The Thermopolium

Hung above the serving bar is an old worn sign with flaking yellow paint showing a steaming bowl of hot soup over crossed spoons. This place is a thermopolium, or in the common vernacular, a Soup Shop.  This particular shop is run by Lodur and his wife Idelna.  The pair greets customers with a hearty 'Good Day!' and then quickly ladles a large helping of hot soup. 

The thermopolium is a no nonsense soup shop serving hot savory soups in clay bowls right on the busy city street. A raised bar provides an eating area as well as a holding spot for three dolia containing steaming vessels full of the day's fresh offerings. Lodur inspects the boiling pots at the big fireplace while Idelna busies herself at the prep area.  Regular customers can be seen arriving with their own spoons and sometimes with oversized pots in which they take away copious portions of soup.  Behind the cooking area is a box room that stores raw ingredients and a tiny bedchamber where the proprietor and his wife sleep and keeps track of their business dealings. Adjacent to the thermopolium is a small trader's shanty that serves as a sleeping room and a place for private trade meetings.  The shanty is currently occupied by a shady character going by the name of Kalanthes of Rhode.  He does a brisk trade selling small waxed paper packets filled with an oily leaf that he claims comes from the Underdark and has curative properties.

Arsenale Shipworks renders its maps in black and white with simple, yet detailed line drawings.  Our idea is to give you a thought provoking and inspiring encounter location without draining every drop of ink from your printer.  The relatively small file size also makes our maps ideal for importing into virtual tabletops!     

This map is designed with a 1" grid suitable for use with most 25mm - 28mm miniatures and RPG game systems and is set up to print on 8 ½" x 11" sheet size.  Additionally, an identical map has been included with the labels and text turned off to make it easy for you to customize your own unique encounter location.