Blood of Dragons

This article expands on the structure of the royal court in King’s Landing, listing the various available offices (though it should be noted that not all offices can be obtained by PCs). Many of the offices listed are established in the canon, others have been added for the purpose of the game. Each office is associated with a rank of Greater, Major, Minor or Lesser, and this rank determines the effect on Influence that holding the office has on a character.

The King

The King's Household

• Steward - The steward's role involves managing the household for the king, overseeing a wide number of aspects and drawing from the king's personal household funds to see it take place. He oversees the servants, he helps arrange the king's daily schedule of audiences and meetings, he helps arrange the logistical aspects when the king chooses to travel outside of the city. The steward is a closely-trusted aide who alleviates many of the day-to-day tasks the king would otherwise have to see to. This a Major Office.
  • Master of Games - A subordinate of the steward, the master of games is in charge of the details of arranging tourneys, races, and other such sports for the court. This is a Lesser Office.
  • Master of Feasts - A subordinate of the steward, the master of feasts is in charge of the details of arranging royal feasts, and has a daily role in helping to oversee the royal kitchens. This is a Lesser Office
• Master of Horse - The master of horse maintains the king's stables and studs. This includes all the horses that the king's household needs, from the horses used to cart goods to the hunters and destriers of knights, squires, and so on. In a military campaign, the master of horse may have a significant role in overseeing the process of cataloging and valuing all horses knights and soldiers in the king's army bring with them, to properly record how much the king must pay in case of loss. This is a Minor Office.
• Master-at-arms - The master-at-arms oversees training of the castle's pages and squires, and makes sure that the king's household knights are maintaining their readiness. A secondary role of the master-at-arms is managing and overseeing the king's armory in the Red Keep. This is a Minor Office.
• Royal Huntsman - The royal huntsman oversees and arranges hunts for the king. This includes hiring huntsmen, and interacting with the king's falconers and kennelkeepers. They receive funds to carry out these tasks, as well as a limited license to hunt for their own pleasure in the kingswood, or to sell these licenses to others who wish to hunt there. This is a Lesser Office.
• Keeper of the King's Mews - In charge of the mews, they see to the acquisition, breeding, training, and use of the king's falcons for hunts. This is a Lesser Office.

Other Royal Households

• Mistresses of Keys - Acting as a sort of steward for the royal princesses, the various mistresses of keys arrange their households and help to manage their funds and their daily activities. This is a Minor Office.
  • Ladies-in-waiting - Ladies in the service of the princesses, they act as body servants and companions. It is a coveted position for young ladies, especially those unbetrothed or unwed, as it provides them the opportunity to experience court life to the fullest, and to show themselves to best advantage. Ladies-in-waiting have the ear of a princess, and are privy to the inner workings of the court. Many great ladies at court had their beginnings as ladies-in-waiting. This is a Court Position.
• Stewards - Acting as a sort of steward for the royal princes, the household stewards arrange their households and help to manage their funds and their daily activities. This is a Minor Office.
  • Companions - Gentlemen in the service of the princes, they act as both body servants and companions. It is a coveted position for young knights and lords, especially those unbetrothed or unwed, as it provides them the opportunity to experience court life to the fullest, to show themselves to best advantage, and to develop a connection with a prince. Companions have the prince's ear, and are privy to the inner workings of the court. Many of the chief courtiers had their beginnings as a royal companion. This is a Court Position.

The Hand

The Hand speaks with the king's voice. He can carry out all tasks that the king himself might perform, from leading armies to sitting the Iron Throne, all in the king's name. This is a Greater Office.

• Captain of the Hand's Guard - Head of the Hand's guards, the captain oversees their training and readiness. This is a Lesser Office.
• Steward - The Hand's steward arranges his household and his activities. This is a Lesser Office.

The Small Council

• Grand Maester - The Grand Maester of the realm is the king's counselor and chief healer, and has a place on the small council where his learned opinion carries the same weight as that of any other council member. This is a Greater Office.
  • Archmaester - One of the chief maesters in the realm, they elect the new Grand Maester and manage the Citadel, including the training of new maesters and the assignment of maesters where needed. This is a Minor Office.
• Lord Commander of the Kingsguard - The Lord Commander, selected by the king, is a knight of high standing and generally wide experience. This is a Greater Office.
  • Kingsguard - The six other knights of the Kingsguard are widely-regarded as some of the finest in the Seven Kingdoms. They swear away their inheritances and hope for children, their celibacy serving as part of a holy seal that binds them to the king. They swear to keep his secrets, obey his commands, and protect his life with their life's blood. This is a special Office, reflecting the limited political role but high prestige that they have. Note that currently PCs are not sought for these roles.
• Master of Coin - The king's treasurer, the master of coin has a great role in the raising of and disbursement of funds in the realm. They oversee a vast bureaucratic apparatus, ranging from direct assistants to harbormasters, wine and wool factors, customs sergeants, tax farmers and tax collectors, and more. This is a Greater Office.
  • Harbormaster of King's Landing - Chief of the busy port at King's Landing, they oversee customs sergeants and others. They have a role in seeing who gets what berths, who has access to the royal shipyard among non-royal ships, and help to arrange transport of freight from ships to the dock warehouses. This is a Minor Office.
    • Customs Sergeants - Officers in charge of assessing the value of cargos to be transferred through the port of King's Landing, and determining what customs duties are required. This is a Lesser Office.
  • Keepers of the Keys - The four Keepers of the Keys literally control the keys that open certain doors and chests that belong to the king's household. Broadly speaking, this extends to having the responsibility of overseeing the items that these locks guard. One holds charge of the king's jewels, another has charge of the king's purse -- those funds that the king keeps purely for his own interests, another still commands the key to the armory (and so associates closely with the Master-at-Arms), and the last holds the keys to the king's manors outside of the city. With each office, there come responsibilities, including hiring of assistants, overseeing investments of personal wealth, acquiring such things as the king desires. This is a Minor Office.
  • King's Counter - Subordinate most directly involved in managing the taxation of the realm, making sure that all that ought to be coming in in tax revenue comes in as intended. Royal tax assessors, tax farmers (men who pay to "farm" the royal tax for a lump sum, on the expectation that they'll be able to turn a profit), and so on are in their employment. This is a Major Office.
    • Tax Assessors - Individuals tasked with assessing royal taxes and seeing to their collection. Licenses to carry out this task are often sold, with those purchasing the license allowed to keep what they collect, in which case they are called tax farmers and are not direct subordinates of anyone. This is a Lesser Office.
  • King's Scales - Official keeper of the royal weights and measures, and enforcing them as the standard throughout the realm. Various kinds of factors -- wool, wine, spice factors -- are in his employment, and they play a more direct role in assessing tariffs and duties. This is a Major Office.
    • Factors - The various factors under the King's Scales range in levels of importance. However, the chief factors help to sell various goods produced by the royal lands -- wool from the king's flocks, wine from the king's few vineyards, and so on. They also purchase such goods for the king's household, particularly spices, which is almost entirely imported. This is a Minor Office.
  • Officers of the Royal Mints - The three royal mints lie in King's Landing, Lannisport, and Oldtown. The officers oversee the minting of money, and arrange the shipment and protection of specie. This is a Minor Office.
• Master of Laws - The master of laws oversees the law of the realm, committing any changes to the records and maintaining the codices. They are advisory and supervisory in their role, and are not themselves justiciars -- they do not try cases or pronounce judgments, except in so far as is appropriate to their own rank (i.e. a lord who is master of law would still try cases within his own lands). They also carry the task of overseeing the specific legal apparatus of King's Landing, reducing the work the king himself must carry out in hearing petitions. This is a Greater Office.
  • High Reeve - The chief judge of King's Landing, although their writ runs purely to low justice. Murder, treason, and crimes potentially meriting execution are high justice, and are dealt with by the king and his Hand in the city. This is a Major Office.
    • Reeve - A lesser judge, carrying out rulings on cases of low justice. This is a Lesser Office.
  • High Bailiff - The High Bailiff leads the bailiffs that act for the High Reeve. They are like the city watch, but purely under the authority of the High Reeve and the Master of Laws. Their origins relate to a dispute between a past master of laws and the Commander of the City Watch. This is a Minor Office.
    • Bailiff - A member of the High Bailiff's command, the bailiffs investigate and gather information concerning cases that are or may be before the reeves. This often puts them in conflict with the City Watch. This is a Lesser Office.
  • King's Justice - The king's executioner, he also oversees the royal dungeons and gaols. This is a Minor Office.
    • Chief Gaoler - Directly supervising the gaols, they hire undergaloers and keep track of the prisoners. This is a Lesser Office.
    • Lord Confessor - The king's torturer. This is a Minor Office.
  • Justiciar - A handful of men holding powers of high justice directly from the king, authorized to try matters involving pits and gallows. They travel the Seven Kingdoms, commissioned by the king to bring his justice to those parts of the realm that require it. One common task is to call an open court in various areas where there have been complaints about the rule of local lords or knights, to hear complaints and make judgments. The justiciar's power can bring them into open conflict with lords, and some lords began their rebellions by murdering a justiciar who had attempted to force the king's law upon them. This is a Major Office.
• Master of Ships - The commander of the royal fleet, the master of ships oversees their maintenance and preparation. This is a Greater Office.
• Commander of the Sea Watch - Head of the patrol fleet that specifically guards the waters of Blackwater Bay in the vicinity of King's Landing, stretching up towards Crackclaw Point, the shores of the kingswood, and Massey's Hook. This is a Minor Office.
• Royal Shipwright - Often a tradesman, the shipwright oversees the royal shipyard at King's Landing and the building of his galleys. This is a Minor Office.
• Royal Captains - Commanders of the king's war galleys. This is a Lesser Office.
• Master of Whisperers - Controller of the king's spies and informers, providing him such information as he requires regarding activities both within and without the realm. This is a Greater Office.
  • Informants and Spies - Those who provide the master of whisperers his secrets.

Other Offices

• Commander of the City Watch - Head of the city watch, the commander maintains a force of 2,000 men to police the city and maintain the peace. This is a Major Office.
  • Officer of the Gate - One of the seven senior officers in command of the seven gates of the city, they oversee policing in the quarters of the city adjoining their gate. This is a Minor Office.
    • Officer of the City Watch - One of a few score officers of the City Watch. This is a Lesser Office.
• Warden of Crackclaw Point - A deputy of the king assigned the duty of making sure the knights and lords of Crackclaw Point are able and prepared to answer his call. The petty lords and knights of the region are fiercely loyal to the Targaryens, but also famously insular and given to feuding, making the task of the warden more difficult. The warden must occasionally attempt to put an end to such feuding, as well as assisting when there are conflicts with certain lords of the narrow sea who attempt to impose taxes on the inhabitants, as has happened from time to time. Crackclaw Point, barren and often lawless as it is, also has several coves where smugglers are known to frequent. This is a Major Office.
  • Deputy Warden of Crackclaw Point - The warden's right hand. This is a Minor Office.
    • Officers of Crackclaw Point - Knights and men-at-arms in the pay of the warden to police Crackclaw Point and carry out his commands. This is a Lesser Office.
• Warden of the Kingswood - A deputy of the king assigned the duty of making sure that the kingswood is maintained for the king's pleasure, and that peace is kept within its lands. The warden oversees matters related to forestry, hunting, and fishing in this area. They are given funds to hire foresters and knights to prevent banditry and poaching, as well as certain privileges related to hunting and logging in the wood. This is a Major Office.
  • Deputy Warden of the Kingswood - The warden's right and left hands. One is charged with command of the foresters, the other with matters related to the game that the king hunts. Each works to make sure no illict logging or poaching takes place. This is a Minor Office.
    • Officers of the Kingswood - Knights and men-at-arms in the pay of the warden to police and maintain the kingswood as he commands. This is a Lesser Office.
• High Septon - The spiritual father of the Faith, he puts aside his name when the convocation of the Most Devout elect him. He maintains his seat at Visenya's Sept. Though this is a Greater Office, since the days of Maegor and Jaehaerys the High Septon has kept a distance from the politics of the land.
  • Most Devout - Septons and Septas of the highest rank, they reside with the High Septon and help to oversee the spiritual and temporal matters of the Faith. Unlike the tradition of the High Septon, Most Devout have been known to accept temporal dirt on their hands in the courts and intrigues of the realm, in pursuit of the bettertment of the Faith. This is a Major Office.