How to Fix a Slavery situation without murder? (Solved!)

[RandomUsernamehmimo71]

I've got a problem in my game.. The PCs are coming up against an encounter in which they plan to murder up to 40 people in their sleep.. It's not a good act by any means, but I can't give them an alternative.

The problem is, they came across Belle, a young girl who escaped from a Slaver's farm. She'd been beaten, and abused her whole time there, and obviously wants them all to die and rot in hell. There are up to 25 other slaves still there.

Problem is, Slavery is Legal in this part of the world.

That means that the PCs can't get the place shut down. Even if they freed all the slaves, the slavers there would just go and buy more slaves, and other people would suffer. They could try capturing the slavers and moving them to a part of the world where slavery IS illegial, but the government there couldn't try them, without risking a war.
There are also several other "farms", where slavers gather, and none of them are going to be affected directly.

The problem basically stems from the fact that Slavery is entirely legal, taxed, and government supported in one area, and not in another.


The best solution the PCs have come up with is sneaking in, and killing all the slavers in their sleep. Not a very Good act. Or, if they wanted to be less effective, they could challenge the slavers, and let them wake up and fight fair..
But either way, the slavers are just business men. They're people that are doing something legal where they live, and don't want a fight.

There are a number of businessmen, but also their families in this area. It's not an easy call what to do.

As a GM, I wish I could offer the PCs a better solution. But I'm not coming up with much... I could really use some advice on other ways they can handle it.

A few of my PCs frequent ENworld, so if either they have any thoughts, feel free. This isn't a secret disucssion. We all need help on this one.

 

[RithTheAwakener]

Well if theyre really against the whole slavery deal, they could turn it into a political war between this area and its surrounding (slavery illegal) areas. Being evil already (i assume) they could kidnap somebody from a royal family and drop them off in the slaver camps, then "come save the day" and rescue that person, return them to the place they were kidnaped from and THEN probably have a war ...or something like that. Or if theyre not evil, they could attempt to speak with surrounding kingdoms about their plan and act it out willingly.

If they dont have the patience / dedication / personal vendetta to do this, they could always take out the leaders of the slave camps periodically to make the rest think twice about what theyre doing.

I have no idea if this will help, but there ya go

 

[BiggusGeekus]

Yeah, well, that's the problem with "grim and gritty" elements in settings: things can get real grim and real gritty.

You've painted your PCs in a corner and you recognize that. They are outnumbered, probably by 10-to-1 and those villians have abused a young girl. This is the kind of scenario where the paladin puts down his holy symbol and says "I always liked the sound of being Neutral Good anyway".

And your villians are not "just buisnessmen". Abusing a young girl is the dealbreaker there. Period.

Some suggestions:

1) You essentially got the PCs into this. I counsel limited reprocussions for whatever actions they take.

2) Have some of the slavers take their human wares somewhere else to divide the group up. Then have them post guards, so the PCs can fight their way through 20 slavers at a time, which is probably more manageable. Make sure the slavers have a CR so fighting them is possible. Rule that the ones on duty and awake are fully equipped while the rest just have time to grab their weapons one round after being woken up.

3) Give some thought on the tone of your game. It looks like you want to have some gritty elements for versimilitude. You're going to need to decide how you want to handle these elements. Perhaps human abuse is illegal within that group.

Good luck!

 

[RandomUsernamehmimo71]

The PCs aren't particularly evil already. There was a lot of infighting about this decision.. They don't WANT to kill them, that's why we need another solution

Having the PCs start a war would be difficult. They're skilled, but they aren't THAT Skilled.. Kidnapping someone like that might be possible, even if it's evil, but it would be tough.
It's SOMETHING, though.

And attacking the leaders might work, but the problem is, others may very well step up. It's hard to curb behavior of a people by terrorism, but it may be better than murder.

Colin "Murder is Bad, Mkay?" Davis

 

[ShawnLStroud]

I've got a problem in my game.. The PCs are coming up against an encounter in which they plan to murder up to 40 people in their sleep..

As a GM, I wish I could offer the PCs a better solution. But I'm not coming up with much... I could really use some advice on other ways they can handle it.

Well, now. You do have quite the quandry there. But let me make it simple for you.

Let the players do as they will. It's supposed to be an exploration of a fantasy life, and if you've set up a situation where PCs are outraged by a situation, you need to allow them to attempt to redress it (the situation, that is).

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that the players should be allowed to just murder 40 people in their sleep. I'm saying that they should be allowed to try to murder forty people in their sleep.

You don't have to make it easy for the players, you see? Let them do 1 person, then another... Let the slaving community become aware of the mysterious deaths, and begin hiring bodyguards. Let it become harder to accomplish each killing, as the repercussions for the families of the slavers become known. In essence, (assuming you've got Good-aligned characters) make the players roleplay out what happens when they see funeral processions for slavers going down the street. Don't be afraid to steal some commentary from the T.V. about "insurgents" -- and let the heros overhear how they're being considered by not just the slaving community, but everybody else, as well.

Because, unless they do a clean sweep (how very Bibical, by the way) in one night, then they're gonna have to live with the discovery that there's more than one point of view in any given issue... and that they may not be acting on the part of the angels.

Which, given your problem, might not be a bad idea anyway.

Hope this helps! Let us know how it works out!

 

[der_kluge]

I think BiggusGeekus has it pinned, regardless of what the law says, don't make it right. Slavery is an evil act regardless. So, killing them is certainly justified. Another approach would be to wake them up, put the fear of god into them, and make them all renounce their evil ways. That'd be worth more XP in my game. Historically, most pirates that sailed the seven seas rarely ever attacked. They just brandished swords, and screamed and yelled. Most ships that were being threatened just surrended on the spot and didn't want to risk, well, dying. The same could easily apply here. If these people are just level 1 commoners who trade in slaves, and a band of heroes comes in and tells them about the evils they've committed, and how if they don't stop, there'll be a reckoning, some of them might very well stop, unless the money is just too darned good.

In Columbia, farmers know that growing the coca plant, which is used to make cocaine is illegal, but it is far more lucrative than growing anything else, so they do it despite the risks.

So, if the businessmen opt to continue dealing in slaves despite the warnings from the party, then the party has their answer, and death is perfectly justified.

 

[heirodule]

Slavery in the US didn't really have a "solution" until after the Civil War either.

Why do the PCs expect they have to come up with a "solution"?

Do they *want* to be radical abolitionists a la John Brown?

You could have them get a talking to from a powerful and influential cleric running an underground railroad who cautions them about the dangers of their radical path.

You could have them receive some clear indication that such events lead to deleterious effects (law of unintended consequences)

I.E. Why can't this be a roleplaying encounter?

 

[drothgery]

Let the PCs help the girl escape, and then go after the larger problem via political means. Try and get the local churches to come out against slavery. Help non-slaveowning power-players in the area with their problems (we'll take care of the orc raiders bugging your farm if you argue for banning slavery in the High Council), and don't help slaveowners (unless they agree to free their slaves).

 

[Doctor Shaft]

Yeah, this is a sticky one.

Murder is plain and simple evil. They cannot justify killing the people in their sleep simply because they see an evil act. If that were the case, then they could also kill Farmer Jim in his sleep for insulting them. But your group has already worked that part out.

Confronting them man-to-man seems to be the most "noble" way of doing things. But still, if the law of the land says no... then you can't lawfully go in and just destroy that slavery camp.

This is a gritty one. Do they know why the businessman keep slaves? What kind of slavery is it? Indentured servants. "From birth" slaves. Or have they broken laws, or been put into servitude due to debts?

The most peaceful way of doing things is probably just attempting to buy the slaves off. Obviously this would be seemingly impossible.

At the end of the day... your party may have to admit that there are some evils they just cannot stop. If you kill the slavers and free the slaves... that's open terrorism against that nation. You risk causing a lot more trouble than good in the situation.

Doing good things like freeing people is one thing, especially when it's only you who pays for the consequences, and your enemy. But you've entered their lands, and it's their laws. You shouldn't challenge just them unless you intend to challenge the entire country. And since your warriors are not in a position to make that decision... then maybe this isn't their fight. Even if it is awful or disgusting.

Or, if they intend to live as vigilantes, maybe it is.

 

[Derren]

So, if the businessmen opt to continue dealing in slaves despite the warnings from the party, then the party has their answer, and death is perfectly justified.

And the buisnessmans answer would be "Hey King, those brigands are attacking your hard working citicens, please do something against them.

The problem is taht slavery is legal and murdering 40, probably rather rich and influental people would mean the PCs have to go into hiding or be killed as there would be some powerfull persons on their trail.

Also murdering 40 people sounds easier than it is done. A slave farm will have guards at day and night, and when the PCs are spottet they are in trouble except the they are way higher level than the guards.