No. Encountered: 1
Alignment: Chaotic
Move: 60’ (20’)
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 2
Attacks: 2 (claws)
Damage: 1D4/1D4
Save As: D2
Morale: 6
Hoard Class: XXII
XP Value: 29
Humanoid
The bathhouse is an important part of Slavic life, being a site not just for personal cleanliness, but for socialization and healthy living. Yet it was also considered a place for magic, spiritual pollution, and danger – whether physical or spiritual. The bannik is a source of the latter.
Appearing as a dirty, wrinkled old man with long fingernails, the bannik is a spirit who lurks in the sauna. He is harmless if left alone and he avoids combat in most cases – but one must know his preferences. One must leave the bathhouse empty for some time in the evening for the bannik to steam himself uninterrupted, possibly with other spirit friends. Bringing a holy symbol into the bathhouse will also result in an attack.
A bannik can turn himself invisible at will, and he can continue to attack while maintaining invisibility. If cornered, the bannik may throw hot rocks (1D3 damage) or splash hot bath water at a target (1D6 damage).
Call Bannik
Ritual
Any character who knows this ritual may perform it. Go to the bathhouse alone, and stay there until midnight, leaving an offering (5 gp, increasing by a factor of 10 each time the ritual is performed in one month in a particular village), and keeping one’s back to the door. This spell functions as an augury, with the bannik stroking one’s back if the answer is “yes” and clawing it (d4 damage) if the answer is “no.”
