Killing Slavers

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by The Colonel

Basically, if it doesn't depend on the setting, there's something up with your players.

Pretty much.

On one hand, I figure that when my players agree to play in a campaign, they have agreed to accept the world where the campaign is set. If slavery is a feature of that world, then their characters will know that slavery exists, and the players will have agreed to play such characters, just as, if I run a campaign set in the 21st century, the characters will know that taxation exists.

On the other hand, in general, I expect my players to realize that my campaigns are likely to have some level of historical realism; if I say, for example, that a campaign is set in the Roman Empire, then there will be slaves and distinctive laws regarding their treatment. If I'm dealing with new players, I'll spell this out more, but established players should know my style.

On the gripping hand, unless the campaign is defined as one where a specific mission statement applies, the players are in principle free to create characters who are opposed to slavery, even fanatically opposed to it. But they're free to face the consequences, too, from being condescended to as cranks to being hunted and killed as terrorists.