Stretching from Moat Cailin in the south to the Wall and beyond, the North is nearly as large as the other six kingdoms of Westeros combined. It is a harsh land filled with bogs, forests, and large stretches of open plain dotted by the various castles and holdfasts of the people who inhabit the frozen region. The Starks of Winterfell Castle are the most prominent of these people, having ruled from their seat in Winterfell for thousands of years first as Kings of the North and later as Wardens of the North under Aegon, although many houses hold claim to territory within the North. Also found within the region’s icy grasp is the Night’s Watch, outcasts from the Seven Kingdoms and eternal guardians against terrors beyond the North.

The Northerners are a tough and hardy people who are used to the cruelty of winter. The blood of the First Men runs strong in the North; its people maintain the ancient ways, worshipping the old gods and their weirwoods, but some, mainly around the area of White Harbor near the southern boundary, have taken the faith of the Seven. Bastards born in the North are given the surname Snow.

“They say it grows so cold up here in winter that a man’s laughter freezes in his throat and chokes him to death.”

— Lord Eddard Stark

Great House

Stark

Minor Houses

Bolton, Cerwyn, Flint, Glover, Hornwood, Karstark, Manderly, Mormont, Reed, Tallhart, Umber

Mountain Clans

Knott, Liddle, Norrey, Wull

Regional Benefits

All characters from the North gain the following benefits:

• Favoured Skill: Survival
• +2 bonus on Handle Animal and Intimidate checks. Northmen get straight to the point and have no time for banter and nonsense in their dealings with others. Additionally, the wild is in the northmen, and they have a better ability to master beasts.
• +2 bonus on all Fortitude Saves to resist damage from the cold. In the North it is rarely anything but cold, and its people have adapted to resist the ill effects of freezing temperatures.

Characters from the North have the option of choosing from the following Feats as one of their Background Feats: Blood of the First Men, Dreams, Giant’s Blood, Noble Spirit, or Tradesman.