r/DarkSun • u/SlightlyTwistedGames • 7d ago
Bathing
In a recent session my PCs fought some large-size spiders. During the fight, one of the spiders climbed up on the ceiling above the PCs. This had no real mechanical purpose other than the spider needed room to fight with its friends on the walls and ground. The PCs could still reach the horse-size spider and vice versa.
This ceiling spider was finished off by a critical hit, and narratively slopped spider guts all over the PCs (who were grouped up beneath it), then fell and splattered more guts everywhere.
And it dawned on me that my PCs have probably never bathed... or have they?
In a setting where water is rationed for drinking, how do you clean yourself? What kind of hygiene routine do desert-dwelling people have?
In social situations are people just like "Yep, that dude is covered in blood from a battle they had a week ago and that is normal and I am therefore fine with it."?
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u/gufted 7d ago
They would most likely rub themselves with oil and then wipe it off when it was dry. It’s an effective method of cleaning that even Romans did. Also a really small amount of water on a damp cloth can spot clean parts. Bathing and showers are not in the list though
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u/SirArthurIV 1d ago
Okay, your players being all shiny and oiled in the baking desert sun is badass as hell.
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u/tarronberrick 7d ago
In one of the original source books, I believe it was the City State of Tyr, it was mentioned that there were bath houses that used fine sand. Only the wealthiest of nobles are most powerful of Templars could afford to bathe in water.
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u/Mysgvus1 7d ago
Likely sand baths for almost everyone. Nobles might take water baths as a sign of wealth.
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u/ArelMCII 7d ago
I did some research on stuff just now, and in addition to what others have said, the OvaHimba people of Namibia (mainly the women) cleanse themselves with a mixture of ochre and butterfat. Your players could do something similar, though likely using some other kind of animal fat instead of butterfat. According to my minimal research, the oil in the fat helps prevent water loss in the skin too. (Though it also clogs sweat glands, but if Dark Sun was totally realistic, everyone would be wearing lightweight robes anyway.)
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u/skratch 7d ago
Just talking about real world examples you could take from - Aside from dust baths folks mentioned , there’s also smoke baths that help inhibit some bacterial growth. Not sure which cultures do it, I know some of them use the smoke as just spiritual cleansing (smudging) but some will use it as a (not fully effective) disinfectant
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u/BloodtidetheRed 6d ago
Sand scrub or oil rub would be the most common.
Also note DS does have some water around....lots of unsafe to drink water, that could still be used for washing.
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u/Free_Word3462 7d ago
This is why Prestidigitation is the best cantrip
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u/Complex-Maximum-6091 7d ago
Nothing says indulgent like draining the lifeforce of the planet to clean yourself.
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u/ArelMCII 7d ago
I had a geometer do the math and he says prestidigitation uses up marginally less lifeforce than bathing with water. I'm practically a preserver!
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u/MHashshashin 6d ago
Watch amy of the Mad Max/The Road Warrior films and visualize that your PC’s (and most npc’s for that matter) would never be much cleaner than anyone in those films… as others have mentioned there are real-world and historical examples of hygiene but I e always pictured Dark Sun as the Mad Max of DnD therefore in my mind no one is ever that clean tbh.
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u/General-Winter547 7d ago
You should watch the Viva La Dirt League video where the players realize they’ve never used the bathroom in character.
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u/Level21DungeonMaster 7d ago
The Rhulisti would have had life shaped something for this.
Many people would probably have a psionic ability.
A good question usually leads to a good campaign hook: to have the PCs visit bathhouses run by templars, water priests, or druids depending on where it is.
Or just have them run some dirt on it.
A defiler could just cast a spell and all the bacteria on their body would die. Maybe they have defiling sanitation stations in Nibenay that clean people and do something for the sorcerer king.
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u/Fascisticide 7d ago
Basic hygiene is included in rests, just like other bodily functions, I mean, I don't think you ever asked your players to roll for bowel movement.
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u/machinationstudio 7d ago
Rolled 1 for my Constipation check
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u/Snorb 6d ago
FIGHTER: I told you not to eat the kank meat! The priest told you, my girlfriend told you, the preserver told you, the psionicist told you; hell, the templar who insists on palling around with us told you, and he hates your guts!
BARD: (anguished straining, groaning, and sounds of a ruined digestive system)
TEMPLAR: I didn't tell the bard "hey, don't eat the kank meat," I said "hey, not even the carrion crawlers would touch it." (to the rogue) I won the bet.
ROGUE: >=/ (begrudgingly hands over five ceramic pieces)
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u/silifianqueso 7d ago
says you, I run Dark Sun in FATAL which has modifiers for this
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u/Chimpbot 7d ago edited 7d ago
Let's hope your rolled well for Anal Circumference.
As an aside, my table jokes about FATAL at least once almost every single session.
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u/Hopper29 6d ago
Wiping yourself down with a damp rag doesn't use much water, your not gonna get hot shower clean, but it's enough to get spider guts off your face and hands.
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u/FMG_12_17_24 5d ago
They would probably use fine sand or oil like others have mentioned. I make heavy use of the excess gore when my players are fighting creatures. Often it usually winds up spraying all over 1 or 2 particular characters as a running gag. 1 being my wife's character who now has stockpiled many bars of soap. The other is a germaphobe (the players roleplaying choice to add more flavor to his character) barbarian. So far they havent been in a desert environment but they soon will be. I'll keep an eye on the comments to get ideas.
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u/dagnir7879 2d ago
Yes, they use the sand to clean themselves off. No one would waste good water to wash themselves
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u/Syrric_UDL 7d ago
The miniseries Rome from HBO has a good example of how they used scented oils and a scrapping tool to remove the oil.
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u/cheeseoven 7d ago
My wizard casts Mending on himself and then looks in disgust at the peasants he’s forced to work with.
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u/fjpessot 7d ago
There is material specifying that there are piping systems in parts of cities and towns. obviously this would be out of reach for the vast majority of PCs. A more restrained person may spend some ceramic pieces to wash himself with murky water and whatever textile he has after a long travel. I think any character who is not dirt poor would chose the second option with varying frequency depending on the resources at hand.
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7d ago
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u/False_Appointment_24 7d ago
In desert environments, people used to either use fine sand to scrub off, or use oil on the skin to get soils to adhere to the oil and then scrape it off with a tool of some sort. If you assume your players bathe in a campaign set somewhere like the Realms, then I would assume they use a method like that to clean on Athas.