Slavery is still practiced around Runeterra, right?

darkdill·Jun 3, 2016·4 votes·1,398 views

It'd be interesting to see how slavers are organized, who they sell said slaves to, etc. I mean, Azir DID want to free the slaves of Shurima, but his decree never made it out of the city before Xerath blew it up.

I'd love to see an eventual major character (and possible Champion) who makes a living as a slaver and would openly oppose those who want to abolish it. Personally, I'd not have his reasons be about profit, but more about the satisfaction of breaking someone to his will.

13 Comments

SharjoJun 3, 20161 votes

Presumably yes, considering Alistar was, until recently, a slave of the arena. Where exactly we dunno, but I'd imagine such practices are common in Noxian claimed territories and in Shurima, depending on the situation. I'm more inclined to believe it's more common in Shurima though, considering I can see some Noxians looking down on slavery as it being a really pathetic way for people to try and make themselves seem strong and powerful. Dunno really.

The thing about slavery is that realistically, any nation could have slavery ongoing, but the nations themselves might have varying views. I can imagine slavery in Demacia being a thing, but very underground and far away from the capital. Likewise I can see it potentially being a thing in Ionia that, with enough covering up, no one would even expect given how that society operates, and revelations about such things would be a massive shock. It all really comes down to the individuals and in Runeterra, I can see people existing who would enslave others coming from every corner of that world.

Lazypeon100Jun 3, 20161 votes

That's a good point about Alistar. I had forgotten about him.

Warlord DienekesJun 3, 20161 votes

I can see debt slavery being popular in Demacia. It seems like a place that would have harsh punishments for failure to uphold oaths and pay those you owe.

Tesla EffectJun 3, 20161 votes

[{quoted}](name=Warlord Dienekes,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=eAoh5TaM,comment-id=00000001,timestamp=2016-06-03T18:17:52.468+0000)

I can see debt slavery being popular in Demacia. It seems like a place that would have harsh punishments for failure to uphold oaths and pay those you owe.

More like they kill you through public executions like burn you on the stakes for failure in society.

darkdillJun 3, 20161 votes

I'd imagine the gallows would be more effective, as the sight of a hanging corpse is a very good reminder to obey the law.

Warlord DienekesJun 3, 20161 votes

I dunno gross dereliction of duty like we see with Taric was just punished with an impossible task and the understanding that all it means is exile.

Considering that the current punishment in the US military is a minimum of court-martial with a possible a lot of prison time or a death sentence if the crime was bad enough and Taric seems to be a repeat offender his sentence doesn't seem too far off our modern views of punishment just a strange archaic.

In any case, while the death penalty for debt may be in the cards of what Riot wants to have Demacia behave like, it does seem several steps more severe than the only other example we have for a much worse crime.

Tesla EffectJun 3, 20161 votes

[{quoted}](name=Warlord Dienekes,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=eAoh5TaM,comment-id=0000000100000001,timestamp=2016-06-03T18:33:10.890+0000)

I dunno gross dereliction of duty like we see with Taric was just punished with an impossible task and the understanding that all it means is exile.

Considering that the current punishment in the US military is a minimum of court-martial with a possible a lot of prison time or a death sentence if the crime was bad enough and Taric seems to be a repeat offender his sentence doesn't seem too far off our modern views of punishment just a strange archaic.

In any case, while the death penalty for debt may be in the cards of what Riot wants to have Demacia behave like, it does seem several steps more severe than the only other example we have for a much worse crime.

Demacia is not America, Its late medieval Europe....so a lot of laws are still archaic. Taric was to be executed if his friend Garen didnt think of a suicide-like atonement in the Mountains. Fioras father was to be executed due to cheating.

Warlord DienekesJun 3, 20161 votes

The US laws thing was just a common frame of reference and to point out how serious a crime Taric committed. It was very, very bad.

That said I expect the laws to be archaic. Death penalty for gross dereliction of duty and cheating on duels (I think said duels were to the death at times) that makes total sense for about any medieval culture I could think of. Many also had debt slavery. It's just so far, nothing I've seen from Demacia has been particularly harsh from a historical standpoint. To modern eyes, sure, but really they're not nearly as bad as like the Romans who would have punished Taric with execution then the man that promoted him with execution and/or exile then would have had 90% of the army Taric served under kill the other 10% with clubs.

Ancient laws were brutal, man.

Lazypeon100Jun 3, 20161 votes

I'm not sure, I'd have to look further into it. Wouldn't be surprised if slavery was practiced in some of the more unsavory regions of runeterra. I could see maybe a few in Shutima, though not too many. I could see Noxus having slaves, though it is likely they would just execute people who would have been slaves for being weak.

Places like Demacia or Ionia wouldn't really have slaves.

HelmightJun 3, 20161 votes

Personally, I'd not have his reasons be about profit, but more about the satisfaction of breaking someone to his will.

Thresh Gotchu covered, fam

RebonackJun 3, 20161 votes

Depends on the sort of slavery we're talking about, I guess.

You've got indentured servitude slavery (people selling themselves to pay off a debt or to work), military slavery (taking captives after battles and selling them to support the war effort), and kidnapping slavery (grabbing free people and selling them as slaves). That last one was typically seen as being bad. Kidnapping was frowned on or outlawed in most ancient civilizations.

Most of the population of the Roman Empire were slaves, but they tended to get some degree of compensation that they could save up and use to buy their freedom to become a Roman citizen. That's one model if you want slavery to be less awful.

Then you have serfs, people who don't own their land but work it. While 'technically' free, they may as well be owned by their feudal lord. We already know Ionia has slavery of this form.

Or the sort of cast-like slavery you had in the Americas, where you were a slave along with all of your offspring the end. That seems to be the sort of slavery found in ancient Shurima, where slaves didn't seem to have any rights at all.

And if you want to be SUPER awful, you can go with Arab-style slavery where the men were castrated and the women were very not castrated. Thankfully Runeterra doesn't have this form of slavery going on to my knowledge.

Then of course there are various systems of 'totally not slavery' like people in company housing in debt to company stores. I can see something like that happening in Zaun/Piltover.

RogueWillJun 3, 20161 votes

Well.... isn't Alistar a freed slave?

Warlord DienekesJun 3, 20161 votes

Eh, unless they've reached a point where magic or tech replaces a majority of unbalanced labor there will always be a group of slave or slave-like institutions. Serfdom, debt slavery, indentured servitude, helotism, whatever name they want to call it.

That said, I don't think we'll really see it come up unless it becomes important to the plot.

I don't think we'll see a situation like Daenarys trying to free the slaves and end up ruining the economy of an entire continent like we see in asoiaf, for example. Which might be for the best, while I know I am very interested in country and economic development (far more than I am in a majority of the champion's stories, to be honest) I don't think that's what the writing of a game will really focus on. Or should. Considering the purpose of the writing is focused on the champions and their inter-relation. The draw has always been "these are the stories of the champions you've been playing." Which is fine. Trying to explain a coherent setting with the level of technological variance and ridiculously powerful magics wandering around seems like an exercise in futility.