Choosing Slaves

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Lady Nerevar
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Choosing Slaves

Post by Lady Nerevar »

(First draft. Meant to be a quick, informal guide. Primarily for Dres and Telvanni territories, though it would work in just about any location that owns slaves or could own slaves. Critique ahead, it's been a while since I've written anything)

Choosing Slaves
By Hlethran Balam Dres

ARGONIAN
The lizardman is both easiest to obtain and your best choice for manual labor. They are able to withstand high temperatures and humidities, can breathe underwater, and are immune to most common diseases. They are also primitive and docile creatures, especially when employed far from their native marshlands. Their tribal mentality sets in when working in groups, and you will find that a well-conditioned team can plow a field or dig a trench in half the time of a mixed-race group.

The traits one should look for in Argonian slaves are largely the same between those in the wild and those sold at market. In either case, younger specimens are preferable. In addition to being smaller, they tend to be lighter and not have as many colors. Although they look weaker, they adapt better to whatever task you put them to. Both their bodies and their brains mold to the work, and in a year or two they will know only how to do what you have tasked them with. Ideally, you should test for intelligence before spending coin. Give a simple command and watch for signs of awareness. While many newly caught Argonians do not know Dunmeri or Tamrielic, and will not be able to complete the command, they should nonetheless seem alert. Lethargic or empty-eyed specimens should be discarded.

Avoid captive-bred Argonians. Though they start life knowing how to work, they are much weaker and less resilient than their wild counterparts. You might be tempted by their low cost, but it is only a good deal in the short run.

KHAJIIT
While it is harder to find a new catman, they are not as brainless as the lizards, and therefore better suited to more delicate tasks. You’ll find that the more human-like specimens make fine overseers for their more bestial brethren, and that, with the proper training, they can be taught to become maids or cooks. The more animalistic types, on the other hand, are excellently suited for work in fields, mines, or quarries. The wise slaver avoids those Khajiit that most closely resemble big cats - they are unpredictable and nearly impossible to control.

In addition to the different breeds I mentioned above, make sure to check the slave’s coat when looking to buy. The Khajiit are not as resilient as Argonians, or as readily available, so their health is more important. A healthy catman will have a silky, even coat (if he is shaved, make sure that the skin is not dry). Avoid individuals with docked tails or ears, as this tends to make them poorer workers. Also stay away from slaves with excessive scars, wounds, or burns, as this usually means an unruly nature.

Remember to sterilize any new acquisitions. Unlike the Argonians, who rarely produce offspring in captivity, the Khajiit are voracious breeders, and will take any and all opportunities to fornicate. While you may think that a supply of free slaves is a good thing, remember that there’s no predicting what will come out of the mother’s notch until it’s out.

OTHERS
While there is a certain appeal to seeing men and lesser mer as slaves, the conscientious slaver avoids them. They are not as strong or as easy to control as the beastmen, and their comparative intelligence proves to be a burden more often than a boon.
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arvisrend
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Re: Choosing Slaves

Post by arvisrend »

Great writing! Here are some quick opinions:

- The writer sounds more Indoril than Dres by the attitude. I would expect a Dres author to spend at least a couple paragraphs on how to thrash slaves into submission and how to drown an Argonian. This author is almost sympathetic to their plight...

- But even with a "moderate" author, I'm lacking the "around blacks, never relax" stuff. I guess it's a common notion that slaves might steal from or backstab their masters when they see a chance to get away with it; a guide to slavery should have some hints on how to avoid that and which kinds of slaves are most susceptible to this behavior.

- Humans and mer "are not as strong or as easy to control as the beastmen"; really? I didn't recall hearing that ingame.

- The whole "others" section could be longer, and there is some lore to fill in here. How do Imperials or even mer become slaves? Debt slavery? What are they getting used for? Mention their racial traits and whether or not they should be used as overseers.

- Again, the author being the more "righteous" variety of slaver, it would be cool to see some sideswipes at people using slaves as sexual servants.
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gro-Dhal
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Post by gro-Dhal »

The tone sounds about right to me. I'd have thought the Khajiit love of stealing and drugs would be worth a mention though.
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Gnomey
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Re: Choosing Slaves

Post by Gnomey »

arvisrend wrote: - Humans and mer "are not as strong or as easy to control as the beastmen"; really? I didn't recall hearing that ingame.
That could be the unreliable narrator talking, the same way Argonians are generally recognized as very intelligent, depending on type, but the author treats them as dimwitted to say the least.

A note on the third 'beastman', the Orc, might be nice. I'd guess that their problem wouldn't be lack of strength and intelligence, but rather the opposite.
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Gez
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Re: Choosing Slaves

Post by Gez »

Lady Nerevar wrote:the mother’s notch
Seems kind of out of the register used in the rest of the text.

The text should definitely address some of the other races. Nords (strong, but undisciplined), cyrodiils (politically inconvenient, but good taskmasters), altmer (good for desk works), bosmer (utterly useless) etc.

Argonians are actually pretty smart, especially the females (on par with altmer, smarter than dunmer). Nords and redguards are dumb, though. Could just be the author's prejudice, of course; but warning the prospective owner about the "clever tricks" a reticent lizard might employ to avoid work would be appropriate.

Skooma is used to control Khajiits. It makes them clumsy and dumb. A careful owner will let them get some small amount of skooma regularly to keep them from becoming too rowdy. However, too large a supply and the beasts become too stupid and lethargic to be useful. Unrefined moon sugar should never be given to them, it gives them unpredictable ideas, make them harder to catch if they escape, and does not dull their mind.
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Re: Choosing Slaves

Post by arvisrend »

Gez wrote:
Lady Nerevar wrote:the mother’s notch
Seems kind of out of the register used in the rest of the text.
I liked that sentence...
Gez wrote:The text should definitely address some of the other races. Nords (strong, but undisciplined), cyrodiils (politically inconvenient, but good taskmasters), altmer (good for desk works), bosmer (utterly useless) etc.
Altmer slaves on Mainland seem to be particularly pompous and self-confident; does this make them good as overseers or bad for the work morale?
Gez wrote:Argonians are actually pretty smart, especially the females (on par with altmer, smarter than dunmer). Nords and redguards are dumb, though. Could just be the author's prejudice, of course; but warning the prospective owner about the "clever tricks" a reticent lizard might employ to avoid work would be appropriate.

Skooma is used to control Khajiits. It makes them clumsy and dumb. A careful owner will let them get some small amount of skooma regularly to keep them from becoming too rowdy. However, too large a supply and the beasts become too stupid and lethargic to be useful. Unrefined moon sugar should never be given to them, it gives them unpredictable ideas, make them harder to catch if they escape, and does not dull their mind.
Great ideas!

Another possible tangent to go on: Bosmer view thieving not as much as a way of making ends meet or to pay back the rich for being rich, but as a cultural activity like making music and huntin; "property" isn't a notion in their language as it is in that of the Dunmer. The kind of Bosmer assimilated enough to recognize property aren't easily enslaved. Replace Bosmer by Khajiit if that fits them better.
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