10-23-2018, 06:47 AM | #11 | |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: Killing Slavers
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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.
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10-23-2018, 07:04 AM | #12 | |
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Portland, Oregon
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Re: Killing Slavers
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10-23-2018, 07:06 AM | #13 |
Join Date: Aug 2018
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Re: Killing Slavers
Does the term slaver refer only to those who capture free people and introduce them into slavery, or also people who purchase or inherit slaves?
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10-23-2018, 07:14 AM | #14 | |
Aluminated
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: East of the moon, west of the stars, close to buses and shopping
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Re: Killing Slavers
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And, of course, for any not-strictly-historical fantasy, I don't have to include it at all. The magical kingdom of Foo may have superficial qualities in common with various historical locations, but being entirely fictional, there's nothing there which I don't want to put there. So if there's anything my players or I will find not-fun, I get to leave it out. And so I do.
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10-23-2018, 07:15 AM | #15 |
Join Date: Feb 2016
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Re: Killing Slavers
Slaver refers to anyone engaged in the commerce of slaves, so it could be to person purchasing slaves, the person transporting slaves to market, or the person selling slaves. Someone who inherits slaves would not necessarily be a slaver, though they could still be an objectionable person unless they, at a minimum, treated their slaves humanely, paid them a decent wage, and allowed them to purchase their freedom. Purchasing slaves is always morally reprehensible, though it is possible in some settings to acquire slaves in lieu of payment of a debt or to receive them as a gift from another.
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10-23-2018, 07:15 AM | #16 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Nashville, TN
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Re: Killing Slavers
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If I'm introducing an element like slavery, misogyny/misandry, or racism to a game world, I'm almost always going to do it in a way that players can realistically choose to have their character's values be opposed to such things, even if there are social consequences for doing so. I guess the difference is between "That attitude isn't common." to "That attitude is unheard of - your character wouldn't believe that. At the same time, I recognize that I'm in the minority on this sort of thing to some degree. I don't replay my computer RPGs just to see the content created for the "evil" choices -- I don't enjoy the experience of playing a character who would make those choices.
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I didn't realize who I was until I stopped being who I wasn't. Formerly known as Bookman- forum name changed 1/3/2018. |
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10-23-2018, 08:23 AM | #17 | |||
GURPS Line Editor
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
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Re: Killing Slavers
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I'm not a fan of gaming in 100% historical settings, but inasmuch as I've ever had anything to do with it, I've left uncomfortable social topics unexplored and focused the campaign on action and adventure: mysteries that need solving, plots that need exposing, wars that need fighting, whatever. Quote:
Stuff my players won't enjoy doesn't become part of their characters' society. I either omit it completely from the campaign or I reserve it for use as a part of a foreign society that can serve as a source of enemies and a target for missions paid for by the heroes' homeland. Quote:
For instance, in my fantasy campaign where the PCs lived in a continental empire formed when Roman-inspired people conquered Greek- and Mongol-themed lands, I ignored the fact that the Greeks, Mongols, and Romans took slaves, and I did the same with any other social element I knew the players would find uncomfortable: human sacrifice, rampant sexism, you name it. I cherry-picked the cool stuff and kept only the historical elements my gamers could live with. Then I had all the rival powers of the world keep slaves, burn people on altars, treat women as property, and so on. This made it easy for me to convince the players that their characters wanted to work within and for their society, not be complete murderhobos . . . because their society was happy to use them as a pack of 007s against pretty much all the nasty empires around them. There's no especially great reason why every society in a setting would have the same values. On the contrary, differences in basic values are one explanation for national borders. So I just make sure the values my players don't like are on the other side of the border, which means that when they want to tear down an oppressive society they can do so freely and be labeled patriots at home for doing so.
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Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com> GURPS Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games My DreamWidth [Just GURPS News] |
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10-23-2018, 08:39 AM | #18 | |
Hero of Democracy
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: far from the ocean
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Re: Killing Slavers
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I'm fond of RPG's as a way to explore history, and I do play in fairly historical games that feature some of the nastier elements. Most of the time my players try to take up sympathetic but non-revolutionary positions in society (In a recent game we had a roman praetor free and marry his former slave. The scandal was a big deal, but not campaign disrupting). If they want to waive a specific condition (sexism is the most common) we will do that. But I have this innate resistance to portraying historical humanity as modern cosmopolitanists. But we find exploring history fun, and the culture we're playing in is part of that. I understand not everyone wants to do that.
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10-23-2018, 01:10 PM | #19 |
Dog of Lysdexics
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Melbourne FL, Formerly Wellington NZ
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Re: Killing Slavers
I've had a DnD campaign when the main Human kingdom (Lawful leans Good) has slavery, but only in the form of Criminal Punishment, it was seen more strict "Community Service" so no my player didn't attack "slavers" in the setting any more they didn't attack the Queen's men.
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10-23-2018, 01:48 PM | #20 |
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Finland, Lahti
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Re: Killing Slavers
It depends on treatment and who asks for help:
- serfdom, how local lord treats his serfs - how the head of the family arranges forced marriages and child labor (Social Stigma: Valuable Property) - how violent criminals are magically brainwashed to docile servants - how "monster" races are subjugated - how strict are laws and how heavy are fines to prevent mistreatment |
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slavery |
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