For a long term campaign I am running, I was hoping to find out a historical ratio of slavery turnover. I am hoping to run a campaign that pits the PCs against evil minions of a nation that has extensive ties to the slave trading business.
But, I also want to impress upon them how awesome a task it is to defeat slavery everywhere. If this nation sells or trades 50,000 slaves per year – a vast majority human – to most nations on the planet, what would you say the amount that are still in slavery at the end of one year and then at the end of ten?
I was going to say that at the end of each year, about one slave in eight will have either died, escaped or had their slavery ended some other way (i.e., sold into slavery to pay off a debt, then debt is paid off after a year, or maybe a captured soldier returned when the war is over) So, assuming about one in eight per year, that leaves 43,750 slaves at the end of the first year and 13,154 of the original 50,000 sold in that first year still remain in slavery at the end of 10 years. Is this realistic? And, yes, I know you can heal up your big buff slaves to send them back in the mines, but clerics do not grow on trees in this world.
Note – not all nations that buy slaves will abuse them. Some honestly use them to work hard in the fields and then release them when their debt is paid, or some can be house servants for very long periods. Granted, many are abused and/or tormented, some can be gladiators and die quickly, and some can just be worked to death in the mines or whatnot.
Of course, there are another 50,000 sold the next year, and for each of the remaining 8 years. So, if my turnover of one in eight per year is okay, that would leave a little over 250,000 total slaves worldwide after ten years.
Or, should I use a steeper turnover rate? Maybe 25 percent per year? Or, maybe a steeper curve – 10% in year one, then 20% then 30%, then 40%?
The only number that I need as a constant is the 50,000 slaves per year. So, is 250,000 living slaves a good number, or should I say less than that, or more? Or, if I wanted 250,000 slaves, would I have to raise my starting number to say, 100,000?
But, I also want to impress upon them how awesome a task it is to defeat slavery everywhere. If this nation sells or trades 50,000 slaves per year – a vast majority human – to most nations on the planet, what would you say the amount that are still in slavery at the end of one year and then at the end of ten?
I was going to say that at the end of each year, about one slave in eight will have either died, escaped or had their slavery ended some other way (i.e., sold into slavery to pay off a debt, then debt is paid off after a year, or maybe a captured soldier returned when the war is over) So, assuming about one in eight per year, that leaves 43,750 slaves at the end of the first year and 13,154 of the original 50,000 sold in that first year still remain in slavery at the end of 10 years. Is this realistic? And, yes, I know you can heal up your big buff slaves to send them back in the mines, but clerics do not grow on trees in this world.
Note – not all nations that buy slaves will abuse them. Some honestly use them to work hard in the fields and then release them when their debt is paid, or some can be house servants for very long periods. Granted, many are abused and/or tormented, some can be gladiators and die quickly, and some can just be worked to death in the mines or whatnot.
Of course, there are another 50,000 sold the next year, and for each of the remaining 8 years. So, if my turnover of one in eight per year is okay, that would leave a little over 250,000 total slaves worldwide after ten years.
Or, should I use a steeper turnover rate? Maybe 25 percent per year? Or, maybe a steeper curve – 10% in year one, then 20% then 30%, then 40%?
The only number that I need as a constant is the 50,000 slaves per year. So, is 250,000 living slaves a good number, or should I say less than that, or more? Or, if I wanted 250,000 slaves, would I have to raise my starting number to say, 100,000?