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Muz
2010-05-13, 03:10 PM
Obviously, I'm talking within the context of a D&D game. Long story short, there's an educated slave serving as a city guide and translator for hire (her owners are paid for a couple hours or days, and they send her out with the ones who pay). The party--who's not from this city--wants to free her, but for various reasons I won't go into, they want to do it legally (i.e. no just rescuing her and helping her escape the city).

The thing is, I've no idea how much her owners should want. As the value of a GP varies from game to game (and this is a 2nd ed. game, to boot), I suppose I'm more looking for a relative value. (Worth 100 decent longswords, the price of a small house, 10 horses, etc.) Being a rather well-educated slave, and young, I figure those factors would up the cost.

I feel a little creepy even asking this sort of thing. :smalleek:

Ichneumon
2010-05-13, 03:15 PM
I use the following for my 3.5 game:

50 gp for a regular slave.
100 gp for a regular slave with a lot of experience.
500 gp for a slave who's trained in a certain skill and is very good at it.
1000 gp for an attractive female slave, independent of her skills or anything.

Reynard
2010-05-13, 03:15 PM
Coincidentally, this came up in the VoP thread exactly 4 minutes before your post.


BoVD doesn't- but Lords of Madness (in the Neogi section) does.

Basic formula: (CR x CR) X 100 gp. (CRs less than 1 are round up to 1).

So, minimum price of a slave is 100 gp.

If the slave has exceptional abilities, price may be multiplied (typically by between 1 and 4).

Catch
2010-05-13, 03:18 PM
Historically, slaves have been very, very expensive, restricted to the wealthiest by cost. Instead of focusing on realism, choose what will best suit your plot. For the context of your adventure, I'd suggest a price equivalent to a costly magic item, but more importantly, a cost they have to struggle to afford. Maybe this is an adventure hook - get treasure, buy a slave her freedom. If they've worked to raise the money, your players will feel like they've earned their good deed, rather than just throwing down some GP like bored philanthropists.

Telonius
2010-05-13, 03:19 PM
Yeah, it's a creepy subject. What little I've been able to turn up on it usually doesn't say which year the figures are weighted to. That said, real-world figures between 1850 and today seem to run somewhere between $300 and $2,000, depending on the nature of the work - or up to 1/16 of the median US annual wage. Putting that in D&D perspective, I'd probably use a trained hireling at 3sp/day. 3sp times 365 days = 1095sp. 1/16 of that is about 70sp, or 7 gold as the going rate for a high-demand slave.

Bucky
2010-05-13, 03:22 PM
Use some basic economics.

The slave is providing her owner with a fixed income, which you can estimate by multiplying the fee per day by the fraction of the time she is hired out. A city that size ought to have a banking system of some form, so you should be able to find the local 'fair' interest rate - not the interest rate the loan sharks charge, but the interest rate the slave's owner would get by lending out money.

Ignoring the slave's limited working lifetime, a generous but reasonable offer would be the amount of money for which the interest on that money, plus the slave's upkeep cost, would be the income the slave earns.

(sale price)*(interest rate)=(slave's rent)*(fraction of time slave is rented) - (slave's upkeep cost)

Milskidasith
2010-05-13, 03:23 PM
Historically, slaves have been very, very expensive, restricted to the wealthiest by cost. Instead of focusing on realism, choose what will best suit your plot. For the context of your adventure, I'd suggest a price equivalent to a costly magic item, but more importantly, a cost they have to struggle to afford. Maybe this is an adventure hook - get treasure, buy a slave her freedom. If they've worked to raise the money, your players will feel like they've earned their good deed, rather than just throwing down some GP like bored philanthropists.

Unless they are very low level, the services of a 1 HD commoner can be replicated with cheap items; why would she be so costly? Also, greed; if the slave is worth so much the party can't afford her, think of the loot you can get instead. Sacrifice one to save many with a new set of plusses, basically.

Boci
2010-05-13, 03:23 PM
I use the following for my 3.5 game:

50 gp for a regular slave.
100 gp for a regular slave with a lot of experience.
500 gp for a slave who's trained in a certain skill and is very good at it.
1000 gp for an attractive female slave, independent of her skills or anything.

I'm not too sure how detailed we can discuss this so as brief as possibly: I'd knock a 0 off the last one, they aren't worth that much.

Milskidasith
2010-05-13, 03:27 PM
Use some basic economics.

The slave is providing her owner with a fixed income, which you can estimate by multiplying the fee per day by the fraction of the time she is hired out. A city that size ought to have a banking system of some form, so you should be able to find the local 'fair' interest rate - not the interest rate the loan sharks charge, but the interest rate the slave's owner would get by lending out money.

Ignoring the slave's limited working lifetime, a generous but reasonable offer would be the amount of money for which the interest on that money, plus the slave's upkeep cost, would be the income the slave earns.

(price)*(interest rate)=(slave's rent)*(fraction of time slave is rented) - (slave's upkeep cost)

It should be price = interest*(time*(income-upkeep)), where time is a few years they could guarantee income. Your equation was just weird and not solved for the price.

FoE
2010-05-13, 03:28 PM
A lot of things factor into the price of a slave: where you bought the slave, what you're using the slave for, its race, its gender, etc. Also, if you intend to "keep" the slave (which I guess in this context is freeing her), that would drive up the price.

Mmmm ... 200 g.p. seems a fair price.

JeenLeen
2010-05-13, 03:29 PM
How common is slavery in your campaign world? That should impact the cost. If even townsfolk have a couple slaves, then it's probably reasonably cheap.

Or do the common folk, or at least slaveowner caste, make a few hundred gp a year? I guess I recommend to view it in respect to the income of the slaveowners, to see how much they can afford.

Greenish
2010-05-13, 03:30 PM
I'm not too sure how detailed we can discuss this so as brief as possibly: I'd knock a 0 off the last one, they aren't worth that much.Yeah, skilled courtesan should be worth more than just a pretty girl. Besides, what of males?

Telonius
2010-05-13, 03:31 PM
You could also use the standard cost equivalence: 1 slave = 1 pod racer.

Bucky
2010-05-13, 03:35 PM
It should be price = interest*(time*(income-upkeep)), where time is a few years they could guarantee income. Your equation was just weird and not solved for the price.

Different assumptions. You're approximating for a short working lifetime while I am approximating for a longer working lifetime.

If the working lifetime is short, just ignore the interest rate and pay their lifetime profit upfront:

price= time*(income-upkeep)

If the working lifetime is long, replace the slave with an equivalent loan using my formula:
price = (income-upkeep)/interest rate

In both cases, income should be adjusted for time when the slave is not hired out.

LibraryOgre
2010-05-13, 03:38 PM
Actually, I did an article on this for Palladium. Their economy is a little different, but I would go with the assumption that a slave is going to cost about as much as an equivalent horse. The CR^2*100 is a not-bad idea, though. I may even not round CR... the fractional CRs result in some really cheap slaves, but that's gonna happen a lot.

Another option would be attribute total in GP times CR. Bog-standard commoner (10s in everything, 1/2 CR) works out to 30gp. However, that ignores that some slaves don't really need much in the way of Int, Wis, or other attributes (how strong do you need your Greek tutor to be, after all?)

Irreverent Fool
2010-05-13, 03:39 PM
Why would the owner want to sell her? I would play up the offense that the owner takes at the PCs offering to buy his slave. She wasn't put up for sale and perhaps he's fond of her/finds her useful to have around. Why else would he be retaining her. You don't just walk into a person's house and start offering to buy their stuff.

You could make a plot out of this. When he refuses even ludicrous prices and suggests they find their own in the local markets, the PCs might try to break her free illegally which makes for a much more exciting turn of events.

But perhaps that's too cliche.

obnoxious
sig

Johel
2010-05-13, 03:56 PM
Unskilled hirelings cost 1sp a day.
That means it would cost you 365 sp a year to hire somebody to do the job a slave can do.
Let's say you depreciate a slave in 10 years, as a unskilled slave's life can be short and painful. That's 3.650 sp.
Since you still have to take care of the needs of your slave, paying that price would mean no profit for you. Therefore, it should be less.

So maximum 350 gp for an unskilled adult slave.
If slaves are numerous (recent conquest, prosperous slave import, slave breeding farms,...), the price will be lower.

Young, healthy female slaves will be worth more, as they can produce children. A female who has already children will be worth even more as there's proof she's fertile.

Children slaves would be worth crap, as they are fragile and childhood mortality was high in ancient times. It would be a risky investment and require you to take care of the child for years before he can actually produce more wealth than he costs.

Elder slaves (above 50 years old) would be worth a lot less, unless they are mean as teachers and such. They are weaker, more fragile but they have experience.

Sick, wounded, maimed or otherwise unhealthy slaves would also be worth crap, as their usefulness is greatly reduced, as well as their life expectancy. But like old cars, one can make a good deal out of it if he's willing to take the risk.

For skilled slaves, use the same method to get the maximum price :

How long is the slave expected to serve ?
What would it cost you to get a free professional to do the job ?

It wouldn't make sense for a slave merchant to sell his slaves above what a professional would cost, since customers would then simply subcontract the task rather than invest a lot of money in slaves.

Catch
2010-05-13, 04:29 PM
Unless they are very low level, the services of a 1 HD commoner can be replicated with cheap items; why would she be so costly? Also, greed; if the slave is worth so much the party can't afford her, think of the loot you can get instead. Sacrifice one to save many with a new set of plusses, basically.

Because plot.

Everything I said was related to the telling of a good story, as I was expecting most of the posts in response to the question would be formulaic breakdown of labor costs, instead of an answer that fits the situation. Would it be challenging or satisfying to the players to realize they can buy this girl's freedom with, to adventurers, what amounts to pocket change?

Milskidasith
2010-05-13, 04:32 PM
Because plot.

Everything I said was related to the telling of a good story, as I was expecting most of the posts in response to the question would be formulaic breakdown of labor costs, instead of an answer that fits the situation. Would it be challenging or satisfying to the players to realize they can buy this girl's freedom with, to adventurers, what amounts to pocket change?

Yes. When you are an adventurer who can quite literally kill beings that, in common fantasy, would be nation threatening abominations, it's not fun to be charged the price of a sword that can slay continent threatening abominations for a slave girl who'd be likely to die to mouse threatening abominations (cats).

It is, however, fun to know that, due to narrative progress, you can basically solve such simple concerns however the hell you want, because dammit, the tourism industry and the people involved in it are not ANYWHERE near your scale.

A good story has verisimilitude. When you were saving towns from hordes of goblins at level three, you shouldn't be charged your nation-level wealth to solve *one* problem for a town when you are level eight. It just makes no sense.

Johel
2010-05-13, 04:38 PM
Because plot.

Everything I said was related to the telling of a good story, as I was expecting most of the posts in response to the question would be formulaic breakdown of labor costs, instead of an answer that fits the situation. Would it be challenging or satisfying to the players to realize they can buy this girl's freedom with, to adventurers, what amounts to pocket change?

Yes, it would.

At first, they would feel like they did a good thing. The girl is happy, as she can now work for herself and actually get something out of her good work beside a "good job, slave" and a additional ration.

Then they will be informed that they are thousands of slaves into this city and that while the girl had a fairly easy time (translator...she wasn't wipe a lot, I can tell you), most slaves are treated like livestock.

While they can certainly free a few of them with their current wealth, it won't change the system as a whole : their money will be used by the former owners to buy other slaves, people will still be enslaved and that girl is even likely to become a slave owner if she is successful...or to be enslaved again if she isn't.

Unless they are willing to change the system, the adventurers have done nothing but satisfy their moral need for a "we are the good guys" sticker. If they don't try to defy the system, then they are but hypocrites. If they do, then it's happy fun time for the DM...

J.Gellert
2010-05-13, 04:46 PM
Slaves in Conan RPG go between 5 (male, rebellious savage) and 150 (high-born educated beautiful female) silver pieces. Just make that gold pieces for regular D&D.

Shademan
2010-05-13, 04:48 PM
Slaves in Conan RPG go between 5 (male, rebellious savage) and 150 (high-born educated beautiful female) silver pieces. Just make that gold pieces for regular D&D.

on the conterary. silver is worth ALOT more in Conans world. (gold as well)
simple economics.
does not compute.

urgh...bed now...

Catch
2010-05-13, 04:55 PM
Yes. When you are an adventurer who can quite literally kill beings that, in common fantasy, would be nation threatening abominations, it's not fun to be charged the price of a sword that can slay continent threatening abominations for a slave girl who'd be likely to die to mouse threatening abominations (cats).

It is, however, fun to know that, due to narrative progress, you can basically solve such simple concerns however the hell you want, because dammit, the tourism industry and the people involved in it are not ANYWHERE near your scale.

A good story has verisimilitude. When you were saving towns from hordes of goblins at level three, you shouldn't be charged your nation-level wealth to solve *one* problem for a town when you are level eight. It just makes no sense.

I didn't ask if you would find that conclusion satisfying - because I don't care. The self-important mindset of generic high-level adventurers is irrelevant, as are assumptions about the setting's economics, or metagame knowledge and how it seeps into character decisions like heavy metals from a landfill. No, what I asked, and the question I'm still addressing - which has yet to be reasonably answered - is for these characters, who care enough about a slave girl and the laws to buy her freedom, what would make this act of good enjoyably challenging?

Throwing down a handful of gold is awfully anti-climactic if the players have a lot at invested in the resolution. It's like bursting into the lair of the BBEG, armed, buffed, and shouting your declaration to end his reign - and the old wizard has a heart attack because you startled him. The means to solve a problem should match what's at stake, and the rules serve as a guideline to that end.

A good story does have verisimilitude - that is, events and conflicts that parallel what we expect life to be like, in a rewarding way. How do you know the slave's owner isn't ridiculously wealthy, and how do you know the price would be reasonable? How do you know the slave's owner wouldn't demand an exorbitant fee from adventurers physically encumbered by all their liquid assets? If this is a challenge that matters, it ought to be difficult to overcome - the same as freeing the girl might. So a flat number isn't the right answer to the question, because in this case, worth is directly proportional to what's at stake.

This, however, is a much better reasoning for an insignificant cost:


Yes, it would.

At first, they would feel like they did a good thing. The girl is happy, as she can now work for herself and actually get something out of her good work beside a "good job, slave" and a additional ration.

Then they will be informed that they are thousands of slaves into this city and that while the girl had a fairly easy time (translator...she wasn't wipe a lot, I can tell you), most slaves are treated like livestock.

While they can certainly free a few of them with their current wealth, it won't change the system as a whole : their money will be used by the former owners to buy other slaves, people will still be enslaved and that girl is even likely to become a slave owner if she is successful...or to be enslaved again if she isn't.

Unless they are willing to change the system, the adventurers have done nothing but satisfy their moral need for a "we are the good guys" sticker. If they don't try to defy the system, then they are but hypocrites. If they do, then it's happy fun time for the DM...

Greenish
2010-05-13, 04:58 PM
No, what I asked, and the question I'm still addressing - which has yet to be reasonably answered - is for these characters, who care enough about a slave girl and the laws to buy her freedom, what would make this act of good enjoyably challenging?The characters ought to be happy if they could just buy her for a few coins. The characters are not looking for a challenge in everything they do.

Asheram
2010-05-13, 05:01 PM
I'd also have a closer look at how people Become slaves.

In the setting I'm currently playing in the few ways you can become a slave is either if you've done something illegal or owe someone money that you can't pay back. (As well as people being sold as slaves from foreign countries, but they still must have their papers in order)
My group currently busted the whole Slave Traders Guild due to the fact that we stumbled onto their plot on acquiring slaves illegally, i.e. just rounding beggars up in the cover of night.

mucat
2010-05-13, 05:07 PM
The owners might also say "She's not for sale, but I have a job I need done. Accomplish such-and-such a task, and I'll sign her over to you." If you're in need of a quest/job hook, that is...

Muz
2010-05-13, 05:08 PM
Thanks for the plethora of answers--this helps my thinking and plotting.

Just to toss a little more fuel onto the fire, I should also mention that this particular city is a drow city, and this particular slave is, also, a drow (lacking in a house, sold into slavery, etc.). The PCs are NOT drow, and found their way into the city via magical means. The fact that they're even in this particular bazaar indicates to those drow (and others) there that they belong there, or else they wouldn't have gotten that far in the first place. So they'll have to be verrrry very careful.

It could all go up in a massive explosion, figuratively speaking. (And obviously the question of letting a non-drow by a drow slave will be a touchy one.) All sorts of other problems, in fact--but I wanted to at least come up with an appropriate ballpark price. :smallwink:

Asheram
2010-05-13, 05:15 PM
Thanks for the plethora of answers--this helps my thinking and plotting.

Just to toss a little more fuel onto the fire, I should also mention that this particular city is a drow city, and this particular slave is, also, a drow (lacking in a house, sold into slavery, etc.). The PCs are NOT drow, and found their way into the city via magical means. The fact that they're even in this particular bazaar indicates to those drow (and others) there that they belong there, or else they wouldn't have gotten that far in the first place. So they'll have to be verrrry very careful.

It could all go up in a massive explosion, figuratively speaking. (And obviously the question of letting a non-drow by a drow slave will be a touchy one.) All sorts of other problems, in fact--but I wanted to at least come up with an appropriate ballpark price. :smallwink:

Oh dear... You're quite right about that they could just refuse to sell them the slave. Drow might be cruel, but I really don't think they'd be ready to let some "lower standing races" have one of the "superior breed" as a slave if it wasn't for some extraordinarily cruel punishment.

One way, though, would be for them to either get a proxy to buy her for them (tough beans if she's a valuable slave which she seems to be), preferably by some higher ranking drow if that's available.
The other way would be to blackmail the drow, if not just strong-arming him into selling her, but strong-arming the drow could backfire and just draw the attention of the entire town down upon them.

Muz
2010-05-13, 05:18 PM
One way, though, would be for them to either get a proxy to buy her for them (tough beans if she's a valuable slave which she seems to be), preferably by some higher ranking drow if that's available.
The other way would be to blackmail the drow, if not just strong-arming him into selling her, but strong-arming the drow could backfire and just draw the attention of the entire town down upon them.

*nod* As far as I'm concerned, figuring out the how of it is the party's problem. I just want to make sure I have the general financial value in mind in case I need it (and because I just know someone's going to ask for a gp figure at SOME point). :smallbiggrin:

Greenish
2010-05-13, 05:20 PM
I just want to make sure I have the general financial value in mind in case I need it (and because I just know someone's going to ask for a gp figure at SOME point).Probably when they'll try to resell her.

Johel
2010-05-13, 05:22 PM
Thanks for the plethora of answers--this helps my thinking and plotting.

Just to toss a little more fuel onto the fire, I should also mention that this particular city is a drow city, and this particular slave is, also, a drow (lacking in a house, sold into slavery, etc.). The PCs are NOT drow, and found their way into the city via magical means. The fact that they're even in this particular bazaar indicates to those drow (and others) there that they belong there, or else they wouldn't have gotten that far in the first place. So they'll have to be verrrry very careful.

It could all go up in a massive explosion, figuratively speaking. (And obviously the question of letting a non-drow by a drow slave will be a touchy one.) All sorts of other problems, in fact--but I wanted to at least come up with an appropriate ballpark price. :smallwink:

...Wow.
Ok, dude.

Given the typical racist stance of Drows toward other races, your adventurers are indeed more likely to end up joining the slave rather than freeing her.

Just keep in mind that there are very little "laws" among the Drows. "Not seen, not caught" is pretty much the only rule. So, if the owner is not from a major House, just slip a dagger between his shoulder blade. That's the locally accepted form of a "hostile takeover". Just don't let any witness... this includes the slaves.

Milskidasith
2010-05-13, 05:28 PM
I didn't ask if you would find that conclusion satisfying - because I don't care.

You asked if the players would find it satisfying to know that they could buy her freedom for pocket change. In my opinion, they would. Do you want me to actually quote you when you said that?


The self-important mindset of generic high-level adventurers is irrelevant, as are assumptions about the setting's economics, or metagame knowledge and how it seeps into character decisions like heavy metals from a landfill. No, what I asked, and the question I'm still addressing - which has yet to be reasonably answered - is for these characters, who care enough about a slave girl and the laws to buy her freedom, what would make this act of good enjoyably challenging?

Who says it has to be challenging to be enjoyable? And I'm making reasonable assumptions here; there's either a break in verisimilitude when you can be killing dragons that could kill hundreds of commoners in a single fight without breaking a sweat and yet you have to pay a ton of money for one of said commoners, or a break in verisimilitude where you are asked to do such a thing when even slave labor is more expensive than your efforts. Either way is not satisfying, not for challenge reasons, but simply because it makes the PCs feel worthless; either they're killing badass monsters and they're still complete nobodies, or somehow despite being totally awesome everybody is charging them out the nose for useless people.


Throwing down a handful of gold is awfully anti-climactic if the players have a lot at invested in the resolution. It's like bursting into the lair of the BBEG, armed, buffed, and shouting your declaration to end his reign - and the old wizard has a heart attack because you startled him. The means to solve a problem should match what's at stake, and the rules serve as a guideline to that end.

Similes are great and all, but this one really doesn't make sense. Toppling regimes is *supposed* to be what they are doing at high levels, so having the guy die of a heart attack is anti climactic. However, freeing a common slave is *not* something that makes an epic narrative, giant quest for more loot than she could possibly work in a reasonable setting notwithstanding. The concept of the owner being offended you asked to buy her is a much better one if you want to inhibit your players ability to do things, and more reasonable, but asking your players to pay far more than a slave could ever be worth is not reasonable.


A good story does have verisimilitude - that is, events and conflicts that parallel what we expect life to be like, in a rewarding way. How do you know the slave's owner isn't ridiculously wealthy, and how do you know the price would be reasonable? How do you know the slave's owner wouldn't demand an exorbitant fee from adventurers physically encumbered by all their liquid assets? If this is a challenge that matters, it ought to be difficult to overcome - the same as freeing the girl might. So a flat number isn't the right answer to the question, because in this case, worth is directly proportional to what's at stake.

Sure, he could be completely unreasonable for no reason, but that's *also* unsatisfying, because it feels like railroading. "You can only buy the bike for 1,000,000,000 poke or the coupon at the end of the yacht" is basically what that is, to use an example from pokemon.


This, however, is a much better reasoning for an insignificant cost:

Agreed. That is something that would make sense.

Catch
2010-05-13, 06:13 PM
You asked if the players would find it satisfying to know that they could buy her freedom for pocket change. In my opinion, they would.

I was asking more about the players' perspective and you seemed to be arguing from a hypothetical ideal. The OP has elaborated on the situation, so I'd rather work with that. I've also eaten, so I'm less snarky now.



Who says it has to be challenging to be enjoyable? And I'm making reasonable assumptions here; there's either a break in verisimilitude when you can be killing dragons that could kill hundreds of commoners in a single fight without breaking a sweat and yet you have to pay a ton of money for one of said commoners, or a break in verisimilitude where you are asked to do such a thing when even slave labor is more expensive than your efforts. Either way is not satisfying, not for challenge reasons, but simply because it makes the PCs feel worthless; either they're killing badass monsters and they're still complete nobodies, or somehow despite being totally awesome everybody is charging them out the nose for useless people.

Similes are great and all, but this one really doesn't make sense. Toppling regimes is *supposed* to be what they are doing at high levels, so having the guy die of a heart attack is anti climactic. However, freeing a common slave is *not* something that makes an epic narrative, giant quest for more loot than she could possibly work in a reasonable setting notwithstanding. The concept of the owner being offended you asked to buy her is a much better one if you want to inhibit your players ability to do things, and more reasonable, but asking your players to pay far more than a slave could ever be worth is not reasonable.

Sure, he could be completely unreasonable for no reason, but that's *also* unsatisfying, because it feels like railroading. "You can only buy the bike for 1,000,000,000 poke or the coupon at the end of the yacht" is basically what that is, to use an example from pokemon.

You seem to think I meant for the girl to be worth an exorbitant king's ransom just to make things difficult on the players, who are assumed to be high-level badasses with portable holes stuffed with gold, and must trudge off into an epic adventure to afford a trivial good deed. Of course that would be stupid, un-fun, and not at all realistic. You're right on that.

But that's not what I'm suggesting, so let me be clear. I'm suggesting a cost that makes the act of buying a slave her freedom "feel" worth it. If it's a handful of gold the players might give to a beggar, it's a trivial act. However, if they players can earn a weighty sum of gold (or better yet, retrieve a magic item) for the greedy slave owner, it's not a casual gesture, but a quest. I wanted to furnish an opportunity for a plot hook, not rob gold from the players on a silly errand. That wouldn't be fun.

Also, admittedly, I was thinking of a adventure for low-level players. For plane-shifting dragon-killing characters, it wouldn't be appropriate.

Anxe
2010-05-13, 07:34 PM
The method I use is the one detailed in the Kingdom's of Kalamar Player's Guide if you wish to check that out. If you want to come up with you own method you should remember that a slave in ancient times was rather similar to the ownership of a car in modern times. You can use that as a guideline for price. I'm not sure what the exact GP to USD ratio would be, but I've heard that it's around 1GP=10USD.

Noedig
2010-05-13, 07:41 PM
The cost of slaves in the campaign im currently playing is based on region, local economy and numerous other variables but Ill go with the most stable, i.e. one that does not change in price/availability.

Skullport has the most stable slave economy I've found in the areas of the multiverse in which I roam. Standard race unskilled slaves run at 25gp/slave, with up to an extra 20gp based on various races. Humans are cheapest at 25gp, Halflings and gnomes at 30gp, dwarves at 35gp, half-orcs at 40, and elves at 45gp.

Unskilled non-standard races like tieflings, assamir(spelling?), full blood orcs, and the like are about double the standard unskilled costs, so 50gp to 90gp.

Standard race slaves with ranks in Craft(x), Profession(x), Perform(x) are four times the unskilled price, with an added cost based on level of expertise. A dwarf with 5 ranks in Craft(weapons) is 160gp, plus an additional 200gp because he has 5 ranks.

The x4 price to skilled non-standard races is on top of the already doubled price, and subject to increase based on level of expertise. This pattern continues to repeat. (ex. Instead of 35gp, 70gp*4+200gp=480gp)

Standard race slaves with ranks in the Knowledge skills are 6x the unskilled cost and subject to increase based on skill level.

The same logic applies to non-standard races.

Slaves with class levels are the most expensive costing 8x times the unskilled price plus an additional cost based on class and level. Breakdown as follows:

Wizard= *8 for having class level, *5 for class, * cumulative 1 for every level
Sorcerer= Same as above, *4 for class, same as above
Cleric= "", *4 for class, ""
Bard= "",*3 for class, ""

Fighter= "", *4 for class, ""
Rogue= "", *6 for class, ""
Monk= "", *4 for class, ""
Barbarian= "", *3 for class, ""

I hope that helps.

Devils_Advocate
2010-05-14, 01:49 PM
If they don't try to defy the system, then they are but hypocrites.
Well, buying slaves does have a way of supporting the slave trade, whatever you do with them. But someone can want to free one particular slave without opposing slavery in general. I don't see anything hypocritical about that.


Everything I said was related to the telling of a good story
FYI, some people regard contrived problems as a mark of bad storytelling. Perhaps they're not quite so unpopular as contrived solutions, but still. In general, it is preferable for events to appear to flow naturally from the characters and the setting and not to cause characters to exclaim "If this were played upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction". :smalltongue: The exception is in comedy, where you can even get some mileage out of cranking the implausibility up to entirely absurd levels.


If this is a challenge that matters, it ought to be difficult to overcome
:smallconfused: A challenging task is necessarily difficult to accomplish; that's what a challenge is. The question is whether this should be made into a challenge or not, and to what degree.


I was asking more about the players' perspective and you seemed to be arguing from a hypothetical ideal.
:smallconfused: You and Milskidasith were both talking about what players would enjoy, and neither one of you actually knows the preferences of the players in the group under discussion. This reads like you think that Muz's players would rather have their characters be challenged than capable, and thus that speculation regarding the opposite preference is counterfactual in nature. But, of course, you have no basis for that assumption, so it too is a "hypothetical ideal". You just appear to assume that you somehow know "the players' perspective", for some reason.


You seem to think I meant for the girl to be worth an exorbitant king's ransom just to make things difficult on the players
That's precisely what you suggested: choosing a high price purely to challenge the players. And after denying that you're suggesting that, you go on to continue to endorse doing so.


I'm suggesting a cost that makes the act of buying a slave her freedom "feel" worth it.
I would call an exchange "worth it" if the benefits exceed the costs. Since you're talking about increasing the costs, it seems that you must be using the phrase to mean something different here, but I'm unsure what.


If it's a handful of gold the players might give to a beggar, it's a trivial act. However, if they players can earn a weighty sum of gold (or better yet, retrieve a magic item) for the greedy slave owner, it's not a casual gesture, but a quest. I wanted to furnish an opportunity for a plot hook, not rob gold from the players on a silly errand. That wouldn't be fun.
Whether something is a fun plot hook (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0211.html) or a silly errand (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0134.html) is a matter of player perspective. What you're saying amounts to "Make it hard for the characters to do what they want to do, but have the players react positively to that, not negatively." That seems like less than useful advice for the vast majority of DMs, who do not have mutant superpowers which allow them to control their players' emotions directly.

Altair_the_Vexed
2010-05-14, 03:39 PM
on the conterary. silver is worth ALOT more in Conans world. (gold as well)
simple economics.
does not compute.

Yes - but at the same time, the Conan milieu is one where slaves are cheaper than livestock. A good horse is worth much more in the Conan setting than even a fine slave.

Most important for the OP is how common, and how low slaves are considered in the society of their setting.
Noedig just posted some costing guidelines. Seems to me that this slave is an expert on local matters (serving as a guide), is of an elven race... You've made up your own maths for this, Noedig. You can work it out.