History AdaptationalBadass / GameOfThrones

* Lady Olenna Tyrell is the blunt matriarch of the Tyrell family, unafraid to speak her mind who helped mastermind the assassination of a King in both the show and books, but the show makes her into de facto head of the family, comparable to Tywin Lannister. In the books her power is more limited to a woman of her station and she complains bitterly that her son doesn't listen to her on decisions of the household.

* Jaime manages to defeat a Dornish knight in "Sons of the Harpy" and holds his own against Obara Sand in "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken", while at the equivalent point in the books he continues to get his ass handed to him by a sparring partner who is hardly a gifted swordsman. Of course, in the books he compensates by becoming a badass general, negotiator and administrator, an aspect that is missing in Seasons 4 and 5, though it appears in Season 6 onward as he is the one who forges alliances with the lords and outwits Tyrion by sacrificing Casterly Rock (temporarily as he points out they won't be able to hold it) to seize control over the Reach and stranding the Unsullied army there, weakening Daenerys force to the point she is the one on the losing side of what would have been a CurbStompBattle in her favor.

* Jaime manages to defeat a Dornish knight in "Sons of the Harpy" and holds his own against Obara Sand in "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken", while at the equivalent point in the books he continues to get his ass handed to him by a sparring partner who is hardly a gifted swordsman. Of course, in the books he compensates by becoming a badass general, negotiator and administrator, an aspect that is missing in Seasons 4 and 5, though it appears in Season 6 onward as he is the one who forges alliances with the lords and outwits Tyrion by sacrificing Casterly Rock (temporarily as he points out they won't be able to hold it) to seize control over the Reach and stranding the Unsullied army there, weakening Daenerys force to the point she is the one on the losing side of what would have been a CurbStompBattle in her favor..

* Jaime manages to defeat a Dornish knight in "Sons of the Harpy" and holds his own against Obara Sand in "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken", while at the equivalent point in the books he continues to get his ass handed to him by a sparring partner who is hardly a gifted swordsman. Of course, in the books he compensates by becoming a badass general, negotiator and administrator, an aspect that is missing in Seasons 4 and 5, though it appears in Season 6 onward as he is the one who forges alliance with the lords and outwits Tyrion by sacrificing Casterly Rock (temporarily as he points out they won't be able to hold it) to seize control over the Reach and stranding the Unsullied army there, weakening Daenerys force to the point she is the one on the losing side of what would have been a CurbStompBattle in her favor..

* Jaime manages to defeat a Dornish knight in "Sons of the Harpy" and holds his own against Obara Sand in "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken", while at the equivalent point in the books he continues to get his ass handed to him by a sparring partner who is hardly a gifted swordsman. Of course, in the books he compensates by becoming a badass general and negotiator.

** In the novels, Robb is a lesser swordsman (though a better jouster) than Jon and though he fights where the fighting is thickest in both the books and the show, in the books he is protected by an ample bodyguard including Theon and 30 skilled warriors (mostly the sons and one daughter of his bannermen) and his direwolf, while in the show, Jon and Theon both consider him TheAce and the bodyguard is left mostly implied.

* Daario Naharis' combat prowess is something of an InformedAbility in the books, with him not doing much on-page fighting once he brings the heads of the other Stormcrow commanders. On the show, he kicks all kinds of ass in the seige of Yunkai and demonstrates himself to be quite the LghtningBruiser, takes the AdaptedOut Belwas Strong's place as Dany's Champion and ''curb stomps'' the champion of Mereen, and is basically a OneManArmy.

* Daario Naharis' combat prowess is something of an InformedAbility in the books, with himm not doing much on-page fighting once he brings the heads of the other Stormcrow commanders. On the show, he kicks all kinds of ass in the seige of Yunkai, takes the AdaptedOut Belwas Strong's place as Dany's Champion and ''curb stomps'' the champion of Mereen, and is basically a OneManArmy.

** In the books, she's quite skilled but tends to win only narrowly and [[GainingTheWillToKill never kills]] until well into ''Literature/AFeastForCrows'' where her body count reaches just ''four''[[note]]Pyg, Timeon, Shagwell, and Rorge.[[/note]]. In the show, in Season 2, she easily and remorselessly dispatches entire bands of nefarious mooks (including a pair of Renly's Kingsguard) single-handed while sobbing at his murder, kills a small squad of Stark soldiers in barely a few seconds a few episodes later, easily defeats Jaime with swords, and in Season 4 even beats the Hound (whom she never met, let alone fought in the books) in a swordfight with similar ease, and she out-wrestles and is able to physically overpower him in an extremely brutal brawl a few seconds later, sending him earless and tumbling down a cliffside. In the Hound's defense, the infection in his neck put him at a bit of a disadvantage.

** While still a certifiable badass and an excellent commander, Robb makes several additional political blunders in the books, whereas in the show, he's more politically astute.

* Ramsay is portrayed in the show as a deadly archer able to kill half a dozen men in seconds and swordsman capable of fending off a squad of "the best killers in the Iron Islands" while [[MadeOfIron shirtless]], coming out without a scratch, and devastating an entire army by raiding their camp with twenty men. In the books, Ramsay wasn't nearly so competent at fighting because he was never given any training by a master-at-arms and as such, his own father describes him as a very uncouth fighter who lacks proper training, driven by butchery rather than skill and his most impressive combat feat is cutting the arm off an elderly knight who mistook him for an ally. Also, he's more of a general in the series and listens to his father's military judgment during TheSiege of Winterfell whereas Book!Ramsay's main approach was mainly subterfuge, guile. Justified in-series because Season Five reveals that Roose took Ramsay in as a baby when, in the books, he made himself known to his father in his teens. So Ramsay seems to have far better training in the television series than the complete lack of it that he had in the books.

* Ramsay is portrayed in the show as a deadly archer and swordsman capable of fending off a squad of "the best killers in the Iron Islands" while [[MadeOfIron shirtless]] and devastating an entire army by raiding their camp with twenty men. In the books, his own father describes him as a very uncouth fighter who lacks proper training and his most impressive combat feat is cutting the arm off an elderly knight who mistook him for an ally.

* While still a certifiable badass and an excellant commander, Robb makes several additional political blunders whereas in the show, he's more politically astute. In the novels Robb is a lesser swordsman (though a better jouster) than Jon and though he fights where the fighting is thickest in both the books and the show, in the books he is protected by an ample bodyguard including Theon and 30 skilled warriors (mostly the sons and one daughter of his bannermen) and his direwolf, while in the show, Jon and Theon both consider him TheAce and the bodyguard is left mostly implied. His first execution also requires only a single stroke with a longsword instead of several even with a proper axe. His AgeLift and more confrontational attitude (especially with his mom Catelyn, who in the books calls him out on acting childish several times) as well as his bravado not being seen as posturing to cover up insecurity downplay the "overwhelmed teenager" aspect that makes him such a [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruction]] of the KidHero in the books.
* Arya is a talented archer in the show, whereas in the books, she laments that she has no such skill and can't even bend Anguy's longbow. Plus there's her MadeOfIron exploits surviving multiple stomach wounds in "The Broken Man" and "No One". Also, in the original book series, her killing of Polliver was done in the heat of the moment. In "Two Swords", however, Arya kills one mook, and later has Polliver at the pointy end of her sword Needle which he stole from her, bonus points for reenacting the way Polliver killed Lommy by quoting him word for word before killing Polliver the exact same way.
* Jojen claims Bran's ability to enter the mind of another human is BeyondTheImpossible in "The Rains of Castamere". In the books, the skinchanger Varamyr not only shows that it's possible (though ''extremely'' taboo) but fails in a way that implies Bran only succeeded because his target was simple-minded.
* The show's surly, cynical, and brutal Brienne is a far cry from the novels' [[WideEyedIdealist naive]] and [[ShrinkingViolet insecure]] girl. In the books, she's quite skilled but tends to win only narrowly and [[GainingTheWillToKill never kills]] until well into ''Literature/AFeastForCrows'' where her body count reaches just ''four''[[note]]Pyg, Timeon, Shagwell, and Rorge.[[/note]]. In the show, in Season 2, she easily and remorselessly dispatches entire bands of nefarious mooks (including a pair of Renly's Kingsguard) single-handed while sobbing at his murder, kills a small squad of Stark soldiers in barely a few seconds a few episodes later, easily defeats Jaime with swords, and in Season 4 even beats the Hound (whom she never met, let alone fought in the books) in a swordfight with similar ease, and she out-wrestles and is able to physically overpower him in an extremely brutal brawl a few seconds later, sending him earless and tumbling down a cliffside. In the Hound's defense, the infection in his neck put him at a bit of a disadvantage. In Season 6, she kills three Bolton men-at-arms pursuing Sansa and Theon as they escape; one outright as she charges in on horseback, a second in a duel after she gets dismounted, and a third after she ''tackles both horse and rider to the ground''.
* Stannis is certainly no slouch in the novels, but like Ned his reputation stands much more on his generalship than his personal skill so he prefers to command from the rear where he has a good overview. Not so in the show, where he's the first man up the ladders at King's Landing and fights like a OneManArmy.

* The show's surly, cynical, and brutal Brienne is a far cry from the novels' [[WideEyedIdealist naive]] and [[ShrinkingViolet insecure]] girl. In the books, she's quite skilled but tends to win only narrowly and [[GainingTheWillToKill never kills]] until well into ''Literature/AFeastForCrows'' where her body count reaches just ''four''[[note]]Pyg, Timeon, Shagwell, and Rorge.[[/note]]. In the show, in Season 2, she easily and remorselessly dispatches entire bands of nefarious mooks (including a pair of Renly's Kingsguard) single-handed while sobbing at his murder, kills a small squad of Stark soldiers in barely a few seconds a few episodes later, easily defeats Jaime with swords, and in Season 4 even beats the Hound (whom she never met, let alone fought in the books) in a swordfight with similar ease, she out-wrestles and is able to physically overpower him in an extremely brutal brawl a few seconds later, sending him earless and tumbling down a cliffside. In the Hound's defense, the infection in his neck put him at a bit of a disadvantage. In Season 6, she kills three Bolton men-at-arms pursuing Sansa and Theon as they escape; one outright as she charges in on horseback, a second in a duel after she gets dismounted, and a third after she ''tackles both horse and rider to the ground''.

* The show's surly, cynical, and brutal Brienne is a far cry from the novels' [[WideEyedIdealist naive]] and [[ShrinkingViolet insecure]] girl. In the books, she's quite skilled but tends to win only narrowly and [[GainingTheWillToKill never kills]] until well into ''Literature/AFeastForCrows'' where her body count reaches just ''four''[[note]]Pyg, Timeon, Shagwell, and Rorge.[[/note]]. In the show, in Season 2, she easily and remorselessly dispatches entire bands of nefarious mooks (including a pair of Renly's Kingsguard) single-handed while sobbing at his murder, kills a small squad of Stark soldiers in barely a few seconds a few episodes later, easily defeats Jaime with swords, and in Season 4 even beats the Hound (whom she never met, let alone fought in the books) in a swordfight with similar ease and she out-wrestles and is able to physically overpower him in an extremely brutal brawl a few seconds later, sending him earless and tumbling down a cliffside. In the Hound's defense, the infection in his neck put him at a bit of a disadvantage. In Season 6, she kills three Bolton men-at-arms pursuing Sansa and Theon as they escape; one outright as she charges in on horseback, a second in a duel after she gets dismounted, and a third after she ''tackles both horse and rider to the ground''.

* The show's surly, cynical, and brutal Brienne is a far cry from the novels' [[WideEyedIdealist naive]] and [[ShrinkingViolet insecure]] girl. In the books, she's quite skilled but tends to win only narrowly and [[GainingTheWillToKill never kills]] until well into ''Literature/AFeastForCrows'' where her body count reaches just ''four''[[note]]Pyg, Timeon, Shagwell, and Rorge.[[/note]]. In the show, she easily and remorselessly dispatches entire bands of nefarious mooks (including a pair of Kingsguard) single-handed, easily defeats Jaime with swords, and even beats the Hound at brawling.

A lot of characters are [[AdaptationalBadass stronger]] than their book counterparts:

* Ned is an excellent general in the books, but his size, strength, and swordsmanship are never described as exceptional and even Ned himself regards his late brother Brandon as the better man. In the show, Ned impresses the legendary Barristan Selmy, matches the prodigious Jaime Lannister blow for blow until a Lannister guard puts a spear through his leg from behind, and is described by Littlefinger as "even more impressive" than Brandon. In the books, Ned barely puts up a fight when he's outnumbered by Jaime and the Lannister men. He also recollects a fight against far superior fighters during the rebellion and admits that he survived only by luck and the intervention of a friend.

* While still a certifiable badass and an excellant commander, Robb makes several additional political blunders whereas in the show, he's more politically astute. In the novels Robb is a lesser swordsman (though a better jouster) than Jon and though he fights where the fighting is thickest in both the books and the show, in the books he is protected by an ample bodyguard including Theon and 30 skilled warriors (mostly the sons and one daughter of his bannermen) and his direwolf, while in the show, Jon and Theon both consider him TheAce and the bodyguard is left mostly implied. His first execution also requires only a single stroke with a longsword instead of several even with a proper axe. His AgeLift and more confrontational attitude (especially with his mom Catelyn, who in the books calls him out on acting childish several times) as well as some of his bravado being seen as posturing to cover up insecurity downplay the "overwhelmed teenager" aspect that makes him such a [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruction]] of the KidHero in the books.
* Arya is a talented archer in the show, whereas in the books, she laments that she has no such skill and can't even bend Anguy's longbow. Plus there's her MadeOfIron exploits surviving multiple stomach wounds in "The Broken Man" and "No One".

* While still a certifiable badass, in the novels Robb is a lesser swordsman (though a better jouster) than Jon and protected by an ample bodyguard including Theon, while in the show, Jon and Theon both consider him TheAce and the bodyguard is left mostly implied. His first execution also requires only a single stroke with a longsword instead of several even with a proper axe, and his AgeLift and more confrontational attitude (especially with Catelyn) downplay the "overwhelmed teenager" aspect that makes him such a [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruction]] of the KidHero in the books.

* Ned is an excellent general in the books, but his size, strength, and swordsmanship are never described as exceptional and even Ned himself regards his late brother Brandon as the better man. In the show, Ned impresses the legendary Barristan Selmy, matches the prodigious Jaime Lannister blow for blow, and is described by Littlefinger as "even more impressive" than Brandon.