All of the characters will begin the game based at Winterfell, home of House Stark. The King of the North, Damon Stark, and his wife, Arienne (Ryswell) Stark, are the heads of the household, but many of the children of their siblings live or spend significant chunks of time at Winterfell for a variety of reasons.

On Storium, when choosing your Concept, Strength, Weakness, and SubPlot, please feel free to add cards if I don't have what you're looking for. SubPlots, in particular, are great for customizing your character.

The remainder of this page is related to your background. Please read it carefully, and Email me (my Storium user name at Gmail) if you have questions.

Options for your character:

1) You can play the trueborn son or daughter of one of the Starks (King Damon's younger siblings) or one of the Ryswells (Queen Arienne's siblings). The children of the King and Queen themselves are not available as PCs. Although older children exist, the oldest your character may be is 18. Although younger children exist, the youngest your character may be is 13. Parents include:

1. Lord Aenys and Lady Bellegere (Stark) Talhart. Children range in age from 30 to 8. The eldest son of this family will be heir to the Talhart title and lands. The Talharts have been strong supporters of the King of the North for many years. Lord Aenys would value children who are both educated and skilled at warfare. Children of this family are now named.
2. Lord Victarion and Lady Lyanna (Stark) Cerwyn. Children range in age from 28 to 10. The eldest son of this family will be heir to the Cerwyn title and lands. The Cerwyns are also supporters of the King of the North, and the two families have intermarried in the past. Lord Victarion is a skilled swordsman, and would expect his children to follow in his footsteps. Children of this family are now named.
3. Lancel and Aelinor (Flint of Flint's Finger) Stark. Children range in age from 24 to 12. Aelinor died twelve years ago, and Lancel has not remarried. His children grew up at Winterfell, educated and trained alongside the King's own children. Children of this family are now locked--they are not available as PCs.
4. Caleotte and Alyssane (Stark) Greystark. Children range in age from 22 to 5. Alyssane is King Damon's half sister. Caleotte is heir to the Greystark title and lands (after his father dies), and his eldest son will also inherit that title and lands someday. Caleotte is said to be the spitting image of King Gerard Stark himself, and some say that his strength is comparable to his distant forefather's. However, Caleotte is a gentle man, and would love strong or weak children of his just the same. Children of this family are now named.
5. Reese and Bellandra (Hornwood) Stark. Children range in age from 17 to newborn. Reese is King Damon's half brother. Reese has little to do with his children, leaving their rearing entirely to his wife, Bellandra. She would have ensured that the children were educated, and may have sent sons to Hornwood to be fostered (and taught to fight), while daughters would have remained close to home. Reese lives at Winterfell, but is something of a recluse. Children of this family are now named.
6. Landon and Talisa (Ryswell) Slate. Children range in age from 42 to 24. Landon Slate is a younger son, who has but a small portion of his family's lands near the coast. He has interests in both fishing and mining, so his children were probably brought up to work in one of those two areas.
7. Lord Eddard and Lady Elysande (Poole) Ryswell. Children range in age from 33 to 13. The eldest son of this family will be heir to the Ryswell title and lands. Those who have known Lord Eddard for many years say he was once a more jovial sort, but he has been quiet and withdrawn for most of the time any of his children have known him. Lady Elysande would have seen to the education of all of the children, and they may have fostered at Deeppoole or Winterfell.
8. Humphrey and Aelinor (Ryswell) Branch. Children range in age from 34 to 15. House Branch is a vassal house to House Glover, and Humphrey is a younger son of his house. Children of this family would have grown up knowing the value of hard work from first hand experience.
9. Doran and Adela (Stout) Ryswell. Children range in age from 31 to 12. House Ryswell is known for their horses, and Doran is an experienced horse handler and breeder. He spends much time away from the ranch at The Rills, leaving the care and education of his children to his wife. Adela insists upon all of her children learning manners and how to behave in the presence of their betters.
10. Dustin and Selyse (Knott) Ryswell. Children range in age from 30 to 9. Both Dustin and Selyse are skilled hunters, and would have taught their children this skill as well. Their family home is on a particularly rocky stretch of the Rills, in sight of the mountains that Selyse once called home.
11. Aurane and Shyrelle (Ryswell) Fenn. Children range in age from 30 to 10. House Fenn inhabits the Neck, but the children of Aurane and Shyrelle would have learned little of the ways of its inhabitants. They were raised in The Rills, and only Aurane has gone back to his ancestral home on rare occasions. He speaks little of his family back home.

2) You can play the bastard of one of the Ryswells. Two of the Ryswells could have bastard children. Additionally, some of the spouses of Starks or Ryswells might have bastards (Landon Slate or Aurane Fenn are the most likely).

1. Doran Ryswell could have bastard children.
2. Dustin Ryswell could have bastard children. 

3) You can play a bastard who is not related to either the Starks or the Ryswells, who King Damon (or one of his siblings, or one of the Ryswells) has taken in for some reason. We’ll need to work on the details of this, as he would be unlikely to take in a random bastard--there would need to be some backstory between your parent(s) and one of the families.

4) You can play a trueborn son or daughter of another Lesser House of the North, who has been sent to Winterfell to be fostered. This option presents you with a bit more freedom in terms of who your parents are or were. You’ll also need to come up with backstory as to why your family chose to foster you with the Starks. (Since the Starks and Ryswells have intermarried with a number of families in the North, there are a great many options and explanations available.) It is possible that your character is a more distant cousin, or that one of your siblings married into the Stark or Ryswell families. (P.S. It’s typically boys who are sent to be fostered, not girls. More likely than not, if you’re a girl who has been sent to be “fostered,” you’re really living with your future in-laws, meaning you’re betrothed to one of the Stark or Ryswell children. If your betrothed is a PC, you’ll need to work that out with another player.) You can find information about the other houses of the North here.

Information that I need for your character:

After we've worked out the rough sketches of who you are playing, I will need the following information.

1) Who are you?

Character's name, gender, age, parents, and relationships to other PCs. In addition, feel free to write a short paragraph about what your character does as a member of their family.

2) What do you want?

Ambitions and goals for your character. This can be an "occupation"--king, prince, knight, maester, tredecon or tredeca, lady in waiting, princess, queen--or more abstract wishes for the future.

3) Why are you here?

Your character is based at Winterfell, which may or may not be your family's home. Has your character come here because this is where they want to be, or were they forced by their family to live here?

4) Image

Please find a picture to represent your character. If you select a photo of someone famous, please let me know who the actor or actress is.