You are made a Maester of the Citadel(Game of Thrones)

[FaxModem1]

Due to Act of Q, you are now one of the Maesters at the Citadel in Oldtown, circa Robert's Rebellion, with all physical and mental ailments removed, with a guarantee of living for the next 50 years unimpeded unless met by violent end.

Your mission is to make the Maesters improve Westeros(by your own defnition), as opposed to their collective diddling that they will do in the books and TV show.

What do you do?

[Solauren]

How much poison do I have access too, and will the other Maester's recognize it?

Because seriously, I think it might be to much like the Catholic church in that it's set in it's ways, and would need the upper levels removed before I can make any headway.

Also, 50 years? Crap, that means I'm going to have to deal with the White Walkers.

[Zor]

Work on steam engines and firearms.

Zor

[Elheru Aran]

Find a Lord with enough money and an inventive bend. Make a few demonstrations; does Westeros have water-powered trip-hammers and gearing? Mouldboard ploughs?

Honestly Westeros is in a strange place technologically. They probably have pretty decent faculties when it comes to weapon and armour production, and they've got some impressive buildings (that granted took either a long time, or in the case of the Wall, straight-up magic, to build). But in, for example, agriculture, they seem pretty low end. Literacy, probably close to nil apart from the upper classes and the maesters-- and they don't have a whole lot of incentive to build it up. What do we know about internal travel and trade within Westeros?

[Galvatron]

Work on steam engines and firearms.

Yup. Appeal to their greed and show them how even a rudimentary rail system could improve their economy and fill their coffers with gold.

[Zor]

Work on steam engines and firearms.

Yup. Appeal to their greed and show them how even a rudimentary rail system could improve their economy and fill their coffers with gold.

Riverboats as well. Westeros has several major waterways on which paddlewheelers could thrive.

Zor

[Solauren]

Really, it would take a bit of a review to see what there is to work with, both in terms of existing infrastructure, technology, settlements, and hoarded knowledge.

[Elheru Aran]

Work on steam engines and firearms.

Yup. Appeal to their greed and show them how even a rudimentary rail system could improve their economy and fill their coffers with gold.

Riverboats as well. Westeros has several major waterways on which paddlewheelers could thrive.

Zor

A helpful map:



Bear in mind, however, that much north of King's Landing, the rivers are impassable during winter if iced up. Well, perhaps one could use sleighs...

However as both Solauren and I noted, we need more background. Steam engines for example require large scale production of tubing and metal sheet to build boilers. You could MAYBE make a steam engine out of wood (similar technology to, for example, barrel-making) but I'm highly dubious as to whether it could stand the pressures and heat necessary; moisture and heat are not a great combination for wood. Cold rolling of iron and steel doesn't really happen in the real world until the 1600s, although the concept of a rolling mill was around before then, used for soft nonferrous metals. Before that all sheet has to be laboriously hammered out of ingots, repeatedly annealed to keep it from work-hardening (although in the case of armour plate, work-hardening was desirable to some degree...).

I don't know if the wikis are any help, but here:

https://gameofthrones.fandom.com/wiki/S ... Technology
http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Sc ... technology

Of note: general setting is pre-gunpowder Middle Ages. Medicine is however slightly superior to OTL per GRRM thanks to the maester system. Ships may be of reasonably decent technology; they have made some very long voyages similar to the exploratory feats of the Age of Sail, and of course trade along the coasts and rivers of Westeros and between the continents of Westeros and Essos is brisk. Westeros does have an advantage of an unified currency-- no money-changing necessary, and they do have banks and presumably some high-level bookkeeping, so for financial reasons at least they're probably acquainted with reasonably advanced arithmetic. They have 'far-eyes', telescopes, used for astronomical observation.

Honestly? There's not a whole lot of reason, apart from the bitter winters and the regular bouts of warfare, for technology to NOT improve in the roughly three hundred years or so of the AC era. One reason I've heard is that the maesters are the only people doing actual research and innovation... which I find somewhat bogus, there has never been a craftsperson who didn't tinker with things to make their job easier/quicker-- but if that was the case?

Find a lord willing to protect me. Break my chains, and offer knowledge freely to all, starting with the lord's vassal craftspeople first because I've gotta give him some incentive to keep me safe.

[Lord Revan]

Something we should ask is does Westeros have the resources to produce enough steel that's both the right type and high enough quality to satisfy the production of firearms and steam engines, since not just any old lump of iron will do.

[LaCroix]

Something we should ask is does Westeros have the resources to produce enough steel that's both the right type and high enough quality to satisfy the production of firearms and steam engines, since not just any old lump of iron will do.

If you can make swords and plate armor, then you can make guns and steam engines. The metallurgy is not that far apart.
Only if you want to make modern lightweight guns you need special alloys, and to this day, a most engine blocks are cast iron or even aluminium with steel inserts for the pistons.

I'd say everything up to Colt/Winchester level of firearms is possible, with a hand fitted Colt being the uper limit of their abilities. I honestly don't think their lathe&mill tech is yet there to do bolt actions.

Steam engines can be done with their tech, they tend to have a more constant pressure compared to combustion engines, which is less tough on metal. Also, steam engines can be done by riveting/soldering and forge-welding (if you have cranes to move the resulting bigger pieces, and a custom made shop to do so.

Most important thing I would give them are Surface plates, rulers/gages/micrometers, and then we'll go on an make lathes and mills once we have those. And furnaces.
Give them excenter presses and drop hammers for the forging, and you've got the basics going to make everything.

[The Romulan Republic]

Well, shit. Doesn't being a Maester preclude ever having a family or, you know, living any other kind of life? Or is that just the Night's Watch?

Selfish answer? Jump on a boat to Bravos with as much gold as I can carry.

Selfless answer? Work on a printing press, fire arms, and improvements to roads, medicine, and agriculture as my top priorities. Try to work my way into a position as Maester on the Small Council, eventually.

[FaxModem1]

Well, shit. Doesn't being a Maester preclude ever having a family or, you know, living any other kind of life? Or is that just the Night's Watch?

Selfish answer? Jump on a boat to Bravos with as much gold as I can carry.

Selfless answer? Work on a printing press, fire arms, and improvements to roads, medicine, and agriculture as my top priorities. Try to work my way into a position as Maester on the Small Council, eventually.

If you think 'robbing the Maester treasury and hightailing it to Braavos' is 'by your own definition, improving Westeros', then that's a valid option. Otherwise, it kind of goes against Q's wishes there.

[The Romulan Republic]

Well, shit. Doesn't being a Maester preclude ever having a family or, you know, living any other kind of life? Or is that just the Night's Watch?

Selfish answer? Jump on a boat to Bravos with as much gold as I can carry.

Selfless answer? Work on a printing press, fire arms, and improvements to roads, medicine, and agriculture as my top priorities. Try to work my way into a position as Maester on the Small Council, eventually.

If you think 'robbing the Maester treasury and hightailing it to Braavos' is 'by your own definition, improving Westeros', then that's a valid option. Otherwise, it kind of goes against Q's wishes there.

I mean, I'm sure I could put the money to good use in Braavos…

[Solauren]

Actually, stealing all their treasure could force them to start charging for some services, maybe sell ideas and the like, which could open the floodgates to cause a start in technological improvement in Westeros.

That, and once in Braavos, you hire the faceless men to remove the upper levels of the Maesters, in order to put the younger, and therefore one would hope more open to change in charge.

[FaxModem1]

Actually, stealing all their treasure could force them to start charging for some services, maybe sell ideas and the like, which could open the floodgates to cause a start in technological improvement in Westeros.

That, and once in Braavos, you hire the faceless men to remove the upper levels of the Maesters, in order to put the younger, and therefore one would hope more open to change in charge.

Or you create a brain drain of ideas, as all the top learned men are dead, with the secrets they know gone, those who are smart enough to become Maesters avoid joining because they end up dead, and those who are smart enough to improve things and advance through the Maester ranks fear that they'll be killed for being too smart.

I'd see that going horribly, mostly because it's Westeros.

[Solauren]

I'm pretty sure the Faceless Men can eliminate people in a way that looks natural, even to the Maesters.

[Bedlam]

I'm pretty sure the Faceless Men can eliminate people in a way that looks natural, even to the Maesters.

One or two maybe, but a dozen or more top Maesters dying at more or less the same time? At best it would look like a plague which would probably make everybody else want to get as far away from the Citadel as possible rather than fill their shoes.

Going back to the original proposition are you an important Maester or an apprentice? If it's the latter you've probably got 20 years or more of emptying chamber pots before you get any power and that likely depends on how well you can play the game of politics.

[Elheru Aran]

Going back to the original proposition are you an important Maester or an apprentice? If it's the latter you've probably got 20 years or more of emptying chamber pots before you get any power and that likely depends on how well you can play the game of politics.

OP states that you are a Maester, so presumably you are at least past the point of apprenticeship, but no specification was given to age/position other than stating that you can expect to live ~50ish more years, so presumably still reasonably young.

[Solauren]

I'm pretty sure the Faceless Men can eliminate people in a way that looks natural, even to the Maesters.

One or two maybe, but a dozen or more top Maesters dying at more or less the same time? At best it would look like a plague which would probably make everybody else want to get as far away from the Citadel as possible rather than fill their shoes.

Let's see, I'm in Braavos, then the Maesters start dropping dead of a plague.
I can return, not have the plague, and take charge.

I am not seeing the problem.

[Bedlam]

I'm pretty sure the Faceless Men can eliminate people in a way that looks natural, even to the Maesters.

One or two maybe, but a dozen or more top Maesters dying at more or less the same time? At best it would look like a plague which would probably make everybody else want to get as far away from the Citadel as possible rather than fill their shoes.

Let's see, I'm in Braavos, then the Maesters start dropping dead of a plague.
I can return, not have the plague, and take charge.

I am not seeing the problem.

Take charge of whom if the majority of the order has headed for the hill for fear of the plague? Plus if you're random Maester number 6 only know for stealing a bunch of stuff and running away why would anyone follow you?

[Solauren]

One or two maybe, but a dozen or more top Maesters dying at more or less the same time? At best it would look like a plague which would probably make everybody else want to get as far away from the Citadel as possible rather than fill their shoes.

Let's see, I'm in Braavos, then the Maesters start dropping dead of a plague.
I can return, not have the plague, and take charge.

I am not seeing the problem.

Take charge of whom if the majority of the order has headed for the hill for fear of the plague? Plus if you're random Maester number 6 only know for stealing a bunch of stuff and running away why would anyone follow you?

If I'm 'random Maester #6', how the hell did I steal the Citadel's treasury, get it to the harbor, and get to Braavos without getting caught?
I'm assuming, on this particular tandent, that you'd have to be fairly high up in the Citadel to pull off robbing them blind and getting away with it.

Truth be told, it would be far easier to contact the Faceless men, get them to murder the upper levels over a course of 6 months so I get promoted along the way (i.e first victim is the head of the Citadel), and then let them take the treasury as payment.

[Knife]

I introduce Germ theory and a few standard hygiene protocols and basic preventative health issues. I take that and try to channel it into a new 'suborder' and build a kind of Hospitallers in the 7 kingdoms. I train, in essence, military EMT's and pimp them out to the Kingdom's with a couple basic roles. They get a basic 'immunity' from combat. An agreement that they are not attacked and in return they will take care of all wounded and even defend the wounded if need be. For this, the Hospitallers will set up at least one Hospital in that kingdom and administer aide to that kingdom in healthcare. Basic Nurses will be trained to take care of people at the hospital. The Lord would have to help pay for that hospital, and many services would require pay, but basic needs would be free for the low folk.

Obviously it would take a few decades to nurture this, but hopefully before the Great War against the dead, I'd control a small army spread out between the 7 kingdoms and be able to assemble and make my way to the Wall or Winterfell by season 8.