head out to face the horrors from beyond the Wall, we’re left to contemplate how to fill our Sunday evenings. Season 8 might be a long way off, but the wait needn’t be dark and full of terrors. With hundreds of characters, personal drama, and political intrigue, George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire has been a haven for modders looking to bring his grizzly world to life. I’ve searched the depths of the Citadel to find the very best Game of Thrones mods to help sate your bloodlust during the Long Night.
Halo mod men of war. Halo Exodus is a small project built off of an old Men of War mod. I am currently using Halo Custom Edition tags to add new content to the mod.
Mount and Blade: Warband – A Clash of Kings
Cozur released his Mount and Blade: Warband mod way back in 2012 and has continued to release new updates for every season. Adding naval battles, sea travel, thousands of custom items, props, and textures, plus a huge map of Westeros and loads of characters based on the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, this Clash of Kings mod is one of the most impressive out there. Rather than playing as one of the show’s main characters, you get a unique view of what fighting is like for the common soldier. A Clash of Kings sets you out as a humble peasant caught up in the turmoil of war, which will see you pledge alliances to various houses and crush those that oppose you on the battlefield. You’ll need all the cunning of Tyrion Lannister and the treachery of Petyr Baelish if you want to survive the bloody battles and rise through the ranks. If you like the idea of fighting alongside Stannis Baratheon, conquering Harrenhal, or sending the Lannisters your regards, then this Mount and Blade mod will certainly deliver.
Skyrim – The Game of Thrones Adaptation
This Game of Thrones mod aims to completely transform Skyrim into the world of Westeros, changing everything from the soldiers you encounter (Imperials/Lannisters) and the places you visit (Windhelm/Winterfell) to forge a completely lore-friendly environment. In addition to meeting hundreds of characters from Game of Thrones, you'll also be able to recruit unique followers to accompany you as you fight your way across the Seven Kingdoms. From the brutish Sandor Clegane to the deadly Arya Stark, you can share your adventure with your favourite characters. What’s most impressive about this overhaul is that it doesn't just focus on adapting content from Skyrim, it also plans to add new locations which are built and populated entirely from scratch. Unfortunately, the ambitious nature of this mod means you can't play it just yet, but it’s definitely worth bookmarking for the future!
Total War: Attila – Seven KingdomsCrusader Kings 2 Game Of Thrones Mod Submods
The Total War series is known for its extensive war-themed mods and the franchise is ripe with opportunities for Game of Thrones fans to get stuck in. If you like to think of yourself as a master strategist like Tywin Lannister, then this mod will give you plenty of opportunities to put your battle tactics to the test. With over 25 playable armies and 30 photorealistic characters, this visual overhaul strives to painstakingly recreate and depict all major land forces of the Game of Thrones universe using equipment, uniforms, and general aesthetics from the series. You can fight off hordes of terrifying wights or even take control of Jon Snow’s Northern army as you attempt to reclaim Winterfell from Ramsay Bolton. Recreating Game of Thrones’ massive historical battles has never been easier.
Crusader Kings 2 – A Game of Thrones mod
This conversion mod for Crusader Kings allows players to choose from any start date in the 300 years before Aegon's Conquest to the beginning of the fourth book (A Feast for Crows). Paradox Interactive’s grand strategy game may be getting on a bit now, but it's hard to find a mod that allows you to explore the 'what if?' scenarios of the series. Your game will quickly veer away from the narrative you remember and turn into an extremely volatile world where anything could happen, reflecting the series itself. Having alternate scenarios where Rhaegar Targaryen killed Robert on the Trident or seeing Stannis take King’s Landing means that every playthrough is unique. After all, there are no guarantees as 'when you play the game of thrones, you win or you die'. Try not to die, though.
Medieval 2: Total War Kingdoms – Westeros: Age of Petty Kings
There are plenty of Game of Thrones mods that take place during Robert’s Rebellion and depict the wars between both Stark and Lannister, but this mod takes you back in time before the Seven Kingdoms were even carved out. In Westeros: Age of Petty Kings you forge a house of your own as a king battling it out with The Andals long before Aegon the Conqueror rose and unified the continent. Even though the mod is set thousands of years before the events we've been watching and reading about, there are still plenty of familiar names around. You'll still find the Starks in Winterfell, the Martells over in Sunspear, and Tyrion’s forefathers at Casterly Rock. The mod offers a great history lesson for those looking to delve into Game of Thrones’ past, as creator bertio5 has carefully woven together huge amounts of lore and details depicting the lesser-known characters and houses. Will your dynasty last to stand a thousand years, or will it fade away into history?
Civilization 5 – A Mod of Ice and Fire
If you’re after hands-on management and plenty of political intrigue, Civilization 5’s A Mod of Ice and Fire offers just that. The mod adds a huge sprawling map of Westeros and the Known World along with completely revamped Game of Thrones-themed civilizations. Every Civ has a unique trait, three special units/buildings, and city names appropriate to their individual house. There are also a host of religions with civs following the Lord of Light, the Seven, the Old Gods and a bunch of other lore friendly followings. You can wage all-out war with the great navy battalions of the Iron Islands, battle it out against Drogo’s Dothraki hordes, and even come face to face with Daenerys’ terrifying dragons. However, if you wish to negotiate alliances and tactically kill off those who threaten your rise to power, then a Petyr Baelish approach may be preferred. The battles don’t stop there as the pesky barbarians have been replaced by White Walkers, giving you greater sense of dread as they shamble into your surrounding territories.
Age of Empires 2: HD Edition – War of the Five Kings
Age of Empires 2 is still a hallowed RTS. It's well worth playing and is widely regarded as one of the best strategy games to grace our monitor screens. Its popularity has brought with it a whole host of Game of Thrones mods, but the most revered is the War of the Five Kings. The mod recreates the devastating civil war that erupted in Westeros following the death of King Robert, so if you’re looking to take a trip down memory lane without watching season one for the tenth time, then this mod might be what you’re looking for. There are a total of eight houses and players can join the Tullys, Lannisters, Starks, Greyjoys, Tyrells, both Baratheon brothers, and the other major factions in the War of the Five Kings. If you’d rather ditch the vanilla feel of the War of the Five Kings, be sure to, which drastically changes the direction of the game, shifting away from combat and forcing you into a world of resource management and political backstabbing.
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