Aye, as to confirm, the game starts in exact same time as HBO series started. What comes to influencing your surroundings it all depends on your resources and your own abilities. Also if you picked noble class you automatically gain power to influence in form of Favor class feature (and belong to one greater houses which itself grants some ability to pull weight around).<br/><br/>But as Red Priest your influence lays in your skills and ability influence people to believe you or follow your bidding (or crudely use spells for that). Events may proceed in start 'canonically' but player's actions can have influence which will divert/change the flow so to speak, all depending how well they can influence things.<br/><br/>Some you may accidentally be in right time and right place to make a difference (by GM's decision) and then in during dramatic moments you can alter history. Example if you would be in present of Execution of Ned Stark and when king would declare his judgment, with well time diplomacy or simple spell could change history quite damn lot (or talking with the blond bastard before execution ceremony to actually go with what his mother and his bride to be ask of him).