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Paizo / Messageboards / Paizo Publishing / Pathfinder® / General Discussion / Archives / Where is Slavery legal?     Recent Posts Facebook Twitter Email
Where is Slavery legal?
Matt Gwinn,

1-Guiltgorger-Pit-Fight 1 avatar

Has anyone compiled a list that shows which nations allow slavery and which ones do not?

I'm thinking about making a character that travels from city to city with his entourage of gladiator slaves. However, I don't want him to be "evil", just morally ambiguous.

Thanks

,Matt

Matt Gwinn,

1-Guiltgorger-Pit-Fight 1 avatar

Seriously? no one has this info?

I'm mostly interested in the Varisia area. I'm making the assumption that Cheliax allows slavery, and seeing how it has/had a lot of influence on the area it seems it would be accepted there as well.

And to add more to the question, what about the differing levels of slavery? I know I have read someplace about it being acceptable to enslave someone who owes you a debt, and sometimes someone can be forced into to slavery as part of a prison sentence.

I looked on the Pathfinder Wiki and couldn't find anything this.

Any help would be appreciated

Mikhaila Burnett 313,

PZO 9017 Calistria 2 avatar

Matt Gwinn wrote:
Has anyone compiled a list that shows which nations allow slavery and which ones do not?

Not yet. Should have it soon. Email chaotral AT gmail DOTCOM and I'll see what I can do.

Osirion Set,

Anubis avatar

Places we know;
Cheliax
Qadira (and presumably greater Kel)
Isger (run by Cheliax)
Molthune (although slaves can earn citizenship)
Rahadoum (slavery is commonplace)
Katapesh

Places that seem likely;
Geb (practically guaranteed)
Osirion (ditto)
Hold of Belkzen (ditto)
Irrisen (ditto)
Nidal (ditto)
The Shackles (ditto)
Varisia (Riddleport, Korvosa, Magnimar and Kaer-Maga sound pretty cool with slavery, the Shoanti territories, probably not so much)
Land of the Linnorm Kings? (if based on Viking culture, they did keep thralls)
Realm of the Mammoth Lords? (again, if Viking based)
Numeria? (portrayed as pretty ruthless and mercenary)
Razmiran? ('god' of obedience, luxury and law? masked enforcer-priests? signs say yes)

Who knows?;
Taldor
Absalom
Alkenstar
Brevoy
Jalmeray (and Vudra proper)
Mediogalti Island
Mwangi Expanse (no one dominant state, so conditions may vary)
Nex (seems cavalier towards value of non-arcanists, so maybe yes?)
River Kingdoms (like the Mwangi Expanse, probably varies by individual area)
Sargava (resisted Cheliax, but not necessarily anti-slavery...)
The Sodden Lands (like Mwangi Expanse and River Kingdoms, likely variable)
Thuvia (who knows, two pages of elixir this, elixir that, the country could be run by purple flying ant-men, for all I know)

Highly unlikely;
Kyonin
Hermea
Nirmathas
Mendev
Lastwall
Galt? (hard to say)
Druma? (called a refuge for former slaves from other lands)
Ustalav? (feels unlikely, horror is external here...)

No chance in hell;
Andoran

The 8th Dwarf,

Hellwasp-host avatar

Here is a thread on slavery in Korvosa.

It is illegal according to James Jacobs.

Taldor Cpt_kirstov (Pathfinder Chronicles Charter Superscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder Fiction Subscriber),

4 Rukus 2 avatar

Absalom has the big slave market if I recall correctly - its a whole district in the guide

Matt Gwinn,

1-Guiltgorger-Pit-Fight 1 avatar

Cpt_kirstov wrote:
Absalom has the big slave market if I recall correctly - its a whole district in the guide

I remember reading that.

And thanks everyone. that was helpful

Lord Fyre (RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32),

2 Quarry Ambush avatar

What about ...

Paizo Publishing
7120 185th Ave NE
Ste 120
Redmond, WA 98052

I am pretty sure that slavery is still legal there. :)

Taldor Cpt_kirstov (Pathfinder Chronicles Charter Superscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder Fiction Subscriber),

4 Rukus 2 avatar

Matt Gwinn wrote:
Cpt_kirstov wrote:
Absalom has the big slave market if I recall correctly - its a whole district in the guide

I remember reading that.

And thanks everyone. that was helpful


Because of this thread, I'm going to try to write up a slavery wiki page sometime within the next month, listing the views that we know as an ongoing project. I'll post here once I get it up, as an easy reference for bot writers, DMs and even players.

Stebehil (Pathfinder Chronicles Charter Superscriber; GameMastery Cards Subscriber),

Coin avatar

Not to get too nitpicky, but you might want to take different levels of slavery into account - a thrall or serf is probably differently treated than a slave. It is an ugly topic, however, and I can fully understand if you don´t want to get too close to real-world history with that.

Stefan

Ernest Mueller (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder Adventure Path, Pathfinder Companion, Pathfinder Modules Subscriber),

Paizo P 13 Boss-Pirate HRF R avatar

Hmm, from a quick search through the campaign setting:

Races: orcs, gnolls, azlanti, and keleshites love having slaves
Ulfen traditionally keep thralls—slaves whose period of service ends in a set amount of time.

Countries:
Cheliax loves slaves, especially halflings. They have slave operations even in Arcadia.
Andoren hates slavery
Absalom, Cheliax, Katapesh, Osirion, and Thuvia are the Inner Sea countries that are the biggest boosters of slavery
The Hold of Belkzen sells slaves
The Kalistocracy of Druma is often a place escaped slaves go, but many end up as menials or indentured servants, which is only arguably different or better.
Geb has a huge slave class of both undead and living
Irrisen has a lot of enslaved Ulfen
Katapesh has big slave markets
In the Realm of the Mammoth Lords, they enslave giants as a sign of power but end up making them kinda equal.
Molthune is all about slavery, though slaves can become citizens eventually
Slaves escape from Nex and cross the Mana Wastes to Alkenstar
Osirion and Qadira love slaves
Slavery is commonplace in Rahadoum
In the river kingdoms, "Slavery is an abomination" - but Pitax's entry mentions slaves and powerful slavers hide out in the RKs.

Gods: Droskar and Asmodeus are all about the slavery

Organizations: The Hellknight Order of the Chain is all about slavery. The Eagle Knights of Andoran are against it and have all kinds of sub-organizations that operate everywhere.

Slavery's common in the Shackles (as are escaped slaves)

Kevin Andrew Murphy (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber),

Bumbo avatar

I was wondering, with all the business with slavery, has anyone done anything with eunuchs?

This appears to be a "don't touch it with a ten foot pole" subject for the entire gaming field with the exception of the Shadowfist card game.

Ernest Mueller (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder Adventure Path, Pathfinder Companion, Pathfinder Modules Subscriber),

Paizo P 13 Boss-Pirate HRF R avatar

Kevin Andrew Murphy wrote:
I was wondering, with all the business with slavery, has anyone done anything with eunuchs?

This appears to be a "don't touch it with a ten foot pole" subject for the entire gaming field with the exception of the Shadowfist card game.


A quick search in the campaign setting gets a number of hits on "eunuch..."

In the High-Holy District of Niswan in Jalmeray, gold-draped eunuchs sweep fallen snow into vast drifts.

Katapesh's bustling slave markets host a bewildering variety of chattel
from all corners of Golarion: tattooed Varisian ecdysiasts, elven rhapsodists from Kyonin, Qadiran eunuchs, Tian acrobats, fierce Arcadian barbarians, and even intelligent apes from the jungles of the Mwangi Expanse.

In Qadira, Gurat is home to scholarly colleges and a strange prophet. Visitors are not allowed anywhere near the prophet, who is guarded by a thousand deafened eunuchs.

A prior ruler of Ustalav was the "Eunuch Prince" Valislav Ordranti, though there's a prospective heir that claims to be his son.

Sharoth (Pathfinder Chronicles Charter Superscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder Fiction, Planet Stories Subscriber),

3 Iron-Dragon avatar

Anywhere that alows marrage! ~GRINS AND RUNS~

Lord Fyre (RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32),

2 Quarry Ambush avatar

Sharoth wrote:
Anywhere that alows marrage! ~GRINS AND RUNS~

But, which partner is enslaved?

Qadira Moorluck (Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber),

Overlay-iconic avatar

Sharoth wrote:
Anywhere that alows marrage! ~GRINS AND RUNS~

Nice! :)

*hears Solnes come home*

Gotta run, Mistress will want her foot rub. ;)

Kevin Andrew Murphy (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber),

Bumbo avatar

Ernest Mueller wrote:
Kevin Andrew Murphy wrote:
I was wondering, with all the business with slavery, has anyone done anything with eunuchs?

This appears to be a "don't touch it with a ten foot pole" subject for the entire gaming field with the exception of the Shadowfist card game.


A quick search in the campaign setting gets a number of hits on "eunuch..."

In the High-Holy District of Niswan in Jalmeray, gold-draped eunuchs sweep fallen snow into vast drifts.

Katapesh's bustling slave markets host a bewildering variety of chattel
from all corners of Golarion: tattooed Varisian ecdysiasts, elven rhapsodists from Kyonin, Qadiran eunuchs, Tian acrobats, fierce Arcadian barbarians, and even intelligent apes from the jungles of the Mwangi Expanse.

In Qadira, Gurat is home to scholarly colleges and a strange prophet. Visitors are not allowed anywhere near the prophet, who is guarded by a thousand deafened eunuchs.

A prior ruler of Ustalav was the "Eunuch Prince" Valislav Ordranti, though there's a prospective heir that claims to be his son.


Ah, that's heartening.

I suppose I had a low expectation after The Book of Vile Darkness (as redacted for the squeamish and easily offended) that had slavery and body modification, but never on the same page or with the various historic combinations.

But thankfully, Paizo is not WotC.

Pathos,

A 7-Pilts-Swastel avatar

This has come up in the campaign I'll be starting shortly with one of my players. Some helpful info here. Will especially be looking forward to the wiki page. :o)

Rhone1,

Carlisle Drg 359 New Myth 3 avatar

It's still legal in North Dokata I think.

Taldor Cpt_kirstov (Pathfinder Chronicles Charter Superscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder Fiction Subscriber),

4 Rukus 2 avatar

Pathos wrote:
This has come up in the campaign I'll be starting shortly with one of my players. Some helpful info here. Will especially be looking forward to the wiki page. :o)

I started writing it on thursday... I hope to get a rough draft up tomorrow or tuesday

Taldor Cpt_kirstov (Pathfinder Chronicles Charter Superscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder Fiction Subscriber),

4 Rukus 2 avatar

Cpt_kirstov wrote:
I started writing it on thursday... I hope to get a rough draft up tomorrow or tuesday

Note: 72 products mention slave or slavery in one way or another(for a total of over 1670 mentions of it, and that is not counting some of the PFS senarios), so once this gets written it will be a big article. IE: it may take longer than my estimate above.

edit: I threw up some placeholder text on the Wiki page. Feel free to help writing it. I'm going to try to get a list of the 72 products in the discussion part of the page, so that they can be crossed off as they are referenced.

Weylin,

This thread reminds me of a debate my group and I have had from time to time regarding alignment and classes and holding slaves.

On one side is the "paladins and other lawful good" cannot own slaves and not risk their alignment. Sometimes the stance is chaotic good cannot.

My stance on it is anyone of any alignment and any class could own a slave. The difference would be if it was legal in their society or religion.

And the owner's alignment would influence strongly how they treated their slaves...a paladin of Sarenrae would treat his slaves far far differently than a cleric of Asmodeus.

Thraxus (Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber),

Minotaur 2 avatar

Weylin wrote:
This thread reminds me of a debate my group and I have had from time to time regarding alignment and classes and holding slaves.

On one side is the "paladins and other lawful good" cannot own slaves and not risk their alignment. Sometimes the stance is chaotic good cannot.

My stance on it is anyone of any alignment and any class could own a slave. The difference would be if it was legal in their society or religion.

And the owner's alignment would influence strongly how they treated their slaves...a paladin of Sarenrae would treat his slaves far far differently than a cleric of Asmodeus.


Also keep in mind that some cultures may use salvery or forced indentured servitude as a form of criminal punishment.

Dungeon Grrrl,

07-Ankana avatar

In Absalom it is legal to OWN a slave anywhere, but you can only BUY and SELL slaves within a couple of districts. As a result, there are sometimes raids to grab illegally traded slaves.

I just looked this up recently for a game I am running.

Taldor Phalazar (Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber),

Bronzesculpt avatar

Dungeon Grrrl wrote:
In Absalom it is legal to OWN a slave anywhere, but you can only BUY and SELL slaves within a couple of districts. As a result, there are sometimes raids to grab illegally traded slaves.

I just looked this up recently for a game I am running.


Why am I not surprised you needed to look that up???

Neil Mansell,

Shadow Spider avatar

I was surprised that the Second Darkness campaign didn't mention whether slaves were used in Riddleport. After some thought I ruled that slavery was illegal.
Simply because the union movement was so strong there (under the control of a guy named Clegg Zincher) that any attempts to use slaves in industry would infringe on the union's profits. And mussling in on organised crime in Riddleport is a big mistake.

DM Wellard,

Torag Color avatar

I would think if there were slaves in Riddleport they would be gladiators fighting in Zinchers arena.Lets face it its a nest of Pirates and Port Royal(which is partly what Riddleport is based on) in the days of the Brotherhood of the Coast was the second biggest slave market in the Western hemisphere.

The biggest was, as far as I am aware, Savannah.

Taldor and most of the other 'medieval' style nations would almost certainly have serfs...peasants bound to the land and their lord unable to leave without his permission.

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