[Freeport] Slaves and the Flesh Market

[MacBin]

I saw a reference to a "Flesh Market" in Pirates Guide to Freeport but no entry in the ToC or the Index. Is there any more info on this?

Also, does anyone have a recommendation for how much a slave would be worth? I'm thinking somewhere between 25-100gp, depending on quality of the slave (i.e. small boy vs elven female).

[RJS]

Technically flesh markets don't exist in Freeport as it's one of the big no-no's. In fact, slavery was a big part of the Back Alley wars. Still, you can bet Mazin slavers have a presence in the city and the flesh trade probably operates, but only in the Black Mark or other, seedier, underground trade centers.

As for price, I might up them due to the trouble of getting a slave in FP to 100 gp for a child, more for a properly broken adult, even more for a properly broken elven adult--nice lips and all that.

[timemrick]

I did a quick web search for "d20 slave prices", and found the following in an EN World thread from 2003:

Off the top of my head I can't remember the exact reasoning we used to get the 75-150gp figure in the FRCS, but it's based on the average pay of a common laborer: 1 sp.

I think it went something like this:

You own a slave for a year, that's 365 days of work, or effectively 36.5 gp worth of money you've saved by owning a slave instead of hiring a peasant. For two years, that's 73 gp worth of work. Now, you have to subtract a slight amount from that "mony saved" value because you have to provide food, clothing, and shelter for them (things they would provide for themselves if they were employees instead of slaves).

Depending upon how you treat the slave they may live for only a few years or more than twenty. Setting the slave price at 75-150 gp is a good range, is simple, and prevents people being worth less than a longsword (15 gp) or work animal (light horse, 75 gp) while not making them so expensive that only the most rich people can afford them.

That 1 sp/day matches the "untrained hireling" wage given in the Freeport Companions; a "trained hireling" costs 3 sp/day. Whores are trickier, because their wages are hourly (1 cp, sp, gp, or pp, depending on quality), but all but the worst would probably fetch at least as much as a "trained hireling".

[Set]

Plot & Poison has a list of slave prices for the Drow, but the prices are based on how the Drow think of them, from 5-10 gp for a Kobold or Goblin (who are regarded as mostly useless, target practice, etc) to 600-800 gp for an Ettin or Athach.

Humans are listed at 50 gp.

Appearance, skills, physical condition and background (recent capture? born into slavery?) will also play a part. An Expert with some useful skills, or an Adept or other spellcaster, will likely be able to pay for itself much faster than a Commoner with no useful Profession or Craft skills.

[MacBin]

Technically flesh markets don't exist in Freeport as it's one of the big no-no's.

That much I did glean from the book, but the Freeport I use in my campaign is decidedly different. http://www.greenronin.com/phpBB2/viewto ... ght=#71656

Thanks for the responses, everyone. Between this thread and ENworld and Gleemax, I have an excellent idea of how to handle this.

I'm thinking anywhere from 100-500gp or more is good for a decent, useful slave.