backA Night At the Baths
The baths of the Roman world were the place where the upper class gathered to socialize. The games and other spectacles were too infrequent and too common to truly serve that social role. Naturally this gathering place would be appropriated by Kindred in ancient nights.
The first baths were purely private affairs, being extensions of the Roman manor house. In this form baths existed as early as the fourth century BCE. Even in this form the baths were a place for socializing. Later public baths became common, the first being the Baths of Agrippa built during the reign of Augustus in Rome. This innovation quickly spread throughout the Roman world and made baths accessible to every Roman citizen.
The baths are a natural meeting place for vampires as well. They are essentially the only large indoor public space in ancient times. Ancient Rome had no museums or nightclubs! The forum also serves as a meeting place for Roman Kindred, but its outdoor nature means the Magistrate's big speech might have to be delayed until after the thunderstorm.
Setting Details
Most baths are located near the center of the city, in close proximity to the temples and the forum itself. They are open to the public from sunrise to sundown, or nearly those hours at least. Most baths are open to men or women on alternating days, or one bath in the city might be designated the woman's bath. Naturally these restrictions are waved for the undead.
If the city has more than one bath then the largest will typically be designated the Kindred meeting place in the city. It is kept open to all most nights, men and women. Slaves work throughout the night to keep the heating fires stoked and the oil lamps burning. Funds for these unusual expenses come from the city itself or from donations by Kindred seeking to gain status.
The baths themselves are built on a common plan. There are three main bathing rooms, visited in sequence, the calidarium, tepadarium and frigidarmium. In English these are the hot, warm, and cold water rooms. The hot and cold rooms are typically too extreme to be comfortable for long, so the tepadarium was where most bathing occurred, and the room that would most likely be used for Kindred socializing. The baths also featured a courtyard used for sports of various kinds. Sports of this sort were a Greek tradition adopted by the Romans, and so would be less common in earlier time periods and in the west of the empire.
The Romans had no concept of bathing suits, and they did all their sports in the nude, so characters at the baths should be naked. The idea of socializing with the Magistrate when he or she is naked is a strange one to the modern mind, but keep in mind that this is normal to a Roman. The storyteller must balance the need for realism with the maturity of the group when running scenes like this. Its also worth noting that the baths are for sociliazing, not formal speeches. Such announcements would not be made at the forum in togas
Using Baths in a Game
The baths are where Kindred come together to talk, so in many ways they can be used as an Elysium in a modern game. A few NPCs will almost always be at the baths, chosen as the storyteller's wishes from the most social characters in the city. The baths can be used as a way for the players to over hear rumors, to introduce new NPCs, or to maintain the players social connections in the city.
Formal social and physical games are a staple of the baths. Players who wish to might participate in improvisational poetry contests or informal debates on political topics. More athletic contests might include javelin throwing or foot races. The most traditional Olympic sports such as discuss throwing and wrestling would be seen in Greek influenced baths.
Overall the focus of the baths should be a social one. Through the baths the players should be given a sense for the life of the city and the demeanors of many of its inhabitants.