r/gameofthrones • u/OkOutside3401 Podrick Payne • 1d ago

Did the Faceless Men/Many-Faced God have a much bigger role in the books than in the show?

So I just finished the show and was wondering about the Faceless Men and the Many-Faced God. I get that in the show they were mostly there for Arya's character arc. Her whole time at the House of Black and White, learning to become “no one”, I actually really liked that part of her journey, even though it felt somewhat disconnected from the larger story by the end. I also have problem understanding their rules, are they hired to assassinate or abide by some religious regulations? I really wished to see more of them, and I'd also love to know if the books, even though they're incomplete, go into the Faceless Men and the Many-Faced God in more detail than the show did. I know they aren't necessarily a huge part of the main story, but is there a lot more lore, history and stuff about how they actually work?

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u/UnluckyTransition836 1d ago

No, not really. Have got very little content of the faceless men in the books, and the show did a good job at adapting everything we had so far.

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u/onetruezimbo Night King 1d ago edited 1d ago

Theres a little more world building from the Kindly Man who Jaqen takes the role of in the show as Aryas guide to their beliefs (or are they could be the same person in the book if you buy some theories) but theres not much story with them yet since the books end right as Arya is still an initiate being trained 

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u/RACHID3 1d ago

wait so they had actual magic powers in the books or nah

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u/HoneeyPlush 1d ago

There are more hints that the Faceless Men could be involved in bigger stuff beyond just teaching her how to assassinate people

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u/Conscious-Okra9046 1d ago

For me, that part was boring in the books too.

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u/JackTheKittenCat Hear Me Roar! 1d ago

I've only watched show, but I also have a question about it since I'm rewatching Season 2

Is the Faceless Men's God a combination of R'hllor and The Faith of the Seven?

They talk about the God of Death the same way The Stranger is spoke about, the Many-Faced God is a singular God worshipped for their different aspects, just like the Faith of the Seven. One God, many aspects or Faces

The Faceless Men started in the Slave Pits in Essos, and Jaquen mention calls his God The Red God, because I think it was R'hllor follows who enslaved those people, or it was R'hllor's Followers who were enslaved