The Vale

The vale is the domain of the Wardens of the East, House Arryn.

The Vale
The Vale is an old, rich and extremely defensible country. It is usually highest in maintenance, because of the incredible costs of its fortifications and its many convenient mountain ranges. While a small strip of land at the top of the Vale is an easy target for raiders, the only place to land next to that are the fortified passes of the Bloody Gate or the harbor of Gulltown.

The Camping Curse
While defensive play in the Vale is easy and usually favored, this leads to an occurance known as the "camping curse" by many players. This idea states that these incredible fortifications lead to the lords of the Vale playing way too defensively, and thus practically isolating themselves for the entire game. This has been seen in stark contrasts with countries like the Riverlands and Reach, which have been centers of warfare in both clashes. These players are usually way more involved in warfare and diplomacy and thus have a much better time. This curse has been the bane of many Vale players, who just kinda sat there for twelve to sixteen hours.

Resources
The Vale is a rich country. Usually it benefits greatly from the trade flowing in across the narow sea, from cities like Braavos and Pentos. The Vale is usually third in grain production, just after the Riverlands and the Reach. This financial security, combined with it's geographical security, means that many lords of the vale choose to fund their side of the war effort rather than actively participate.

People
The people of the Vale are an old and traditional people, who think of themselves as the true ancestors to the andals of old. Many noble houses still have old rune-inscribed bronze artifacts in their vaults, weapons with which their ancestors fought the First men.

Third Clash
The Third Clash was an absolute disaster for the Vale. In it's wake most of their armies were shatterd, and to make it worse the new king had allowed the peasant mob from King's Landing to rule the vale in their stead. This greatly angered the nobles and smallfolk alike, who formed royalist conspiracies everywhere to overthrow these new communist overlords.