Basic noob questions:

Is the purpose of a standing bonus, as found on the King's Pavilion card for instance, for overall strength, or is it just useful for Dominance phase and characters like Jaime Lannister that don't kneel to attack? My little group has been working out the kinks of the game for the past couple of weeks, and I think we played this bonus incorrectly (by counting +3 to STR for the purposes of attack and defense).

Also, a question that we haven't dealt with: Must a deck be based on a house? I ask because I've been buying up a ton of chapter packs and noticed how many cards were either Northmen or Wall characters. It almost seems like you could build a whole deck just off of those neutral characters.

smadkins said:

It's easier to get answers to card specific questions if you can provide all the relevant card text.

The quick answer is yes, it is only useful for standing characters. Characters normally kneel to attack or defend, so would not qualify for King's Pavilion's effect.

smadkins said:

Yes, a House card is compulsory for every deck. If you wish to play a neutral house deck, there is a Neutral house card in the Illyrio's Gift chapter pack.

As for King's Pavillion, the purpose is what you make it. What it does is pretty straight-forward. How you take advantage of it (for example for extra strength in challenges by using characters that don't kneel or effects to stand your characters during a challenge, or try to utilize it to give yourself a better chance to win dominance) is up to you.

Every deck needs a house card. There is also a Neutral house card (found in the Illyrio's Gift chapter pack). However, most neutral themes play best if played in conjunction with one of the proper houses. The Neutral house card is really only useful in very particular decks that feature a wide spread of characters from different houses.

Excellent! Thank you so much! (I will try to be more specific when asking card-specific questions in the future.)

smadkins said:

Sorry if I came across as rude or arrogant. Just trying to make it easier for the questions to be answered faster.