Campaign Standards: Slavery yea or nay?

[paigeoliver]

I use slavery sparsely. It is generally something that most civilized people don't think all that highly of, but at the same time there isn't usually all that much of a fuss about it.

In my world slaves are used most often in mining, as it is dangerous, labor intensive and can't be made a whole lot easier with magic.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

Yes, slavery is part of my campaign world, with debt-slavery or indentured servitude being more common than outright chattel slavery, but even the last is not unknown. It's not front-and-center, but it's not hidden, either.

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

I view slavery as a great sort of evil to include in campaigns. It's something we can all agree is wrong, and yet also something where we can imagine otherwise good people who support the system (either without thinking about it or because they're sufficiently embedded in the culture that they believe it's right or with misgivings but supporting it nonetheless). Because of the real world racial history, it needs to be treated with care, but it still can make for a great reason to oppose enemies.

Social structures are also interesting, and slavery can set up all sorts of interesting dynamics from a role-playing perspective. I wouldn't necessarily make it a feature in a game for young children, but in games for adults, I think it can be a good thing to include in a campaign.

 

[Dausuul]

Slavery exists in my campaign worlds, typically as part of large decadent nations or evil empires (the heroic hometown, if there is one, generally won't tolerate it).

 

[ForceUser]

So in your campaign, is slavery a part of it? Huge part? On the fringes? Used to be in vogue and out?

A lot of fiction I've been reading these days tends to have slavery in one form or another and after recently watching Spartacus, it made me ponder the role of slavery in the campaign.

Biggest problem with slavery in ye old campaign is players tend to hate it in my experience. How about others?

Depends on the group and the setting, as well as how you set it up. Last year I ran a few sessions in a world loosely based on Robert E Howard's Hyborea, which is the home of Conan the Barbarian. Howard depicts slaves and slaveholding societies in many of his Conan stories, so in my game I made it clear that slavery was common practice in a lot of places, even going so far as to differentiate legal and illegal slave trades. It worked for a Conan-based game and my players bought into it.

On the other hand, in the default D&D setting I imagine slavery would be restricted to evil societies, or would be an evil insitution within neutral societies. I would expect good characters to despise it and act accordingly. On a metagame level, we're conditioned to do this anyway by western culture---slavery makes us uncomfortable because of our slave-holding past.

If even one player is uncomfortable portraying slavery as anything but evil, don't use it for anyone but the bad guys PCs are going to take down.

 

[Crothian]

In my camapigns it was a big part untuil the Pcs actively set out to stop it. They mostly did so now it just exists ion the fringes.

 

[Nagol]

For me, it varies by campaign world.

My current campaign is regionalised. There are four major regions to the continent each with a different attitude towards slavery.

Region one is an old empire, based loosely on Greece/Rome. Slavery is institutional and the majority of the population are slaves. Children of slaves are born slaves. Slaves are very rarely freed.

Region two is based loosely on Norse inspiration. Slavery exists as a criminal punishment / bankruptcy / prisoner of war phenomenon and is usually a temporary condition. Children of slaves are born free.

Region three is a country strongly oriented to personal freedom. Slavery is never tolerated and any slaves entering the region are declared free.

Region four exists on the savage outskirts of civilisation. Slavery is not institutional, but is tolerated particularly with social outcasts or for debt payment. Children are handled in a case by case basis.

 

[Derulbaskul]

Slavery is present in my games but always as an evil to be stopped.

I have a passionate hatred for slavery after living in Asia for more than ten years and seeing the equivalent being practised today.

(snip) There's not really much difference between slaves and feudal peasants.

... or employees of large corporates with mortgages and credit cards to pay!

 

[ppaladin123]

I do wonder about slavery, too. It's generally the very brutish, abusive type (well, that's how it's been in history). But I also wonder about spinning it in an alternative method.

A culture where being a slave is revered. Or at least, being a good slave is something to strive for, at least among slaves. Not just a well-trained one, but one who's well behaved, who is "cultured" and socialized as a proper slave (the correct etiquette, the proper attitude and behavior). Slavery might also be an alternative to harsher circumstances: poverty, death, homelessness/worklessness, etc. So being a slave of a rich House is a better fate than farming dirt and dieing hungry. Slaves would be in a social class above the peasantry.

You also have the possibility of not slaves, but indentured servitude. Or slavery for a given number of years. Working for your freedom, etc.

Another route to take is slavery-ish type situations. To give an example, you have a Caste system. At the very lowest caste, you have the Untouchables, who are the whipping boy of society. You're born into this caste, you're destined to be a latrine mucker, a garbage collector, an undertaker, and other undesirable jobs. The highest respect you can get is still lower than a person in an entry-level position in the Caste(s) above you.

The Romans took many slaves when they conquered Greece. Many of those slaves became tutors/teachers for the Roman nobility and had a deep impact on Roman religion, political institutions, technology, and philosophy.

 

[Shemeska]

Slavery exists in Paizo's Golarion setting, with some nations embracing it (Katapesh for instance) and others having abolished it (Andoran, etc). Cultural/religious and economic reasons for it all in most cases, and the difference in its status among different nations would be rather fun to play with as a DM.