Non-cliche slavery in fantasy campaign settings?

[Yora]

Making a setting in which society is basically unfair by modern standards is not a problem. But don't expect any to be published under the D&D brand.
Dark Sun did kinda go in that direction, but never really went much into it, from what I know.

When I started working on my homebrew setting, making discrimination an issue was a very early descision. It doesn't have to mean that the world portrays mistreatment of some groups as normal or even good, but it's more interesting if it is regarded as controversial within the worlds society. I am perfectly fine with woman berserkers or foreigners in an elite organization, both as PCs and NPCs, in that setting. But I think it would be somewhat inappropriate to have all the other NPCs in the setting treat it as entirely normal and approve of it. It is of course entirely fictional and I could create any kind of world I want, which means also one that is completely perfect and where everyone is treated fairly and equal. But even though it's entirely fictional, it's still based on history, and it always seems to me like a kind of whitewashing to simply have some issues, that would have been very important in similar societies in Earths history, simply disappear. Of course, no writer should feel forced to include every social problem that has plagued the world appear within the fiction. There's all kinds of things I don't want to deal with either.
But I feel it's a better treatment of those issues to have them appear in the world and provide some ideas how they can be dealt with, then to have a world in which the problem doesn't exist. Fantasy wouldn't be what it is if there were no monsters and evil wizards to fight. And I rather have my slavery, sexism, and homophobia and try to fight it in the fiction, than to image a world in which the problems don't exist. It's not the ideal that matters in fantasy, but the struggle to get there.

 

[gamerprinter]

Making a setting in which society is basically unfair by modern standards is not a problem. But don't expect any to be published under the D&D brand.

Not D&D, but under the Pathfinder brand, via Rite Publishing, I've got a published Kaidan setting of Japanese horror (PFRPG) which most reviewers agree is designed to be a gritty, low fantasy setting based on feudal Japan. The social castes are cosmic and locked in, tied to the reincarnation mechanic and the accumulation of karma, thus defined prejudices between the betters and the lessers is firmly defined in the setting. The noble caste consists completely of undead beings of various types. Kaidan like feudal Japan is a police state, maintained by the shogun and the entire caste of samurai, as well as the state religion, Zaoism (based on Buddhist thought). There is the tainted caste (Eta) which consists of foreign born families usually descendants of prisoners of war, that comprise a large segment of the population, and though not slaves are treated just as poorly, although they do have some wealth.

So though you might not expect it, but there are published settings with some dark social commentaries and expectations built into it.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Isn't worldbuilding itself a valid reason to look at the topic?

Adventure-building is often a useful lens through which to view worldbuilding, which is why I brought it up. There's *probably* a bunch of adventure opportunities in such a society, and if what you want is to play a game in which such a society exists, what's gonna be useful is figuring out what they might be. IE: how is this relevant to the players?

Evil Evil Slavery is obviously very relevant. What does Only Kind of Evil Slavery offer us in that context?

 

[VelvetViolet]

Thank you for your input. I've adjusted the OP to compensate.

Yes, I am looking for a model of society that treats slaves more humanely in order to challenge the philosophical and moral beliefs of the typical adventurer.

Given the widespread prevalence of magic in a typical fantasy setting (and all traditional economic models break down when you can mass produce food and any substance other than a few now-worthless precious metals), there's no reason why the soul-crushing field work can't be performed by mass-produced golems, and slaves would instead be performing service work (e.g. maintenance, cashiers, clerks) or being used as symbols of prestige (e.g. maids, butlers, bodyguards, concubines, etc).

If they refuse to work, you don't beat them, you use a spell that gives them a high whenever they follow orders. Given a choice between water and an electrode wired into their brains that induces pleasure, all living creatures will pleasure themselves until they die.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Yes, I am looking for a model of society that treats slaves more humanely in order to challenge the philosophical and moral beliefs of the typical liberal democrat adventurer.

Mod warning: real-world politics are off-limits here at ENWorld. Tossing around "typical liberal democrat adventurer" (or "typical conservative republican slave-lord" that might be the opposite end of that coin?) is veering into territory that gets conversations shut down very quickly.

 

[Savage Wombat]

I tried, but I can't come up with anything.

In my games, any time slavery reared its head in any form it became an issue immediately. If I wasn't prepared for the PCs to go haring off after slavers and slave-holders, I was going to have a hard time that night.

If you just want it to be a background trait of the setting, be prepared for reactions like this. If you want the party to engage the issue, ask yourself what you want as DM out of the engagement - the party is effectively struggling with a massive economic force armed only with some swords and spells.

 

[Croesus]

Most fantasy campaign settings use the field slave/serfdom model of slavery where the slaves are are treated horrifically, being regularly worked to death, casually beaten, raped or murdered.

The institution of slavery has existed throughout history all over the world and in many different forms. Most pertinent to this discussion, however, is the institution of slavery in the Roman Empire and Ancient Egypt. In that context, HOUSE slaves (not FIELD slaves, which were treated the same way they were in the American South) actually had rights and were more akin to second-class citizens than what most modern persons would consider slaves. Being a house slave would actually give a person a better standard of living than many peasants and many foreigners in the Empire willingly (and pragmatically) sold themselves into slavery because it would give them an economic advantage until they became free men.

AFAIK fantasy campaign settings only ever use the field slave as a model and completely ignore the far less horrific house slave model, or even give field slaves a more humane treatment like that of house slaves. It would quite refreshing if the otherwise evil proud warrior race considered it morally wrong to mistreat a slave because they aren't worthy opponents and the paladin has an actual moral dilemma about freeing the slaves because many of them don't want to be freed due to their better standard of living as opposed to being free peasants.

What say you?

1. I'm unsure that one can say "Most fantasy campaign settings use the field slave/serfdom model of slavery where the slaves are treated horrifically, being regularly worked to death, casually beaten, raped or murdered", since slavery is rarely included in any published setting, and we have no comprehensive data on homebrews.

2. While there have indeed been many differences in the forms of slavery between societies and eras, I find very few examples where slavery was not considered a horrific fate. Ancient Greeks and Romans constantly feared slave rebellions, and those captured in battle and sold into slavery generally did not think of themselves as "second-class citizens". Even house slaves could be abused and there are documented stories of Roman citizens being murdered by their house slaves. I also cannot find any examples of individuals voluntarily choosing slavery in Greece or Rome. Plenty of examples of Roman citizens entering serfdom due to debt, but not choosing slavery because they saw that as an improvement.

3. I did find one example of voluntary servitude - specifically, the devsirme of the Ottoman System. Slaves under this system were drawn only from the Balkans, these slaves were the property of the Sultan alone, were converted (voluntarily or not) to Islam, and trained either for Janissary military units or the palace central administration. Devsirme recruits started at the bottom and were promoted based on talent and performance. Though legally slaves, this seems closer to a caste system, similar to the administrators of Confucian China. The primary reason for this system was to protect the Sultan from rebellion - these slaves were completely dependent on the Sultan for their livelihood and rewards, and therefore (for a time) showed considerable loyalty. Of course, as time went on, the Janissaries became kingmakers, dominating the later Sultans, which begs the question how much like slaves they really were...

If one wants to have a campaign that's a bit different, adding something like the devsirme would accomplish that. But given our modern views toward slavery, and the historical reality that the vast majority of slaves were in no way better off enslaved vs. free, I wouldn't recommend it. One could accomplish much the same by using Byzantine eunuchs as a template. (Eunuchs were considered safe in positions of power because they couldn't father a rival dynasty. However, many eunuchs still felt considerable loyalty to their families, and more than one eunuch attempted to place a relative on the throne, so it's not a foolproof option for a cautious emperor.)

 

[VelvetViolet]

When fantasy settings do bring up slavery, it's unambiguously evil. It also completely ignores the fact that within the setting itself there are far easier methods of getting field work done than enslaving people. Wizards who can mass summon extraplanar creatures and mass produce golems have existed for thousands of years and are a dime a dozen. If slaves do exist in a fantasy setting, it shouldn't be for soul-crushing manual labor when the setting has those things.

EDIT: A relevant article can be read here. It's about slavery and Pokemon (aka cockfighting seizure monsters).

 

[Nagol]

Thank you for your input. I've adjusted the OP to compensate.

Yes, I am looking for a model of society that treats slaves more humanely in order to challenge the philosophical and moral beliefs of the typical liberal democrat adventurer.

Given the widespread prevalence of magic in a typical fantasy setting (and all traditional economic models break down when you can mass produce food and any substance other than a few now-worthless precious metals), there's no reason why the soul-crushing field work can't be performed by mass-produced golems, and slaves would instead be performing service work (e.g. maintenance, cashiers, clerks) or being used as symbols of prestige (e.g. maids, butlers, bodyguards, concubines, etc).


If they refuse to work, you don't beat them, you use a spell that gives them a high whenever they follow orders. Given a choice between water and an electrode wired into their brains that induces pleasure, all living creatures will pleasure themselves until they die.

Slaves are cheaper than magical constructs (much cheaper -- look at the cost of a single flesh golem!) -- mass production is typically beyond the capacity of presented magic.

Similarly, negative reinforcement is cheaper than getting spells / magic items to enforce compliance.



My last campaign had a variety of slavery/indentured servant types that ran the gamut.

The typical nation had slavery, but everyone is born free. Typically slaves are criminals or prisoners of war for whom ransom was not paid. Though their treatment varied dramatically with the owner, the cultural norm is slaves can buy or win their freedom and expect sufficient food and care.

The evil empire had a typically dark and horrific version of slavery and serfdom.

A shard of the empire that split in a civil war tempered many of the excesses of slavery. Slaves could be freed at their master's whim, but there were fewer cultural expectations regarding freedom and care unlike the typical nation, above.

A very Lawful and somewhat Good society rented convicts out as part of their penance to society. Those whom took advantage of the labour had to care for and account for their charge's well-being with periodic checks to verify health and status being performed by the state. The service was up when (i) the sentence completed, (ii) the renter returned the servant, (iii) the servant requested the return through the check ups, or (iv) the state detected negligence or mistreatment. Since the punishment is mistreatment is the renter is forced into indentured servitude to pay for the harmed servant's injury, it was rarely a problem. A servant who was problematic was returned to the state who added a charge to the servant's account for the trouble.

The northern barbarians occasionally had criminals and prisoners of war work for their captors, but that is more for survival of the group than entrenched slavery.

 

[GSHamster]

I think an "indentured servitude" model might work better than outright slavery. Especially if the indenture is because of debt or crime incurred by the individual.

Along those lines, the gai'shain in the Wheel of Time can be considered a model of benign slavery. (http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Gai'shain).