Chains and Misery has just been released by Skald Books. No, it has nothing to do with Dickens. Instead, it's a 2.6 Mb PDF for Skald's Maidenheim Campaign Setting, or any d20 System game, really. Chains and Misery dives into how slavery works "as a legitimized social institution rather than as the fate of those captured on the fringes of civilization." So, in a medieval world that still accepts slavery, Skald's product attempts to explain (and provide d20 rules for) the following:

• Locating, buying, selling, and maintaining slaves
• The relationship between slaves and their masters
• Putting slaves to work as leased servants, plantation laborers, miners, or quarry workers.
• Potential profits received from slave labor or establishing a slaving guild
• The Slaver core class and Slave Lord Prestige Class
• Other class options: Slave-Warrior, Gladiator, Slave-Guard, and Slave-Assassin
• New weapons, equipment, poisons, restraints (ooh, kinky), spells, and magical items used in the slave trade

Now, you may be wondering if this sort of product is a good idea. My stance is I want to have a game world that's as realistic as possible while still being fun, so rules on slavery, a real event, could be useful. Does Chains and Misery do a good job? Can't answer that, I haven't seen it. What I do know is the 97 page PDF is only $7.50, and can be purchased through RPGNow.