Slave

Your character has purchased a slave at Market. The creature is bound to serve you in almost any way imaginable, chained to your will. This chain always manifests in some way in the creature’s appearance: iron collars around the neck and silver cords about the wrist are typical markers, but brands, tattoos and even fur patterns have been known to manifest. So long as the slave’s fetters remain, it must make a successful Resolve + Composure roll to act against its master. The roll is penalized by -3 dice if the slave attempts to refuse, ignore or disobey a direct order, and -5 if it tries to physically harm the character. Even the most simple-minded slaves have feelings, however, and the Storyteller can reduce (or even waive) these penalties in the face of long-term abuse.

The complexity and intelligence of a slave varies based on the value of the Merit. At •, the slave is little more than a magical automaton, such as a lamp that follows its master or a broom that sweeps of its own accord. For ••, the slave is a simple imp or wisp of limited intelligence, capable of carrying out relatively simple tasks but without any significant capacity for problem solving. At •••, the slave has the intelligence (and often temperament) of a child. At this value, a slave can be large enough to provide its master with physical defense and may possess one dot in a single Contract. A •••• slave is a familiar of average intellect and skill, perhaps possessing two dots in a single Contract. Finally, for •••••, the slave is of greater-than-average intelligence or strength, able to think critically and creatively about problems and possessed of four clauses from one or two Contracts. At this level, the slave may even be a changeling or non-fae supernatural creature (with four of their appropriate powers), but keeping such powerful creatures as slaves is asking for trouble.

Drawback: Besides the dangers inherent in housing abused hobgoblins, owning slaves carries a social stigma among changeling society (composed, as it is, primarily of former slaves). Most changeling slave-owners take care to be discreet in their proclivities, lest they garner a reputation in their Freehold for being no better than the Others.

Special: Slaves at the Goblin Market come in two varieties: trained and untrained. The latter are most common and tend to come cheap, and have a value (see p. 28) equal to half the Merit’s rating. The character purchasing such a slave must also pay the usual experience cost of the Merit in order to “break in” the new slave. Trained slaves serve obediently from the moment of purchase (requiring no expenditure of experience), but cost an exorbitant amount. These have a value equal to the Merit’s rating.