02-10-2012, 03:43 PM
I would just go with a lord-and-vassal system.
It's effectively the same thing.
In a vassal system, your vassals would take care of themselves and pay you taxes which you would then give back to them for specific work you want done. e.g., you have 100 peasants, they pay you 100 gold, you pay the blacksmiths 80 gold for equipment and hire some guards for 20 gold and there you go.
Villagers can be treated pretty much like slaves but you avoid the whole PC issue.
Similarly, you could have "minions" or "followers". I don't recall the Ori from Stargate ever using the term "slave". They just had devoted followers who happily worked for them for free (because if you didn't follow them, they'd smite the hell out of you). The Goa'uld had literal slaves but half of them would have followed anyway because they thought the Goa'uld were gods.
It's effectively the same thing.
In a vassal system, your vassals would take care of themselves and pay you taxes which you would then give back to them for specific work you want done. e.g., you have 100 peasants, they pay you 100 gold, you pay the blacksmiths 80 gold for equipment and hire some guards for 20 gold and there you go.
Villagers can be treated pretty much like slaves but you avoid the whole PC issue.
Similarly, you could have "minions" or "followers". I don't recall the Ori from Stargate ever using the term "slave". They just had devoted followers who happily worked for them for free (because if you didn't follow them, they'd smite the hell out of you). The Goa'uld had literal slaves but half of them would have followed anyway because they thought the Goa'uld were gods.