Salafi Stannis Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 These guys cost ridiculous amounts of money, even the government of Westeros doesn't wanna hire turn because of the exorbitant fee, so who actually has enough money to hire these guys? And better yet, who has enough money to hire them without becoming incredibly financially insecure/losing most of their money? It seems like a really bad investment, giving up all/most/a significant portion of your wealth just to have a guarantee of killing one person, when there are much more cost effective ways of getting the same result, albeit with a lower, but still quite high, chance of success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrhex Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 The cost is relative if I understand correctly. You give an amount that is high for you, plus you offer a sacrifice. It's not about the money. You realy need to want someone dead for them to take the job. There is the Waif, who only came to serve the House of Black and White because her father wanted the gift for hiswife for trying to kill his daughter (The Waif). The Waif was part of the payment for the gift, along 2/3 of his wealth. It's not your regular type of killers. It's a cult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLightning Lord Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Euron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvd10 Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 The free cities probably can, Petyr Baelish once said that the price the faceless men charge for killing somebody would be enough to hire an army of sellswords. I suppose we shouldnt take it too literal but if Myr can hire the golden company (10,000 of the most skilled sellwords out there) than I suppose the rulers of places like Qarth/Braavos/Volantis/Yi Ti and probably even some rich Westerosi (Lannisters/Tyrells/Hightowers) could hire one. If the theory about the fact that Euron paid the faceless men 1 dragon egg to kill a king than they might not be that extremely expensive. Ilyrio is able to give Dany 3 dragon eggs as a gift, and there are even richer people/organizations than Illyrio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shmewdog Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 The cost is relative if I understand correctly. You give an amount that is high for you, plus you offer a sacrifice. It's not about the money. You realy need to want someone dead for them to take the job. There is the Waif, who only came to serve the House of Black and White because her father wanted the gift for hiswife for trying to kill his daughter (The Waif). The Waif was part of the payment for the gift, along 2/3 of his wealth. It's not your regular type of killers. It's a cult. Is it really an amount that tis high for you, so that anybody could technically afford them? I thought the price was based on the value of the target, so killing a King would have an astronomical price, elsewise you'd have more peasents giving up their 2/3s of nothing to kill kings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrhex Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Is it really an amount that tis high for you, so that anybody could technically afford them? I thought the price was based on the value of the target, so killing a King would have an astronomical price, elsewise you'd have more peasents giving up their 2/3s of nothing to kill kings. You forget that there is also a sacrifice. You have to give more than money. The Waif's father gave 2/3 of his gold, and sent his daughter and heir to the House of Black and White. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanF Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Is it really an amount that tis high for you, so that anybody could technically afford them? I thought the price was based on the value of the target, so killing a King would have an astronomical price, elsewise you'd have more peasents giving up their 2/3s of nothing to kill kings.You have to give up almost everything that is of value to you, in order for them to kill for you. So, a peasant might be able to hire them, but he'd owe them a lifetime of unpaid service in return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackfish Tully Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Is it really an amount that tis high for you, so that anybody could technically afford them? I thought the price was based on the value of the target, so killing a King would have an astronomical price, elsewise you'd have more peasents giving up their 2/3s of nothing to kill kings. It's probably based on multiple factors . They will only kill targets that they are willing to kill. Killing a King would be something they would very rarely do no matter the price. There seems to be something more to them then just a cult of assassins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrhex Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 You have to give up almost everything that is of value to you, in order for them to kill for you. So, a peasant might be able to hire them, but he'd owe them a lifetime of unpaid service in return. Or his only child... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali Colak Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 The price seems relative, both on whom they are to kill and who wants them dead. If a peasant wanted a king dead, it’s possible that they might negotiate a price, but would the peasant be willing to pay, even if he/she were able? As stated above, money isn't all that they expect. I don't think (and this may be due to bad memory), that the price is necessarily a sacrifice plus some monitary remuneration, as was in the case of the waif, but that the nature of the payment can vary greatly and in ways that someone outside FM who doesn't see the world through their eyes might not expect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrhex Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 The price seems relative, both on whom they are to kill and who wants them dead. If a peasant wanted a king dead, it’s possible that they might negotiate a price, but would the peasant be willing to pay, even if he/she were able? As stated above, money isn't all that they expect. I don't think (and this may be due to bad memory), that the price is necessarily a sacrifice plus some monitary remuneration, as was in the case of the waif, but that the nature of the payment can vary greatly and in ways that someone outside FM who doesn't see the world through their eyes might not expect. The Waif's story is that her evil step-mother wanted to kill her, but could not bear the sacrifice that the Faceless Men asked of her, and so tried to do it herself. She failed, the Waif's father learned of it, and went to the Faceless Men himself to kill his wife. Those are the only two cases where we see actual payment terms. Littlefinger only mentioned how expensive it would be from rumors. Both he and Varys have regular hired blades and do not use the FM's services. So we have 2/2 cases where the FM demand a life in some capacity for a death. JH gave Arya 3 names in return for the three lives she "cheated" away from the red god. It we also works with the established motif that only life can pay for death, and vice versa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaime's Wench Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 If the price of a Faceless Man is so high, why was Jaqen in Westeros? Who was he paid to kill that brought him over there originally? It doesn't look as if he succeeded, since we're introduced to him as a Black Cell prisoner on the way to the Wall, which also raises a question about their infallibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bright Blue Eyes Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Anybody. Even the poorest slave. The prices are tailored to the customer, not to the victim. And it's always more than ruinous in a very personal sacrifice. It's a cult, not a business operation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordStoneheart Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 I can and have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Tommen Baratheon Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 "Only death can pay for life"I always thought it was that you paid by dying, and then they killed your target, but since they are a creepy evil cult, they probably are cool with getting paid cash too.You have to offer something really dear to you, so like either your daughter (waif-style) or yourself or just a boatload of money.I think it would also be relatively hard to contact the faceless men, especially for people in Westeros. Also, don't the FM only take the job if they believe their "god" wills it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
house of dayne Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 if the price is proportionate to the value of the target, it would seem only valueless targets are at all affordable..if it costs less to hire a sell sword company than to kill a merchant prince, no body could afford to kill anyone of value...cheap street thugs and braavos would dominate the resources of the temple with their petty vendetas and i cant imagine the FM doing anything but killing worthless criminals and slaves..if in fact they do adhere to the code as they say they do...i think all the religious veneer of the temple is a facade to hoodwink the acolytes and lay persons to support a kill for hire death squad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 As I understand it, the cost is relative to the customer. It's just that, also relatively, the cost is prohibitively high. A poor person could theoretically afford one, it's just that they would have to give up something of great importance to them, the same as a rich person. A rich person would pay much more than a poor person, but the payment would be equally devastating to both of them.I think the price is so high (again, relatively) to ensure the commitment of the customer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gneisenau Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 In the case of the Waif, her Dad didn't really benefit from the killing since he can't be with his daughter anymorel and she can't be his heir. Maybe the cost is calculated so that killing the victim is an end and not a means to an end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Good Guy Garlan Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Illyrio has both an enormous amount of money and the rare emotional souvenir that might constitute a sacrifice: his wife's hands (which yuck) and (I think) Blackfyre, the sword Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hear me bore Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 I don't think Euron would have been able to hire one with a dragon egg. Wouldn't his most prized possession be his ship? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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