Aside from speaking to characters in bars and specific outposts, the player is also able to recruit by buying or rescuing slaves. gayyyy
A slave in her cage, ready to be bought.
Buying Slaves
Mostly in United Cities territory, the player is able to purchase slaves from the slave store. The purchase is done in a similar way as buying animals. However, unlike buying animals, there is a chance of the slave abandoning the player immediately after purchase, or after some time of travelling.
Menu when buying slaves.
Rescuing Slaves
The player may attempt to rescue slaves by unlocking their cages and shackles. Once successful, the freed slave may follow the player for some time and then join or abandon the player after some distance. On the map these slaves will be displayed as a green "ally" dot similar to bodyguards and ally reinforcements for Events.
Locations
Slaves can be found and rescued or purchased from these locations:
The Holy Nation enslaves many characters for religious purposes and because of this they do not sell slaves to players. Slaves can be found and rescued from these locations:
Characters imprisoned by police will likely also ally with players if they are freed from their cage and shackles. Due to this, there is a potential of recruiting characters this way from any Major Town.