Slave Shops are shops run by the Slave Traders faction that sell characters that have been captured, shackled and turned into slaves. They generally consist of many iron cages, along with chests for confiscated possessions. Slave Shops are fixtures in most United Cities settlements, where slavery is a form of commerce; though the Holy Nation employs slave labor, no Slave Shops are available in their cities.
Slave shops will spawn with a handful of already enslaved characters, though Slave Traders, Slave Hunters and Manhunters will periodically 'restock' the shop by picking up unconscious characters and placing them in the cages (the vice-versa could also happen where Slave Traders patrols relocate the slaves to one of the nearest slave camp) These factions will enslave any unconscious character they encounter, not only those they have personally defeated. This presents a danger in the event that a player's characters are incapacitated in or near a town in the United Cities; rather than being apprehended by the police or left to be rescued by other characters in the player's faction, there exists the possibility that they are instead cast into slavery.
The player can purchase slaves from a slave shop, though it is not guaranteed that they will become a member of the player's faction. One effectively buys a slave's freedom, with the same result as breaking them out of the cage and unlocking the shackles.
Slave Shops stay open all night, making it difficult to break in and flee slaves from their cages. Further, once freed, slaves will generally either flee the city at full speed or follow the player in anticipation of leaving the city; in either case, the town guards will generally brutalize and recapture them. Freeing slaves is effective Lockpicking training but when seen counts as "terrorism" and will incur a Bounty. If the player can manage to safely escort a slave some distance outside the city's walls, they can also provide a source of fresh recruits.