The Slave Market

The Slave Market involves highly organized and profitable enterprises that deal in the trade and exploitation of slaves; fueled by greed and a disregard of marginalized races. Though the practice originated long ago, the modern slave empires all trace back to the four major Slave Lords of the Immortal Order. Many malicious entities participate in the trade, serving the larger forces at play, and operating behind the scenes with tacit acceptance.

The Slave Market preserves and exploits social dynamics and prejudices against the marginalized races, and spreads any misinformation necessary to deflect from their operations. Critics that speak out too loudly against them might find themselves facing fabricated scandals, legal troubles, or even violence.

The Slave Empires

There are four main slave empires, each operated by one of the major Slave Lords of the Immortal Order:

Prince Xavier runs the largest and oldest slave empire throughout all of Ambros, focusing exclusively on Beastkin slaves. Though Xavier has not overseen any plantations himself for a few centuries, he controls a vast network of nobles that handle the operations for him. Varga's territory is heavily targeted by slavers that serve beneath Xavier's umbrella.

Prince Salamir runs a vast slave empire that focuses primarily on Orcs and Ogres. His network operates throughout the Goldcoast, exploiting debts and offering Crucible wagers to foolish Orcs and Ogres who are willing to risk enslavement over a chance at a high-paying job. The occasional victor is paraded around and celebrated, helping to encourage more of their kind to gamble their lives away.

Prince Dannon is a Pirate Lord that uses his naval fleets to harass merchants that don't pay his tolls, and to purchase criminals from any noble house that wants undesirables taken away from their territory.

Prince Shaw is the Market Lord of Eldara. Among his many business ventures, he operates the slave trade throughout the Silven territories. Most of his slaves were citizens that couldn't pay their debts, though captured Kobolds also represent a large percent.

Slave Acquisition

The Market employs three primary methods for slave acquisitions: capture, debt exploitation, and purchasing criminals.

Capturing slaves involves teams of trained mercenaries operating in hostile territories, trapping vulnerable targets and returning them to a jurisdiction where their enslavement is legal. Operational secrecy is paramount: compartmentalized information, dirty tactics, and meticulous disposal of evidence to protect their interests.

Debt exploitation is achieved when noble houses manipulate individuals into crippling debt, then seize them as slaves upon default. This tactic is quite effective against marginalized communities in remote regions, which face economic hardships due to suppression of opportunity.

Finally, many nobles choose to sell off criminals to slavers, rather than handling the burden of imprisonment themselves. Some nobles also maintain laws that make it easier to arrest and convict the marginalized races.

Control and Enforcement

Techniques such as isolation and psychological torture are regularly used to break the will of slaves and keep them silent about their origins. Captors will threaten slaves with the death of their loved ones or being sold on the black market if they disobey or reveal what happened to them. These fears quell most defiance. Slaves that show even minor indications of rebellion are quickly "disappeared" into a darker market that little is known about, after which brutal force may be used against loved ones as a reminder for others to remain submissive.

Slaves are abused or tortured for disobedience, but rewarded for revealing information about other troublemakers; establishing an environment of mistrust and social rifts. They are often branded and given collars or physical restraints, serving as a visible reminder of their status and a deterrent to escape. It is often impossible for escaped slaves to safely reintegrate into society without legal documentation and an infrastructure of support, making most attempts to escape futile.

Most slaves wear mundane (non-magical) collars that allow them to be quickly identified or shackled, but a rare few are given magical slave collars. Such slaves are generally much more important, or in environments at higher risk of their escape; such as when escorting their masters through cities. On plantations where there are overseers, defenses, and little to no chance of escape, there's no reason to spend the exorbitant costs on magic collars.

Most nobles involved in the slave trade are afforded plenty of legal protections in their own domains. In rare cases where their crews break the universal laws, they vehemently deny any knowledge and sever ties with the associated parties.

Operations

The noble families involved in the slave trade make high-level decisions, coordinate operations, and manage finances. Brokers manage the day-to-day operations, including procurement, transportation, and sales. They often have extensive networks of contacts and are skilled negotiators. Handlers are responsible for the intake of newly acquired slaves, training them, and ensuring their training and obedience before sale.

Reavers are outsourced contractors and mercenaries with "disposable" aliases, operating under false pretenses to make it difficult to track them down. They operate through cutouts and dead drops, hiring mercenaries for illegal work. They rarely, if ever, meet directly with superiors. Their purpose is to maintain anonymity, cover their tracks, and insulate the higher-ups from any legal or social complications. Their own disposability is on the line, so it is in their best interest to keep operations a secret.