Base Requirements

• Races: Any
• Sub-Classes: Any Warrior
• Ability Requirements: none
• Alignments: Any
• Starting Cash: 1d4 x10gp

Weapon Proficiencies

• Weapon Slots: -1 slot
• Bonus Weapon Proficiencies: none
• Required Weapon Proficiencies: Any polearm, Any sword
• Allowed Weapons: By class
• Allowed Armors: By class

Non-Weapon Proficiencies:

• Non-weapon Slots: By class
• Available Categories: By class
• Bonus Non-weapon Proficiencies: Bureaucracy, Endurance, Heraldry
• Required Proficiencies: none
• Recommended Proficiencies: Animal Handling, Animal Training, Artistic Ability, Armorer, Awareness, Blind-Fighting, Charioteering, Display Weapon Prowess, Engineering, Etiquette, Gaming, Land-based Riding, Literacy, Local History, Modern Languages, Reading Lips, Religion, Running, Singing, Stonemasonry, Survival, Swimming, Weaponsmithing
• Forbidden Proficiencies: none

Overview: Thay is the nation most infamous in these days for its practice of slavery, though the slave trade is known to exist in Calimshan, Amn, the Vilhon Reach, the Moonsea, the Pirate Isles of the Sea of Fallen Stars, Mulhorand, the Underdark, and other countries, often secretly. Tens of thousands of humanoids are captured and enslaved every year, and every year some escape their torment, entering the free areas of the Realms with few skills or possessions except a terrible desire to forevermore be free. Slaves appear in any area adjacent to a realm that permits slavery. The former slave might have been recently captured and thus able to return home, or he might have been born among slaves and thus have no outside homeland.

Many of the wealthy houses of Mulhorand, Calimshan, and Thay (among others) field a force of armed guards to protect their properties and caravans. Almost all of these forces include fanatical slave warriors—people born into slavery and raised from a very early age to be loyal body-guards and enforcers.

It is from these highly-trained slaves that the slave warrior is drawn. From early childhood, he has survived a brutal regime of exercise, training, and indoctrination designed to make him into a mindless killing machine who would sacrifice his own life for the sake of his owners. Almost all slave warriors are visibly branded or tattooed with the emblem of their owning houses. They are the only slaves who are ever permitted to carry weapons.

Description: Slaves are generally forbidden to cut their hair, wear-elaborate or expensive clothing, or own any thing at all; whatever they have can be taken away from them in a second. They normally appear downcast and passive, rarely looking up at their supervisors or owners. A newly escaped ex-slave is likely to have only rags for clothing, a single weapon, and (if lucky) a sack with food, tools, and other minor items.

A slave who has escaped his captivity might cut his hair, buying and wearing the brightest and best clothing possible to show off his new freedom, or he might conceal his identity and live a low-key life to avoid attracting any unwanted attention.

Role-Playing: An intelligent slave-labor force, slave warriors keep the militia and government moving forward. In the countries they serve, they are regarded as the main support of civilization. That is not to say that all individual slave warriors are held in high regard. But some do gain sufficient power and prestige after proving themselves to be capable leaders and warriors. Outstanding slave warriors are visibly rewarded, and set a goal for all other members of the force. Outside the nations in which they are common, slave warriors are treated at best as curiosities, at worst as agents of the powers they represent, or as examples of horrid slave practices.

Adventuring slave warriors may have simply escaped or else do so under the orders of their masters. Of course, escaped characters must always watch for slavers, bounty hunters, or even their fellow slaves. A freed slave-warrior (a very rare thing indeed) will often be mistaken for escapees and attacked as well. In either case, the fugitive slave warrior no longer has the resources and wealth of a noble or merchant house to aid him.

Knowledge of the slave’s former masters and “home” is critical to good role-playing and developing good adventures. A slave’s first priority is to keep his freedom. This may mean flight and hiding in disguise for life, or it may mean hunting down and killing everyone who would imprison him again. He is willing to gain new friends and allies but is always wary in case one decides to turn him over to his former owner again for any reward offered.

A newly escaped slave is not likely to have any ability to read or write, nor any hands-on knowledge of how to save money, conduct a business, buy items at a shop, etc., as he was never given the chance to learn this earlier in life. He may be confused and frustrated by his attempts to fit in, and he might be very intimidated by spellcasters if (as in Thay) these beings were his former masters.

Special Abilities:

• From his years of grueling enslavement, work, punishment, and training, a slave warrior has a better chance to resist pain and stress. He gains a +3 bonus to his starting Health and Stamina scores.
• Once per day, a slave warrior may summon all his willpower and channel it into a sudden burst of energy that raises his Muscle score by 3 points for as many rounds as he has levels. This may occur during combat, when attempting to bend bars or lift gates, or under any other circumstance when strength is needed.
• A slave warrior can survive on a minimum of food and water each day, half the amount anyone else of his race uses. He quickly develops better eating habits but in emergencies survives with little food.
• A slave warrior must choose to be either a current slave or a fugitive.
  • A fugitive slave gains with a +4 bonus to all saving throws vs. wizard spells from the enchantment/charm school and priest spells from the Charm sphere. If placed under any form of charm spell, a slave warrior makes new saving throws against the spell as if his Intellgence was 3 points higher, shortening the time between checks. He gains his +4 bonus vs. enchantment/charm spells on new rolls.
  • A slave warrior who is still a slave is assumed to be adventuring under the orders of his master. He is expected to follow orders from his master to the letter, but in exchange has his food and board payed for and starts with a free suit of Scale Mail armor, one sword (player’s choice), and one polearm (player’s choice).

Special Disadvantages:

• Slave-warriors have lived as slaves all their lives and suffer a -3 reaction penalty in dealing with non-slave civilized characters. Escaped characters are suspicious and paranoid, and even legitimately freed characters still carry the social stigma of a slave’s birth.
• While they are highly trained, slave warriors must abide by the regimen set for them. Slave warriors may not gain weapon specialization or fighting style specialization during initial character creation. After initial character creation, he may use his weapon proficiencies however he chooses.
• A runaway slave may be hunted by his former owner with the aid of bounty hunters and assassins. This hunting can go on for years, until his former owner and anyone else with an interest in him dies. The punishment for escaping slavery is nearly always death.
• A Slave Warrior who is legally freed is, by definition, not a slave and loses all benefits and hindrances of this kit save for his weapon and non-weapon proficiencies, and the increases to his Health and Stamina.

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