How does slavery work in your setting...

Sanctioned and taxed. It's pretty much roman slavery, really. Not all nations follow it or have the same system.

I was going to rebuke by saying something like, "why doesn't YOUR setting have amazons slavers" but I can see where it can get lewd.

Only the super hot are slaves, so it's seen as an honor.

>that pic

Fuck, you're giving me flashbacks to the carriage being stuck in a ditch

Underrated as fuck

Slavery is forbidden under Timerian law, one of the few such prohibitions passed down from Blind Timer himself. Of course the rich and powerful still find ways to bend the law and control their subjects through slave-like conditions, but there remains a strong free-minded culture within the Timerian Empire, that frequently clashes with these attempts to infringe on the freedoms of its citizens.

Outside the empire, things are a lot less civilized. The Serapi Empire to the south is a deeply hierarchical society with an entrenched caste system, with the lowest castes being little better than slaves to their social superiors. Many low-born Serapi subjects flee to the Timerian Empire the first chance they get, infuriating their masters. The Serapi are considering warring with the Timerians, to destroy their egalitarian image forever.

Meanwhile out west, the Timerian Electorate of Qrinnellea still practises slavery, due to a lot of awkward political shenanigans relating to when the Qrin were first annexed by the Empire. The Qrin are a fractured dynastic people, full of backstabbing and intrigue, who flout Timerian courts and sneer at Timerian law. The Qrin's status as not-quite vassals has always been a sore spot for Timerian politicians, who either want to force Timerian law on them fully, or grant them independence. Neither option has ever been embraced fully, and so Qrinnellea has hung in political limbo for more than a century.

It varies from place to place.

In some places only war prisoners are enslaved, and it's otherwise frowned upon or outright illegal depending on whatever the ruling noble of the land declares. In fact even foreign slaver merchants might be turned away at the border.

In some places it's more or less serfdom, or debt slavery, but there is no slave market or anything of the sort, and these people still have a few rights.

In some places slavery is legal but rare, and there are no cultural stigmas against it, but slaves can eventually earn their freedom and their children are freeborn. Typically if you damage or kill a slave, you can pay a commonly accepted manprice for them and it's ok.

In some places slaves have no rights, are bought and sold regularly, their children are automatically slaves, and so on. Being a slave owner is part of the culture and religion, because they follow a deity called the overlord. Powerful mindaltering drugs are used to dull the mind and create obedience out of those who try to escape or fight. Slaves are used as a commodity and fulfill many roles, from laborers, entertainers, clerical workers, sexworkers, gladiators and even slave soldiers. Capturing slaves, breeding slaves, training them, and then selling them to foreign lands is a significant part of the economy. Same for the drugs which can facilitate it.

My players are currently in one of the 'nicest' corners of the world in terms of laws and nobles, so they haven't had to deal with it, but I've had enough time to detail out significant parts of the rest of the world and there's a lot of unpleasant shit going on. Always a risk someone will get upset or view it as magical realm adjacent but whatever. All I can hope for is that people stay objective and mature about it.

In the evil campaign my group is playing in there is slavery, which is primarily dealt with through my character (hobgoblin) and the territories our legion holds and have conquered.

Most slaves are considered common property to the legion and, by extent, myself. Troublemakers are usually given mining or quarry duties, or other unpleasant tasks such as sanitation details. The rest pretty much live their lives as normal, as it is fairly akin to serfdom. Farmers give up a portion of their crops and livestock to feed the host, while being left with enough to maintain them and their own. It's possible to buy their freedom or earn it through service to the host.

Individual slaves are often well kept and tend to serve domestically. Slaves of higher status hobgoblins often have slaves of their own that they use for delegating matters, and are often rather influential. Same can be said for non-goblinoid merchants or craftsmen.

While it does take adjusting for some, most have gotten used to their new way of life. Sure, they may not have absolute freedom, but since the Hobgoblins took over, harvests have increased while attacks by roving packs of ghouls, zombies, and other assorted undead have gone down since we quite thoroughly stomped down on the cult of Orcus that had been operating for years out of the former lord's castle.

The First Prophet, Eternal Blessing upon his Soul, expressly banned the practice in his teachings, as he stated no one upon this World, except those who by their actions and legacy can be shown to embody the Will Eternal, could ever be trusted with the just and fair ownership of another living being.

As such the current Priesthood, all members of which are of the direct lineage and legacy of the Prophet and whose interest are obviously representative of the Will Eternal, are the only entity in the world capable of owning slaves. Therefore the Church runs a massive Slaving operation which does not buy or sell ownership of people, but instead involves the loaning of slaves to those individuals favored by the Priesthood who happen to not be of the Prophet's lineage for a small fee. Thus these "owners" are not the ones who truly command these slaves, they just happen to be the ones the Slaves receive orders from and whose house they happen to live in. The Church can review and checkup on their condition or revoke a contract of lending at any time.

There is of course a portion of that same Priesthood who find this interpretation of the Prophet's word blasphemous and obviously do what they can to free these poor beings, as obviously the majority of the priesthood show by their actions they do not embody the Will Eternal. Ironically some of these slave liberators then keep these slaves for themselves since their understanding of the Will Eternal in this matter obviously shows they ARE an embodiment of it's cause and thus capable of responsibly owning slaves.

Is that from Ecce Romani? Because it looks like it is from Ecce Romani...

I've read and heard similar things.
>t. history student

...

>The Ditch

That ditch spanned TWO WHOLE BOOKS.

TWO BOOKS

A ROMAN SENATOR AN CO TOOK 6 CHAPTERS TO GET OUT OF THAT DITCH. A GODFORSAKEN DITCH.

ECCE ROMANI, MORE LIKE ECCE STERCUS CAPUTI.

Tribes capture their enemies when they can. Slaves belong to the ones doing the capturing, though they can be traded.
Their treatment varies from "sacrifices for the gods/spirits" to "well, you've been our prisoner for twenty years now, wanna join the tribe?".

It is generally accepted, at least in human and orc societies. Centaurs (the third main race of the part of the world I've most fleshed out) are too xenophobic for that, they just kill their enemies usually. Someone presenting the idea that you can't do whatever you want with a slave would be seen as weird. Slaves are not of your tribe, and if they're not, they aren't important.
But most tribes also understand the value of a good pair of hands when everybody's trying to survive, so if they haven't sacrificed you in the first few days, your might live and not be mistreated too much if you don't cause trouble. Still sucks, though.

Slavery was invented as an alternative to execution or life in prison. The game setting's justice system revolves around paying the victim restitution for the crime. Some crimes are considered so high-value that the person can only pay with their life, and slavery is a far more productive use of that repayment than wasting the life in prison or on the gallows.

Gradually the institution expanded far beyond its original scope. The tendency of convicts to flee to another town led to the development of slave tattoos (actually an alchemical solution that creates a shaped birthmark, which resists magical healing or erasure). Persons bearing a slave-mark are considered enslaved no matter where they go, and if the original deed of ownership matching the mark's pattern cannot be located then a new one is written up by the local magistrate, who issues the slave to another owner.

Some people sell themselves or their children into slavery. Some people are enslaved at birth (though not all children of slaves end up as slaves: it is not unheard of for a slave's owner to decline to mark the slave's child and adopt the child as their own instead). Sometimes, a conquerer will enslave entire communities after subjugating them in battle. Finally, and most horribly, some criminal enterprises kidnap and mark people illegally. If caught, they face enslavement themselves, but so strict are the laws and traditions around the slave-marks that the victims do not become free as a result. Once a person carries a slave's mark, that person is a slave forever. (In the case where a criminal is sentenced to enslavement, any slaves that criminal posesses get re-allocated by the court, so victims of illegal enslavement usually end up owned by close relatives of the slave.)

A slave is considered property of his or her owner. They have practically no rights.

Arguably the most profitable trade in the world. The vast majority of the trade is controlled by a trio of principalities who use the money and influence of their positions to keep from getting conquered by their larger neighbors.

Enslaving citizens of the empire is illegal. However, prison labor is often used. Usually reserved for prisoners of war while another serves 3 months or something . Children born to slaves are free.

There's also a disenfranchised herditary caste that's usually tasked with dangerous/menial/slave-tier work. These folks are generally more fucked than slaves.

>Shoggoth Paladin
a what now?

Generally unpopular for economic reasons, although it's catching on for the growing plantations.

It's seen as unethical to enslave another human, elf, or dwarf, because those are people. Orcs are a bit of a grey area, with countries closer to the orcish lands having a lower opinion, since they have orcs as citizens and diplomats.

Goblins are fair game if you can catch one, but generally dwarves don't bother and just kill the little fuckers that get stuck in their holes. Lizard people will actually sell you their countrymen, though, so they're getting popular since they''ll sell you their mother for fine cloths and such goods, and then those slaves can be sold to the rich or get sent to the new world. But the proper triangle trade hasn't been established fully yet, so it's not as lucrative as mining copper and tin for cannons or iron for pike.

tl;dr: It's not popular, but some nobles keep a few as servants if they can afford them. Indentured servants are more popular.

Depends on the place.

Many developed areas have serfdom. It is not completely one sided as the lord has an obligation to maintain defenses, both fortifications and men, against monsters. And obviously mistreated escaped serfs might receive sanctuary in a city, temple or other institution.

The more barbaric peoples tend to capture slaves through raids or piracy. Their rights vary by tribe and chief - some are worked to death and eaten, others might become part of a tribe.

And when a raid goes bad, the barbarians might be enslaved themselves - many settled places consider them unworthy of proper rights, or simply as revenge against long term enemies.