The Voice made an interesting point in another thread I thought was worthy of discussing in its own thread.
If you are taking thousands of slaves, tens of thousands, how many would you sacrifice to Hashut and how many would you send to the mines?
How many sacrifices does Hashut demand in your fluff? 9 out of 10? or 1 in a 1000 etc?
I know in my fluff the CD cannot afford not to sacrifice lots, but sacrifice too many and the slave system starts to collapse, and the CD economy slows right down.
Tyed them to the yeard iron and 20 lashes with a cat of 9 tails
Arrr! Then get them scurvy lot to swab the deck and wash off their own blood!
yea we don\'t need any sharks to eat are slaves
I view Hashut as something of a pragmatist. Whenever a new haul is brought in a proportion is sacrificed to him, otherwise he only requires 10 or so at dawn and dusk.
Also remember there's only one temple and quite a few slave raids, so there might even be a queue for sacrifice.
It's probably some smallish percentage of each haul plus any that particularly deserve it!
Only one temple? I doubt that. The one in Zharr Naggrund is THE Temple, I always imagined it as a cathedral when compared to churches.
I'd say something in the region of 1 out of 10, with the sorceror's demanding more and the slave drivers always trying to keep the most they can for their own private financial gain.
I'd agree with TheVoice about temples, more likely that their is a small one in every town/settlement, but the smaller the town the smaller the sacrificial means, so whereas a small outpost would simply have an alter, whilst Zharr Naggrund is able of doing so on an industrial scale
Didn't it say somewhere 100 at dawn and another 100 at dusk? Thrown into that statue of Hashut?
So you sacrifice the strongest, most productive slaves?
Practically says you divide it down the middle. Give half to Hashut, half are sent to the mines. Everyones happy.
But as Hashut is a God of progression, why not dedicate the slaves troubles in the mines to Hashut?
I think sacrifices come in the way of setting an example, to keep the slaves in line. A gruesome sacrifice ceremony atop the temple, in full view of all the slaves for a great distance would work.
Also, perhaps the souls of slaves are harvested/sacrificed for Hashut in return for him daemon-infusing war machines!
Sacrifice the ones who can't work, then send the rest to the mines. Once the ones in the mines can't work any longer, sacrifice them. It's a win/win.
Also, trekking a large group of slaves thru the Darklands to Zharr-Naggrund is a tricky proposition. You'll lose a lot of the weaker ones along the way, which lowers the return on the investment you've made in going on a raid. The smart Dwarf-on-the-Go will bring a portable sacrificial altar along in the baggage train. That way, you need only take the fittest captives along with you after you've sacrificed the sick/elderly/mimes/whatever. Waste not, want not I always say.
I can't think, with hashut's CD followers being as innumerous as they are, that he'd demand they sacrifice the cream of their workforce.
The march to the Dark Lands could act as a weeding out process. The weak ones are thrown to their deaths, the stronger ones are kept.
Only one temple? I doubt that. The one in Zharr Naggrund is THE Temple, I always imagined it as a cathedral when compared to churches.
Aye, but why sacrifice your slaves in a mere local shrine when you could have THE Temple of Hahsut.
It would be a pride thing I think
well, the way i see it, we shoudl be sensible, afterall, Hashut must be appeased and all, but would he like it if the people who worship him all started to die because he asked for too much from us. i mean, if you where a god, would you like all you're worshipers to stop, so i think we can keepp most of them, afterall, where just honest, god fearing merchants, trying to survive in a cruel world, and the slaves are very helpful to this
my 2 cents
Personally, I'd say something like 10 or less per cent of each new haul, breed them and work them, when they die, they are sacrificed in the name of Hashut, doing his work and then are burnt to continue aiding and sacrificing etc.
@Filipicusius
I think you get short changed there (if half go to the mines and half to the altar)
You need to renegotiate with your slave traders. Make them an offer they can't refuse...
Or sacrifice the mines! Wait a minute....