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So, during a discussion with some of my other friends who roleplay, we had a bit of a disagreement. I said that it could be interesting to play as a slave, either of an npc with reason to assist the group or of a pc themself. My friends disagreed, saying that you wouldn't have any ability to do things. I countered by pointing out a handful of situations where being a slave could give a player interesting opportunities. In slave-owning societies, they are more likely to be ignored while eavesdropping, they could know other slaves who might provide aid, and if a game included more mature elements then a slave could be "loaned" to an npc for the night, allowing for all sorts of trickery to take place. Unfortunately, no matter what I said I couldn't convince them.

So, what are your thoughts on the matter? Would you play as a slave if you were given the option? Are there any games that cover this? Is it just a bad idea?
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I've played multiple times as characters with slave backstories... but by the time the actual game started they had always won/earned their freedom or just flatout escaped/run away.

It usually ends up working pretty well, especially if said slave was a gladiator or "attack dog" type of slave, because they know how to fight and now need a way to support themselves with that skill, hence joining an adventuring party.


Actually playing a slave who's still a slave in the game though... I dunno, that sounds kind of fetishy to me.
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>>41801691
Ask everyone at the table if they are OK with this. It could get kinda weird otherwise.

It sounds like an interesting enough idea. I would say that you are a slave to another player though unless the NPC is traveling with the party. Being a slave has some very interesting roleplaying opportunities and can fit worldbuilding lore in cool ways.

If your friend is the GM just drop it. The word of the GM is law.
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>>41801691
>My friends disagreed, saying that you wouldn't have any ability to do things.

Hue.
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>>41801691
as long as you keep the erotic connotations as implications, I don't see how it could be an issue
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>>41801719
/thread
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it sounds needlessly convoluted for no real benefit, unless the game is focused around the players as a group of slaves under the same owner (which is basically the gist of Dark Heresy)
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>>41801691
Slaves were used as spies, assassins, and a host of other deniable assets back in the day. I could see it being interesting to RP. But it would be hard to do, very much so.

You would need to be able to trust the Master to not be shitty about things and allow the player some real agency.

And all of this is assuming it doesn't become totally magical realm, which it very easily could be.

Mostly, just don't do it.
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>>41801691
There are people who are absolutely incapable of being at ease or in any semblance of comfort when confronted with the issue of slavery. There is no reason to try to convince them of otherwise; their mind is likely made up, and has been reinforced for years.

Better to do something that everyone can have fun doing.
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>>41801691
If you want us to take you suggestion seriously, maybe not post it with a picture that screams "I'M DOING THIS BECAUSE I WANA BANG A SLAVE-GIRL!"

It could be done well if all the players were slaves planning a rebellion or something, but I don't see how a slave fits into a regular adventuring party unless you're playing with retards who are playing an evil character who would own a slave... and evil adventuring parties are garbage 99% of the time anyway unless they're a group of thieves planning heists or whatever.


>>41801737
The correct way to play slave-characters.
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Shouldn't be too much of a problem, provided the magical realm (or lack there of) is in line with what the group is cool with.
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Honestly, that sounds really fun. It would let you explore some very interesting themes and character dynamics. Pity your group didn't seem to get that.

Reminds me of a concept for changeling that involved a child kidnapped and enslaved by the Fae from a young age and effectively knew no other life that was rescued by an older escaping slave that took pity on her. Possibly would have tied that into him being the guy who actually did the kidnapping... Anyways, point is, the kid was going to be completely fucked in the head from years of living as a fairie slave/plaything and therefore completely unsuited to anything akin to normal social interaction. I had planned on making a list of weird-ass fae innuendo that he would respond to inappropriately, too. Too bad only one other person in this fucking city knows about Changeling, much less has a book.
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>>41801844
This.

How exactly would you play a slave character without derailing things for the rest of the group. Either another player would have to be your owner (which would be awkward as hell and super magical-realmy), or everyone in the party would have to be slaves (in which case you probably wouldn't have that much responsibility or agency short of planning an escape or rebellion)

Thematically it's not a bad idea to explore, but I just don't see it working all that well in anything except a one-on-one RP.
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>>41802004
Op here. I don't know anything really about Changeling, but that sounds really cool. I hope you get the chance someday.

And to everyone else, thank you for the advice. Instead of going to those friends with the idea, I'll try asking some of my other friends if they're interested in trying tabletop, as I already know that some of them are into the bondage scene and another one loves discussing the history of slavery with me. If I can get them into gaming, then everything should be fine. Thank you all.
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>>41801782
Most of 40k characters are in near slavery to someone, they just don't call it like that. Astropaths? Navigators? Oh sure you're necessary and pretty important for the ship but someone more or less owns your ass, and how rich and respected you are depends on a lot of things.

I actually played a chapter serf character to a few space marines. The interactions were really fun to roleplay and it was interesting to walk that line where your status makes you less than everyone but you're still direly needed. It can be done with zero magical realm involved.
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ALRIGHT. Assuming this shit doesn't get fetishy, it could totally work. Imagine a noble wizard who brings along his slave fighter as extra muscle while adventuring. This allows all sorts of cool player interaction and dynamic. Imagine the wizard getting himself into a real pickle, and the fighter is the only one who can save him.

"Rogath, I command you! Help me!"
"Free me."
"WHAT?"
"Release me from my oath of servitude, and I will save you."
"FINE FINE, I release you, you're free!"
/fighter saves wizard
/fun new player dynamic
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>>41801691
Depends on setting, how slaves are treated, and how my owner is
I have played a slave before
It was an young effeminate healbitch elf trap owned by a ladyknight half-orc
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I could see it working if another PC owns them and that player can be trusted to not be an ass/be creepy unless the slave wants it
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There's also many types of slavery to consider.

For example in ASOIAF, a Dothraki Khal's blood-riders are technically slaves (they must obey all his commands, protect his life with their own and when the Khal dies his blood riders will be buried/burnt/whatever the funerary custom is with him) however they grow up together, they eat together, they live together and the relationship is closer to brotherhood than master-slave.

A young prince and his blood-rider-esque slaves would make a great party.
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>>41801691
>and if a game included more mature elements then a slave could be "loaned" to an npc for the night
I wondered when it would come up. Good on you, you didn't start right away with that. Almost a decent person, uh!
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>>41801691
Stop trying to get off with people who don't want to get off with you. Christ.
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>>41801691
>My friends disagreed, saying that you wouldn't have any ability to do things.
What you should look into is old Roman plays. There is a reoccuring archetype of the clever slave. Too tired to think of any right now, but if you look into it I'm sure you'll find plenty of examples.

That being said, your picture does give the wrong impression here. Even if you played a slave just avoid a female one altogether.
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>>41801691
Perfectly viable idea.

Minus the magical realm bullshit or if you've got a particularly mature group.
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>>41801691
Yes, it's fine, but you'll need an owner you can trust
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Well, I've been wanting to play as an undead loli thrall named Anne Frankenstein for years but never found the right group of people who would be willing to go along with the fun. I just want to maim people and struggle to navigate simple obstacles, goddamn assholes and their fetishes making me rethink my character sheets because it might make the GM spout a dank /tg/ meme.

And speaking of fetishes, if you're going to post one related to slavery, at least make sure it actually looks like a slave. I want chains, shackles, a dirty and disheveled look; and an expression of bitter and cynical acceptance. I don't care about how pretty the elf is, what is REALLY going to push that type of fetishist to orgasm is to get them to feel the dehumanization of the girl. None of that happy shit, get basic sadism right or get the fuck out.
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>>41804013
I dunno, I played a slave character once and she was pretty well cared-for, even allowed certain luxuries like jewelry and books for behaving well. Then again, she was pretty much a domestic slave, trained in really simple convenience magic so that her master didn't have to hire a state-mage to when he wanted keep food frozen or whatever. If you're some rich noble or whatever, you don't really want smelly flea-infested animals walking around your fancy castle or mansion. That's more for the field-workers/miners/fight-pit slaves.

Then again, I pretty much did like >>41801737 mentioned and only used the slavery stuff as a backstory element. I mean, there was a little bit of RPing before the first group session, to help flesh out the character a little, but as soon as the group sessions started, the party ended up killing her master within the first session and bringing her along to eventually become the party mage.

Anyway, not saying the dehumanized rag-cladden slaves aren't a thing, but to imply they're the only kind of slaves that can exist in a setting is pretty limiting.
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>>41804228
Then you aren't playing a slave, you're playing a housewife. If you're allowed jewelry and books, even if they aren't your own choosing, is that really slavery? That's practically a minimum wage job or, at its worst, under the table work with perks and housing. And if it's only used as background fluff and then never again comes up, then why even use it for your background in the first place? A background with any other flavoring would have sufficed.

I hate to sound badwrongfun (though I most certainly am and must apologize), and you're certainly free to RP whatever you want, but that's underwhelming in terms of what could have potentially been done. Even if it's leagues above the stats with makeup and anime that I'm usually handed for character sheets.
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>>41804568
Because it still did come up in the game. We're talking about a character who has had someone else make every choice for her for her entire life, who doesn't know how to make decisions for herself, and who's not really used to the ideas of freedom or conflict. In a way the party was almost taking advantage of her simply because she didn't know what else to do besides go with them, and it created some nice questioning there as to whether they had done the right thing or not.

Just because I didn't go full grimdark "muh whipping and torture" with it doesn't mean it was pointless for character development.

I also needed an excuse to have a character passingly familiar with magic, but not an expert at it... and I had grown sick of generic "I'm a apprentice or student to a wizzard" set-ups.
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>>41802105
Use a system where you can start with an npc follower. Switch the roles around.
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>>41801719

Why do you think it's magical realm? It's slavery not a fuck fest. I've seen lots of people talk (and use) slave characters without going into "magical realm" nonsense.
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>>41804664
That's a bit more palatable. It still sounds a little like a nobleman's daughter or a well kept housewife, but if it at least created character drama then more power to you; I wish that my players would at least put that much consideration into their characters.
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>>41802642
Palaestrio is a fairly well known one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXZmv19IOW0
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>>41804692
Hell, slave soldiers were a common thing. Nobody in the party even has to be your owner. You can simply be a captured soldier forced to fight against his will and, for one reason or another, ended up being put together with the citizen rank and file. It creates interesting character tension among the party so you can, you know, do that roleplay thing that we talk about whilst shoving soulless stats at 3.5/PF.
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>>41801691
You are right, Anon, but if your friends won't budge and are not comfortable with the idea, you should not force the issue. Perhaps one day they will be more willing to experiment with your idea when they get bored with their own.

>>41801719
>autism
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>>41801719

>not wanting to play Strong Belwas
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>>41802316
the law does not recognize contract or changes done to one made under duress to be valid.
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>>41804692
Not the original poster, but lets face it... slavery usually involves alot of torture, dehumanization, and general abuse... all things certain people get off on.

Furthermore considering alot of people play RPG games for the power fantasy, it's always a bit odd when you have people who seem to want the opposite. There's a chance they're goign somewhere interesting with it, but there's usually a greater chance that they just wana fap to the subject in question.
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>>41804827
>>
WAAAAADE IN THE WAAAAATEEEERR

WAAAAAAAAAAAADDEEEEEE IIIINNN THE WAAATEEEER CHILLUN!!

WAAAAADE IN THE WAAATEEEER.

GOD'S GON' TROUBLE THE WAATEER
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>>41804864
This
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>>41804898
Not posting the whole thing.
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>>41804867
That's why society, trust, concepts of fairness, justice and altruism are all so important yet too often underrated, especially by entitled individualists.
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>>41804949
Especially if you can convince the masses they actually exist, because then they won't believe they're under duress while you screw them.

I really wish you had set me up for a less edgelord way to say that the ruling class doesn't have to obey those rules, but it's a great idea to make everyone else have to.
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>>41801782
Try telling that to a bunch of fucktards who assume they should have maximum agency, loads of cash and be equipped with power armour. How dare the space CIA have any restrictions for its members! Unthinkable! So, basically, the entire playerbase of DH2e.
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>>41802105
>>41801814
>>41801691

>Owner of the slave PC is an old friend of another PC, and due to an injury, can't go adventuring with them, so he sends his pit fighter slave with them as a token of friendship.
>Entire party is slaves, get given a quest to do this shit. As soon as they're out of the city, party fucks off and decides to make lives as bandits/sellswords/incite a slave rebellion. Epic campaign follows.
>Character is a slave to a very high-ranking government official and a skilled mage and scribe. Has more freedom and rights than most free men, constantly looks down on the other PC's despite them not being slaves because they're "hairy, smelly and dirty savages."
>Character is a slave to one of the PC's. This one requires some cooperation between the players. Both characters are long-time friends despite their master/servant status and have cool adventures and hijinks together. Each can go where other might not and slaves can do things free men might necessarily not be allowed to.
>Play as a slave in an adventuring group and murder them all the first night you camp out, then run for the hills and join Spartacus.
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>>41804964
Maybe in some third world authoritarian shitholes what you say is true, and this mindset certainly helps in keeping it that way.

However while those people higher up in the pecking order certainly have wider array of tools to manipulate and fuck over others at their disposal, they should still be subject to the law. If the rest allows them to get away with too much, the entire society suffers. In a civilized society elites are scrutinized and can't get away with everything.
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>>41804964
Sure, if you don't mind getting dragged out to the streets and lynched by the masses when they get tired of your shit. Good begets good; evil begets evil.
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>>41801691
I played as the slave of another PC once.
A huge one-armed orc that punched anything his mistress pointed at into submission. Although the abuse he suffered at the hands of his mistress was always played for laughs in-game, there were clear undertones that she was a legit sociopath and most of the scars he had came from her. She'd had him gelded, cut his tounge, removed his left arm from below the elbow, and during the campaign she would constantly test out new spells and hexes on him for comedic effect.
It was a lot of fun to play, shame the DM abandoned the campaign.
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>>41804864
I'm not going to tiptoe around things I want to RP because it might trigger some faggot who read too many TOTALLY TRUE That Guy stories on /tg/. If I can't roleplay anything interesting then why the fuck am I bothering to show up in the first place? Video games already fill in the gap for fun murder mechanics while I play as Thick McRunfast; they even have voice now so I can speak with people just as awkward as the folks I'll encounter at a table, sans the smell of Cheetos and Monster, so they also cover the 'socialization.' There is only one advantage that being in an RP provides and that's RPing. If I can't do that, then I'll opt to save on the gas money.

I'm tired of being restricted because a pervert failed to wank off prior to game time and ruined it for someone my DM read about on the Internet.
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>>41801691
>Would you play as a slave if you were given the option?
No but that's just me.
>Are there any games that cover this?
V:tM/VtR blood bonds. GURPS has a disadvantage for being property as well.
>Is it just a bad idea?
No.
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Wow, you people are fucking retards...
You do realize that what a slave entails varies HUGELY on the particular customs of a particular society, right? RIGHT?!
That salves in certain societies were given actually a wide and varied amounts of rights and options: that for an example both in ancient Greece and in medieval Arabia many slaves were given education, entrusted with important roles and jobs, sometimes even state administrative roles? That slaves in mesoamerican cultures were actually even allowed to own properties and possibly even their own slaves, etc..., right? That not all slaves were poor angsty tortured souls that could not even fart without their masters permissions?

Playing slave is completely viable and could be, potentially an extremely interesting scenario, depending on the settings and circumstances. Anyone who claims otherwise does not have the faintest fucking clue what the institution of slavery actually entails.
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>>41801691

Its a cool idea, I have never played a game with characters being slaves, but I have been in games in which one of the characters has some power over other PCs, cause he is the leader, cause one of them is a noble or cause he pays them.
It usually worked well.

You must remember that there were tonns of different slaves, from unskilled workers to specialized ones, administrators and tutors, and even soldiers. So whats gonna be the job of the slave? Is he gonna play a slave who works mostly as servant and does some adventuring things too? Is just a fighter? Maybe a sage whose lore is usefull for the party?

I think that the idea is fine and you should try if they are ok with it.
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>Are there any games that cover this?
The Grogs of Ars Magica?
>They are the majority in almost every covenant, and without them things would come to an immediate halt. They spend their lives serving magi, and may lay those lives down to defend them. They are the cooks, servants, warriors, craftsmen, and hunters who keep the Order of Hermes running smoothly.
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>>41801691
>So, what are your thoughts on the matter?
It can work alright, but it takes more maturity and roleplay experience than classic heroic fantasy. It's something I wouldn't attempt with a group I'm not already familiar with and confident about.
Slave(s) to NPC whose primary motivation is getting freedom back can work even with a newcomers.
>Would you play as a slave if you were given the option?
My willingess to take a collar depends entirely on who would be holding the leash. I've played butler to a young princess in D&D, which turned out alright. And bodyguard to a bitchy elf mage in Shadowrun which gave the party whole bunch of wrong ideas. Never straight-up slave so far.
>Are there any games that cover this?
You can make it work in Maid RPG. Some WoD splats (most notably Ghouls) are very suitable too.
>Is it just a bad idea?
With above in mind, it's bad idea about 70% of the times because there's bound to be some fucktard either dragging it through the piss forest or throwwng a hissy fit over >muh triggers.
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>>41805356
Is right, is this a chattel or vassal type deal? is an important question to ask.
On the one extreme is the no rights or legal protection and there realy isn't an upper limit on what safeguards might be in place the other way.
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>>41802267
>Navigators
>Owned by anyone

If you anger your ships navigator, they can just walk out next time you dock at harbor and they'll take their own servants and retinue with them. Good luck to dealing with any Navigator houses ever again if you try to stop them.
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>>41801691
I've roll played a Troll slave on an RP server of WoW for quite a while. He's still my favourite character, and being a slave presents lots of fun opportunities for characters.

Its amazing how easy it is to make a tragic character, just by lowering them down to that sort of status.
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>>41805545
>WoW

oh shit son what are you doing
The badwrongfun police are going to show up and tell you that you're trash for liking a thing
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>>41805545
Why a troll, if I may ask?
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>>41804568
You are a true moron.

Not every type of slavery in history was American chattel slavery. I mean, you'd be wrong if you argued that any type of slavery wasn't exploitative and ultimately demeaning, but there were plenty of slaves in history that got treated much better than 'wearing rags, shackled 24/7, underfed and undernourished'.
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>>41804568
Slavery just means that someone owns you, idiot. You can live a life of luxury and still be a slave.
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>>41805647
I picked a Troll, because it was one of the only races in WoW that could legitimately be owned as a Slave, and not have everyone cry outrage about it.

He was owned by a Goblin, who took him with them when they escaped from Kezan. In the lore, there were tons of Troll slaves on Kezan (most of whom died when it exploded). He mostly did chores, carry her around on his shoulders, and beat the ever-loving crap out of anyone that annoyed his owner. Fun times.
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>>41805526
Navigators are bound by contract, and oath-sworn to bring back their ships. If that dude walks out angrily and shits up his family's contacts or dealings by doing that, he better have a real damn good reason for leaving his post.
He's also not supposed to question cargo or navigation decision, he is supposed to do as told. And he'll only head home to marry whoever his novator tells him too and when he has become too mutated or crazy to still function.

The individual navigator is both despised and direly needed, so reactions to them vary. It's a strange position. The families / novators are the ones that wield the power, their children are in service to them and whoever the family sees fit to send them with. It's not slavery but there sure isn't much room for individual decisions.

>>41805784
This.
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>>41804568
Kinda a shame you haven't had more diverse backstories handed to you in my opinion.

I'd say the whole slavery angle can be turned up and down, but at its core it is still a loss of control and rights. Even when treated well, there's still that. And then there are the questions on how to deal with it

>even allowed luxuries for behaving well

>>41804664
Aw yeah. Those are some great thoughts you had for a starting point and further development.
I like you.

>>41804714
It is a bit distanced from the stereotypical unkempt, downtrodden slave, yeah. It is good, though. And there's no sarcasm, when I note that I like your attitude and hope you find some players with more interest in fleshing characters out.
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>>41801691
Sounds like you're a masochist faggot.
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>>41805356
What about a society with multiple degrees of slavery? Could that work? Would it be most reasonable for people to be able to drop down the severity, or move both ways, or get their caste at birth?
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>>41804864
Excluding something from a roleplay scenario because someone MIGHT get off on it is inherently foolhardy. Even if you got rid of anything you may think someone could jerk it to, another person will find something to get themselves off with.

While slavery does have abusive elements, so does the party rogue wanting to interrogate the sorceress they captured. Could someone get off to that? Maybe. Do you know if they are? Only if they desire excruciating detail and/or move their hands to their junk. Making crude "aww yeah-uh" also counts.

But maybe, just maybe, a group can handle Role-Playing a concept that was (and still is in the world[sux, don't it?]) a socio-economic principle and practice more so than it ever was high-octane fetish fuel.
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>>41801691

Playing a slave isn't inherently a bad option, but it would require a player who understand what it implies.
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>>41807546

>Rest of the group wants to be heroes and badass fighters
>One guy wants to be a worthless slave and have the GM treat his character like shit while the rest of the group sits there with their thumbs up their asses
>Not fetish fuel

Riiiight.
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>>41804568
>>41804664
Elaborate on this "housewife slavery" where she gets jewellery and books but still has a master make her choices.

How did she become a slave? How much autonomy did she have? How micromanaged was she? What was her relationship with her master?
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>>41807612
More like
>Group wants to be heroes and badass conquistadors
>Lead through the strange jungle landscape by their native slave and translator

Alternatively throw in some Roman or Egyptian analogues
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>>41807612
>Degradation is arousing always and must always be at the forefront of a slave character.

I'm no psychologist, but that sounds an awful lot like projection!
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>>41807478

The Neogis of D&D had this, more or less
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>Her people were losing a war and basically sold out a bunch of their own to make "peace" with their conquerers.
>Was bought as a child by a rich noble taking advantage of the situation due to a racist stereotype that her people were good at a certain kind of magic.
>From here on her master also invested alot of money into hiring actual mages under the table to tutor her in some basic utility magic (which is illegal without being a state-registered mage, but bribes get you pretty far)
>It was a honey and vinegar thing after that. Refuse to learn, get beaten, not fed, threatened to be thrown out (remember this is a kid who can't survive on her own). Learn well and show obedience without any protest or attitude, get rewarded. She obviously ended up choosing the latter.
>Asshole master gets killed by the party in the first plot arc for being a criminal/war profiteer.
>Character doesn't know what to do now
>Party feels guilty and offers to bring her along on their adventures, despite it being pretty dangerous and gruesome
>Character agrees because she sees no other way to learn to actually defend herself or get out of this country to avoid getting drafted into their military (as all mages are tracked by the state, hated by the commoners, and seen as something to be thrown at the enemy in the place of real soldiers whenever there's a war. It's not quite Dragon Age bad, but it's not much of an improvement from slavery).
>Character initially hates the party for ruining what was a comfortable life for her, and guilts them a bunch over it... but she's also completely dependent on them until she learns how to handle freedom. When you're used to someone telling what you to do and doing those things keeps you fed and clothed and sheltered, having to do those things for yourself is terrifying and alot more difficult than it sounds, and there are LOTS of people who wouldn't think twice about taking advantage of someone who doesn't know better.
>Spite wanes, relationships develop.
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>>41801691
Might be interesting if you did it right. Playing as a slave trying to buy their freedom would be a good challenge for a rogue.

It'd require constant communication with the other players though.
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>>41807721
This sounds extremely entertaining.
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>>41807906
Would have explained that better, but I ran out of space.

Anyway, it was a good bit of character development. That conflict between "YOU DESTROYED MY LIFE! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT, ASSHOLES!" and "WAIT! DON'T LEAVE ME HERE ALL ALONE!"

Eventually she ended up being thankful to the party for getting her out of a bad situation and making her realize just how much better freedom is... but it took awhile to get there.
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>>41807906
Fuck me, also got forgot to link that post to the one I was replying to.

>>41807676
to
>>41807906
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>>41807906
>>41808021
That's similar to a character concept I've had, a girl who is rescued by the PCs (either connected to one of them in the backstory or her rescue is part of an early objective), but after already being enslaved and becoming used to it, so that instead of being freed she joins the party because they're the only people she or they can trust with the power to tell her what to do. If they don't, someone else will, and she knows it and they know it. So she's a party member and, no matter how much they'd like to treat her as an equal, the party's slave.
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>>41808085
That's like... almost a sad ending kind of.
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>>41808170
Maybe one day the party, and the adventures she goes on with them, will help her recover her will to be independent. Maybe.

That's up to the other players and the DM.
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>>41808085
fetishy as fuck. The whole notion that some slaves grew into slavery and would enjoy being slaves and not want freedom, or not know what to do with it, is a social construct that is pretty much entirely discreted today. I grant you this was a popular idea up to 1970s and there were serious historians who thought so. But today we know this is not true and most of the sources those guys used to write up theories on this were very biased. Such as slave owners, or things done or written by slaves DURING their slavery. Meaning they were under fear of reprisal.
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>>41808251
Maybe she had a submissive, dependent, personality even before she was enslaved. That would explain why it's just her who tags along with the party, not every freed slave.

Maybe believing that would make the party feel a little better about not managing to get her out of it too.
>>
It's humourous how people want to think slavery is about submissive cute girls that smell like rosewater. People think that a sex slave is about begrundgly convincing a cute girl that would be fun to suck your dick and that she ends up enjoying it, of course.

Sex slavery is about black mail, physical violence and rape. Slavery is about whips, people living in conditions that you wouldn't put your least favorite dog through, blood, shit, sweat and exploiting someone until they drop dead.

Fantasy slavery being about cute girls is fetishy. Just as a fantasy dragon having huge boobs and a crush on humans. Fantasy means things don't have to be like they are in real life. But the fact someone deliberately choose to match the aspect of 'slavery' with romanticized dominating sex is disgusting to me.
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>>41808323
We have medieval artwork depicting turkish and arabian harems, so that's not just some modern myth, and wouldn't you rather be a Roman slave than a Roman woman?
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>>41808341
>sex slavery
>harems
Two completely different things.
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>>41808352
Were women in harems free to leave?
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>>41808251
If you're dependent on someone, you'll put up with ALOT to keep the status quo. I used to live next to a guy who beat his girlfriend, and he got away with this for nearly 3 years because that's how long it took her to press charges, because she couldn't deal with the thought of having to support herself.

I can buy someone not wanting to be enslaved, sure... but I don't think it's accurate to say that everyone would want their freedom at the time if it meant losing the only way of life they had come to know.

>>41808323
When the fuck were we talking about SEX slavery? I'm pretty sure most of the conversation has been about gladiators or glorified servants. There are multiple historical examples of both actually living pretty good lives under certain circumstances, much better than that of commoners in some cases. Gladiators were investments, prize horses, you took good care of one if he was winning you money... and as somone mentioned before, if you're a rich noble who's trying to show off your power and prestige, it's not totally unrealistic that you would buy your slaves some clothes and NOT make them live like a dog.
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>>41808364
No, but that was another matter entirely. At this point you're equating marriage to sexual slavery.
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>>41808364
Marriage is not the same as slavery.

Chattel slaves were property that could be sold at will and had little to no rights. Wives are a part of your family, with all the rights and privileges that brings, until death or divorce.
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>>41808251
I see no sources from you. What's more, it's hardly unthinkable that someone raised from birth as a slave and kept dependent on one person would develop the same kind of Stockholm syndrome many people have for their parents. I've lost count of times I've heard people talking about how their parents would beat the shit out of them as children, and what wonderful, upstanding people it turned them into.

And they're not all inbred rednecks or Spanish.
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>>41801691
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>>41808436
I'll wager they're all lower class, though.
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>>41808389
>>41808424
We were talking about slavery generally, retards.
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>>41808251
I will mostly agree with this. Even if a slave was freed and didn't know "how to get along in the world", it stands to reason they would at least know they could trade service for goods/currency (clean your stables for a copper sir!). Maybe even beg or steal.

Some however, would return to slavery as it would be both familiar and secure (maybe even offering a degree of luxury). Life as the top slave is pretty good compared to the streets after all. These individuals would be in the minority, but would still exist.

But to have then follow adventurers around in that manner makes little sense considering the outright uncertainty of their welfare exploring monster-filled ruins. An (ex)slave of that variety traveling with adventurers for whatever reason though would likely try (maybe to hard even) to be useful to the group due to residual behavioral traits; but that would again depend entirely on their background as a slave (top slave wants approval!). Your average field worker slave would probably be quite content with the adventuring life and doing their own thing, elated even, regardless of the inherent risk.
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>>41808452
Why wouldn't a slave be lower class?
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>>41808384
>but I don't think it's accurate to say that everyone would want their freedom at the time if it meant losing the only way of life they had come to know.
Especially if there's a third option of just switching to kinder masters.

>>41808436
The example wasn't raised from birth as a slave, but she could still have been raised dependent, which then made her adopt an enslaved mindset quickly.
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>>41808458
>>41808494
>2015
>not reading the thread before posting
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>>41808323

Sure is alot of cute girls sucking dick in these stories
>>41801737
>>41802267
>>41802316
>>41802529
>>41802642
>>41804228
>>41804760
>>41805885
>>41807906

Oh wait, no, those were mature players who managed to pull off the concept WITHOUT it devolving into rape fantasies. But you know, I guess they're doing "Magical Realm" shit by not playing it off like breeding sows. After all, slavery without rape isn't even slavery, right?

Most fucking retarded post I've read all day. I don't even think it's bait, it's that bad.
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>>41808458
And we are responding to some idiot equating marriage in a society that could stand to treat women a little bit better with slavery to point out to him how wrong he is. Context, man, context.
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>>41808436
Slaves are almost never the only slave in a house or the only slave they have contact with. A slave raised from birth is likely raised by other slaves, and even slaves from different cultures share the fact they live in involuntary bondage and under chains. This creates a culture that exists inside a culture. Slaves raise slave children, and they teach them about what is to want to be free. In the South, you had third generation slaves who would risk their life's to get away from plantations. And the slaves that escaped the most where the ones that worked closer to the owners, within the manors. Because they had their trust to run errands such as going to town to buy food/supplies.

and about sources, I'm really not in a mood to fish them to make a post on 4chan. But you are free to do your own quick google search on the topic. I'm going to say two names though, of brazilian historians who dealt with this very topic. One was even president.
Fernando Henrique Cardoso wrote a treaty, way way back, stating that the slaves would start to see themselves as objects after leaving for so long under a culture that treated them as objects. While Cristovao Buarque de Holanda, a later, more modern and today much more credited historian, analyzed the situations Fernando Henrique had wrote about, and criticized his point of view by pointing that whenever it seemed like a slave was treating himself as property, it was often to defend himself from abuse from others that not his owner, using the excuse the owner would be mad about damage they suffered.

So, that's a starting point. Good reading!
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>>41808544
I don't speak mexican. Got any english source?
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>>41808544
Decent point, but not all slavery is American slavery. While I agree with you that America is the worst culture on the planet, I don't agree that they're the only one.
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>>41804568
>Then you aren't playing a slave, you're playing a housewife.
Not to go full feminist, but for much of history in much of the world, being a wife was being a slave, sometimes worse.
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>>41804568
>They're not slaves unless they're treated like exagerrated revision of black slavery

That's retarded, anon.
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>>41809021
Roman slavery was even more brutal than southern slavery and even less likely to allow slaves to adjust into society. Spartacus revolt in Capua had almost every slave taking arms to join it agaisnt their masters, even if Capua had being receiving slaves for over a century in mass and due to a high urbanized context, the city slaves had a high percentage of house slaves. Yet still, one third of capua took arms besides him. And one third is pretty close to that historians believe to be the total population of slaves in the average roman city. People don't want to live as property. They might accept that under threat, but they'll fight or flee if they have a chance. Roman slaves died like flies in big construction projects and house slaves would often be treated so inhumanely as to have tongues removed so they wouldn't blab out the secrets of a house to a rival, or having hands chopped for spilling wine.

Sure, not all romans were that bad. But every slave lived knowing they COULD potentially go through that if they were sold or their master was particulary indisposed.

Arabic slavery I know nothing about but considering the repupation of medieval Arabs to threat non-nobles prisioners of war, I wouldnt hold high hopes for the quality of life of non-muslim slaves in the muslim word. Specially since that part of the world was always fond of eunuchs and harems since the time of the pharaohs.
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>>41809253
This.
If you consider "free" someone who does not belong to someone else, that excludes women for a big part of history. They have usually been property of their father or husband for most of recorded human history, and not allowed to own shit or make their own decisions.
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>>41802529
blood-riders are closer to the samurai of a feudal lord than a slave if those things are the case.
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>>41809781
Where does the line between a slave and a servant go?
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>>41810416
Servants are not considered property.
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>>41810496
But weren't samurai the property of their lord? Then they would qualify as slaves.
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>>41810416

A servant can leave
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>>41804967
It's basically just a repeat of how Inquisitor went down.

The average player doesn't get it.
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>>41802642
this.
Romans had a half-decent relationships with their slaves.
Especially house-slaves were often educated to the highest degree, paid for their services and owned slaves themselves.
Also it was 'in' among the high ups to buy such slaves for ridiculous sums and set them free a few years later to show everyone that they could.
>>
ITT: no one has ever played Dark Sun

I think I've only had one character who wasn't a slave at the beginning of the game.
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>>41805003
>they should still be subject to the law
They aren't.
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>>41804568
>is that really slavery?
Yes.
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>>41804568
Not all slaves were 1800s American slaves. Those are actually an example of the worst possible way to use slaves in all of history. Most slaveowning cultures showed their property the same respect and care as a particularly important piece of furniture or a working-dog; you don't throw Fido around the house in a drunken stupor, nor do you beat the shit out of your sewing machine. Hell, look at the Janissaries from the Turkish Empire; they were slave-soldiers yes, but they were also well-educated, extremely well cared-for, respected everywhere they went, and had effective control over the whole empire. Noblemen tried for literally CENTURIES to get the laws changed so they could send their sons to be janissaries, since then they would be guaranteed an important place in society and a complete education.
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>>41808424
>with all the rights and privileges that brings
Not necessarily any at all.
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>>41810735
>But weren't samurai the property of their lord?
No.
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>>41811527
>having your children inherit shit from their father is not a privilege
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>>41811499
>Those are actually an example of the worst possible way to use slaves in all of history.

Well no, pretty sure cutting people's reproductive organs out trumps anything that happened to Murkan slavery.

People just view 1800 slavery as the worst because its fresh in their minds, and its the only that stirs people's feelings.
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>>41810735
No, because Samurai could leave if they felt their lord was being unhonorable. The catch was, of course, that leaving your lord under any circumstance, including his untimely death, was a dishonorable thing, and you would end up wandering and hoping no one recognized you as a former court samurai. But they weren't slaves.
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>>41812013
And if you dishonoured yourself or your lord and didn't kill yourself within a given time frame to restore your honour, your entire family could be killed.
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>>41811608

During the 19th century the slavery in South America was extremely brutal. In the US, at least they managed to keep slaves alive long enough to produce more slaves. In the South America there was a constant slave deficit since they kept on dying all the time.
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>>41801691
In the late-renaissance/imperial age, when Russia finally made contact with that weird, far off realm called Europe, the gentry often sent their serfs to college in European countries to learn shit that would benefit their country. When I read about this it seemed like an interesting premise for a character in a historical game.
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>>41801691
I've played a slave-soldier Mamluk/Janissary combo--Janissary because he was a northman boy surrounded by boys from all sorts of cultures who learned the culture of their masters, and Mamluk because he came from a small kingdom of slave-soldiers who were themselves the rulers after an uprising--and it worked out fine. I was traveling with the party because I had a solo mission on their end of the world, and traveling with them gave me an opportunity to get where I was going without facing too much danger by myself. I eventually convinced them to help me out, and when we got back to my kingdom the shah rewarded me with my freedom.

My character was completely loyal to his kingdom and was very stoic and subdued emotionally because of his extreme training. I was capable of doing shit that I thought was basic--swimming with weapons, for example--that the GM stated were quite rare talents in the Western world.
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>>41801691
I think I would need to trust the "owner"'s player. It could easily devolve into "Do shitty thing A." "What the fuck man, that makes no sense on so many levels." "Hurr durr you wanted to be the slave so shut up and do it, slaves don't talk back."

Also, people being the shitty people they are, they might get used to ordering you around as a player and start subconsciously bringing it out of game with them. Nothing overt obviously, but a tendency to ask you to do more things maybe.
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>>41802642
I know Aristophanes was into that shit
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>>41809685
Yet I'd still have rather got by living off my husband in exchange for sex and housework than dying in war or servitude.
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>>41814254
>I'd still have rather got by living off my husband in exchange for sex and housework
how good you look in a dress?
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>>41814287
fucking testosterone
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>>41812163
That's pretty horrible, anon.
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>>41801691
Watchoo sayin' boy?
>>
King's Quest III for a good example of how to properly do slave
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>>41814254
>living off my husband in exchange for sex and housework than dying in war or servitude
on the either side of the spectrum you run the risk of dying from childbirth and getting kicked to the curb if you can't provide a male heir
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>>41801719
>conan is magical realm
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>>41809253
>but for much of history in much of the world, being a wife was being a slave, sometimes worse.
>>41809685
>If you consider "free" someone who does not belong to someone else
That's hardly exclusive to wives, though. You'd hardly call some malnourished peasant "free" with respects to whatever his lord or just the local armed assholes want, but you probably wouldn't out and out classify him as a slave. "Owning" your wife or daughter has typically been different from "owning" some dude who works for you in a mine or pours your wine for you.
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>>41817639
...enslave prince, be turned into cat, ???, profit?
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>>41817989
holy shit that picture
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>>41808384
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>>41819313
the bronze age was dank
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>>41813284
>Also, people being the shitty people they are, they might get used to ordering you around as a player and start subconsciously bringing it out of game with them. Nothing overt obviously, but a tendency to ask you to do more things maybe.
Just tell them no
Unless you start to get used to obeying them
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>>41817989
>and getting kicked to the curb if you can't provide a male heir
Not unless you were nobility/royalty in very specific situations, times and countries.
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>>41817989
You realize if your husband died in war or servitude, you were pretty much screwed anyway. It's not like you actually avoided those risks at all by being a woman.
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>>41817989
>tfw massive act of willpower to not slip up and include absolutely unnecessary amounts of sadistic femdom of other women
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>>41822014
depending on age/family/assets, the widow could remarry

the church is also usually as option for women and waifs
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>>41822199
You needed to pay a dowry even to enter a convent. Being a widow, especially if poor, tended to suck.
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The main problem with playing as a slave is that most slaves lack self-agency, which is pretty aggravating.

It's best if you're owned by another player in that case. An alternative is that you are a "technical" slave, meaning you belong to a slave caste but you got a favored position that gives you as much self-agency as a free citizen.
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>>41805675
>>41805784
>>41811499
Hmm, I suppose I should do more research on the subject, thanks for the response (not being sarcastic, I really appreciate it).
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>>41822199
What church has nuns like that?
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>>41822451
That's one of the barriers you have to overcome or work around if you want to play as a slave -- and I think it would be the primary reason why I would want to play one (barring magical realm reasons)
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>>41825908
The problem here is that alot of players won;t even try to play around it. They'll just expect to be told what to do all the time... and I can tell you as a forever-GM, players who can't make decisions on their own are one of the most fucking frustrating things to ever have to deal with. They just sorta regurgitate whatever you just told them and then just staring at you waiting for instructions on what to do next.
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>>41826281

W-what a cute gif!
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>>41826281
See, that's what would make it fun. It's a challenge. Obviously it's not for an inexperienced or unskilled roleplayer.
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>>41826332
Y-you too
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>>41801691
>saying that you wouldn't have any ability to do things
Slaves have free will just as everyone else. They don't have to obey every command their master gives them (occasional disobedience was rarely punished by death) and if all else fails they could try to escape. Unless your master is using physical restraints, being a slave is basically just an additional social contract in addition to what normal people have (the law).

>Would you play as a slave if you were given the option?
Depends on the specifics (the master in particular), but I'd definitely be open to it.

>Is it just a bad idea?
No, but there are a variety of factors than can make it one.

If they're completely unwilling to go with the slave thing, you could try milder forms of the same concept, like indentured servitude of some sort of religious service.
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>>41808323
Please look up the Janissaries and tell me again what slavery is about.
You can have a slave class that threatens the wealthy and low nobles out of their jobs as state officials and military leaders.
Certainly not the typical slave but you'll find slaves on every level from those lesser than dogs to slaves who wield armies as they please as long as it pleases their master as well
>>
because this has been a pretty interesting thread, I'll bump it.
>>
I find that slavery adds a lot of depth to a game world. It allows for a larger variety of character backgrounds and motivations by providing a source of potential conflict. A lot of good character concepts go out the window if you don't have some kind of slave/servant class.
>>
Slavery, if you can make it work, adds a lot to a setting. It's just really hard to make work.
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>>41801691
I think all PCs are already slaves to the GM, so it would be fine.
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>>41808537
It's tumblr, what did you expect?



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