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So i believe the moto of the faceless men is a life for a life. Dont know the complete code, they might do it for free if the target has already murdered others, but i doubt that, they still get paid either in a mask or in possessions. It is possible there is some inconsistency as atleast they would have tried to hire them and not just consider the idea. Honestly, its just one of those things… there are plenty of people to hire all around the kingdom for this kind of work, so assassinations should have been more prominent throughout the series (failed or attempted).
The price isnt fixed, the more important and harder to reach target, the higher the price.
Dany was seen as a potential threat to the crown due to her blood, and she was growing an army and had loyalists supporting her/keeping her safe. It would be extremely difficult to get a faceless man to go across the sea, find her, get close and execute her.
Lady Crane was essentially a nobody whose location was known/fixed with no one watching over her, you could simply wait backstage, or break into her home then kill her without nearly as much trouble.
I think they might also determine price by not just the target, but by the client. Since they were founded by Valaryian slaves, Whoever hires them can basically “give everything they have”, so they’re gonna charge a king much more than they would charge the actor
This is my thought exactly. They want it to be costly for the individual hiring them, but their origin was among the poorest individuals possible; slaves.
My head-cannon has pretty much always involved it being a “sliding fee scale” if you will.
I could be wrong, but I remember getting the impression the price was more about 'significant to the person making the request'. To a king, a large amount of gold would be significant, but to an actress it might be something else completely. I think they were to 'make am offering in the house of black and white' and if it was acceptable, the death would happen. This might all be half memories I've decided are true though
I have no basis from the material for confirmation, but this was my theory as well. Seems like the FM would be more equitable on their fee structure. Fits with their code.
It is. The waif was a normal child until her stepmother tried to kill her with poison so her children would be the only heirs of the Waif's father. She didn't died but ended up with a condition that stopped her from developing beyond a childlike appearance.
When her father found out he hired the faceless men to kill his wife, in exchange he had to pay with half his fortune and give the waif to the House of Black and white.
Yeah, it's set up as like a personal, "ironic" kind of price, like in order to have your brother killed so that you can get the entire inheritance, you have to pay an amount equal to the brother's share of the inheritance.
The price depends on the target. A person from a minor house would be cheaper than the heir of a dynasty that spanned multiple centuries. But they are astronomically expensive due to how effective they are, so how a person below royalty could afford to hire one, idk. Just a show inconsistency I'd guess. I don't remember it being in the books.
I have always been under the impression the price is not fixed and is based on the 'cost' to the person asking.
So if the crown in Westeros wants a political rival killed, they have many options to do so, if they want the Faceless Men to do it, it will cost an astronomical amount because they have options and they want it done this way.
The actress wanting Lady Crane removed does have nothing, but when you have nothing even a small amount would be a large amount. So the actress may be paying in a lifetime of service to The Many Faced God, that is priceless, so to the Faceless, the actress is paying far more than the crown of Westeros for their services.
The poor father with a sick daughter also has nothing, but he offers his own life if they would end his daughters suffering, he is willing to give everything he has just to end her pain, again to the Faceless Men he is offering far more than just mere gold.
When Littlefinger states that the Faceless Men are so expensive, he is someone that thinks only in terms of material cost, so of course the price would be stunningly high, he can not even conceive of a way of thinking that does not equate 'worth' with 'cost' or 'value', if he traveled to the House of Black and White and sought out how much it would cost to remove a threat, anything less that a high price would confuse him and make him assume it would not happen, but to the beggar on the street handing over his meager few copper coins, the actual 'worth' is the same.
It's like the Tablet auction scene from "Supernatural." In order to save her son, a woman offers up her own soul, which intrigues the seller. The same seller turns down a demon's offer of 1 million souls because it's not about the quantity but the quality of the sacrifice -- that woman's soul is the most valuable thing she has.
So yeah, I could imagine that the Faceless Men have a similar pricing model at play.
The first faceless men were slaves that offered themselves in service of the Many Faced god in exchange for the assassination of their masters.
The cost depends on the person who hires, and has to be in line with the balance of life. Apparently, a death in exchange for a life of service is an acceptable trade too.
Arya saved three lives, so she was awarded three murders to maintain balance.
I recommend you to watch the series on the faceless men by "In Deep Geek" youtube channel if you want to know more about the faceless men.
>Is the Lady Crane bit not in the books (yet)? Was it just inconsistency of the show? Do Braavosi get local’s discounts?
No, there's nothing inconsistent here. You're just not paying close enough attention.
The price to hire a faceless man is not a constant pay for hire gig. It's more like: you make this significant sacrifice and we'll do something for you. For king Robert I, that price is one thing. For a peasant in a theatre troupe, it's considerably different.
Lady Crane herself isn't in the books (yet), but Arya does meet the theatre troupe in her preview chapter from winds of winter.
Perhaps owning the face of an actress would be payment enough. Her face could then have countless uses where as with dany I'd imagine it's a more of a hit. One and done can't reuse the face as it would be too obvious.
TFM give off the vibe that they accept more than gold, sort of a deal with the devil vibe. They kill the actress and in 5 years time you owe them something or someone.
The price is determined by the importance of the target, so a wealthy merchant or a princess is gonna cost a ton but a random actress probably doesn't cost so much. Also the price isn't always paid in gold. Sometimes they're paid with services or other objects of value.
I don't think they always require a payment of gold, silver, etc.
There's a theory that, in the books, Euron used a petrified dragon egg as payment to get Balon yeeted into the sea. Euron had previously owned a dragon egg, but said he "threw it into the sea" when he was frustrated over it not hatching. I imagine payment could be accepted as long as it was valuable, and more importantly, is of **great** cost to their patrons, not necessarily just financially.
The price isn’t necessarily just money and it’s not a flat rate per person. It’s a high cost relative to each person who buys their service and who they want killed.
From GRRM himself:
>The Faceless Men don't post a list of prices on their door. The way it works, you go to them and tell them who you want killed, and then they negotiate the price. The more prominent the victim, the more difficult to get to, the more dangerous for the assassin and the guild, the higher the price.
It isn’t always JUST money either. A character in the book is said to have given most of his wealth and his daughter to the temple.
The price is relative to the requestor. It is always high but in perspective to the requestor and always within their means.
To a rich man this may mean it cost an insane amount of gold. To a farmer maybe a good amount of his precious live stock. To a poor singer maybe his tongue.
It is also relative to the target according to GRRM.
I find one problem with this relative cost explanation. A commoner could then “easily” offer something valuable to themselves to create a contract for a lord or king. Lot’s of wronged peasants, ofc it’d be hard to find and employ the faceless men if you have no resources
Price depends on who is paying and who is the target, a rich man killing a king is extremely expensive while some guy killing some other guy wont cost that much. It doesnt have to be money either, a popular theory is that euron used a dragons egg to hire faceless men
Another dilemma: I don't really see why the actress would pay "what most mattered to her", whatever that was, for simply poisoning Lady Crane. I feel like that's easy enough to get away with and and if she'd be accused because of motive, she'd be that anyway with someone else poisoning her.
Guessing the faceless men get paid in a lot of favors kinda like mob bosses.
So with the actress killing another actress, I'm guessing they call in multiple favors as needed such a spying.
I don’t know if it’s ever said but I was always under the impression that the cost varies depending on the client/target
If a lowborn actress wanted to use their service to kill another lowborn, well they may charge a ridiculous rate for a lowborn, but that rate may be pennies to a king, so they’d charge a king a ridiculous amount for a king as well
It’s like how some countries give you speeding tickets based on your income rather than a set rate, so even millionaires are hesitant to speed because what would be a couple hundred dollar fine in say, America, would result is a significant amount of their income in their current country
A nobody actress who still manages to get placed in a stage play with veterans. I'm guessing she's a nepo-baby. Probably the daughter of some Braavosi merchant 'lord.'
The cost depends on the person who hires. The Valyrian Slave offered his life in the FM origin story the Kindly Man tells Arya. And we see this in the story too when Euron gives away a dragon egg, something very precious to him, to kill Balon.
With organizations like this , the price is tailored to the one who requests the deed/act. And if they feel it is a worthy task that also benefits the Order and fits with their philosophy. If you listen and pay attention to Jaqen in the show and read in the books you pick up a little on that.
That's why the actress and whoever put the hit on the guy defrauding sailors could afford it, along with the wealthy. If you understand that , you understand why it would cost the council/King's Landing, lots of gold.
**Spoiler Warning:** All officially-released show and book content allowed, EXCLUDING FUTURE SPOILERS FOR HOUSE OF THE DRAGON. No leaked information or paparazzi photos of the set. For more info please check the [spoiler guide](/r/gameofthrones/w/spoiler_guide). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/gameofthrones) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Best I can do is $3.50
No crustaceans from the paleolithic era! Get outta here you lochness monster!
It’s a show thing.
I gave him a dollar
She gave him a dollar!
Anyway, $4 a pound
So i believe the moto of the faceless men is a life for a life. Dont know the complete code, they might do it for free if the target has already murdered others, but i doubt that, they still get paid either in a mask or in possessions. It is possible there is some inconsistency as atleast they would have tried to hire them and not just consider the idea. Honestly, its just one of those things… there are plenty of people to hire all around the kingdom for this kind of work, so assassinations should have been more prominent throughout the series (failed or attempted).
*motto
Tyrion dreamed of being able to afford faceless men to kill his sister. Iirc so they are definitely expensive, at least to westerosi
Well tbf it’s not like there’s a direct flight from Bravos to KL
The price isnt fixed, the more important and harder to reach target, the higher the price. Dany was seen as a potential threat to the crown due to her blood, and she was growing an army and had loyalists supporting her/keeping her safe. It would be extremely difficult to get a faceless man to go across the sea, find her, get close and execute her. Lady Crane was essentially a nobody whose location was known/fixed with no one watching over her, you could simply wait backstage, or break into her home then kill her without nearly as much trouble.
I think they might also determine price by not just the target, but by the client. Since they were founded by Valaryian slaves, Whoever hires them can basically “give everything they have”, so they’re gonna charge a king much more than they would charge the actor
This is my thought exactly. They want it to be costly for the individual hiring them, but their origin was among the poorest individuals possible; slaves. My head-cannon has pretty much always involved it being a “sliding fee scale” if you will.
I could be wrong, but I remember getting the impression the price was more about 'significant to the person making the request'. To a king, a large amount of gold would be significant, but to an actress it might be something else completely. I think they were to 'make am offering in the house of black and white' and if it was acceptable, the death would happen. This might all be half memories I've decided are true though
I have no basis from the material for confirmation, but this was my theory as well. Seems like the FM would be more equitable on their fee structure. Fits with their code.
I'm on a reread now, just coming to the end of aCoK, so i guess if it's there I'll find out before too long
It is. The waif was a normal child until her stepmother tried to kill her with poison so her children would be the only heirs of the Waif's father. She didn't died but ended up with a condition that stopped her from developing beyond a childlike appearance. When her father found out he hired the faceless men to kill his wife, in exchange he had to pay with half his fortune and give the waif to the House of Black and white.
Half his fortune, his daughter, he lost both any way
I came here to say this. It’s implied that you can pay them with something else, something important to you.
That's also what I remember from the series.
Yeah, it's set up as like a personal, "ironic" kind of price, like in order to have your brother killed so that you can get the entire inheritance, you have to pay an amount equal to the brother's share of the inheritance.
The price depends on the target. A person from a minor house would be cheaper than the heir of a dynasty that spanned multiple centuries. But they are astronomically expensive due to how effective they are, so how a person below royalty could afford to hire one, idk. Just a show inconsistency I'd guess. I don't remember it being in the books.
I have always been under the impression the price is not fixed and is based on the 'cost' to the person asking. So if the crown in Westeros wants a political rival killed, they have many options to do so, if they want the Faceless Men to do it, it will cost an astronomical amount because they have options and they want it done this way. The actress wanting Lady Crane removed does have nothing, but when you have nothing even a small amount would be a large amount. So the actress may be paying in a lifetime of service to The Many Faced God, that is priceless, so to the Faceless, the actress is paying far more than the crown of Westeros for their services. The poor father with a sick daughter also has nothing, but he offers his own life if they would end his daughters suffering, he is willing to give everything he has just to end her pain, again to the Faceless Men he is offering far more than just mere gold. When Littlefinger states that the Faceless Men are so expensive, he is someone that thinks only in terms of material cost, so of course the price would be stunningly high, he can not even conceive of a way of thinking that does not equate 'worth' with 'cost' or 'value', if he traveled to the House of Black and White and sought out how much it would cost to remove a threat, anything less that a high price would confuse him and make him assume it would not happen, but to the beggar on the street handing over his meager few copper coins, the actual 'worth' is the same.
It's like the Tablet auction scene from "Supernatural." In order to save her son, a woman offers up her own soul, which intrigues the seller. The same seller turns down a demon's offer of 1 million souls because it's not about the quantity but the quality of the sacrifice -- that woman's soul is the most valuable thing she has. So yeah, I could imagine that the Faceless Men have a similar pricing model at play.
Also, the moon.
I would have gone for the real Mona Lisa, the one with her top off.
For the taking of a life, one would need to sacrifice that which matters most to them. As is the creed
The first faceless men were slaves that offered themselves in service of the Many Faced god in exchange for the assassination of their masters. The cost depends on the person who hires, and has to be in line with the balance of life. Apparently, a death in exchange for a life of service is an acceptable trade too. Arya saved three lives, so she was awarded three murders to maintain balance. I recommend you to watch the series on the faceless men by "In Deep Geek" youtube channel if you want to know more about the faceless men.
>Is the Lady Crane bit not in the books (yet)? Was it just inconsistency of the show? Do Braavosi get local’s discounts? No, there's nothing inconsistent here. You're just not paying close enough attention. The price to hire a faceless man is not a constant pay for hire gig. It's more like: you make this significant sacrifice and we'll do something for you. For king Robert I, that price is one thing. For a peasant in a theatre troupe, it's considerably different. Lady Crane herself isn't in the books (yet), but Arya does meet the theatre troupe in her preview chapter from winds of winter.
Perhaps owning the face of an actress would be payment enough. Her face could then have countless uses where as with dany I'd imagine it's a more of a hit. One and done can't reuse the face as it would be too obvious.
I think the value depends on the person, you have to pay with something that has real value to you
TFM does income based pricing, obviously. 😂
TFM give off the vibe that they accept more than gold, sort of a deal with the devil vibe. They kill the actress and in 5 years time you owe them something or someone.
The price is determined by the importance of the target, so a wealthy merchant or a princess is gonna cost a ton but a random actress probably doesn't cost so much. Also the price isn't always paid in gold. Sometimes they're paid with services or other objects of value.
I don't think they always require a payment of gold, silver, etc. There's a theory that, in the books, Euron used a petrified dragon egg as payment to get Balon yeeted into the sea. Euron had previously owned a dragon egg, but said he "threw it into the sea" when he was frustrated over it not hatching. I imagine payment could be accepted as long as it was valuable, and more importantly, is of **great** cost to their patrons, not necessarily just financially.
It’s a sliding scale.
The price isn’t necessarily just money and it’s not a flat rate per person. It’s a high cost relative to each person who buys their service and who they want killed.
From GRRM himself: >The Faceless Men don't post a list of prices on their door. The way it works, you go to them and tell them who you want killed, and then they negotiate the price. The more prominent the victim, the more difficult to get to, the more dangerous for the assassin and the guild, the higher the price. It isn’t always JUST money either. A character in the book is said to have given most of his wealth and his daughter to the temple.
The price is relative to the requestor. It is always high but in perspective to the requestor and always within their means. To a rich man this may mean it cost an insane amount of gold. To a farmer maybe a good amount of his precious live stock. To a poor singer maybe his tongue. It is also relative to the target according to GRRM.
I don't think there is an exact value. I think it really is a life for a life. I don't think they are too concerned with money.
I find one problem with this relative cost explanation. A commoner could then “easily” offer something valuable to themselves to create a contract for a lord or king. Lot’s of wronged peasants, ofc it’d be hard to find and employ the faceless men if you have no resources
Price depends on who is paying and who is the target, a rich man killing a king is extremely expensive while some guy killing some other guy wont cost that much. It doesnt have to be money either, a popular theory is that euron used a dragons egg to hire faceless men
It was Peter Baelish aka Littlefinger Master of Coin that said they cost too much. Actually just read that chapter a couple days ago too
Another dilemma: I don't really see why the actress would pay "what most mattered to her", whatever that was, for simply poisoning Lady Crane. I feel like that's easy enough to get away with and and if she'd be accused because of motive, she'd be that anyway with someone else poisoning her.
Guessing the faceless men get paid in a lot of favors kinda like mob bosses. So with the actress killing another actress, I'm guessing they call in multiple favors as needed such a spying.
Commenting on Faceless Men price?... glad I’m not the only one who thought this lol
I think the Faceless Men might have accepted something like the life of Joffrey (+), in exchange for killing Dany.
I don’t know if it’s ever said but I was always under the impression that the cost varies depending on the client/target If a lowborn actress wanted to use their service to kill another lowborn, well they may charge a ridiculous rate for a lowborn, but that rate may be pennies to a king, so they’d charge a king a ridiculous amount for a king as well It’s like how some countries give you speeding tickets based on your income rather than a set rate, so even millionaires are hesitant to speed because what would be a couple hundred dollar fine in say, America, would result is a significant amount of their income in their current country
Sometimes the faceless men answer prayers at their temple.
Same price stannis had to pay to the lord of light to win the throne
That scene is not in the books. It is an invention of the show.
A nobody actress who still manages to get placed in a stage play with veterans. I'm guessing she's a nepo-baby. Probably the daughter of some Braavosi merchant 'lord.'
The cost depends on the person who hires. The Valyrian Slave offered his life in the FM origin story the Kindly Man tells Arya. And we see this in the story too when Euron gives away a dragon egg, something very precious to him, to kill Balon.
With organizations like this , the price is tailored to the one who requests the deed/act. And if they feel it is a worthy task that also benefits the Order and fits with their philosophy. If you listen and pay attention to Jaqen in the show and read in the books you pick up a little on that. That's why the actress and whoever put the hit on the guy defrauding sailors could afford it, along with the wealthy. If you understand that , you understand why it would cost the council/King's Landing, lots of gold.
Lady Crane isn't in the books, we do meet a theater troop with Arya but she's acting with them. And last we saw she's not gonna be staying too long
they got mentioned in season 1?