RP Question: How would an AbadarCorp manager-priest sabatoge slavers?

[Leliel the 12th]

Essentially, I want my first character or major friendly NPC to be an LG AbadarCorp merchant who's secretly rather radical on the whole "slavery is not good for business" thing. As in, financial backer of the AAF levels of radical, because he thinks the self-destruct of any society that depneds on slavery is really increasing levels of civilization in the universe, such is his contempt for the whole institution. Which is why he's Good, but it's still somewhat heretical to say anarchy in certain contexts is good, and he knows it.

So, I was wondering-what are some ways he could use his sway to make the life of slavers miserable and their enemies a manadtory vacation week?

[Shinigami02]

Well, trade bans on known slavers would be an obvious start. Promoting businesses that fill the same niche as slavers, wiring funds to the AAF, basically anything involving economic power moving from slavers and to those that conflict with them.

[Mark Carlson 255]

1) Give discounts to people who are not slavers.
2) Give bigger discounts to those who actively oppose slavers
3) Take lower profits on trade missions if they are anti slaver in nature.
etc

MDC

[Foeclan]

Buying slaves off of their owners, at the small scale.
Hostile takeover or industrial espionage of corporations that use slaves (buying their stock, stuffing their board, blackmail the CEO). This provides a lot of openings for sending the players on missions (see most of Shadowrun for examples of corporations hiring the PCs to screw each other over).
Investing in the competitors of those corporations.
If they have legislative pull and slavery is legal there, raises taxes on slaves, enact labor laws, create something like OSHA, require minimum standards of care, etc. to increase the cost of owning slaves. Basically, make it cheaper to hire than own.
And, if they have enough pull, ideally just make it illegal and work to support tracking down slavers. Is there a Starfinder version of the Dawnflower Network?

[Pax Rafkin]

Use his job as a merchant to help transport freed slaves and/or AAF members.

[Steven "Troll" O'Neal]

Use the iPhone model. Mass produce "luxury" robots on the cheap using Eoxian labor. Make anyone wealthy enough to afford a slave, and realistically only a wealthy person can afford one, desire your product instead. Put slavers out of business, make a tidy profit.

[Metaphysician]

A lot would depend on exactly why the market is buying slaves ( or rather, why each individual market is ). A crimelord wanting controllable workers for their illegal drug factory, a new colony wanting cheap labor to work their newly dug mines, and a dark cult wanting human sacrifices? All have different responses. Against the crimelord, you could financially back law enforcement efforts in various ways, or you could undercut the drug market, or some combination of the two. Against the sketchy colony, the right loans and business contracts could make use of slavery unnecessary, or force a shift from slave-using to non-slave using industries. Against the cult? Probably all you can do is send intel to groups like the Knights of Golarion.

[Ouachitonian]

Work within the law, always work within the law. Extralegal means are super-heretical, and the province of those NG/CG hippies. Buy up all the slaves and free them, or pay their passage to a new colony where they can settle as free citizens. Start a multifaceted media campaign; ads for any number of products subtly casting slavers and slavery in a bad light, tv shows with slaves or abolitionists as the sympathetic protagonists and slavers as depraved, mustache-twirling villains. Agitate with local politicians to have slavery abolished, taxed heavily, etc. Introduce cheaper automated alternatives (really, in the modern era slavery should always be less profitable than automation).

[Erk Ander]

Ouachitonian wrote:

Work within the law, always work within the law. Extralegal means are super-heretical, and the province of those NG/CG hippies. Buy up all the slaves and free them, or pay their passage to a new colony where they can settle as free citizens. Start a multifaceted media campaign; ads for any number of products subtly casting slavers and slavery in a bad light, tv shows with slaves or abolitionists as the sympathetic protagonists and slavers as depraved, mustache-twirling villains. Agitate with local politicians to have slavery abolished, taxed heavily, etc. Introduce cheaper automated alternatives (really, in the modern era slavery should always be less profitable than automation).

I am not so sure about that extralegal is super-heretical. His followers are supposed to abide local laws unless they are foolish, contradictory, purposeless, toothless etc in to to promote peace and order. Also it said several times that Abadar prefers paid work over slavery.

Also is slavery even legal in the Pacts World ? Slavery of Androids is not, and I suspect that applies to several sentient races.

[Ouachitonian]

I mean, LG is already going to be looked at as semi-heretical for an LN god. Not entirely outside, but on the fringes of good theology. I imagine an LG Abadaran being derided as a bit of a squish, or "Lawful in name only" by the hardliners in the faith. The Pathfinder wiki says "He expects his followers to obey all meaningful laws, but not those which are ridiculous, unenforceable, or self-contradictory." That doesn't really leave a lot of room for, say, participation in an Underground Railroad because you don't like slavery. If it's legal, its legal, and good Abadarans are expected to obey the law. Sure, you could claim it's a ridiculous law, but that's going to be hotly debated and not a clear exception. If you want to be on firm ground as an Abadaran, you have to respect legitimate authority, even if you dislike it's policies.

[Metaphysician]

Eh, if the official church position of Abadar is that Slavery is Bad, that creates a lot more room for action. That said, while followers of Abadar are big on following laws, they are also implicitly and explicitly masters of legalism. Which is to say, they should have plenty of room to not-technically-break the laws in question. A LG Abadarite would bend these rules even more than average, but its not like Abadar is shocked that, gasp!, a good chunk of his worshippers are LG and will put compassion over rules and profits.

That said, remember the words "legitimate authority". Neither Abadar nor his followers nor LN people in general automatically grant deference to any and all "governments" merely because they happen to have power in a given region. Abadar is inclined to live and let live, because even if you disapprove of how someone lives, everyday trade and interaction is the best way to change things. . . but there are limits.

Now, from what I recall of the setting rules. . . the Absalom Pact *did* involve some minimum levels of required human rights within pact worlds, but it otherwise does not impose universal laws on its participatory jurisdictions. Since the drow of Apostae got themselves inside, presumably this means that the drow managed to finesse and politic the status of their slaves to squeak by the minimum standards. This is, near as I can tell, the worst case in the Golarion system with regard to legal slavery. This *also* means that almost any form of slave trade can be interrupted *while its in space*, since past the planetary jurisdiction, you enter Pact law. And Pact law *does* implicitly ban slavery.

[I'm Hiding In Your Closet]

I'm reminded of the denouement of the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Symbiosis:" The take-home message for this character of yours is that, while his law may prohibit him from taking drastic action against exploitation, it also gives him an excuse to coyly refuse vital help to the institution.

[Omnius]

There are options, though not really adventurey options.

Negative insurance evaluations. Occupational health and safety requirements under pain of financial penalties. Preferential contracting toward organizations that meet community development criteria.

Decision-making based on wage ratio can be crippling to a slave society. That being the ratio of the income of your highest and lowest earners.

[Squeakmaan]

Use their expertise on law and business to find any and every legal loophole or sweetheart deal the slavers are using and eliminate them. Ensure authorities are notified about any instance of of the law being skirted by the slavers. Shockingly the slavers be perfectly ok with criminal activity in addition to slavery, find it and hang them with it.

[Freehold DM]

Make everyday life uncomfortable, if not outright painful for those who participate in the practice. The old lodoss war ova has a few good examples of that with the party priest refusing to aid- or in one case acknowledge or even associate himself with- the party thief outside of combat situations.

[Zoolimar]

Leliel the 12th wrote:

So, I was wondering-what are some ways he could use his sway to make the life of slavers miserable and their enemies a mandatory vacation week?

Provide vesk, or other expansionist nation that you like more, with automated equipment and manuals for it. Sponsor colleges and universities. Overall support their industry. Buy a couple of technological secrets and gift them to your chosen recipients. Don't forget to invest your money into industries that you are going to support. On the outside you will look like a selfless guy that just likes to help, but forgetting about profit is a crime. You'll need a lot of money.

Basically help the nation to build its economy in more effective ways than slavers do. And then sponsor politics advocating for expansionism and war. Make sure they know where they need to strike first when you are giving them your money. It probably won't be much of a problem as most slaver nations are either weak or don't have many friends. Also their production rates would be pretty low compared to top of the line industry complex of your "pet" empire. So they make conventional targets, with good excuses for starting the war and sizeable chunks of population that will support their conquerors.

Watch the slavers burn while sipping tea from your porcelain cup.

[KahnyaGnorc]

Have your "Business Intelligence" operations work out of buildings you also lease to anti-slavery groups. Things like time, locations, guard strengths might be accidentally left on unlocked computers in unlocked rooms . . .

It is how Thomas Jefferson leaked dirt on his political foes, leaving files with the dirt on his desk at the State Department, his door unlocked, so that employees from the newspaper he owned could "acquire" the information to print.