Beast and Myth
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Bannik

SlavicBathhouseHouse SpiritTricksterSteam

Lore

Bannik is a Fae bathhouse spirit that inhabits the oven-stones, steam vents and wooden planks of the banya. Incorporeal and steam-wreathed, he is felt more than seen: the air tightens and the steam prickles like cold fingers along the nape of the neck. Smell: birch smoke and wet soap, with a faint tang of warm soot. Sound: slow, deliberate knocks from the stove and the soft hiss of water being moved by an unseen palm, sometimes a low amused rasp. Temperature: the room sits oven-hot while his presence brings an uncanny, fleeting chill against the skin.
Origin: East Slavic • Rural Russia (banya / bathhouse)
Classification: Fae (Bathhouse Spirit)

Field Notes

Observations
  • Three deliberate knocks from the stove (pech') before the water is heated.
Encounter Advice
  • mischief: Favors small, rule-bound pranks: hides soap or towels, nudges the temperature so a wash becomes unexpectedly scalding or cools suddenly, and leaves wet footprints where there were none. He tests manners rather than seeks harm — punishments follow if one breaks banya etiquette.
  • interaction: Approach with courtesy: announce your presence, leave a modest offering on the stove before bathing, wait for a single answering knock, and avoid loud boasting or disrespect. If offended, Bannik will sulk or escalate his pranks; if respected, he grants hearth-blessings and keeps the steam honest.
  • offering: A small piece of soap or a sweet bun placed on the stove, and a birch besom (venik) left respectfully on the bench.

Abilities

  • Steam Embrace
    The Bannik presses its invisible weight onto a sleeper's chest and floods the lung-space with scalding steam, causing suffocation and burns without external wounds.
  • Hearth Dominion
    It commands the banya's stove and pipes to create sudden superheated pockets or cold black spots—scalding some while sparing others to punish or protect.
  • Omen in the Vapour
    Reading patterns and figures in rising steam, the Bannik can reveal near-future fortunes or mark those who will bring misfortune to the household.

Weaknesses

  • Venik Offering
    A proper offering (venik, soap or bread left on the stove) placates the Bannik and prevents assault; lack of it draws its ire.
  • Cold, Dead Hearth
    Extinguishing the stove, clearing the oven and leaving the banya cold forces the Bannik to abandon the bathhouse until the hearth is rekindled.
  • Blessing and Cross
    A priest's blessing or the display of a cross/prayer in the banya weakens the Bannik's hold and can drive it away entirely.