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A Song of Ice and Fire / Other Topics / FAQ

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Markus
User ID: 2547224 Apr 8th 5:05 PM
Some suggestions for frequently asked questions (in no particular order):

Who are Jon Snow's parents?
Who ordered Bran's assasination?
Who was overheard by Arya in the dungeons of King's Landing?
What are Varys and Illyrio planning?
What happened at the Sack of King's Landing with the Targaryens?
Were Catelyn and Lysa deflowered by Littlefinger?
Who is the father of Robert Arryn?
Who has a claim to the Iron Throne?
Where is Barristan Selmy?
Who is Jaquen H'ghar?
Who is Mance Rayder?
How many books will the series have?
What is the matter with Sansa's hairnet?
Whose shadow killed Renly Baratheon and Ser Cortnay Penrose?
Why are the crannogmen so small?
Who is the father of Joffrey, Tommen and Myrcella?
Who are Robert's bastards?
Did Ned write a letter before he was executed?
Whose idea was Ned's execution?
Who is the best warrior in ASoIaF?
Who murdered Jon Arryn?
Who is Ser Dontos' friend?
Which kindness was never done by Jaime Lannister?
Why did Jaime join the Kingsguard?
Why is Jaime still heir to Casterly Rock?
Did Ned act stupid by warning Cersei, refusing Renly's men and Littlefinger's scheme?
Is Ned really dead?
Is Theon dead?
Is Benjen dead?
Is Davos dead?
Is Rhaego dead?
Is Syrio dead?
Are Renly, Loras and Brynden gay?
What did Catelyn do with Jaime?
Is Roose Bolton a traitor?
What is Shae feeling for Tyrion?
Who ordered Ser Mandon Moore to kill Tyrion?
Who knows of Jon's descent?
Is Dany really infertile?
What is the meaning of Dany's viewings in the House of the Undying Ones?
Which castles do the Ironmen hold?
What is the matter of Elmar Frey's marriage?
Where is Sandor Clegane?
What does the Hound feel for Sansa?
Is Margaery Tyrell really a virgin?
Is Ser Jorah loyal to Dany?
What is a Warg?
Who is Tyrion's father?
Why doesn't the world of Ice and Fire evolve its technological level?
Why have the seasons different lengths?

I'm quite sure there are still a lot more questions which could be included in a summary of frequently asked questions. All it requires now is someone who has a webpage, enough time and the will to invest it.

Min
User ID: 9433023 Apr 9th 5:50 PM
Do you call these _some_ suggestions??? ;-)
Good job, though. The problem is: these are all FAQs that do not have any particular answer, aren't they?

Markus
User ID: 2936914 Apr 10th 7:12 AM
Well, I admit "some" is a vague description.:)

Further, I think some _can_ be answered conclusively, some are more or less obvious, some are disputed and some are really unclear.

I think the Wheel of Time FAQ <http://hugin.imat.com/jordan/> is a suitable guide how a ASoIaF- FAQ could be made, because it shows the inevitability that some frequently asked questions lack a conclusive answer until the end of a series, in fact the most frequently asked ones are the most disputed (Who killed Asmodean?).

Ser Nathan
User ID: 0269124 Jun 15th 3:40 PM
This FAQ sounds like a great idea, especially
for newbies like me who only discovered the
bulletin board a month ago.

Did anything ever get written..?

Min
User ID: 9433023 Jun 18th 5:33 PM

Ser Nathan, welcome to the board. And for your question: actually: No. These are the questions that basicly are discussed all the time. So we weren't able to really provide any short and specific answers.

But there is a great URL, Revanshe's homepage (she created this board, too. There you can find some good surveys of chapters, lists of people and other useful stuff. The URL is:

http://welcome.to/iceandfire

have fun with it and feel free to jump into the discussions on the board!

Min
User ID: 9433023 Jun 18th 6:35 PM
But you are right, Ser Nathan. It would be worth it. I'll start. And hopefully, MArkus and some of the other's will help. Just a very short survey for each question, to get the basics!

Min
User ID: 9433023 Jun 18th 6:36 PM
WHO ARE JON'S PARENTS???

Most of us think it were Rhaegar and Lyanna.
Some still think he really is Ned's bastard.
Some think it were Robert and Lyanna.

Min
User ID: 9433023 Jun 18th 6:38 PM
WHO ORDERED BRAN'S ASSASSINATION?

Several guesses:
Cersei
Jaime
Littlefinger
Robert Baratheon
are those most often heard.
check out the "question of the week III" thread for this. or the "Bran's assassination" one.

Min
User ID: 9433023 Jun 18th 6:43 PM
WHO HAS A CLAIM TO THE IRON THRONE?

Officialy: Joffrey, as Robert's son. Followed by Tommen, his brother.
But he IS not Robert's son, but Jaime's.

So the next in line would be Stannis Baratheon, Robert's brother, followed by Renly (who, unfortunately, is dead)

Daenerys claim to the throne comes from her Targaryan lineage: The Targaryans held the throne before Robert Baratheon usurped it.

Min
User ID: 9433023 Jun 18th 6:55 PM
WHO IS DEAD BY THE END OF CoK?

more or less definitely:
- Eddard Stark, executed by Ilyn Payne
- Renly Baratheon, murdered by a shadow
- Lady, Sansa's direwolf, killed by Ned
- Rhaego, Daenerys' son, born dead

probably:
- Syrio Forel, killed while helping Arya to escape
- Theon Greyjoy, killed during the sacking of WF

maybe, but unlikely:
- Stannis Baratheon
- Davos Seaworth
- Jaime Lannister

Min
User ID: 9433023 Jun 19th 5:31 PM
thanks to Ran:

WHO WERE THE TWO MEN THAT ARYA SPIED UPON IN THE DUNGEONS OF KING'S LANDING'S KEEP?

The one was Varys: He appears in the same disguise later, too.

The other one was Illyrio, Daenerys' "protector" who gave her the dragon's eggs.

Markus
User ID: 2547224 Jun 19th 6:52 PM
The problem with this kind of answers is that they don't really answer _why_ we were able to reach these conclusions.

Newbies may not find it especially enlightening why anybody should think that Rhaegar is Jon's father, whereas everybody "knows" that Ned is his father.

The purpose of a FAQ about plot related questions would be to collect and summarize _all_ arguments about a question. Only this would explain _why_ many people think that Rhaegar is Jon's father, why Littlefinger may have ordered to assassinate Bran, or why we think Arya overheard Illyrio and Varys in King's Landing.

Only stating that we think it is so, raises more questions than answers. After all, why should anybody simply accept the opinions of strangers without any kind of explanation?

Unfortunately, I think that this sole board isn't suitable to offer summaries about all the topics which were frequently discussed by us.

The only solution would be if somebody would re-read all the topics in order to write summaries about all the relevant arguments (including references!) which are connected to the questions, and would then put this up as an html document.

However, done carefully, this would be a lot of work. It would require an initial motivation, a lot of patience and persistence, besides a little skill of course, and would obviously be very time consuming -- time which most people probably lack.

Min
User ID: 9433023 Jun 20th 7:09 AM
Markus, you are surely right. But: Some of these questions cannot be answered in short terms. Like "What does the Hound feel for Sansa?".

If we could, this board would not exist. And the newbies come here to discuss these questions, not to read a bold answer - even if there would be one.

And FAQs normally are short answers to questions that should be known _before_ going into a discussion. Most of these quaetions you named we do not all agree upon. How yould we answer them?

What we can try to do, is giving answers to questions that we found a solution for (or that we think we found a solution for), like "WHo were the two men Arya spied upon in the dungeons?". That would make things easier for the new ones.

Questions that are based on opinions, like "Have Renly and Loras been lovers" can in no way be answered here anyway. And if they could, I wouldn't do it...

Min
User ID: 9433023 Jun 20th 7:11 AM
As for questions like "Whose son is Jon", or "Who is dead by the end of CoK", we still could try to give a short survey of what we discussed. There is no way of displaying all the discussions. But we could introduce the newbies to the point we came to, just by telling them the different opinions that there are. After that, they have to join the discussion if the different points interest them, don't you think?

Markus
User ID: 2936914 Jun 20th 9:30 AM
Well, you are of course right, Min.

Many of the above questions can't be answered with a single sentence, or at all, at least not conclusively.

I thought this was a part of the point I had made.:-)

However, this shouldn't prevent us from including them into a compilation of frequently asked questions in my opinion. After all, they might even be the most frequently asked one's.

You ask how they should be answered, if we don't have a real answer?

Well, I think we could summarize all arguments and counterarguments which speak for and against a possible solution of a question.

An example:

Q: Who ordered Bran's assassination?

One of the possible answers is Cersei.

The purpose of a FAQ would be to point out which arguments speak for and which against her as the culprit.

The same has then to be done about all the other possible suspects. This would allow a newbie to see which points were already raised.

I think you might want to check out the WoT-FAQ at:

<http://hugin.imat.com/jordan/>

This might explain how a ASoIaF-FAQ could be done.

However, since we haven't a FAQ at the moment, your suggestion to give a short survey about some questions to help newbies is certainly a good idea.

Omer
User ID: 0485244 Jun 20th 2:51 PM
SO who's volenteerring?

Min
User ID: 9433023 Jun 23rd 8:13 AM
I already started. Feel free to continue. :-) I will add my two pieces whenever my boss lets me have a free hour (which is quite rare, though).

Omer
User ID: 0485244 Jun 24th 4:39 AM
I'd write the Tyrion parts, if anyone has any questions about him. Any ideas what?

Min
User ID: 9433023 Jun 24th 6:36 AM
Just those questions that cannot be answered:
- Is he really Tywin's son?
- How does he feel towards the members of his family?
- will he break with the Lannisters?
- will Shae betray him?
- will Bronn betray him?
and this kind of question... not easy, really.

Ser Nathan
User ID: 0269124 Jun 24th 5:31 PM
How about:
- What do we know about the history of the world of ASoIAF?
- What lines of kings have existed in the past?
- How does heraldry work in the world of ASoIAF?

(just to think of some questions that George R R
Martin has apparently answered to some extent)

Next 20 Messages Newest Messages

Markus User ID: 2547224	Apr 8th 5:05 PM Some suggestions for frequently asked questions (in no particular order): Who are Jon Snow's parents? Who ordered Bran's assasination? Who was overheard by Arya in the dungeons of King's Landing? What are Varys and Illyrio planning? What happened at the Sack of King's Landing with the Targaryens? Were Catelyn and Lysa deflowered by Littlefinger? Who is the father of Robert Arryn? Who has a claim to the Iron Throne? Where is Barristan Selmy? Who is Jaquen H'ghar? Who is Mance Rayder? How many books will the series have? What is the matter with Sansa's hairnet? Whose shadow killed Renly Baratheon and Ser Cortnay Penrose? Why are the crannogmen so small? Who is the father of Joffrey, Tommen and Myrcella? Who are Robert's bastards? Did Ned write a letter before he was executed? Whose idea was Ned's execution? Who is the best warrior in ASoIaF? Who murdered Jon Arryn? Who is Ser Dontos' friend? Which kindness was never done by Jaime Lannister? Why did Jaime join the Kingsguard? Why is Jaime still heir to Casterly Rock? Did Ned act stupid by warning Cersei, refusing Renly's men and Littlefinger's scheme? Is Ned really dead? Is Theon dead? Is Benjen dead? Is Davos dead? Is Rhaego dead? Is Syrio dead? Are Renly, Loras and Brynden gay? What did Catelyn do with Jaime? Is Roose Bolton a traitor? What is Shae feeling for Tyrion? Who ordered Ser Mandon Moore to kill Tyrion? Who knows of Jon's descent? Is Dany really infertile? What is the meaning of Dany's viewings in the House of the Undying Ones? Which castles do the Ironmen hold? What is the matter of Elmar Frey's marriage? Where is Sandor Clegane? What does the Hound feel for Sansa? Is Margaery Tyrell really a virgin? Is Ser Jorah loyal to Dany? What is a Warg? Who is Tyrion's father? Why doesn't the world of Ice and Fire evolve its technological level? Why have the seasons different lengths? I'm quite sure there are still a lot more questions which could be included in a summary of frequently asked questions. All it requires now is someone who has a webpage, enough time and the will to invest it.
Min User ID: 9433023	Apr 9th 5:50 PM Do you call these _some_ suggestions??? ;-) Good job, though. The problem is: these are all FAQs that do not have any particular answer, aren't they?
Markus User ID: 2936914	Apr 10th 7:12 AM Well, I admit "some" is a vague description.:) Further, I think some _can_ be answered conclusively, some are more or less obvious, some are disputed and some are really unclear. I think the Wheel of Time FAQ <http://hugin.imat.com/jordan/> is a suitable guide how a ASoIaF- FAQ could be made, because it shows the inevitability that some frequently asked questions lack a conclusive answer until the end of a series, in fact the most frequently asked ones are the most disputed (Who killed Asmodean?).
Ser Nathan User ID: 0269124	Jun 15th 3:40 PM This FAQ sounds like a great idea, especially for newbies like me who only discovered the bulletin board a month ago. Did anything ever get written..?
Min User ID: 9433023	Jun 18th 5:33 PM Ser Nathan, welcome to the board. And for your question: actually: No. These are the questions that basicly are discussed all the time. So we weren't able to really provide any short and specific answers. But there is a great URL, Revanshe's homepage (she created this board, too. There you can find some good surveys of chapters, lists of people and other useful stuff. The URL is: http://welcome.to/iceandfire have fun with it and feel free to jump into the discussions on the board!
Min User ID: 9433023	Jun 18th 6:35 PM But you are right, Ser Nathan. It would be worth it. I'll start. And hopefully, MArkus and some of the other's will help. Just a very short survey for each question, to get the basics!
Min User ID: 9433023	Jun 18th 6:36 PM WHO ARE JON'S PARENTS??? Most of us think it were Rhaegar and Lyanna. Some still think he really is Ned's bastard. Some think it were Robert and Lyanna.
Min User ID: 9433023	Jun 18th 6:38 PM WHO ORDERED BRAN'S ASSASSINATION? Several guesses: Cersei Jaime Littlefinger Robert Baratheon are those most often heard. check out the "question of the week III" thread for this. or the "Bran's assassination" one.
Min User ID: 9433023	Jun 18th 6:43 PM WHO HAS A CLAIM TO THE IRON THRONE? Officialy: Joffrey, as Robert's son. Followed by Tommen, his brother. But he IS not Robert's son, but Jaime's. So the next in line would be Stannis Baratheon, Robert's brother, followed by Renly (who, unfortunately, is dead) Daenerys claim to the throne comes from her Targaryan lineage: The Targaryans held the throne before Robert Baratheon usurped it.
Min User ID: 9433023	Jun 18th 6:55 PM WHO IS DEAD BY THE END OF CoK? more or less definitely: - Eddard Stark, executed by Ilyn Payne - Renly Baratheon, murdered by a shadow - Lady, Sansa's direwolf, killed by Ned - Rhaego, Daenerys' son, born dead probably: - Syrio Forel, killed while helping Arya to escape - Theon Greyjoy, killed during the sacking of WF maybe, but unlikely: - Stannis Baratheon - Davos Seaworth - Jaime Lannister
Min User ID: 9433023	Jun 19th 5:31 PM thanks to Ran: WHO WERE THE TWO MEN THAT ARYA SPIED UPON IN THE DUNGEONS OF KING'S LANDING'S KEEP? The one was Varys: He appears in the same disguise later, too. The other one was Illyrio, Daenerys' "protector" who gave her the dragon's eggs.
Markus User ID: 2547224	Jun 19th 6:52 PM The problem with this kind of answers is that they don't really answer _why_ we were able to reach these conclusions. Newbies may not find it especially enlightening why anybody should think that Rhaegar is Jon's father, whereas everybody "knows" that Ned is his father. The purpose of a FAQ about plot related questions would be to collect and summarize _all_ arguments about a question. Only this would explain _why_ many people think that Rhaegar is Jon's father, why Littlefinger may have ordered to assassinate Bran, or why we think Arya overheard Illyrio and Varys in King's Landing. Only stating that we think it is so, raises more questions than answers. After all, why should anybody simply accept the opinions of strangers without any kind of explanation? Unfortunately, I think that this sole board isn't suitable to offer summaries about all the topics which were frequently discussed by us. The only solution would be if somebody would re-read all the topics in order to write summaries about all the relevant arguments (including references!) which are connected to the questions, and would then put this up as an html document. However, done carefully, this would be a lot of work. It would require an initial motivation, a lot of patience and persistence, besides a little skill of course, and would obviously be very time consuming -- time which most people probably lack.
Min User ID: 9433023	Jun 20th 7:09 AM Markus, you are surely right. But: Some of these questions cannot be answered in short terms. Like "What does the Hound feel for Sansa?". If we could, this board would not exist. And the newbies come here to discuss these questions, not to read a bold answer - even if there would be one. And FAQs normally are short answers to questions that should be known _before_ going into a discussion. Most of these quaetions you named we do not all agree upon. How yould we answer them? What we can try to do, is giving answers to questions that we found a solution for (or that we think we found a solution for), like "WHo were the two men Arya spied upon in the dungeons?". That would make things easier for the new ones. Questions that are based on opinions, like "Have Renly and Loras been lovers" can in no way be answered here anyway. And if they could, I wouldn't do it...
Min User ID: 9433023	Jun 20th 7:11 AM As for questions like "Whose son is Jon", or "Who is dead by the end of CoK", we still could try to give a short survey of what we discussed. There is no way of displaying all the discussions. But we could introduce the newbies to the point we came to, just by telling them the different opinions that there are. After that, they have to join the discussion if the different points interest them, don't you think?
Markus User ID: 2936914	Jun 20th 9:30 AM Well, you are of course right, Min. Many of the above questions can't be answered with a single sentence, or at all, at least not conclusively. I thought this was a part of the point I had made.:-) However, this shouldn't prevent us from including them into a compilation of frequently asked questions in my opinion. After all, they might even be the most frequently asked one's. You ask how they should be answered, if we don't have a real answer? Well, I think we could summarize all arguments and counterarguments which speak for and against a possible solution of a question. An example: Q: Who ordered Bran's assassination? One of the possible answers is Cersei. The purpose of a FAQ would be to point out which arguments speak for and which against her as the culprit. The same has then to be done about all the other possible suspects. This would allow a newbie to see which points were already raised. I think you might want to check out the WoT-FAQ at: <http://hugin.imat.com/jordan/> This might explain how a ASoIaF-FAQ could be done. However, since we haven't a FAQ at the moment, your suggestion to give a short survey about some questions to help newbies is certainly a good idea.
Omer User ID: 0485244	Jun 20th 2:51 PM SO who's volenteerring?
Min User ID: 9433023	Jun 23rd 8:13 AM I already started. Feel free to continue. :-) I will add my two pieces whenever my boss lets me have a free hour (which is quite rare, though).
Omer User ID: 0485244	Jun 24th 4:39 AM I'd write the Tyrion parts, if anyone has any questions about him. Any ideas what?
Min User ID: 9433023	Jun 24th 6:36 AM Just those questions that cannot be answered: - Is he really Tywin's son? - How does he feel towards the members of his family? - will he break with the Lannisters? - will Shae betray him? - will Bronn betray him? and this kind of question... not easy, really.
Ser Nathan User ID: 0269124	Jun 24th 5:31 PM How about: - What do we know about the history of the world of ASoIAF? - What lines of kings have existed in the past? - How does heraldry work in the world of ASoIAF? (just to think of some questions that George R R Martin has apparently answered to some extent)