Got A Spare $20,000? Then You Could Die In 'Game Of Thrones'
You've always wanted to be killed off in a hit HBO drama series. Sure you have. And now your dreams will finally come true - proving you have $20,000. To raise money for the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary in New Mexico, Game of Thrones creator George RR Martin is offering fans a selection of prizes and rewards in return for donations to the home that rescues dogs and wolves.
"I've always been fond of wolves," Martin has said in a statement on the Prizeo fundraising site, "Direwolves in Westeros, and real wolves in the real world."
A veritable smorgasbord of rewards are available, depending on how much cash you're willing to part with, but the top prize comes with a $20,000 price tag. For that, you'll become a character in Martin's next Game of Thrones novel A Song of Ice and Fire and will be killed off in a "grisly" way. Previous deaths in the books and HBO series have included death by a ravenous boar and death by having your private parts attached to a horse and being dragged along forever.
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One male and one female character are available to be claimed and the big donators can also decide on the social status that they will assume in the Seven Kingdoms - lordling? Master? Peasant? Whore? Septon? The choice is yours.
If you don't have $20,000 lying around, then perhaps Martin can interest you in a signed script from the show's first episode for £4,500 or an e-card for £25. There's also the chance to have breakfast with George - which sounds a bit weird.
The news comes on the same day that Game of Thrones overtook The Sopranos as the most popular HBO show of all time, averaging a gross audience of 18.4 million.