I think Bronn’s a damned good fighter, with a more well-rounded repertoire than one might think. He takes Ser Vardis Egen apart with only minor difficulties, he thinks he might be able to take the Mountain although it’s chancy, and he defeats Ser Balman (formerly a renowned jouster) in with lance and horse. 

Well…a lot of extractive-based industries are excluded by geography – not much in the way of mining, thus not much metalworking; not much in the way of timber, thus can’t really get into woodcrafts and the like. 

On the other hand, the Riverlands potentially have a good bit of water power. So textiles might be a good bet. Flax grows well near water or in watery soil, so linen production might be a good way to go. 

I think his model works well. So does the Brotherhood of Winged Knights. 

Somewhere between 30-40k. 

Yep. 

Well, you need to be highborn, to start with. 

Beyond that, it’s a matter of patronage – the office you’re occupying to get the lodging and the food and the livery is a favor that the person in charge can dole out or not as they desire. So it’s about who you know, and who knows you – Ser Andrew Estermont, for example, was Stannis’ squire at one time because he’s Stannis’ kin. Historically, bribery was also involved – send someone a nice horse or a hawk or some nice tapestries, hey presto your supernumerary relative can have a job! 

Beyond that, you also need money. While your office usually comes with room and board and a small income if you’re lucky, you need to be able to mix with the upper crust and live up to their standards. That means fancy clothes, the right kind of horse, hawk, and hound, money for gambling and booze, servants to cook and clean and do all the work for you, etc. 

As for Lords Paramount, it’s usually either a relation (as in the case of Robb and Cat taking over for Eddard) or the castellan of the seat of the region (Ser Courtnay Penrose). 

Something like that, as I suggest here. It’s a bit easier to do it as land redistribution out on the plantations upriver, but in the city it’s more about real estate and liquid capital.