High Owner Status

Silver spoon? Try a silver MINE.

High Owners
If using a timeline after 10500, the hoped-for High Owner Status has been officially adopted across the four Lands. After the last Lands adopted it, there was a mad rush to jump on the new Status, and a drastic increase in the number of Slaves available through either Permanent Bonding or voluntarily opting Generation Bonds into Slavery.

For the first time, adding all those Slaves up could really amount to something! Huge tracts of land being tended by hundreds of Slaves Owned by four or five High Owners has become commonplace, and in fact had been necessary for a while before. There was a legal grace period while each Land made up its laws regarding High Ownership, mainly because there were so many Owners who were keeping far too many Slaves and not reporting them (they didn't want that dreary High Holder title, did they?) so that is one less worry they have.

As far as social acceptance goes, this Status is just great according to Owners, and most Suzerain, and also surprisingly to many Slaves, particularly those found for several generations in one Ownership. High Holders readily acknowledge the need for the Status, but also complain that this only encourages the Owners to act like the social misfits they really are. High Owners are referred to as HighLord or HighLady. Many of them run racing or hunting facilities, using the best in Animal Masters - many of whom will tolerate the activities of High Owners because they do pay so well. More High Owners than Owners are Bred, considerably so since they suddenly feel it's "hip" to have tails or stripes, or whatever is in vogue at High Owner's parties. It is extremely rare to find even one Membayar at any of these new Party sets.

Since High Ownership is a relatively new Status (or hopelessly in the future if playing in a past-era game) there is some concern about where to place the "level" of status. Most High Owners consider themselves at least equal to High Holders - but since their Status is so new, they do allow the High Holders to claim their top-rank position. Many other people claim that it is closer to Suzerain, less than Breeder and Animal Master but above Suzerain. Clearly above Owner. These nebulous ranks have some people in a tizzy - not High Owners, naturally. They know they're on top, no matter whose Status is shown first...

High Owners have their own symbol, of course, that of their "Slave cluster" atop a pillar, roughly combining the High Holder and Owner symbols. High Owners are considered higher Status than Suzerain, but lower than Animal Masters. Utterly idle rich and plantation owners, oil magnates and energy/transportation, sports celebrities, and really rich drug lords on earth might be considered High Owners (no pun intended...).


High Owners
One of the few things that Owners banded together to achieve was one of the first gigantic upheavals of society in more than a millennium. One by one, the Lands accepted the requests and pleas and money - lots of money - in return for which the world was given the High Owner Status.
High Owners resemble Owners the way lions resemble your house cat. The rules are pretty much the same, but the game is much much bigger.

High Owners did not exist until after 10450, therefore the possibility of having a child be born under that Status hadn't occurred until slightly after then. The first group of High Lords and High Ladies are among the richest people in the world, rivaling most High Holders. High Owners exist because the lands they Hold are huge, and require far more than the normal compliment of Slaves to take care of. Unreported births of Slaves and hidden masses of Holdings finally came out of the collective closet once the laws regarding High Ownership passed.

Those born into it are more highly Bred than other children, and often reflect a strange heritage to begin with. They are rarely put into schools with other children of anything less than Suzerain Status. More often than not, they are with Breeders and Animal Masters' offspring or tutored privately by family members. It is rare to see a High Owner child interacting with the rest of the world until they are at least 10 years old, unless they are quite highly Bred and worth showing off. The exam for High Ownership is rigorous and demanding, and most little HighLords pass it with flying colors. Bred for this kind of thing, the world of High Ownership isn't for the weak of heart - or lame of style.

Early on, the children of High Lords are instilled with a sense of, well, egotism, which isn't matched anywhere. They command their Slaves with an ease that even High Holders cannot, and that Owners strive for. They control their Bayaran in a similar manner, and insist on the best of either kind, something also driven in at an early age. They know they deserve what they have, but they are also taught early on that they must work for it, to keep it up, that this Status is a demanding one as well as being very rewarding.

It is extremely rare for a High Lord to have a relationship with anyone outside their peer group, however, introductions through Breeders networks are important to them, more than any other Status. High Owners, like their lower Status counterparts, have extremely gregarious lifestyles, but only on their own turf. If they are found anywhere other than with each other, it is in their private homes being attended to by their Slaves.

High Owners are seen purely as driven, intense and passionate people; often this is what it takes to get where they are. This universal perception is correct, they have a well-deserved reputation as elitists. They keep mostly to themselves but when they arrive at a party they had damn well better get the attention they deserve.

They are commonly found with massive Inheritances from older relatives (pre-dating the High Owner laws, in the early days) and build themselves up by moving onto the lands nearest their larger Holds. In this manner, even High Master Avlen Kstet's huge estates are rivaled by High Lords. They are active in politics from an early age, some of the few Owners who have learned from the benefits of listening to Membayar turn to High Ownership sooner or later. Betting is secondary to High Owners, their main love is land and its many uses, and it is rare indeed that working betting booths can reward someone with the huge amount they would need to keep up that kind of fortune.
There are a number of huge hunting parks and estates for Steed racing and grazing, held by High Lords, that will make up the basis for new communities in the future. Depending on where they are and how many Slaves breed naturally, some of those places will consist of Slaves and Owners exclusively. Most Areas don't yet have laws about populations like that, and if the High Lords have their way, they won't. While it is possible for the Owner class to go without Slaves, it is not possible for a High Owner to maintain their Status without at least a few for a period of one year or more. It not only isn't legal, but it's highly unlikely they'd be able to keep up their work if they lost too many.

Many High Lords are as decadent as they can be, but some have already shown they have the best interests of their Slaves and the world in general on their minds. By having larger fields, they also have larger investments in that land, and its well being. If even a small portion of a plot goes down, so does their worth.

Time was, you didn't want to mess with a High Master or Suzerain in a business deal. Now the High Lord is giving them both a run for their money. They are in the politics similar to the High Holder, due to their land Holds, and those who see fit to run for office are finding that office suits them quite well. They like the penthouse.
An unusual aside to the High Owner class: many of them born into it are Bred, and quite a few of those are immortal or close to it. They are the clear winners in the race against infertility, as well, since most of the true pioneers of the Status were unabashedly Hyperfertile, and tended to breed with one another.

The High Owner who dies a natural death is rare, and every death of one of their ranks is investigated by one or more of their own. They believe (and rightfully so) that there are still people who would contest their Holdings and Status, and they all intend to keep it.

At any cost.

High Owners Game Information
"It was an accident, I swear. Really! All right, it was completely planned this way, but it still looks good on paper. Right, dad?"
-Shy Blackstone, High Lady, Land Management and Race designer, Tana/Imaa/Fi'ir

High Owners became officially recognized as a Status in 450/Tana; 465/Zerin; 480/Kiran, Curra. Thousands of Owners jumped on this chance to double their LandHoldings, virtually quadruple their Ownership, and continue living in style the way they ought to have been all along. They simply use Ownership and the Stock they trade the same way as High Holders do Bayaran and business. Many High Owners are into Racing and Steeds in general, some with both huge farms for feeding them and huge arenas to race them.
Think of them this way: Money Talks. High Owners use bullhorns and amplifiers when in polite conversation.

Many of them have been Bred much more strongly than their previous Owner parentage.
01-50% Natural
51-60% B1 (of course, B2 and B3 are not available to be born into this Status)
61-75% B4
76-85% B5 (choose appearance)
86-100% B6 (choose appearance and one mutation)

"Shy, you're taking all the adventure out of blackmail."
-Skie Blackstone, High Holder, Land and Bond agent, munitions expert, Zerin/Ka/Astan

Lands Held Rates Bond Own
4d20 Holds 2,3,4 2d20/year d% + [age in #]/year

Stat Roll Natural B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6
Intelligence 30+7d10 +10 +5 * * +5 +10 +10
Education 50+3d10 +15 +10 * * +10 +10 +15
Strength 20+8d10 - - * * +5 +10 +15
Health 20+8d10 - - * * +5 +10 +10
Agility 20+8d10 - - * * +5 +10 +10
Reaction 20+8d10 +5 +5 * * +5 +10 +10
                 
Appearance 20+8d10 +5 +5 * * +5 +10 +10
Charisma 30+7d10 +10 +10 * * +5 +/-10 +/-10
Social Skill 50+1d10 +20 +10 * * +10 +15 +/-10
Aggression 30+8d10 +10 +5 * * +5 +10 +15
Sanity 10+8d10 - - * * +/-5 +/-10 +/-15
Courage 30+8d10 +5 +5 * * +5 +5 +/-10

High Lord Saxxon - an immortal. He's never once denied that he has lived almost 5 thousand years. Why would you care? Would you like to see the place? It's immaculately maintained by the Slaves and Bayaran he holds. Of course. He would not bother getting his hands dirty. Not that he could touch many people - his skin is toxic. And yes, he has children. And yes, he's one of Veh's ancestors. Meaning? Yes, he's one of the most important Bred individuals in history. Do not mess with him. He'll give you a caress that leaves a scar...