History Characters / ASongOfIceAndFireHouseTarly

* AbusiveParents: He was incredibly cruel to his eldest son Sam for not being a hardened warrior like Randyll thought the heir of Horn Hill ought to be, and instead being a fat bookworm who liked "womanly" things like listening to music and eating sweets. Randyll heaped a lot of verbal and emotional abuse on Sam, tried to humiliate him by forcing him to dress in his mother's clothes, and even chained him to a wall for three days. Eventually, when all that failed to toughen Sam up, Randyll threatened to kill him unless he joined the Night's Watch.

* WidowWoman: Outlived her first husband.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Stops Ser Hyle and the others from raping Brienne... and then immediately undoes any goodwill the audience may harbor for him by blaming the whole thing on her. It should be noted that while this is still victim blaming of the highest caliber and certainly a dick move, it practically makes him a saint compared to other lords. Tywin, for example, not only doesn't lift a finger to stop his men raping and killing innocent civilians throughout the books, he also ordered the gang rape of a totally innocent peasant girl.

* {{Foil}}: Lets see. A bald(ing) and highly feared commander often compared to iron in his will and discipline, married to a Florent, remarkable devoted to duty, the enforcement of justice and law are extremely important to him, he looks down on another male member of the family who knows nothing of fighting, not a great family man, extremely biting sense of humor and BrutalHonesty. Serves under a fat guy who really shouldn't be a ruler. He carries an iconic sword. Are we talking about Randyll Tarly or Stannis Baratheon?
** He and Eddard Stark also have older sons who went up to The Wall and they both carry Valyrian steel swords. Furthermore, they are both known excellent soldiers, known for their (twisted, in Randyll's case) sense of justice.
*** In this regard (minus the Valyrian Steel Sword), he shares a great deal of similarities with "Bronze" Yohn Royce.
** Like Tywin Lannister, Randyll is also a bald, humorless, mean-spirited and utterly ruthless patriarch whose solution to most problems is extreme militarism. Both men are also obsessed with preserving the sanctity of their family names (or, at least, their ideas of such), and both greatly prefer one son over the other, who they'd sooner see die than leave their legacy to. As opposed to Tywin, Randyll prefers the younger son to the elder. And though almost equal in terms of smug elitism, Randyll is obviously much less ostentatious than Tywin. They also really hate whores.

** For all his brutality and harsh sense of justice, even Tarly baulks from having thugs like Gregor Clegane's old mob in his territory. Tarly notes that he executed one and gelded another when they showed up in Maidenpool and started practising [[RapePilalgeAndBurn the old habits]] they'd indulged freely under Gregor, and thinks the rest should be [[ReassignedToAntarctica shipped off to the Wall]].

** For all his brutality and harsh sense of justice, even Tarly baulks from having thugs like Gregor Clegane's old mob in his territory. Tarly notes that he executed one and gelded another when they showed up in Maidenpool and started practising the old habits they'd indulged freely under Gregor, and thinks the rest should be [[ReassignedToAntarctica shipped off to the Wall]].

-->'''Lord Randyll:''' It takes more than a pretty cloak to charge a shield wall. I was leading Mace Tyrell's van when you were still sucking on your mother's teat, Guyard.

%%* BaldOfAwesome

%%* BadassBeard

* {{Jerkass}}: Implied, as Samwell pictures him among Rast and Alliser Thorne as voices mocking him. Plus, [[LikeFatherLikeSon Randyll considers him a perfect heir, and given what kind of man Randyll is that's probably not a good thing.]] Although this hasn't been confirmed as he's yet to make any on-page appearances.

* FantasyForbiddingFather: "Fantasy" here being defined as "anything that won't make you tougher and stronger". He's ''almost'' got a point, as any lord seen as soft and weak would invariably fare poorly in the brutal dog-eat-dog CrapsackWorld of Westeros (see: [[Characters/ASongOfIceAndFireHouseLannister Lannister, Tytos]]), but his treatment of Samwell is still beyond the pale.

* ThemeNaming: Similar to the Lannister tendency for "Ty" or "Ti" prefixed names, there are a few Tarlies who go for "Sam" or "Sa" (Samwell, Samwyle, Samantha, Sansara...).

* AbusiveParents: Look at the tropes pile up.

* NeverLearnedToRead: While he can read, Randyll has to move his lips to sound out the words when doing so, in contrast to his bookloving son.

* {{Jerkass}}: Implied, as Samwell pictures him among Rast and Alliser Thorne as voices mocking him. Plus, [[LikeFatherLikeSon Randyll considers him a perfect heir, and given what we know of him, that's probably not a good thing.]]

* OffingTheOffspring: Once Lord Tarly got himself a son more to his liking, he rid himself of Sam with all haste by sending him to join an organization he was sure would get him killed quickly.

* SubmissiveBadass:

-->''"You are almost a man grown now, and my heir. You have given me no cause to disown you, but neither will I allow you to inherit the land and title that should be Dickon's. Heartsbane must go to a man strong enough to wield her, and you are not worthy to touch her hilt. So I have decided that you shall this day announce that you wish to take the black. You will forsake all claim to your brother's inheritance and start north before evenfall. If you do not, then on the morrow we shall have a hunt, and somewhere in these woods your horse will stumble, and you will be thrown to the saddle to die...or so I will tell your mother. She has a woman's heart and finds it in her to cherish you, and I have no wish to cause her pain. Please do not imagine that it will truly be that easy, should you think to defy me. Nothing would please me more than to hunt you down like the pig you are. So. There is your choice. The Night's Watch..." (''Rips out a deer's heart.'') "Or this."''

Head of House Tarly and Lord of Horn Hill. Current Master of Laws on the Small Council.

* AbusiveParents: Look at the tropes pile up:
* AgentScully: During the Small Council meeting he attends, he frequently and disparagingly offers his disbelief that [[spoiler:Jon Connington]] has returned.

* BadassBoast: "It takes more than a pretty cloak to charge a shield wall, I was leading Mace Tyrell's van when you were still sucking on your mother's teat, Guyard."

%%* BaldOfEvil
* BrutalHonesty: Tarly says what he means and does not care if it offends the people around him.

* TheDreaded: When people talk about the armies of the Reach, they specifically talk about how dangerous and competent Tarly is.

* HypercompetentSidekick: Kevan Lannister sees him as this to Mace Tyrell. This is also the reason why Cersei doesn't want him as Hand of the King, even though Kevan tells him that such a move would weaken Mace Tyrell.

* OffingTheOffspring: Once Lord Tarly got himself a son more to his liking, he rid himself of Sam with all haste.

* ArrangedMarriage: To Eleanor Mooton as part of House Mooton's deal with the Iron Throne to bend the knee and forsake allegiance to Starks and Tullys.

* JerkAss: Implied, as Samwell pictures him among Rast and Alliser Thorne as voices mocking him. Plus, [[LikeFatherLikeSon Randyll considers him a perfect heir, and given what we know of him, that's probably not a good thing.]]

* TheSquire