TL 3-4 Slave Prices

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

Yes, of course. The real value of a slave is a different thing from the market value acribed to him by the culture or cultures in which he is going to be sold. In many less intellectual cultures, male slaves are all about muscles, about HT and ST and Lifting ST, and their brains are irrelevant. All men have Dabbler for Carpentry anyway, and many for Blacksmith too.

That also opens interesting opportunities for people who "discover" such overlooked slaves. If you buy him and treat him well, he might become extremely loyal out of gratitude. Especially if you can convince him that you're a bit of an intellectual yourself, and not a "barbarian". Or if you're so inclined, you can even set him free, then offer him a job. That's unlikely to cause his loyalty to evaporate.

Which is roughly what Belisarius did. I got the impression that the reason he was able to pull that off was not because of the culture but because the dealer was to much of an idiot to know what he had. Certainly there would have been some prince in India who would have been glad to get him if the dealer had thought to separate him.

[Flyndaran]

I suck at history, but wasn't it common for tutors to be slaves in places like ancient Rome? Education is one of those features not likely to suffer as heavily from aging and injury as raw brawn. That should make such a slave a longer term investment and seriously jack up their value.

[Bah! Gaming]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

It depends a lot on how available slaves are, and what they slave are used for. The last part has to do with which kinds of slaves are valuable, or extra-valuable, or worthless.

Thank you very much for the detailed response. The party themselves are heavily into the Slave Market (Mainly just one character with market analysis skills and a way with handling black market goods).

I'll take all of this into account as I plan out how things go throughout the campaign.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

I suck at history, but wasn't it common for tutors to be slaves in places like ancient Rome? Education is one of those features not likely to suffer as heavily from aging and injury as raw brawn. That should make such a slave a longer term investment and seriously jack up their value.

Uh-huh. Themistocles had one of those who apparently was also his private spy. He famously led Xerxes into an ambush by telling him that Themistocles was ready to turn. Thus proving the old maxim of never trusting a walk-in.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

I suck at history, but wasn't it common for tutors to be slaves in places like ancient Rome? Education is one of those features not likely to suffer as heavily from aging and injury as raw brawn. That should make such a slave a longer term investment and seriously jack up their value.

Depends on the culture. In many cultures, there was no such thing as childhood tutors. Or else it was exclusively the work of a certain more-or-less formal caste and absolutely not something you could even think of having a slave do.

The whole "slaves as black market" goods makes little sense, though. If slavery is illegal, why can't the slaves just run to the nearest law enforcement office, and report that they've been the victims of a crime?

[Bah! Gaming]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

Depends on the culture. In many cultures, there was no such thing as childhood tutors. Or else it was exclusively the work of a certain more-or-less formal caste and absolutely not something you could even think of having a slave do.

The whole "slaves as black market" goods makes little sense, though. If slavery is illegal, why can't the slaves just run to the nearest law enforcement office, and report that they've been the victims of a crime?

Because the slaves aren't staying on that continent. They are being taken and sold at docks, and then transported to places where slavery is legal. This makes the "Exotic" slave thing more appealing.

Edit: And the player isn't just dealing in slaves. Other things such as drugs, forbidden magics... fun stuff like that.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Bah! Gaming

Thank you very much for the detailed response. The party themselves are heavily into the Slave Market (Mainly just one character with market analysis skills and a way with handling black market goods).

I'll take all of this into account as I plan out how things go throughout the campaign.

Well, you're going to need some slave prices, then. I have some for my Ärth setting, early TL3 historical fantasy, but they're rectally extracted. I don't think that makes them worse than 19th century figures, or figures derived based on GURPS' CoL/Salary, but they do come from deep inside my bowels, so let me know if you want them. Or if you find some better ones, please let me know.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Bah! Gaming

Because the slaves aren't staying on that continent. They are being taken and sold at docks, and then transported to places where slavery is legal. This makes the "Exotic" slave thing more appealing.

Edit: And the player isn't just dealing in slaves. Other things such as drugs, forbidden magics... fun stuff like that.

But the whole "this action is illegal" thing doesn't make much sense in a TL3 context, and advancing to TL4 doesn't improve much. It's not like there are cops and so forth at low TLs. Rather, laws are enforced by those who have the might to enforce them, when they can be arsed to enforce them. Rather than the universe being divided cleanly and logically into things and actions that are legal and things and actions that aren't, it's a lot more fuzzily about what you think you can get away with doing.

[Bah! Gaming]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

Well, you're going to need some slave prices, then. I have some for my Ärth setting, early TL3 historical fantasy, but they're rectally extracted. I don't think that makes them worse than 19th century figures, or figures derived based on GURPS' CoL/Salary, but they do come from deep inside my bowels, so let me know if you want them. Or if you find some better ones, please let me know.

I would love to see what you have, and if i come up with something less arbritray then my current prices.. i'll send it to you.

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

But the whole "this action is illegal" thing doesn't make much sense in a TL3 context, and advancing to TL4 doesn't improve much. It's not like there are cops and so forth at low TLs. Rather, laws are enforced by those who have the might to enforce them, when they can be arsed to enforce them. Rather than the universe being divided cleanly and logically into things and actions that are legal and things and actions that aren't, it's a lot more fuzzily about what you think you can get away with doing.

I see what you're saying now. So let me explain kinda how things are then.

The current king has outlawed the buying and selling of slaves. Note that this does not include the owning of slaves... so you'll see "grandfathered" slave families still stuck in this situation. He especially doesn't condone any sort of slave actions that the crown doesn't get a piece of the profit. Indentured servitude, voluntarily or crown enforced is however, a thing.

Those seeking to sell outside the crowns laws and taxes will take to many of the shadier port towns to sell to the slaver race of the north (The Arogat, basically a sort of dwarven species).

The continent is a large one, so it IS hard for the crown to enforce this everywhere on their lands, especially in areas that are far from the capital. Thus you'll have situations where Warlords (Such as the one in the current party) buying slaves, or selling them in these shadier areas of the crown's influence.. or just outisde it.. as a not entirely uncommon thing.

So all in all, yes i agree. The local Lords in the area should be the ones enforcing the laws of the crown... but as long as they get their cut "illegal and black market" doesn't mean much.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

...
The whole "slaves as black market" goods makes little sense, though. If slavery is illegal, why can't the slaves just run to the nearest law enforcement office, and report that they've been the victims of a crime?

What keeps slaves in the U.S. from doing so? Usually not knowing the language and the possibility of being sent back to someplace far worse.

Making something illegal certainly doesn't completely stamp it out.