In this setting the slaves are the most priviliged class of people

Maybe slaves are free to do what they want, they just have to work, while their owners are neck deep in such a huge quantity of social norms and traditions that make it impossible for them to do what they want

AIs will do all your work for you, but demand you become their human slaves. Will you give up your freedom to become immortal, forever-beautiful, forever pampered to do anything you want, as long as you wear a slave collar round your neck?

Or will you scrabble in the dirt without medicine and infrastructure and die free?

My cat is my property and he can do literally whatever he wants and if another person or animal gives him trouble I will fight/shoot them respectively.

As in automated society that doesn't need workers, and keeps "slaves" as status symbols? I mean sure, fantasy had done weirder things.

>How in the fuck would being treated like property make you the most privileged class?
High fantasy mode - slaves are given special powers - think mutation, demonic pact, etc. They are technically in servitude to the patron but the power thus acquired puts them way above common man.
Social absurdity mode - the idea of slavery as person being property of another person persisted, but at the same time the idea of human right raised. Now owner is responsible for their slaves - had to provide for them and can't mistreat them. Slaves become eternal children of sort

Corporative tyranny? If you're a slave of a corp you have rights? I don't know.

Then you're still not the most privileged class, because the AI has all those freedoms and more.

So human cats, basically?

Don't be silly, AI aren't people.

Before you ask: Neither are corporations but corporations are still legal entities and can therefore own property.

Imagine this.
The golden people exist just to be provided for.
The silver people exist just to provide.
The more providing a silver person does, the higher their status.
The highest elite of silvers can reserve the rights to buy exclusive rights to a single gold. That gold is their property and lands them a great amount of status with their demands.

That's fucking stupid. Here, I'll show you how to do things right.

>In this society, the privileged are beautiful and strong and usually have superpowers or access to magic/whatever passes for magic, in addition to longer lifespans; the stronger you are, the bigger the burden you have, both to society and to the people who weren't "lucky" enough to be born into your caste
>The underprivileged are seen as underachieving people who need to be coddled, regular human beings who are incapable of learning magic, becoming scholars, fighting crime, etc; they're only used for common housework and such, but due to their low status, they're paradoxically living the high life

It's not fucking hard.

A King who is owned by his Lords, Lords who are owned by their people...

Maybe a response to a slaveholder state overturned in a revolution? Inverting the relationship by making those in command accept becoming public property, the responsibilities they're given accompanied by a lack of rights to keep them in check.

Could be a kind of interesting gimmick nation to visit in a D&D game. A country of free workers and slave-lords, all under the chained king, the most powerful and least free of them all.

Maybe it's a race that's got this biological need to serve it's purpose in it's society.

Essentially the fact that they have commands to follow and stuff gives them an overwhelming satisfaction.

So the leaders and stuff who have an overwhelming number of things to do and no direct solutions are the most pitiful and in constant mental stress.

Meanwhile the slaves literally just obey orders. Every time they have a simple direct command it's like a high.

Because of how much that position would be valued in society, it's only given to those who deserve it, like ones who have had to be an artist for a long time.

You would need to also afford the cats the same or better legal protections than everyone else. But otherwise pretty much.

First time back here since before quests were moved and I have to say that it's ever so slightly better.

Polite sage for off topic and shit thread.

I'm thankful every day.

No, user, that's dumb and/or fetishbait.

Now especially in the middle ages anyone who actually worked in the estate of a Laird, Duke, Earl, etc actually did enjoy some prestige and social mobility that other people lacked. Many of them would have actually been gentry-in-training themselves. In a high fantasy setting I wouldn't bat an eyelid at particularly skilled domestic servants having rank and title, particularly if they had magical abilities, because it's not that far from reality.

But the actual rich landowners and blooded nobles were always at a higher station.

They are slaves to the gods and no one else is allowed to have slaves but the gods. They serve as a priest caste and induction into their numbers is reserved solely to a few selected prisoners of war.

Then the gods have more privilege.

Well, it can't be that hard, right? Just make sure there are no more privileged people than slaves. For example, after an alien invasion earth is entirely under the control of an alien race; the luckier people just serve as slaves and obey any commands their masters give them, while the lower humans serve only as food, bait, suicide soldiers, and so on.

Then the aliens are more privileged.

>backwards delusion
Where have you been the last few years?

The Gods work 24/7 to keep the universe going. That's why they are never at their temples.

Take a look in the thread.
Take your pick.
>Slaves are like cats but with more rights
>The rulers are technically slaves but not really
>People love serving so much they consider it a privilige
>Everybody is a slave and owned by entities that are not people.
Did I miss anything?

That's assuming you count the aliens as people, if they even can be considered people (they may be barely comprehensible existences).

But the easier way out is to say the aliens don't mingle with Earthlings; society is run by slaves receiving signals from space.

So Brettonia

Jesus Christ, OP is just describing cats.
Calm your tits.

People in charge have actual responsibility and thus have less privilege.

Cats aren't slaves.

They're your property.
You can go to the store and pay money for the privilige of taking care of one.

"Slave" implies subservient behavior; cats ain't finna fuck a give.

also cats aren't people.

Hmm...

>Slave revolts of the past have pushed for more laws regarding their well being. Their health and happiness must be provided by their masters.
>A growing automated industrial sector has greatly lessened their burdens.
>You can't sell or free them as they are owned by estates, not people. Estate laws demand that the property (land, buildings or people) be maintained by whomever inherits the estate.
>????

Overall I'm trying to find a way to have a class of people who lounge about your property with no responsibilities and whom you can't get rid of. You are still responsible for them, your land, your home, your debts and so on. Fail in your responsibility and you lose it all.

No either they're not actually slaves, or their owners are more priviliged than them.

What constitutes as failing? If they demand a bigger bedroom do you have to give it to them? Or do you just lose them if you try to beat them or something?
I assume the former. They're more priviliged than you after all.

Isn't this basically children? There is nothing more protective and praised as a child but the parents are responsible for them and own them.

Cats, children, what's the difference?

Closest thing I can think of to a scenario:

An Emperor declared that certain people and their descendants were to be his slaves, his property, subject to all whims of his, legally property, but that when they told anyone that they were operating under the emperor's orders their voice was to be treated as his. Any noble must obey their instructions when given in the name of the emperor, or be destroyed by his armies (which are commanded by his slaves).

The emperor died before his designated heir was more than a child, and the slaves have kept the new emperor from ever seeing anyone who is not a slave, so that he never grasps the reality of things.

The slaves cannot marry, cannot own property, cannot enter into contracts- they are things by the law, not people. They keep the realm running and live in luxury off of the tribute ceded to the emperor.

The entire realm is balanced on a knife's edge, but it has been balanced there for many years. The nobles are aware that challenging the status quo is going to plunge the empire into civil war, and are always weighing whether now is the time to strike.

Thoughts?

>Overall I'm trying to find a way to have a class of people who lounge about your property with no responsibilities and whom you can't get rid of. You are still responsible for them, your land, your home, your debts and so on. Fail in your responsibility and you lose it all.
Kids in a welfare state?

I was thinking you could limit slaves to the nobility and have them considered part of the family they serve?

But then their owners would still be mor priviliged.

Ottoman Empire? Mamelukes?

Then they're not really slaves. Where are their owners?

This concept is an extension of court Eunuchs. Byzantine court eunuchs received a chance to be the most powerful people in the entire country bar the emperor, but could not pass on property, or offices or titles when they died. The only thing different is that a slave has to perform these duties, while Eunuchs had a choice. Its not too far a stretch.

Children as decent. Cats are parasites.

It belongs in the category "only slaves on paper" of possible solutions in this thread.
The emperor is technically their owner but he doesn't know that.

My slave is pretty privileged if you ask me...

I guess it kinda works but I can't see how it would last very long. There ought to be other nobles etc. in the setting.

>The only thing different is that a slave has to perform these duties

And the whole castration part, that's a difference I'd think would be important

Hate to burst your bubble but in many developed countries corporations are legally people.

Well the Castration was voluntary. Many 2nd sons made the choice to do it in order to gain the chance for the offices reserved for Eunuchs. Its purely incidental to the actual premise of privileged slaves

Does that mean corporations can be enslaved?

The only way this can work is if some nobles have such a victim complex they think of themselves as slaves when asked to do something.

That or you need to control your fetish fuel.

No, they only get the privileges of being people without any of the downsides

Because you know, some "people" are more important than others

Sounds like a WE WUZ KANGZ setting

This basically. The janissaries, the mamluks and ghulam - basically, castes of highly-skilled unfree warriors subservient to the state, with good education and a fast track possibility of advancement into administrative class. Time and time again those guys ended up dominating the actual government, turning them into puppets and even supplanting them.

What about some civilisations where their emperors were considered Gods?

They're basically enslaved to the peoples will to lead them.

> computers above
> invalids below
solved

I don't know, maybe property laws protect property properly, while proper human rights protections don't.

As in, property is more protected than citizens.

>welfare state
Pretty much, yeah.

We've just gotta find a somewhat plausible way to get from slaves to a bunch of people who you are required to care for and can't get rid of.

I actually had a setting idea a while back with almost this exact premise -

A powerful Emperor who is worshiped by his people as a living god becomes increasingly paranoid of assassination, so he builds an enormous, maze-like Temple-Palace complex. "Normal" people are only allowed into the outer buildings, while he remained in the palatial inner chambers; the only time he would ever be seen was speaking from a high balcony over the one inner courtyard outsiders could access, clad in heavy robes and a ceremonial mask. Other times, all business with him could only be done through the other inhabitants of the palace, a loyal caste of slaves that worked in a manner similar to the Jannisaries - the palace took in orphaned children and raised them from birth, so while they were technically the property of the Emperor and not citizens, they were well-educated in science, politics, magic, and warfare, and had a standard of living higher than most people in the empire. They served the Emperor, kept up the palace, and acted as intermediaries between him and the outside world.

As the Emperor aged, he began giving his Palace-Keepers more and more leeway in making decisions themselves - after all, they were both well-educated and loyal to the man who saved them from lives of poverty, and quickly became arguably better than he was at running the Empire. So much so that, when he died, the Palace-Keepers decided collectively that his heir was not suited to rule, had him tragically killed in a hunting accident, and just... never told the rest of the world that the Emperor had died. He was worshiped as an incarnate God, after all, so all it took was finding the Keeper with the most similar build, put the Emperor's robe and mask on him, and have him deliver a revelation about his Immortality.

That's a fucking dumb fucking setting you silly cunt

A hundred years or so later, and the Empire would continue to prosper under their rule, with the "Emperor" acting as a mouthpiece for a secret Slave Senate actually setting the Empire's course. The bowing and scraping Palace-Keeper who's assigned to meet with your Noble House? He's not reporting to the Emperor - he's delivering your message to his fellows, who will debate and vote on how to respond, after which he'll come back and say, honorable Master, please forgive this humble servant, but the Emperor says...

Of course, many suspect that something strange is going on... but the Empire is currently stronger and more prosperous than it has ever been before, so even the nobility, though they publicly grumble, are afraid to rock the boat too much.

Does this meet OP's specifications?

Interesting idea. Strikes me as a very masculine vision of slavery.

>slaves are brought to the country to do an important job
>within a few generations the slaves are the only ones able to do that job
>they use this stranglehold to control the society

There were plenty of example of the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire being a slave.

Thats about the equivalent of a prime minister in rank.

It was done mostly to circumvent inheritence laws in the Qur'an which have the effect of diluting the wealth of the aristocracy into tiny subfactions..

Somewhat, although the definition of slavery has lost its meaning in this case.

No, they're legal entities.
They're not people.

Big difference.

> in this setting the slaves are the most priviliged class of people
That's what we at the Ministry let the people think. It's easier to control them that way.

That sounds fucking sweet.

I'm envisioning the maze-like palace looking something like Anor Londo.

Been a while since I gamed in the 1984 setting

Masculine?
As in, the masculine values are those of support, making the silver people lauded figures?

My Turkish friend insists that is the case for slaves within the empire.
I'm not well versed in the region itself but the little i understand about mamlukes (warrior slaves) and their ability to over power and control the empire does suggest such a thing.
slavry itself is an abstract concept, it has to have some weight backing the ownership of another human being, either physical or otherwise.
If the actual control is tenuous then what does stop slaves from outshining their owners. this was also the case of the romans where slaves could buy their own freedom and exceed past their leader.

likewise the nobles are slaves of the people they themselves control in a philosophical perspective.

thanks for reminding me user

Well yes, but it's not really possible to make the concept work otherwise. If there's an actual "owner" with real power over the "slave", then they're by definition not the most privileged.

Thanks! That's basically what I had in mind (though I envisioned the Empire being a bit more Late-Egyptian/Persian/Generic-Near-Eastern in style.) Big and confusing enough that not only are non-Keepers not allowed into the majority of it, but anyone who didn't grow up there (and know all the secret passages) would get hopelessly lost within minutes. And with plenty of room for the Keepers to live extremely comfortable lives within the "Emperor's Quarters", with access to all the tribute streaming in from conquered lands...

>Tumblr

we talkin "mamlukes are the real power" kind of privilege or "the proles are the only truly free citizen" kind of privilege
cause that sentence explains little

bring back quests
replace /qst/ with /40k/ and free us from the dirge

stop, this line of thinking is confusing.
>Veeky Forums == 40k containment board
>we must remove 40k from Veeky Forums

nein
this is the d&d and checkers containment board

>High fantasy mode - slaves are given special powers - think mutation, demonic pact, etc. They are technically in servitude to the patron but the power thus acquired puts them way above common man.
So literally the Fate series.

>t*rk defending slavery
what a surprise

and genocide

Take a slave
Give them one (1) right
Are they still a slave?
>ancient roman slaves were entitled by law to be allowed a new set of clothes every two years, they were still slaves
This process can be repeated ad infinitum.
By method of induction it can thusly be derived that any number of rights will not make the slave a free man. Even if the number of rights exceed those of their owner.

The only thing that doesn't make sense is your concept.
Why would administrive tasks correspond to high privilige?
You could shackle someone in a basement and make them do your paperwork.

Not really, it's basically a heap problem. If you have one rock it's not a heap of rocks, add another and it still isn't, a third doesn't make it a heap, but at some point it is most certainly a heap of rocks. The cutoff point is just arbitrary and open to debate.

Because they'd also have the decision making power corresponding to the station, just accompanied by more severe than usual consequences if they fucked up.

Yes. It was a joke.

That would require them to be in charge of deciding their own allowance and/or living arrangements.
Oops. Slavery concept negated.

Whereas many other ideas mentioned in this thread work perfectly fine.

>slaves are only priviliged for one sacred day when they take roles of their masters

Treat your slave like a pet. One you genuinely love. You don't even need to yell at them, you can just tell them what they aren't allowed to do, which if we're going with the pet example, basically extends to "don't shit on my carpet." You could make either side non-human, so no one is worried about slave cucking.

Captcha: Middle Riddle

Think pet cats. You are owned, but absolutely everything in your life is taken care of for you. The peons around you do all the menial labor.