about the author
apnap has been obsessed with reading rulebooks ever since
they got the sims 1 deluxe box for their birthday and read
the guidebook over and over again. they don't particularly
care for showering, hate perfume and love swimming in
the ocean and causing a commotion.
current concern
the soap ive been using since childhood says keep away
from children under the age of seven
Page 2
Bathhouse – a ttrpg book about soap
Text, art and layout by apnap
Don't copy, steal or sell any of this book's contents
Feel free to print it or share the pdf with a friend
The fonts used are IM FELL Double Pica and IM FELL Double
Pica SC under the SIL Open Font License (OFL)
All art is drawn or edited by me, apnap. All edits are based off of images
in the public domain. You can find most of the original images + some
spares I ended up not using here.
All layout and writing was done in libreoffice.
All art was done in clip studio paint.
Some mechanics in this book are based on the Land of Eem SRD under
the Land of Eem TTRPG Open License. Land of Eem is copyright
the creators Ben Costa and James Parks. I am in no way affiliated with
them, but I like their game.
This book is compatible with Land of Eem.
Page 3
Bathhouse
A bathhouse is a place where you shed
your layers and flow with the water then
put yourself together again.
This place can always
- describe the everyday rituals of bathing
- show bathers gossipping and negotiating
- give people a place to relax
Pick a few features or invent your own
Ground
I Muddy banks
II Sharp rocks
III Pebbles
IV Black sand
V Large flat rocks
VI Deep deep water
People
I A lone wanderer bathing
II Villagers washing clothes
III A watchful ghost
IV A rowdy crowd of youngsters
V A wrinkled, old bath attendant
VI A noble curtained by her entourage of servants
Page 4
Senses
I Steam in the air
II Sweet-smelling soap
III Birdsong
IV Chatter and splashing
V A slight smell of sulphur
VI Footsteps
Objects
I A wooden shrine
II Stairs carved into the rock
III Hanging curtains
IV Multiple smaller basins
V A faded signpost
VI Lanterns
Nature
I Lilypads
II Buzzing dragonflies
III Low dense foliage
IV A weeping willow
V A heron hunting
VI A tree fallen into the water, sprouting new leaves
Pick or invent a story, rumor or myth about this bathhouse
- The god in the teacup
- The moon and the washerwoman
- The bandit king's capture
- The well that never dried
Page 5
When you take the time to bathe, heal 2 hp
You also clear the dirty and filthy conditions
During a bath scene, take 1 xp when you
- describe your bathing ritual
- get a bright idea
- wash away the hurt
- share a playful, sensual or honest moment with someone
Next bath scene, pick a different xp prompt.
You become dirty after a few days of travel or hard work.
You become filthy after contact with blood, slime, sludge, goo, ooze,
mud and other unpleasant liquids.
When taking a bucket bath, heal no hp and downgrade filthy to dirty
Page 6
Public bathhouses
Where locals and travellers gather to wash off the grime of the day.
Deals are struck. Gossip is swapped. Relaxation is had.
They vary wildly in price, size and quality.
Cheap – 1 copper for the whole party
Decent – 1 copper per person
Luxurious – 1 silver per person
Slunk's tubs. 1 copper for a group.
The water is clean. A strange moldy smell in the air.
Olga's bathhouse, banya and spa. 1 copper.
Bright red doors, paint peeling in the corners. Clean and popular.
Cramped steam room. Bonebreaking massages.
Aequilus' grand thermal baths. 1 silver.
Marble and decadence. The perfect place to eat grapes while bathing.
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Soape Shop sells cosmetics, salves, elixirs and of course soap.
Please see a sampling of inventory and pricing on page 10.
The small shop is located in a narrow two-storey building in the quiet
end of the market district at 28 Locksley Street.
Sometimes filled with heavenly tranquility, sometimes packed with girls
getting ready for the upcoming festival day.
Sometimes closed for the afternoon
while the proprietor takes tea
in the garden with an old friend.
Inside the shop you find
– Crystal lamps
– Fresh flowers
– Mirrors and makeup samples
– Herbal and floral scents
Also on Locksley Street
– The Jobarteh
Matchmaking Bureau
– Tanner and Son
Banking and Brokerage
– Artem Animal feed
– The Church of Saint Insect
the Nestbuilder
Page 8
Tauru, the proprietor of Soape Shop
Height: on the taller side of average
Age: could be 40, hard to tell
Look: elegant manicured hands, dark curls, silk shawl
Colors: lavender, mahogany, black, gold
Signature scent: citrus
Personality: never in a hurry
Quirk: neat shop, messy apartment right above
Current concern: my errand girl is busy with school
Special skill: bluffing
When you bring a gift and a
secret to Tauru, they will
share a useful bit of gossip or
information with you over a
cup of tea in the garden.
When you gain Tauru's trust,
they will source tinctures and
ingredients of a more esoteric
nature for you.
...for a modest finder's fee of
course.
Page 9
Products sold at Soape Shop and similiar establishments
Soap bar costs 1 copper for 3
Olive soap. Lavenderscented.
Savon noblesse costs 1 copper
Olive soap. Lavenderscented. Comes in
a nice paper box.
Tauru's laundry soap costs 1 copper for 5
Rough on the skin but great for washing clothes.
Tauru's secret recipe. Covers up lingering odours with its floral scent.
Tooth powder costs 1 copper for 3
Cinnamon-flavored. Mix with water and rub it on your teeth to remove
grime.
Hand salve costs 1 copper for 3
Soothes and smoothens the skin.
Hair oil costs 1 copper for 3
Guarantees shiny and sweet-smelling hair.
Perfume costs 1 silver
This season's popular scents: Orange Blossom, Jasmine, Cedarwood
Tauru's recommendation costs 2 silver
Small vial of perfume personally selected for you. Enhances your
allure. Wearing it grants advantage on one roll of your choice to
charm, impress, seduce and similar. Effect lasts until the end of the day
or end of session, whatever comes first. Four uses.
Page 10
Nail dye costs 1 copper for 3
Powder that mixes into water to make a paste that tints your nails in
reddish, golden or purple hues.
An item of make-up costs 1 copper for 3
Lip-tint, rouge, kohl, liner, powder and such.
Brushes and other applicators costs 1 copper for 3
It's nice to have a fine brush for delicate lines.
Hairbrush costs 1 copper
For untangling knots and getting rid of bedhead.
Scissors costs 1 copper
For cutting hair and whatever else you wish.
Razor costs 1 copper
For a nice clean shave.
Tweezers costs 1 copper
Great for removing ticks or unwanted hairs.
Page 11
Small compact mirror costs 1 copper
Shows your cloudy reflection.
Satin hair wrap costs 1 bronze
Protects your curls throughout the night.
Ornaments, hair pins, ribbons costs 1 copper for 3
Cheap accessories in various materials.
Rare elixir costs 1 gold
Promotes youth and beauty... supposedly.
Estrella Genesis flower extract costs 1 silver
Made from the yellow, starshaped petals. Put a drop beneath your
tongue. Fantasy estrogen.
Rust-iron powder costs 1 silver
Made from the dried white root of the rust-iron herb. Brew it into a
tea. Fantasy testosterone.
Page 12
Inventory • Items • Money • Shopping
The rules below are inspired by the Land of Eem SRD.
All items sold in Soape Shop are small and light. Five small items fit into
1 inventory slot.
Items cost copper, silver or gold. Three copper makes a silver, three
silver makes a gold.
Some items cost 1 copper for a bundle of 3 items. You may pick freely
between all items that cost 1 copper for 3 when choosing which three you
want. You cannot pay a third of a copper.
If you're playing dnd or similar, one copper is roughly equivalent to 1 gp,
silver is 10 gp and gold is 100 gp.
When converting prices from one game to another, don't worry too
much. Rations for one person for two days is 1 copper. Figure out what
that costs in the system you're using.
You will eventually run out of soap. Visit Soape Shop or a similar
establishment to stock every month or two. Some of the products might
last longer.
Use your sense of honor to decide when to purchase new lipstick.
Page 13
Essay and Production Diary
I've always been fascinated with equipment lists in ttrpgs. It stimulates
my imagination. When will I need an abacus, an airbladder, a bell, an
empty bottle, a piece of chalk or 1000 caltrops? What does it say about
my character that she is carrying around a frying pan or a vial of perfume
or a 10-foot ladder?
I still have the spreadsheet i made for my first pathfinder character.
Highlights include: pocket sand, earplugs, dice, and 300 ft of string
Putting together my inventory makes me excited. It's like im packing for
a trip. Of course I need a bedroll and a warm blanket and a waterproof
bag to store my diary in and a flute and some herbs and spices to flavor
the food we'll cook over the campfire.
I've never really played a game with people who cared about that stuff,
the camping and the do we have enough food. Never really read a game
that cared about that stuff, at least not in the way I care about it.
Let me just come out of the closet as a minmaxer who thinks arrows
should be counted..
All that is to say: we need more realism in games, and we specifically need
it in the way that I personally believe is realistic and sensible.
All ttrpgs should have hygiene bars like the sims. I started writing
Bathhouse to trick people into agreeing by luring them in with fun
prompts and promises of xp.
Then I discovered how to make layout in libreoffice and edit public
domain images, and I kept writing so that I would have some text to put
between the images.
Page 14
I got completely stuck after finishing 90 percent of this book. Classic
me.
Letøs just finish it!! No need to make it perfect or include every single
thing.
Ttrpg-wise this game is inspired by Wanderhome, Land of Eem and...
[pensive sigh] dnd 5e equipment section. I think as a non-native english
speaker, I really liked the pictures and the flavor text. I also just like
pictures and flavortext in general lol.
The way Wanderhome writes natures is so formative to me. It makes my
brain go brr. I get a clear vision of the authors intent and ideas spark.
Pretty obviously I copied that for writing the BATHHOUSE hehe <:
Land of Eem is kind of an odd fit with this book tonally? I just got really
into it for 3 months, and. it inspired me to make my own little sub-
systems without worrying about having to make a whole entire game.
Other inspirations include wikipedia, gay sex, the bathtub scene in the
Handmaiden, Dungeon Meshi and Songbirds by Snow (purple).
Obviously the Farcille bathing scene is iconic, but Dungeon Meshi is
just so filled with mundane little details that I love. They do the dishes
and the laundry. Marcille brushes and braids her hair and laments the
loss of her expensive soaps. Laios shaves.
Anyways please clap because I actually finished this months and months
later. Personally I think this is a five dollar game, but I do not want to
figure out how to pay american taxes so it's free. If you think I deserve a
reward for making this book, you should send me a ttrpg whether it's
yours or someone else's. Here's my not very professional email, so you
can gift me an itch game teehee gwvtlelrf@[Link]
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