Paradise Falls, Capital Wasteland
In the Capital Wasteland, the barbaric acts of injustice that the world has seen in the past have returned to us in full bloom, and this is shown with the slavers. These thugs have taken to capturing unsuspecting citizens of the wastes and taking them back to their fortresses for forced labor, being sold, and for their own diabolical intentions. These guys are as bad as raiders, and the only thing that separates the two is the fact that slavers want a steady supply of caps so they can trade. This, and this alone, keeps them from riding through the settlements of the wastes, pillaging and capturing, for who would deal with a group of killers? (the people who are desperate to survive) If you happen to want to work for the slavers, they usually have some freelance work to do.
Slaving States[]
Those who dwell in the wastes know very well of the slavers. They wander and maraud about, looking for new victims, and picking apart the poor towns left to die. Unlike their raider counterparts, slavers deal with caravans and traders and thus are able to better supply their workers and soldiers, better organize and govern themselves, and maintain several settlements through development, not scavanging and raiding. Although the typical slaver is not intelligent, the leader, being Eulogy Jones, is decently intelligent, as are his men working directly under him. The slavers have expanded, with settlements in Paradise Falls and downtown D.C., and are capable of carrying out operations and expanding their resources.
There are two major slaver factions in the area of the Capital Wasteland, those being the slavers from Paradise Falls and the Pitt Raiders from the Pitt. Though they both practise slavery and are brutal to their workers and slaves, the two differ in various issues. Paradise Falls slavers are more open to trade and are far less disciplined than Pitt Raiders, making them seem like a hybrid of a basic D.C. settlement and a group of raiders. They work together under Eulogy Jones and have several townships and don't generally attack towns or large groups unless the group has been weakened by a third party, such as Big Town weakened by Super Mutant attacks. They are not entirely isolationistic in their ways, as they wish to sell their slaves to the public. However, many members stay secluded to their positions in Paradise Falls, and only deal with purchasers of their goods who go directly to Paradise Falls.
The Pitt Raiders are different. In their society, Ishmael Ashur is their leader and an almost God-like being. He rules them with an iron fist, and he is the only one capable of managing the state. The Pitt, being a hectic and destroyed mass of radiation and mutation, is a dangerous place, which leads to death in both the slaves and the Raiders themselves. They are plagued by constant attacks from wildmen and trogs, however refuse to leave the area as it holds several working steel mills capable of producing material, which Ishmael Ashur views as an infinately valuable resource. The Raiders are isolationistic, and only deal with other slavers, and tend to stay within the confinds of the city unless going on a raid. Every Raider is disciplined and strong, having raised themselves up from the rank of slave. And thus the Pitt Raiders are strong and brutal, unlike the Paradise Falls slavers, who are more open and welcoming, although both are very thugish and demanding and will kill people simply for being in the way.
Dealing with Slavers[]
Slavers are different from raiders in the fact that they are about as well supplied and trained as a standard fighter, and so fighting one will be far more difficult than dealing with a raider. However, one can usually avoid slavers or drive them away without firing a bullet, as they listen to bribery and deals, unlike raiders, whose thirst for blood outweighs their thirst for caps.
A slaver will typically wield a firearm of some sort, from shotguns to assault rifles, and usually are well armed and armored, with various merc suits and even full armor. They always travel in groups, and are very territorial: if you go onto their land, they will kill you. However, what they hold in numbers and strength they lack in intelligence and organization. They don't respect other members and thus will try to fight you as though if was just you and them. This can make surprise attacks and traps easy to set up, and isolation techniques fairly easy to pull off. Even large conflicts with slavers can result in success as long as one uses their surroundings properly as well as their resources. One can simply group together the mass amount of raiders into a single section, then move to a different area. As the slavers come to take down the person, one can easily just pick them off, which will cause the entire group to become demoralised and easier to fight.
However, despite possible victories, slavers are always a viable threat. Coming unprepared or wary may result in a victory for the other side. Always be ready for them; they might not always be the biggest threat around, but if you pay them no attention, they can get the drop on you, and as soon as you could kill them they can kill you.