D&D 1E Holy Symbol Spell Purpose?
- Thread starter santosud37
- Start date
santosud37
Villager
So do u need to make a spell to create Holy Water? I don't think so. Same for a Holy Symbol. Why r people trying to complicate a game further than it needs to be?
santosud37
Villager
Exactly! It was a standard item. One anyone can purchase or just create without having it b a spell.
santosud37
Villager
Just like Holy Water!
santosud37
Villager
There r rituals in AD&D! What u don't think sacrificing animals to gods, demons, devils, weddings, atonements, exorcisings, etc. r not rituals? These r just high level components of the game. Just bc u don't see them in your campaigns don't mean they don't exist within the game. Creating Holy water, blessing holy symbols, and the like is no different than a blacksmith, weapon maker, and fletcher making bows, and the like. They don't need to have a spell to make them unless they r magical items. Holy symbols r not magical items like that. They just need to b blessed by a god through a Cleric/Paladin.
Willie the Duck
Hero
No one is trying to do anything (except answer your initial question). No is is making a spell to create holy water, they are referencing the spell (well, the process involving 5 spells, as Nikosandros mentions) that already exists.
And people do purchase holy symbols and holy water. All the time. As has been mentioned, they are on the standard equipment list. If you happen to need to acquire one on your own, away from stores, there are established processes for doing so. That's literally all these rules are.
Who is it that you think you are talking to? People have been trying to get you to clarify what you meant by rituals multiple times. Thank you for finally clarifying -- you mean the colloquial term, not a specific game rule mechanism. In that case, as pretty much everyone has said, go right ahead, that's just not what Gary did (for reasons that again have been touched on).
That is certainly a valid position to take and plan to go ahead with.
santosud37
Villager
I apologize for coming off rude, but there are things in this game that make absolutely no sense. The game mechanics started all well and good, then it got confusing starting with the Unearthed Arcana, 2nd ed and the rules had become increasingly complicated. I am saying this from over 15 years of play, 20th level characters from the B/X Rulebooks to the 2nd ed. I don't even want to see the mess created in the 3rd ed on up.
Holy Symbol and Death's Door are, in my opinion, wasted spell slots. There prolly are more spells that I haven't even seen yet that r the same. Seems like a money making thing to me as well. I have other 1st ed books as well. I am going through spell components right now and they r all over the place as well. Some make sense from the PH2 compatred to PH1 and others not so much. The encumbrance wasn't even close on a 2-handed sword. 25 lbs to carry from PH1? U look up a 2-handed sword and it is the weight of a Long Sword at 6 lbs or 60 cns when that is closer to 3 lbs. Lol i understand there was no Internet back in the 70s and mid-80s but that is far from a even a normal sledgehammer.
Just my thoughts!
Holy Symbol and Death's Door are, in my opinion, wasted spell slots. There prolly are more spells that I haven't even seen yet that r the same. Seems like a money making thing to me as well. I have other 1st ed books as well. I am going through spell components right now and they r all over the place as well. Some make sense from the PH2 compatred to PH1 and others not so much. The encumbrance wasn't even close on a 2-handed sword. 25 lbs to carry from PH1? U look up a 2-handed sword and it is the weight of a Long Sword at 6 lbs or 60 cns when that is closer to 3 lbs. Lol i understand there was no Internet back in the 70s and mid-80s but that is far from a even a normal sledgehammer.
Just my thoughts!
It sounds like you're looking at 1st edition through the lens of modern gaming. This is like comparing video games from the 1970s to the ones we've got today.
They we're still figuring stuff out in those days, and yeah there's a lot of things that seem weird or "bad design" today, but they didn't have the 50 years game design history to help them like we do.
They we're still figuring stuff out in those days, and yeah there's a lot of things that seem weird or "bad design" today, but they didn't have the 50 years game design history to help them like we do.
santosud37
Villager
Nah, I look at common sense! That is in every generation. I also go by the common sense ideology "If it ain't broke don't try to fix it!" This is definitely a broken idea! If u have 1 Holy Symbol why not just bring another back up one on your adventures in a bag of holding. Problem solved if 1 breaks while beating down on monsters! No spell needed for this joke by a clown for madeup rules!
Lanefan
Victoria Rules
There's a high-level spell in 1e called Magic Font, which (I think) can then generate holy water; these fonts are often found in temples as they're a bit unwieldy to carry around all the time. I can't think of a way to make holy water in the field in 1e.
As for holy symbols, yes you could purchase them (as in, someone else had already cast the spell to make the holy symbol what it was and you're just paying for the time and materials) but being able to make one yourself in the field was sometimes a very useful thing - remember, item loss and destruction is very much in play in 1e - hence the spell being made available to adventurers.
