I apologize in advance for the noob-ness of this question, but I am new to card games and have recently picked this up.

It seems as if the only way to gain power is through winning an undefended challenge, by winning a challenge against a title you directly oppose, through a character's reknown, or by winning a power challenge against an opponent (but only if he or she already has power). Is this correct? Winning an defended military or intrigue challenge against an opponent you do not directly oppose gains you no power? I understand it will still kill characters or discard cards respectively (as well as trigger possible responses), but it will gain you no power in and of itself. Thank you!

Halveric said:

And by winning Dominance. And through individual card effects that allow you to gain power (like Eddard Stark's "comes into play" ability). But yes, those are the main ways of gaining power toward your win total.

Halveric said:

It is true that if you attack an opponent and the challenge is opposed, you gain no power (unless characters have Renown or you have some other effect that lets you gain power) as part of the "prize" for winning, but killing an opponent's character or discarding a card from their hand is certainly a gain for your position to gain power. Remember that if the defender wins a challenge, they do no get any sort of "prize" for winning the challenge (again, except for Renown or if you have some other effect that lets you do something after winning on defense).

So yes, winning a military or intrigue challenge (that the defender opposes) tends to be about improving your position in the game, while winning a power challenge tends to be about getting yourself directly closer to the win while taking your opponent back a step at the same time. Don't underestimate the importance of the military or intrigue challenge in winning the game, though.

Thank you for the reply and explanation, ktom. I had forgotten about winning dominance as a means of obtaining power when I posted. I think all of the other mechanics will start to fall into place as I play a few more games.