Oh. I thought that ironic slavery was either a) something that does not exist in any way
b) some theater owners or shareholders acting in their own playhouse in the roles of slaves - they are paying themselves to act as slaves, from proceeds from paying public. Something something irony.
The stuff @ToA informed me about sounds like low tier mass manufactured* crap** and... Hmm, ethically weak? Ethically dumb? Eh. Let's go with "fucked up in a stupid way"
* Shat out (if you'll excuse the crudeness)
** Please see the reference for '*'
Is there any Iaekai that is, you know, good? When I first heard of it I was interested, but that didn't last long .
Some of the labels of the smaller links/channels can be a bit hard to read on your phone? Or maybe the person vomiting has a highly 'allerigic' reaction to belief.
It is not the sea that grows crowded first with the gathering hosts of your expedition to Yi Ti, for ships are slow even with the most skillful crews, nor yet the shore for in the bustle of Sorcerer's Deep. Who is to know what is preparation for the great journey eastwards and what is the rustle of trade and the clink of coin that serves as the city's everyday lifeblood?
No, it is the sky that plays host to the first gathering strange and wondrous enough to draw even the most jaded eye heavenwards, false ravens by the score dart about delivering messages, or perhaps merely peeking into the corners to satisfy their endless curiosity. Wyrmlings wrought of metal and magic circle each other in complex areal dances that trail smoke and lightning, vitriol and frost, seemingly for no other reason than the acclamation of whoever cares to look up.
That is not to say that any who would care to look to the waves and not the skies would witness a sight any less wondrous. There are tritons gathering of course, warriors bearing dragonglass spears and traders with strings of dolphins following in their wake... but also something else, something far larger. A pair of manta rays burn the waves from blue-grey to deep green. At first sight it is hard to understand how something so enormous can even be alive. The otherwise delicate looking creatures are over seventy feet long, dwarfing even the greatest of your dragon shapes.
"Excellent work, Vee," you congratulate the girl who had come down to the city to see the great swimmers float into the harbor and the nimble darkenbeast find their wings. "I would give you a royal commendation for it if I didn't know you would take having to sit around in court as a punishment."
She snorts in amusement: "Damn right I would. If I'm going to have to sit still until my feet ache and my back goes stiff it aught to be for a good reason, like letting the bugs get used to me so I can train them."
"But that is what a court is for, Vee, a way to train nobles to act for the good of the realm rather than only in their own self-interest," you point out.
"I know. Bugs and beasts are nicer about it, though." Though she jests her gaze grows serious. "How do you do it? Stand there and listen to slavers, killers, and fools, and just nod along just because they weren't the worst of their lot?"
"I remind myself that the alternative is complete chaos, and then I remember their children..."
"The children?" Vee asks, confused. "I know you don't wanna kill 'em, and good for you, but what does that have to do with their parents being the scum that rose to the top of the pond?"
"Because if I have my way they will grow up in this new realm we are making, this new future. They will never be slavers, never think to order death or torment on a whim, never to wage war and trample fields over some petty slight, and the magisters who live now, they will be gone, no less dead for having perished in bed draped in silken sheets."
The girl nods. "You're thinking like a dragon."
An instinctive denial rises to your lips, then dies before it is spoken. Ever since you first understood the nature of the first dragons you had associated them with the darkest passions of your heart, with wrath, with greed, and the lust for power, with madness, but Vee's comment is about none of those things but simple longevity. For all you seem to be rushing from place to place and task to task each and every day you also have time, more of it than any man and woman now living, time enough to see the magisters die in their sleep and mold their children and grandchildren. For a moment, gazing down the long parade of years stretching on to the horizon, you are almost overwhelmed. Then you remember one undeniable fact of your life, you are not alone.
"...so do you want it or not?" you catch the latter half of Vee's question. She raises an eyebrow. "You know, for someone who can hear a cricket chirp a hundred yards away you sure do miss a lot."
"Yes, Vee, I would very much like the report from Mosshold," you answer with a smile, guessing what she likely would have asked you.
She tips her head to the side, unconvinced, but reports on the expansion of numbers and training.
Training level: Untamed, no resources invested Young: 2+ 2d2---> 2+3 = 5 (Will mature in 6 months)
"If you're thinking of gathering knights to show off at this festival you could do worse than having them swear to you for a hippogriff," Vee concludes. "They need proper bonded riders and my trainers are too damn busy to be it. It's hard enough to find folk to stick with the work." She then mutters something that may or may not include: 'I can grow their arms back.'
You might have to increase the pay for Mosshold beast-tamers.
What do you do next?
[] A day at court
-[] Sitting in judgement
-[] Integrating Myrish and Lyseni institutions into the realm's political organization
-[] Write in
[] Move on to extra-planar trade
-[] Write in
[] Write in
OOC: We have not heard from Vee in a long time. We also have not heard about the menagerie in months so I decided to bite the bullet and overhaul the system like we did with the Scholarum so we could keep proper records. A lot of the above is retroactive growth from all the blood-wished fertility.
[X] A day at court
-[X] Sitting in judgement
--[X] Followed by some well thought out delegation regarding the integration of Myrish and Lyseni institutions into the realm's political organization.
[X] A day at court
-[X] Sitting in judgement
--[X] Followed by some well thought out delegation regarding the integration of Myrish and Lyseni institutions into the realm's political organization.
Pretty much. Besides, we need to learn to do some proper kingly delegation after all.... We have a bad habit of doing something most unseemly for one in our position.... Handling 95% of the problems in our realms personally.
[X] Finish up the summoning of fiends known to you for working on Plane Material (or related to Mammon's operations on PM and not present on the plane itself) with one particular being, one who will be a very cathartic meeting for your apprentice indeed.
-[X] Summon Maelor's father.
This won't take long, won't end the day even, considering that all the summoning but Maelor's dad was done in the background in these 5 days.
(Mythic Power is truly something...)
After that, we could go on with strategic/economic actions easy, I just want to get both a report and his dad earlier, so that we get to summon more in the remaining days of the month. Efficiency!
I didn't recognize it beyond "generic alchemical/mystical stuff". Is it nazi mysticism or something?
Don't ask me! Ask a Pentoshi why he still has bondsmen in 295 AC, and I'm sure he'll come up with something convincing on the spot!
Well, either that or we kill him. Whatever.
All those shitty "DEMON EMPEROR WOHOO" Isekai light novels tend to have slavery all over the place. The main character buys slaves (or "rescues" them from a slightly more evil and sociopathic person and then uses Novel-Stockholm-Syndrome) and inevitably gets a sex slave/harem.
But how can the reader root for a "heroic" slaver and murderhobo?
Ah, well it's ironic/enlightened slavery! He knows he can't change society, but he certainly won't internally accept its behavior, right?
It's also used to about spreading slave/enslavement porn on 4chan.
The only acceptable slavery is, if you have an extremely large budget, and strategically buy slaves in necessary positions, until you cause labor shortages, thereby eventually forcing the government to outlaw slavery, in order to prevent you from tanking their infrastructure, by outbidding other buyers on all skilled slaves.
So basically use ludicrous amounts of money to take all the slaves hostage, thereby causing labor shortages, then make it clear that under no circumstances will you sell, but if they want to pass a law abolishing slavery, you will not fight it.
Or alternatively if there are enough free people doing the jobs, removing the slaves wont cause enough mayhem, you first push the prices up by outbidding everyone, thereby causing the price of a slave to severely increase, and then once slavery is a niche market outside of selling to you, you stop selling slaves causing a market crash, and while the market is defunct, you use the panic to lobby for outlawing slavery.
Of course these plans require ridiculous amounts of money, but they are amongst the few plans, that can justify keeping slaves, they are also ways though many Isekai's could actually do something about slavery, as Isekai's tend to get insanely rich at some point in their story.
Excellent. By the way, @DragonParadox, Skyborn Griffons are great, but it's curious that what should be a rare breed is the only type we've seen. Where are the standard Griffons?
Also @Azel, after Soft Strider finishes dealing with the fey infestation alongside Tyene, we should have her train her Allosaurus mount.
Excellent. By the way, @DragonParadox, Skyborn Griffons are great, but it's curious that what should be a rare breed is the only type we've seen. Where are the standard Griffons?
Also @Azel, after Soft Strider finishes dealing with the fey infestation alongside Tyene, we should have her train her Allosaurus mount.
Viserys' best guess is that normal griffons should be native to the prime material, but they must have died off at some point. On the other hand hippogriffs have been showing up out of the blue so maybe there is hope for griffons too.
Size/Type: Colossal Plant (Aquatic, Augmented) Hit Dice: 12d8+120 (174 HP) Initiative: +2 Speed: Swim 180 ft. AC: 21 (-8 Size, +2 Dex, +17 Natural), Touch 4, Flat-Footed 19 Base Attack +9 Attack: Tail Slap +18 (2d6+25) Space: 30 ft./30 ft. Special Attacks: Spell-like Abilities, Trample (2d8+25, DC 33) Special Qualities: Fast Healing 5, DR 15/Magic, Plant Immunities, SR 17, Blindsense 30 ft., Darkvision 60 ft., Low-light Vision Saves: Fort +18, Ref +6, Will +9 Abilities: Str 44, Dex 15, Con 31, Int 14, Wis 20, Cha 13 Skills:Listen +20, Spot +20, Survival +20, Swim +40; Racial Modifiers +8 Swim Feats:Ability Focus (Sunburst), Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (Entangle), Swim-by-Attack Languages: Aquan, Common, Sylvan Alignment: Neutral
Immunities (Ex): Plant-Imbued Gigantean Manta Rays are immune to mind-effecting affects (Charms, Compulsions, Morale effects, Patterns, and Phantasms), Paralysis, Poison, Polymorph, Sleep, and Stun. They are also Immune to Disease.
Acute Senses (Ex): Plant-Imbued Gigantean Manta Rays can instantly sense anything within 60 feet; they cannot be flanked or surprised and gain Improved Uncanny Dodge as if they possessed rogue levels equal to their Hit Dice. They can also detect invisible foes or opponents in obscuring conditions allowing them to strike without any miss chance.
Trample (Ex): As a Full-Round Action, a Plant-Imbued Gigantean Manta Ray can attempt to Overrun any creature that is Gargantuan-sized or smaller. This works just like the Overruncombat maneuver, but the Plant-Imbued Gigantean Manta Ray does not need to make a check, it merely has to move over opponents in its path. Targets of the Trample suffer 2d8+25 points of damage. Targets of the Trample can attempt a DC 33 Reflex save to take half damage. A Plant-Imbued Gigantean Manta Ray can only deal trampling damage to each target once per round, no matter how many times its movement takes it over a target creature.
