Ishtori wrote:I have been wondering whether or not to post here but with so much going on I'll add my thoughts.
I view slaves a little differently than probably most people will here. A slave from a slaver point of view is not a person, a slave is a thing and you do what you want with your things. You can fuck it, you can spoil it, you can break it and you can make it fight for you. Those are my personal views on slaves. They shouldn't even have "rights" to beggin with. They should have as much rights as a sword or as dildo wich is from the slavers point of view (or master) "I do what I want and when I want with you". I also don't see a reason for paying monthly for a slave. It is a slave, not my employee, it is why I paid in the first place to register it, to mark it as my slave and not pay anymore. Just the same way I can't think of a reason for a slave occupying 2 equiment slots for a character. I don't carry my slave in my pocket and it certainly doesn't use or confers me special abillities in a fight either. That's why I simply chose not to own slaves. The rules as they are make no sence to me at all.
I could also say I understand some of the reasons behing some of those rules but of curse, understanding and agreeing are 2 different things.
If you don't understand why slaves take 2 equipment slots then you're not thinking hard enough. There's a myriad of reasons for it, I'll list one: to prevent people from taking everyone and their mother as slave. It's a commitment that requires sacrifice on the part of the owner, you're gaining something that is worth far more than a sword or a suit of mithril, or at least you're getting something with far more potential.
But to the other point you condense above, I wouldn't compare, really, a slave to a dildo -- it's important to differentiate the difference between what we as players might feel about slaves and what Belariath as a whole feels about slaves. Slaves are generally seen as a possession but not an object, in the end. Something lesser than one who is "free" but still a person (indeed, if we call them "Free Persons" then it makes sense the counter is "Enslaved
Person" who still has some degree of rights. In very, very, very few cultures -- not even the Deep South of the very pro-slave America of the 1800's, was it okay to simply kill your slave, and that situation had deep prejudices and racisms that are not present in the Empire.
A slave is a commodity as a horse might be, but far more valuable to
most. Pleasure slaves might be a bigger thing in Nanthalion than across the Empire, but then the laws extend beyond the Empire: out in harsher climates I would think slaves used in far more manual labor where they can be, with pleasure a thought for after all the work that must be done is done. All this is trying to reinforce my point that it's my belief that slaves are
very valuable and important members of society within Belariath, albeit in a lower social caste than those who are free. Like the pyramid caste-system of India, it could be said that slaves help support those above them, but at the cost of the rights to those above. Still people, but with far fewer rights -- though in the end whatever role Stormbringer wants slaves to have makes sense, because this is Stormbringer's world in both an in-game IC point of view as the Emperor and in an OOC administrative point of view as the Owner, so I might be completely wrong about my thoughts on the matter.
Ishtori wrote:As for the specific topic, why not allow them to fight in gladiatorial matches or less specifically in the arena against anyone who wishes? If they have their masters permission why not? There isn't going to be an armed rebelion going around and hey, they can already use magic or weapons and armor as long as their masters allow it... Also a slave uprising is usually easy to deal with once the army is mobilised and slaves are well aware that an uprise is going to end up in the only way it can, their permanent death. I'm not really going to take examples of RL in this one especially because my knowledge on that field is quite limited and well, this is a fantasy setting. Slaves should be well aware that uprising = death and that while they might do damage, the outcome is going to always be the same. So again, I don't see why not allow them to fight at the arena and the arena only.
First off, the fear of death has only stopped so many people. Many times the beginnings of revolution are mired in those that knew death was certain but pressed on otherwise. I do not feel as if Belariath is a world without ideals, and while those who are against slavery might be more common than a man with a ten-inch dick in the palace of the Vestal Virgins, they still might exist. Beyond that, a slave might feel as if they have nothing to live for anyways, so why bother the rest of living when a rebellion might bring you infamy and peace? For every one of us players who treats a slave with love and care, I would imagine there's ten out there who treat their slaves with cruelty and complete depravity, especially some of the NPC Slave collectors and traders.
Secondly, it's important to remember that this is an
IC rule enforced by the ISA! People talk about how slaves "cannot" fight as if you do an OP will swoop down bringing the Great Sword of Banning in one fist and the Shield of Pwnge in the other! If you want your slave to fight someone else,
do it but be aware that the Empire might not support your methods. How fun of roleplay might that be, too, an "underground" slave-fighting business? It makes sense for there to be IC laws of the Empire that your character might not agree with, indeed, would they really be laws if 95% of the population didn't bitch about them in some way?
Never robust as a melody, only a broken chord to sing.