Slave Prices in Ancient Tevinter

Fenris: I didn't realize you were in the market for a slave.  Hawke: A.) I will pay her.  B.) Slaves are useful.

In our first tabletop session of Dragon Age, the questions came up: How much would a single slave cost?  Could someone who is not a noble afford one, if they were so inclined?  Since it was a serious inquiry on behalf of the player character, I looked into it at the first opportunity.  A search of the wiki brought up nothing when it came to actual pricing.  A search of the internet came up with an old thread on the now defunct BioWare forums (I had to use the WayBackMachine to read it).  The thread was mostly full of bickering, with very little discussion of the economic aspects.  

I am still getting a handle on the currency and value system in Thedas, so I started asking around on RPG.net, the Green Ronin forums, and a Dragon Age group of Facebook.  I was curious to know what people would use to establish a baseline price.  Some folks turned to historical figures from the real world, which is understandable.  Others turned to the value of other types of property in Dragon Age, such as magic items or horses.  Some referred to the video games, while others referred to food and lodging costs in the tabletop core book.  All in all, I was glad and proud to see folks taking the question as an academic, fictional exercise.  Nobody got nasty or pointed fingers.  The conversations stayed adult and helped give me a lot of food for thought.

I am no stranger to gameifying slave costs for a tabletop campaign.  I had to do it for D&D years ago, but I was much more familiar with the monetary system and values at play.  I am also working in a historical period set well before any of the video games or novels, during a time when slavery in Thedas was the norm and not done on the sly.  While I don't want to deal with complex formulas and every possible variable, I do want some variation based on a few factors.  So I went back to my chart for D&D and started fiddling with it, adjusting it for the races, classes, and stats of Thedas.  

I decided against trying to fall in line with real world historical precedents and to stick with the game's setting, instead.  There are too many societies that have had slaves and too many variations in the prices in the historical record.  From there, it seemed best to start with the basic wage a day laborer would earn as a baseline figure.  The cost for a meal and a stay at the cheapest inn is 10 cp, so that seemed like a reasonable daily wage.  Based on a suggestion on RPG.net, an average day laboring slave would cost 600 days' worth of the daily wage at the time.  In Thedas, this means the slave would be paid off and begin to generate profit after about two years (and would start at a price of about 60 sp).

In ancient Tevinter, I've already established a few things: First, dwarves are never sold as slaves by the empire, not even the casteless.  That is due to their rock-solid dealings with the dwarven kingdoms (and the dwarves' desire to keep the casteless close by and desperate enough to do their dirty work).  Secondly, mages are not sold as slaves, period.  If they are punished with servitude for some kind of wrongdoing, they are placed under the control of a senior mage, but no mage is sold out of fear of what the local Circle would do.  Elven mages are slain immediately upon discovery.  That eliminates some basic choices but leaves plenty to work with. 

In a previous post, I established that the entire elven race is kept in bondage.  They alone cannot earn freedom after a period of service or have it bestowed upon them by a master's death.  Any elf born is an elf raised in slavery.  While this is grim for the elves, it also reduces their overall value since they are far more plentiful as slave stock than humans.  The Qunari haven't made a real appearance yet in 800 TE, so they are not available.  And since humans can be sold for terms of indentured servitude that will end, that will also have to be accounted for, since they will eventually have to be replaced.  Based on all of the above, I have come up with the following:

Race	Base Price	Classes	Base Price	Level	Multiplier
Dwarf	-----	Mage	------	1	-----
Elf	15 sp	Rogue	20 sp	2	x2
Human	30 sp	Warrior	30 sp	3	x3
Qunari	------	NPC Combat	15 sp	4	x4
		NPC Non-combat	10 sp	5	x5

The base price is established by adding the cost for race to the cost for class and then multiplying by the slave's level.  Then, that figure is adjusted based on the slave's stats, age, and term of service (for humans).

Statistics	Adjustment	Age and Adjustment	Human Adjustments
Weak -2	Subtract 30 - 50%	Child: -5 to 20%	Permanent slavery: +50%
Slow -1	Subtract 10 - 20%	Adult: no change	Term of service (less than 10 yrs.): -20%
Average 0	No adjustment	Middle aged: no change	Term of service (more than 10 yrs.): -10%
Gifted +1 - +2	Add 10 - 20%	Old: -25%
Exceptional +3 and up	Add 30%, + 10% per point above 3	Venerable: -50%

Some institutions or individuals are so wealthy that they can afford to buy slaves in bulk.  Generally speaking, a lot of slaves is assembled from a group of people with below average and average statistics.  Most lots are made up of the same type of slave, from one race and one class, at first level.  Individuals with player character classes are not usually included in bulk sales.  When purchased in large lots at once, the price for all of the slaves is totaled and then reduced as follows:

50 slaves = 5%  
100 slaves = 10%  
200 slaves = 15%
300 slaves = 20%
500 slaves = 25%
1000 slaves = 30%

Last but not least, Investigating the seller(s) and market ahead of time with a successful Cunning: Evaluation or Research test could grant a small bonus to the haggling check.  The final deal is sealed with a Communication: Bargaining test to try to reduce the final price one more time.  Communication: Deception or Persuasion tests or a Strength: Intimidation test might be substituted, instead.

For most Soporati citizens of Tevinter, it is not worth the upfront price or the extended risks to own slaves.  It is easier to hire voluntary workers when and if they need them.  Likewise, it should be noted that some citizens would rather not own people and find slavery less than palatable in their daily lives.  As a way of repaying crimes, it is acceptable to most; beyond that, many are glad not to participate directly.  A few of the lower class will purchase individual slaves as status symbols or as a kind of family heirloom (or even out of hidden affection or a desire to make sure they are treated well enough), but they are not the norm.

Hopefully this guide will provide enough variation without being overwhelming, and can be easily altered for other historic periods or conditions, if anyone needs prices for their games.  

Please keep in mind that this is entirely fictional and is not meant to advocate for slavery, past, present, or future, in any way.