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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Amal Shukup" data-source="post: 2018234" data-attributes="member: 6291">You asked for a solution that did not include murder...When is murder not murder?  VERY subjective... But I'd go that way rather than trying to avoid killing - every slaver your player's mercy (squeamishness?) saves is another - how many? Dozens? Hundreds of Lives ruined... The problem your players are faced with are very similar to that faced by the protagonists of Joel Rosenberg's 'Guardians of the Flame' novels, which (despite being fairly substantially trashy) I found quite enjoyable.Also educational - if getting into the 'freeing slaves' business is in the cards. Drawing loosely, I'd say the lessons therein can be boiled down thusly:1. It's WAR. "War to the Knife"... It's not good enough to kill a few slavers and move on, that's mere banditry. Aim high: Bring an end to slavery. Force those that traffic in human flesh to stop. If they don't stop, kill 'em all. Blood washes off. ...............................Aside: I gots NO truck with the moral relativists hereabouts talking about "it's the LAW", or it's "not wrong by the lights of that society", and "who are we to impose our modern day values?" 'Puckies! Lots of folk throughout history recognized slavery as an evil: The Old Testament has lots of material on the subject - hello? Moses? Aristotle, Socrates and Plato all spoke out forcefully against the practice. Spartacus led a rather well known slave revolt - but before that, Drimacos led one in Greece. Also, Eunus, Salvius and Athenion led a series of them in Sicily after the fall of Carthage. the Methodist and Quaker movements, as well as Britain (belatedly), actively opposed slavery during the late 1700s. Never mind the approximately 250 or slave rebellions and the underground railroad movements in the years leading up to the American Civil War... "An unjust law is itself a species of violence" - Gandhi (who in no way would approve of the violence I'm advocating, but the sentiment was appropriate)...............................2. Only target actual slavers (professional slave takers, slave merchants and such). Do NOT target mere slave owners. Even in the most jaded society, the sort of slavery that allows the excesses and abuses that you've described MUST be at least distasteful to the majority of the population, if not actively despised or feared. An honest person might find themselves a slave next, after all...By selectively targeting only the 'traffickers in human misery', you set up the possibility of gaining immediate support and allies in the surrounding population. Make sure the surrounding population understands what you're doing, why, and that they have nothing to fear from you if they're not slavers.3. Yah gotta have allies. Lots of 'em. Neighboring societies eager to put a stop to slave taking raids. Local underground is good too. I'd suggest some deity or religion driven support as well - perhaps a divinely bestowed mandate (and some help).Raise an Army: Free and arm slaves, like minded individuals, foreign adventurers... Think of it as Franchising: "This is how it's done, here's your t-shirt, go to it!" The leadership feat has potential (particularly if your cohort takes it as well...)5. Need a base. Or bases. Over a border, in a trackless swamp, Sherwood Forest. Carve out a new country if required.. Out of the easy reach of the bad guys. 6. Ultimately, it's economic war. Make the business of trafficking in human flesh too expensive (and manifestly un-safe). and the society will find another way. Make the slavers PAY for the privelige of being annihilated - take all their stuff when you kill 'em.Go get 'em...A'Mal</blockquote>

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