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Only clerics, excluding druids, are able to prepare holy
water - or unholy
water in the case of evil clerics. As a third level spell
is involved, i t requires
a cleric of not less than 5th level of experience to
manage to create such
fluid. The process is as follows:
A specially blessed/cursed basin of fine workmanship and
precious metal
(copper, silver, electrum, gold, or plotinum) must be
fashioned for the
cleric. This vessel must be engraved with the holy/unholy
symbols of the
cleric's deity or deities, and i t must be within a special
repository of finely
crafted and carefully worked rare wood, with a base,
pedestal, chest-like
holder and lid - the whole being known as a font. The
basin is placed
within the font, and the cleric then casts the following
spells in succession,
while robed in formal vestments appropriate to his or
her religious persuasion:
create
water
purify food
& drink (the water) or its reverse
bless or
its reverse
chant (
1 full turn)
prayer
The amount of water created depends upon the metal of
the receptacle,
and this is shown hereafter, along with suggested costs
for the various
parts of the font. Once created, the holy/unholy water
cannot leave the
font far more than a turn without losing its efficacy
unless it is placed
within specially blessed/cursed vials of crystal - either
rock or special
leaded glass. Each empty vial is worth 2-5 gold pieces.
Holy/Unholy Water Receptacles:
| Metal | Capacity for Creation | Minimum - Maximum Basin Cost | Font Cost |
| copper | 6 vials | 130 - 180 g.p. | 200 g.p. |
| silver | 10 vials | 1900 - 2400 g.p. | 500 g.p. |
| electrum | 18 vials | 8000 - 12,000 g.p. | 1000 g.p. |
| gold | 32 vials | 19,000 - 22,000 g.p. | 1500 g.p. |
| platinum | 50 vials | 110,000 - 200,000 g.p. | 2000 g.p. |
You may allow combination metal vessels with capacity
according to the
composition, found by interpolation of the above capacity
figures, i.e., a
copper basin chased with silver and set with silver rim
ond handles would
hold 8 vials and cost 50% of the copper vessel plus 50%
of the silver vessel
price. Fonts and basins must be designed and constructed
on special order,
the process taking 4-10 (2d4 + 2) weeks.
Capacities are designed far game purposes so as to limit
supplies of
holy/unholy water. They can be justified by the rationale
that the deities
find more precious metals more pleasing than those of
less worth, so they
are prone to grant more favor upon such offering vessels.
Limit Of Creation: Holy water or unholy water may
be made but once per
week. The ritual takes a full day of prayers and meditation,
followed by
the actual ritual, followed by a need for not less than
8 hours of rest and
repose. Only one holy/unholy water font per religious
edifice is possible,
as deities look upon anything other as unworthy and excessive.
Defilement Of Fonts: If any non-believer blesses/curses
an unholy/holy
font, or uses less refined means such as excreting wastes
into a font or
basin, the whale is absolutely desecrated, defiled, and
unfit. It must be
smelted down and remade in toto. The cost will be 20%
to 50% of the
normal figures shown above, and the process will take
from 4 to 6 weeks.
Note that either method of defilement requires actual
contact with the font
and its vessel. Any blessing or cursing from a distance
will be absolutely
ineffectual and wasted. Relics might either defile by
touch or prevent defilement
by being encased within the font or receptacle, at your
option.
Note Regarding The Drinking Of Holy Water:
Ingesting or bathing with holy water will have the beneficial
effect of
slowing the onset of lycanthropy or of becoming undead.
For each vial so
used, the process is slowed by from 1-4 turns. This time
delay i s to be
secretly determined and noted.