My players are going to be slaves to duergar Empire in my campaign I am making, so my question are as follows.
1. Would it make sense for the duergar to brand the slaves with a magic ruin that allows the duergar to identify the slaves in their books, was thinking of all so having the ruin being a tracker of sorts, but I think that would be too much stacked against the players.
2. The slaves are kept in shanty towns while not in the mines, about how many slaves would each shanty town hold. I was thinking 250 -500 slaves, is that too little or too much?
3. About how many slaves would a Slave Empire have in total.
4. How would one go about intruding different ideals among the slaves population, instead of all being interested in freedom, such as some more focused on self preservation.
5. What kinda task could be done around the shanty town, that doesn't have anything to do directly with the main missions, which is finding the some magic items, or working for the duergar
1.The rune idea seems cool. Once they escape (as they probably will) hunters will come after them and they either have to find a way to remove the runes, or destroy the books that the runes are kept in. It would be a good adventure hook.
2. I don't know any specific numbers, but I think there would probably be a lot more slaves than duergar, at least in certain areas.
3. Three and a half. Just kidding, I don't know, maybe seven?
4. If your going for more focused on self preservation, then I would imagine the duergar doing things like, throwing the food down in a big heap and the slaves need to work against each other to get food. Also making them find their own shelter and build their own homes is another thing that will take up their kind and force them to work against each other. If they have to fight against each other to survive, than it will be much harder for them to organize and rebel.
5. Like the above, they would have to do things like make sure they can get to the food heap in time to get some and build a shelter. In that scenario fights would break out often and the characters might make enemies among the other slaves that they would have deal with. You could also roleplay them making allies, like there might be an elderly man who is respected by most of the slaves and treated like a father figure and leader, if the characters save him from a rock slide, mining accident, or attacking monster, some of the other slaves might give you their respect and gratitude. You could also have them roleplay a way to lead a rebellion against the duergar. Building alliances, building trust, gathering supplies, making plans and strategies, timing it right, and execution would all be big parts of it. Then they could succeed or fail, and that could be a major part of the story. If they succeed, they have a whole bunch of people that need to be protected, led and watched over, if they fail, they might lose the trust and support of the other slaves, be punished severely by the duergar, and be at ground zero again. Also, they could escape, but most of the other slaves are still imprisoned, this could be a major choice for the characters, do they continue on their quest, or do they go back and risk imprisonment again. They could also escape with one guy who wants to leave as fast as possible and never come back, and another guy that has friends or family back in the slave camp and they can't leave without them.
My players are going to be slaves to duergar Empire in my campaign I am making, so my question are as follows.
1. Would it make sense for the duergar to brand the slaves with a magic ruin that allows the duergar to identify the slaves in their books, was thinking of all so having the ruin being a tracker of sorts, but I think that would be too much stacked against the players.
In the campaign wherein I'm a player, my group and I were afflicted by a 'blood maledict,' essentially a scrying spell that was coursing through our bodies. Occasionally the enemy may wish to scry. Likewise, a rune which puts someone's name into the book ("that's going in the book!" Sorry, can't help myself) could just be one-and-done and rarely need to be checked upon. Players will need to play cleverly if they're to communicate a plan of action without being seen or heard.
2. The slaves are kept in shanty towns while not in the mines, about how many slaves would each shanty town hold. I was thinking 250 -500 slaves, is that too little or too much?
That seems fine. It's more a question of what is the ratio between slaves and slave-drivers, guards and the people living within the empire.
3. About how many slaves would a Slave Empire have in total.
How long is a piece of string? It's your world, you decide how many slaves are required to do the job that the people of the empire choose not to do themselves.
4. How would one go about intruding different ideals among the slaves population, instead of all being interested in freedom, such as some more focused on self preservation.
They would have to be convinced that their captors can be defeated. Fancy speeches will do nothing if the slaves feel they need the guards' permission to cheer. And maybe it isn't the guards who are feared, but a bully who is a better looked after slave because they can get away with busting heads. Defeating or replacing the bully would make the slaves come around to their new protectors' way of thinking.
Boost morale by annoying the guards. Subtly lacing their drinks with (mostly) harmless poisons, causing damage to the beams, flooding the mines, and generally using other skills can be used as means of showing them that they're fallible, and giving the players time to scheme. It'd be such a shame if they collapsed the tunnel so the rune's magic couldn't break through, and who knows what they're doing behind the rubble waiting to be rescued.
The players could try to secure more rations; how long has it been since they've tasted beer? Can they mend the blankets, fix the beds, clean up, maybe even put on some nice lightshows with their cantrips? Again, I'm thinking of things the players can do with only the clothes on their back and the knowledge in their heads.
5. What kinda task could be done around the shanty town, that doesn't have anything to do directly with the main missions, which is finding the some magic items, or working for the duergar
As said before, improving the state of living would be well received by those who aren't totally ungrateful. Mending the wounds of those who would ordinarily be left to die, or treating illnesses that come from living in such dank conditions would be hugely appreciated. It might even get some notice from the duergar, who might trust the characters with more challenging assignments, which means weapons, armour and extra goodies.
As they're newcomers they'll probably be given the least pleasant activities, perhaps overseen by the Senior Slop Drudge. Hunting for dinner (rats), foraging in a cave full of Shriekers, and maintaining the equipment.
The duegar didn't make their empire because they were stupid; they recognise talent, and they would hate to waste good fighters in the mines unless there were threats within that needed quelling. They might make it to the fight pits, and who knows where from there...
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Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
1. It would make a lot of sense to have a magic rune system for slave identification, slave marking is a common practice to mark ownership. One that you can't erase or mask from polymorph or invisibility and that allow tracking would be brilliant!
2. The number of slaves kept in shanty towns will depend of the total number of slaves and the number of shanty towns. They could be divided evenly..
3. The number of total slaves will depend of the size of the Duergar empire and source of potential slave acquisition. 10-25% wouldn't be too unreasonable.
4. Slave wants to survive, and gain freedom. greater ideals could be the eradication of all Duergar and or even slavery in the kingdom.
5. Task in the shanty towns could involve gardening and food prepping, alcool distilling, building maintenance, medical treatement, manufacturing of mining tools and cart etc Slaves in shanty town could have similar patterns observed in large prison, they could divide into gang, have a strict code of honor and justice, a distinct hierarchy, an elaborate trade system for everything, an omnipresent gambling habbit, frequent combat from sudden brawl to organized pit fighting (which involve gamble)
I like the idea of a magical brand to make a creature trackable or scryable. Strategically, it makes a lot of sense, and it would be especially effective if it gives the owner a workaround against spells like Nondetection by giving a magical "anchor" that they can lock onto even if the creature is warded somehow. That might be too powerful, though.
If you're looking for a case AGAINST having the player characters magically branded, two things come to mind. A permanent (or "until dispelled") magical brand might have a spell level high enough to make casting it inconvenient, and/or a materials cost that makes it less appealing for low-value slaves. If you can replace a slave for 100gp, and the brand requires a 5th-level spell or 500gp in materials, it might not be worth it. You might consider having a less-powerful version of the brand for "common" slaves, which just works a lot like a mundane one: a permanent (or difficult to remove) mark that conclusively proves ownership when a runaway is caught-- that could provide a complication for the party without tipping the scales too badly against them. I guess it depends on what flavor of challenges you have in mind for the campaign.
Also, for keeping slaves confined even without a magical tracker... they're in the Underdark, right? Are the guards there to keep the slaves in, or to keep the slaves alive? The slavers might be more concerned with possible slave revolts, rather than escapees.
Sorry if I'm focusing too much on just 1 part of your question, but it really got me thinking.
Thank y'all for the advice and answers to my questions, I really like all the days and most definitely will be implementing them in the campaing. Especially the Rune was really unsure on the tracking part being to heavy on the players, but the way y'all have made it sounds is very nice. Not necessarily something the duergar will be paying close attention too, but is their Incase the need be.
Definitely going to be creating a level of certain importance of slaves to the duergar. This is something even my players in my test one shot mentioned. Just got to figure a good way to show the differences.
As well much thanks on the ideas of what to do for slave on slave interactions/quests. This probably was my biggest concern, all of your ideas will most greatly benefit my campaign. Introducing conflicts among the slaves themselves, duergar interests in keeping the slaves down and uncoordinated, as well protecting their stock form the underdark horrors. The ideas of some slaves being for combat or other purposes is one that I shall bat around on how to implement. The fighting part is one I want to really include for the duergar are "Slaves" themselves to fire giants and that coliseum fights are on way to service the fire Gaints with entertainment.
1: I like the idea of a magic brand, though i'm not sure what purpose it would have
2:it depends on the culture, for instance in the american south they had them in small shacks with no floor or furniture, And in nazi concentration camps they had barracks that could fit almost 100 people with sardine packing.
3: It depends on the slavers, The american south had (At the start of the american civil war) about 4 million slaves. Which is nearly as many slaves as free, with the south having nearly 5.5 million free.
4: Individual slave owners all have different ideals on how slaves should be treated. Some would treat their slaves nicely, this would have the effect of Making those particular slaves content with their lives, others are cruel and use the tarkin doctrine "rule with fear" i recommend starting the players in different but nearby houses/plantations to have differing viewpoints of their masters
5:Honestly i'm not sure, Slaves were often busy with work so they couldn't do very much. They did make families or work (if they were allowed) to make living conditions better, this helped to create a sense of community.
1. Personally, I think that all slaves could have just a simple identification rune. So, it can be checked they are slaves (and who they belong to). If they tried to escape, but failed they would get tracking rune. If they tried to escape again, without removing it, there should be some sort of harsh punishment. Maybe add another rune indicating that they should be killed if they are found escaping. Or that will actually cause damage or some other adverse effect (nausea, blindness, lowered stats) if they are far from the camp.
2. I think there should be some variety, with some locations having only few dozens, and some hosting several hundreds (or more).
3. Anything between a half and a tenth of the population being slaves is good imho. Having the slaves be in the majority is not a very sustainable situation.
4. I think that the slaves should have different personalities, partly based on their masters, who should have even wider variety of philosophies and their interpretation on what is morally acceptable when dealing with their (and others’) slaves. There could be a lot of conflict between slaves as well if it seemed that some slaves get preferential treatment (seemingly) at the expense of the rest.
5. Whatever is needed to sustain the whole mining operation and the population of slaves and their masters.
My players are going to be slaves to duergar Empire in my campaign I am making, so my question are as follows.
1. Would it make sense for the duergar to brand the slaves with a magic ruin that allows the duergar to identify the slaves in their books, was thinking of all so having the ruin being a tracker of sorts, but I think that would be too much stacked against the players.
2. The slaves are kept in shanty towns while not in the mines, about how many slaves would each shanty town hold. I was thinking 250 -500 slaves, is that too little or too much?
3. About how many slaves would a Slave Empire have in total.
4. How would one go about intruding different ideals among the slaves population, instead of all being interested in freedom, such as some more focused on self preservation.
5. What kinda task could be done around the shanty town, that doesn't have anything to do directly with the main missions, which is finding the some magic items, or working for the duergar
1. I would think this makes senses; as people often brand their animals to identify ownership when they go out and roam in large fields.
2. This would depend on the size of the town; and how many guards are there to keep them in line, I'd think. I'd wager with the Duergar, they'd probably kill a slave from time to time, to set an example.
3. This goes back to #2 - where it'd probably depend on the size. Also some slaves are "willing" slaves; for example the Roman Empire was known for keeping slaves and servants.
4. Some could be afraid (see #2 where slaves are killed), some could be OK with their lot in life (generation of being slaves, this is just the "normal" for them), escape (newly captured slaves), rebels (slaves who don't want to just escape they want to overthrow, get their revenge)
5. If you have Out of the Abyss, it starts with the players, pretty much enslaved to the Drow. That could lend some ideas.
To piggy back off of some of the suggestions about slaves having to fight each other for food and shelter, it would be a lot more impactful if there is some kind of exhaustion system. Like if the party don't get enough food because they gave it to those that needed it more, or they were too late because they were meeting and planning their escape, there will be a consequence of them feeling weak. I would modify the levels and what they do, but it would make the struggles seem more real.
1. Personally, I think that all slaves could have just a simple identification rune. So, it can be checked they are slaves (and who they belong to). If they tried to escape, but failed they would get tracking rune. If they tried to escape again, without removing it, there should be some sort of harsh punishment. Maybe add another rune indicating that they should be killed if they are found escaping. Or that will actually cause damage or some other adverse effect (nausea, blindness, lowered stats) if they are far from the camp.
I really like this idea, think I'll Implement the idea of having different Duergar clans/families own/manage sections of the mines or other areas and the branding are used to indentify the slaves inorder to know who the directly belong to. And the ruins being used to show marking for a slave on what to be done if x is a neat concept. And if they get caught trying to escape then a tracking ruin is applied. I like this idea, for the Duergar don't really need to know were the slaves are at all time, and that would require a pretty extensive book and magic work keeping work inorder to do that. They aren't worried about them escaping to much for the duergar kingdom sits above the slaves and the slaves are trapped underground they can't really go anywhere. This will keep it from being to much pressure on the players in the beginning.
2. I thank y'all for your input on this, I think I am going to create mulitple shanty towns. For different run by different clans, as well with different job perposes with different levels of livelihood of the slaves.
4 and 5. I really thank you all for this information. will defiantly be implementing a lot of this stuff, to try to create that more of 3d world perspective amoung the slaves and master relation ship. For the area the players will be in I think I will go with a more of harsh route, the slaves being highly mistreated and not really cared for by the Duergar other than being feed and protected from the dangers of the underdark. Which on that note could gain favor among some of the slaves due to the protection of the elements that the Duergar do supply. I don't think I will go with any "willing slaves" all slaves were brought into this predicament by the Duergar themselves by force or trade from the Drow or other slaving empires or Firegaint conquest campaigns. Defiantly going to have to check out Out of the Abyss sounds like it could really be of use. I Like idea of competition for food, and less work. Think I am going to Emplace a system that the duergar have. You will be down in the mines for a period of time until you can bring up the quota of coal/ores that duergar want and then the slaves get a rest period of a 2-3 days. The slaves will be in competition with each other inorder to try to benefit their own 5 person chaingang to get to that rest period quicker. Really fisty slaves are sent to the Ring of Ruby Fire (Colosseum) were they are used to entertain the firegaints and are able grow their own fame/semi freedom through that work.
1. Would it make sense for the duergar to brand the slaves with a magic ruin...?
Yes. But require a spell to track them, so it is not a constant, there they are thing. And it can be Dispelled, or even disrupted by a Rogue treat it as a magical trap.
2. The slaves are kept in shanty towns while not in the mines, about how many slaves would each shanty town hold. I was thinking 250 -500 slaves, is that too little or too much?
No. But this is a community, they will be distant from other 'towns' and the masters will be a bit afraid to visit them without guards.
3. About how many slaves would a Slave Empire have in total?
There is an argument to be made that in true Slave Empires, everyone but the dictator is a slave. But having half the population being legally a slave is reasonable. (Note modern socities tend to be 50% underemployed, 40% middle class, 9% upper class, 1% ultrarich)
4. How would one go about intruding different ideals among the slaves population, instead of all being interested in freedom, such as some more focused on self preservation.
Pretty typical that a lot of people would be focused on self-preservation. All you need to do is treat them marginable better - no whippings, no ****, reasonable amount of food - while having them live near people getting poor treatment - whipping, ****, short food, etc.
5. What kinda task could be done around the shanty town, that doesn't have anything to do directly with the main missions, which is finding the some magic items, or working for the duergar
A lot of simple stuff gets not done with slaves. No rights = no police work = lots of internal crimes. Items get stolen, people gone missing, sickness. Merely having someone find and return the 'Good shovel' could be a mission.
I like the rune idea too and this idea in general.
A couple of ideas
1. The players could come across an item etc that allows them to suppress the runes. One player at a time would maintain concentration as they try to escape. So sleeping would be difficult. Then make sure that they drop con every now and then. At minimum con drops when they switch. They know the enemy then gets back on their tracks again. This creates tension, because the closer they get, the more easier it is to find their natural tracks too. Maybe a mechanic for how much closer they get whenever con drops. Maybe some penalties if the same person holds con for too long, so they need to make decisions and evaluate risks.
2. Give the players a nice head start, but they know that the duergar are gaining on them because of the trackers. They find out about a place where they can get them off, but they first need to make it there alive. There a dangers down the road, of course. They can take as many rests as they like, but with each rest the pursuers get closer too. Do we go on with fewer abilities and HP or risk being caught? Decisions! 😄
My players are going to be slaves to duergar Empire in my campaign I am making, so my question are as follows.
1. Would it make sense for the duergar to brand the slaves with a magic ruin that allows the duergar to identify the slaves in their books, was thinking of all so having the ruin being a tracker of sorts, but I think that would be too much stacked against the players.
2. The slaves are kept in shanty towns while not in the mines, about how many slaves would each shanty town hold. I was thinking 250 -500 slaves, is that too little or too much?
3. About how many slaves would a Slave Empire have in total.
4. How would one go about intruding different ideals among the slaves population, instead of all being interested in freedom, such as some more focused on self preservation.
5. What kinda task could be done around the shanty town, that doesn't have anything to do directly with the main missions, which is finding the some magic items, or working for the duergar
1.The rune idea seems cool. Once they escape (as they probably will) hunters will come after them and they either have to find a way to remove the runes, or destroy the books that the runes are kept in. It would be a good adventure hook.
2. I don't know any specific numbers, but I think there would probably be a lot more slaves than duergar, at least in certain areas.
3. Three and a half. Just kidding, I don't know, maybe seven?
4. If your going for more focused on self preservation, then I would imagine the duergar doing things like, throwing the food down in a big heap and the slaves need to work against each other to get food. Also making them find their own shelter and build their own homes is another thing that will take up their kind and force them to work against each other. If they have to fight against each other to survive, than it will be much harder for them to organize and rebel.
5. Like the above, they would have to do things like make sure they can get to the food heap in time to get some and build a shelter. In that scenario fights would break out often and the characters might make enemies among the other slaves that they would have deal with. You could also roleplay them making allies, like there might be an elderly man who is respected by most of the slaves and treated like a father figure and leader, if the characters save him from a rock slide, mining accident, or attacking monster, some of the other slaves might give you their respect and gratitude. You could also have them roleplay a way to lead a rebellion against the duergar. Building alliances, building trust, gathering supplies, making plans and strategies, timing it right, and execution would all be big parts of it. Then they could succeed or fail, and that could be a major part of the story. If they succeed, they have a whole bunch of people that need to be protected, led and watched over, if they fail, they might lose the trust and support of the other slaves, be punished severely by the duergar, and be at ground zero again. Also, they could escape, but most of the other slaves are still imprisoned, this could be a major choice for the characters, do they continue on their quest, or do they go back and risk imprisonment again. They could also escape with one guy who wants to leave as fast as possible and never come back, and another guy that has friends or family back in the slave camp and they can't leave without them.
In the campaign wherein I'm a player, my group and I were afflicted by a 'blood maledict,' essentially a scrying spell that was coursing through our bodies. Occasionally the enemy may wish to scry. Likewise, a rune which puts someone's name into the book ("that's going in the book!" Sorry, can't help myself) could just be one-and-done and rarely need to be checked upon. Players will need to play cleverly if they're to communicate a plan of action without being seen or heard.
That seems fine. It's more a question of what is the ratio between slaves and slave-drivers, guards and the people living within the empire.
How long is a piece of string? It's your world, you decide how many slaves are required to do the job that the people of the empire choose not to do themselves.
They would have to be convinced that their captors can be defeated. Fancy speeches will do nothing if the slaves feel they need the guards' permission to cheer. And maybe it isn't the guards who are feared, but a bully who is a better looked after slave because they can get away with busting heads. Defeating or replacing the bully would make the slaves come around to their new protectors' way of thinking.
Boost morale by annoying the guards. Subtly lacing their drinks with (mostly) harmless poisons, causing damage to the beams, flooding the mines, and generally using other skills can be used as means of showing them that they're fallible, and giving the players time to scheme. It'd be such a shame if they collapsed the tunnel so the rune's magic couldn't break through, and who knows what they're doing behind the rubble waiting to be rescued.
The players could try to secure more rations; how long has it been since they've tasted beer? Can they mend the blankets, fix the beds, clean up, maybe even put on some nice lightshows with their cantrips? Again, I'm thinking of things the players can do with only the clothes on their back and the knowledge in their heads.
As said before, improving the state of living would be well received by those who aren't totally ungrateful. Mending the wounds of those who would ordinarily be left to die, or treating illnesses that come from living in such dank conditions would be hugely appreciated. It might even get some notice from the duergar, who might trust the characters with more challenging assignments, which means weapons, armour and extra goodies.
As they're newcomers they'll probably be given the least pleasant activities, perhaps overseen by the Senior Slop Drudge. Hunting for dinner (rats), foraging in a cave full of Shriekers, and maintaining the equipment.
The duegar didn't make their empire because they were stupid; they recognise talent, and they would hate to waste good fighters in the mines unless there were threats within that needed quelling. They might make it to the fight pits, and who knows where from there...
Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
- The Assemblage of Houses, World of Warcraft
1. It would make a lot of sense to have a magic rune system for slave identification, slave marking is a common practice to mark ownership. One that you can't erase or mask from polymorph or invisibility and that allow tracking would be brilliant!
2. The number of slaves kept in shanty towns will depend of the total number of slaves and the number of shanty towns. They could be divided evenly..
3. The number of total slaves will depend of the size of the Duergar empire and source of potential slave acquisition. 10-25% wouldn't be too unreasonable.
4. Slave wants to survive, and gain freedom. greater ideals could be the eradication of all Duergar and or even slavery in the kingdom.
5. Task in the shanty towns could involve gardening and food prepping, alcool distilling, building maintenance, medical treatement, manufacturing of mining tools and cart etc Slaves in shanty town could have similar patterns observed in large prison, they could divide into gang, have a strict code of honor and justice, a distinct hierarchy, an elaborate trade system for everything, an omnipresent gambling habbit, frequent combat from sudden brawl to organized pit fighting (which involve gamble)
I like the idea of a magical brand to make a creature trackable or scryable. Strategically, it makes a lot of sense, and it would be especially effective if it gives the owner a workaround against spells like Nondetection by giving a magical "anchor" that they can lock onto even if the creature is warded somehow. That might be too powerful, though.
If you're looking for a case AGAINST having the player characters magically branded, two things come to mind. A permanent (or "until dispelled") magical brand might have a spell level high enough to make casting it inconvenient, and/or a materials cost that makes it less appealing for low-value slaves. If you can replace a slave for 100gp, and the brand requires a 5th-level spell or 500gp in materials, it might not be worth it. You might consider having a less-powerful version of the brand for "common" slaves, which just works a lot like a mundane one: a permanent (or difficult to remove) mark that conclusively proves ownership when a runaway is caught-- that could provide a complication for the party without tipping the scales too badly against them. I guess it depends on what flavor of challenges you have in mind for the campaign.
Also, for keeping slaves confined even without a magical tracker... they're in the Underdark, right? Are the guards there to keep the slaves in, or to keep the slaves alive? The slavers might be more concerned with possible slave revolts, rather than escapees.
Sorry if I'm focusing too much on just 1 part of your question, but it really got me thinking.
Thank y'all for the advice and answers to my questions, I really like all the days and most definitely will be implementing them in the campaing. Especially the Rune was really unsure on the tracking part being to heavy on the players, but the way y'all have made it sounds is very nice. Not necessarily something the duergar will be paying close attention too, but is their Incase the need be.
Definitely going to be creating a level of certain importance of slaves to the duergar. This is something even my players in my test one shot mentioned. Just got to figure a good way to show the differences.
As well much thanks on the ideas of what to do for slave on slave interactions/quests. This probably was my biggest concern, all of your ideas will most greatly benefit my campaign. Introducing conflicts among the slaves themselves, duergar interests in keeping the slaves down and uncoordinated, as well protecting their stock form the underdark horrors. The ideas of some slaves being for combat or other purposes is one that I shall bat around on how to implement. The fighting part is one I want to really include for the duergar are "Slaves" themselves to fire giants and that coliseum fights are on way to service the fire Gaints with entertainment.
I thank you all again for your help
1: I like the idea of a magic brand, though i'm not sure what purpose it would have
2:it depends on the culture, for instance in the american south they had them in small shacks with no floor or furniture, And in nazi concentration camps they had barracks that could fit almost 100 people with sardine packing.
3: It depends on the slavers, The american south had (At the start of the american civil war) about 4 million slaves. Which is nearly as many slaves as free, with the south having nearly 5.5 million free.
4: Individual slave owners all have different ideals on how slaves should be treated. Some would treat their slaves nicely, this would have the effect of Making those particular slaves content with their lives, others are cruel and use the tarkin doctrine "rule with fear" i recommend starting the players in different but nearby houses/plantations to have differing viewpoints of their masters
5:Honestly i'm not sure, Slaves were often busy with work so they couldn't do very much. They did make families or work (if they were allowed) to make living conditions better, this helped to create a sense of community.
1. Personally, I think that all slaves could have just a simple identification rune. So, it can be checked they are slaves (and who they belong to). If they tried to escape, but failed they would get tracking rune. If they tried to escape again, without removing it, there should be some sort of harsh punishment. Maybe add another rune indicating that they should be killed if they are found escaping. Or that will actually cause damage or some other adverse effect (nausea, blindness, lowered stats) if they are far from the camp.
2. I think there should be some variety, with some locations having only few dozens, and some hosting several hundreds (or more).
3. Anything between a half and a tenth of the population being slaves is good imho. Having the slaves be in the majority is not a very sustainable situation.
4. I think that the slaves should have different personalities, partly based on their masters, who should have even wider variety of philosophies and their interpretation on what is morally acceptable when dealing with their (and others’) slaves. There could be a lot of conflict between slaves as well if it seemed that some slaves get preferential treatment (seemingly) at the expense of the rest.
5. Whatever is needed to sustain the whole mining operation and the population of slaves and their masters.
1. I would think this makes senses; as people often brand their animals to identify ownership when they go out and roam in large fields.
2. This would depend on the size of the town; and how many guards are there to keep them in line, I'd think. I'd wager with the Duergar, they'd probably kill a slave from time to time, to set an example.
3. This goes back to #2 - where it'd probably depend on the size. Also some slaves are "willing" slaves; for example the Roman Empire was known for keeping slaves and servants.
4. Some could be afraid (see #2 where slaves are killed), some could be OK with their lot in life (generation of being slaves, this is just the "normal" for them), escape (newly captured slaves), rebels (slaves who don't want to just escape they want to overthrow, get their revenge)
5. If you have Out of the Abyss, it starts with the players, pretty much enslaved to the Drow. That could lend some ideas.
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To piggy back off of some of the suggestions about slaves having to fight each other for food and shelter, it would be a lot more impactful if there is some kind of exhaustion system. Like if the party don't get enough food because they gave it to those that needed it more, or they were too late because they were meeting and planning their escape, there will be a consequence of them feeling weak. I would modify the levels and what they do, but it would make the struggles seem more real.
I once again thank the rest of you for your ideas, (i know this is a few days late, been busy).
1.
I really like this idea, think I'll Implement the idea of having different Duergar clans/families own/manage sections of the mines or other areas and the branding are used to indentify the slaves inorder to know who the directly belong to. And the ruins being used to show marking for a slave on what to be done if x is a neat concept. And if they get caught trying to escape then a tracking ruin is applied. I like this idea, for the Duergar don't really need to know were the slaves are at all time, and that would require a pretty extensive book and magic work keeping work inorder to do that. They aren't worried about them escaping to much for the duergar kingdom sits above the slaves and the slaves are trapped underground they can't really go anywhere. This will keep it from being to much pressure on the players in the beginning.
2. I thank y'all for your input on this, I think I am going to create mulitple shanty towns. For different run by different clans, as well with different job perposes with different levels of livelihood of the slaves.
4 and 5. I really thank you all for this information. will defiantly be implementing a lot of this stuff, to try to create that more of 3d world perspective amoung the slaves and master relation ship. For the area the players will be in I think I will go with a more of harsh route, the slaves being highly mistreated and not really cared for by the Duergar other than being feed and protected from the dangers of the underdark. Which on that note could gain favor among some of the slaves due to the protection of the elements that the Duergar do supply. I don't think I will go with any "willing slaves" all slaves were brought into this predicament by the Duergar themselves by force or trade from the Drow or other slaving empires or Firegaint conquest campaigns. Defiantly going to have to check out Out of the Abyss sounds like it could really be of use. I Like idea of competition for food, and less work. Think I am going to Emplace a system that the duergar have. You will be down in the mines for a period of time until you can bring up the quota of coal/ores that duergar want and then the slaves get a rest period of a 2-3 days. The slaves will be in competition with each other inorder to try to benefit their own 5 person chaingang to get to that rest period quicker. Really fisty slaves are sent to the Ring of Ruby Fire (Colosseum) were they are used to entertain the firegaints and are able grow their own fame/semi freedom through that work.
2. The slaves are kept in shanty towns while not in the mines, about how many slaves would each shanty town hold. I was thinking 250 -500 slaves, is that too little or too much?
No. But this is a community, they will be distant from other 'towns' and the masters will be a bit afraid to visit them without guards.
3. About how many slaves would a Slave Empire have in total?
There is an argument to be made that in true Slave Empires, everyone but the dictator is a slave. But having half the population being legally a slave is reasonable. (Note modern socities tend to be 50% underemployed, 40% middle class, 9% upper class, 1% ultrarich)
4. How would one go about intruding different ideals among the slaves population, instead of all being interested in freedom, such as some more focused on self preservation.
Pretty typical that a lot of people would be focused on self-preservation. All you need to do is treat them marginable better - no whippings, no ****, reasonable amount of food - while having them live near people getting poor treatment - whipping, ****, short food, etc.
5. What kinda task could be done around the shanty town, that doesn't have anything to do directly with the main missions, which is finding the some magic items, or working for the duergar
A lot of simple stuff gets not done with slaves. No rights = no police work = lots of internal crimes. Items get stolen, people gone missing, sickness. Merely having someone find and return the 'Good shovel' could be a mission.
I like the rune idea too and this idea in general.
A couple of ideas
1. The players could come across an item etc that allows them to suppress the runes. One player at a time would maintain concentration as they try to escape. So sleeping would be difficult. Then make sure that they drop con every now and then. At minimum con drops when they switch. They know the enemy then gets back on their tracks again. This creates tension, because the closer they get, the more easier it is to find their natural tracks too. Maybe a mechanic for how much closer they get whenever con drops. Maybe some penalties if the same person holds con for too long, so they need to make decisions and evaluate risks.
2. Give the players a nice head start, but they know that the duergar are gaining on them because of the trackers. They find out about a place where they can get them off, but they first need to make it there alive. There a dangers down the road, of course. They can take as many rests as they like, but with each rest the pursuers get closer too. Do we go on with fewer abilities and HP or risk being caught? Decisions! 😄
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