Bathing!

[TwistedAkai]

It occurred to me recently that the people of Arad very likely have different bathing habits from most of us playing, and I got to thinking about whens and hows. I would imagine some cultures would call for more frequent bathing than others, and some might even call for more effort than rinsing off, while some might even consider bathing a waste of perfectly good water. So a question and maybe a discussion: How would the various cultures feel about bathing?

[Elystole]

I've been thinking about this some as I've considered Grum technology and civilization. I'd imagine the Grum, with their emphasis on steampower and the resulting availability of hot water and pipes, enjoy proper baths and showers, and therefore have a cultural expectation of cleanliness. At least if you're in the city.

[Lysse]

I wrote up a fairly extensive Lore Proposal to Rias, regarding Faewyr Culture. I included bathing in it. I'll share that portion of the document. I derived a good deal of this proposed bathing culture from Pre-Viking era Scandinavia, as that seems to be the largest cultural contributor to the Faewyr of Clok.

It may seem a bit strange, but the Faewyr people often pay a decent amount of attention to their overall appearance. While the Faewyr are a druidic people, it’s easy to forget they honour their ancestors and to appear too disheveled or unhygienic off of the battle field could bring shame to their name.

Many houses have a corner dedicated to washing, consisting of a hearth and a washtub of some kind (whether it be bronze or wooden, or some more expensive material for the wealthier folks). Baths are usually once a week, and includes pouring water on red hot hearthstones to produce steam, scraping themselves with willow branches for the less wealthy, and pumice stones for the more wealthy, followed by rinsing in a tub of cold water. It’s normal for hands and faces to be washed every morning, and hands prior to meals.

...

Soap is often used among the Faewyr, rendered from animal fats for most folks; many Faewyr make use of as much of an animal as they can, rather than letting anything go to waste. Among some of the richer nobles, scented soaps made from more exotic materials, such as beeswax and honey, are somewhat common.