“Men can’t own land any more’n they can own the sea or the sky.”
   –Ygritte, A Storm of Swords

You are recognized by your fellow brothers of the Night’s Watch as a natural leader. You oversee a small cadre in their day-to-day duties, and it is your responsibility to ensure that the defenses of the Wall are properly manned by guards. To accomplish this, you must secure a steady flow of resources from the small settlements and fortified keeps in the Gift. If you do your job well, you may well become the new Lord Commander. But you are far from alone in this venture. You must call upon fellow members of your Order and other allies from the North to aid your pursuit of power. Today, we're pleased to offer a preview of the heroes of A Game of Thrones Catan: Brotherhood of the Watch!

Life and Honor

The kingdoms of Westeros let you recruit men for the Night's Watch from slums and prisons, but otherwise the Great Houses have all but forgotten you. You still control the Gift, the northern territory bounded by House Stark’s holdings to the south and the seas to the east and west. To the north stands the Wall—the towering dam that holds back the wildling horde and other horrors that lurk in the northern wastes. You must settle and expand your holding in the Gift, improving its infrastructure and harvesting resources to prepare for the coming winter. After all, starving and poorly armed men make poor guards.

The heart of the Night’s Watch is camaraderie. No brother fights alone. And that's reflected by the hero cards of A Game of Thrones Catan: Brotherhood of the Watch. Before the game begins, players display all of the hero cards beside the game board, A-Side up. These are the heroes who will build and fight alongside the players throughout the game, offering their unique skills to each player’s cause. At the start of a game, the players begin with a few iconic characters as allies, such as Samwell Tarly, Bowen Marsh, Jeor Mormont, and Othell Yarwyck. Over the course of the game, players may choose or be forced to exchange one ally for another, integrating more elements and skills into their strategies as needed. Only those who can adapt to the ever-shifting loyalties and political intrigues of the Night will survive the North’s many dangers.

Every hero card grants you a unique advantage that can be integrated into your strategy as you pursue power within the Watch. These cards cannot be traded, given away, or stolen, but after the first time you use your hero’s ability, you may either return the card to the hero card display or flip the card to its B-side. When you return the hero card to the display, you may take another hero card of your choice from the display in exchange. If you flip the hero card to its B-side, on the other hand, you can use that hero’s ability again on a subsequent turn. Once you use a hero’s ability twice, however, you must return it to the display and take a new hero card of your choice.

For example, you may use the authority of the current Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, Jeor Mormont  to force up to two players to trade with you at a 1:1 ratio. In other words, you can demand one type of resource card from up to two opponents. In return for each resource card you receive, you must give that player one resource card of your choice in return. Obviously, snatching the exact resources you need for your least useful resources is a powerful ability, and you can choose to take advantage of it again in the future by flipping Jeor Mormont’s card. Still, the Lord Commander cannot be seen to favor one brother over all others. Once you've used Jeor Mormont's ability twice, you must return Mormont’s card to the hero card display, where he is free to aid another brother as they claim his card.

Tested Loyalties

Heroes of A Game of Thrones Catan: Brotherhood of the Watch are not restricted to members of the Night’s Watch. The free folk and others can still forge alliances and offer aid to players, even if they have no loyalty to the Order. One of the game’s featured heroes is Ygritte , the fierce spearwife kissed by fire. Ygritte’s ability allows you to choose a Wildling in the gift and return it to the Frostfangs, before or after your production roll. This can help you maintain order in the North by removing a Wildling before the Gift is overrun, but it also keeps you one step ahead of your opponents by preventing them from gathering resources for just one more turn. In a game where timing and resources are key, this delay can mean the difference between victory and defeat. Such an alliance with a wildling may cause your brothers to question your loyalty, but if it brings you closer to your goal, the risk may be well worth the reward.

As the whispering of horrors beyond the Wall reaches the kingdoms of Westeros, some of the most powerful and dangerous people in the realm are drawn to the North. The red priestess of R’hllor, Melisandre , allows the player aligned with her to manipulate their development cards. If you've allied with Melisandre, once on your turn, when you buy a development card, you may substitute one of the three resources with any other resource of your choice. Then, you can choose your development card from the top three cards of the deck, rather than simply taking what fate would give you. With these powerful allies at your call, the Watch is sure to be yours.

Your Watch Begins

Build your strategy to become the Lord Commander. Align yourself with the North’s greatest heroes and protect the realms of men!

Pre-order A Game of Thrones Catan: Brotherhood of the Watch today at your local retailer or on the Fantasy Flight Games website here!