To use the spell, you must possess:
25 gp of silver dust (which weighs 5 pounds)
A flask of water (which weighs 1 pound)
1 minute
A spare spell slot allotted in advance for this sole purpose
To use a pre-bought flask, you must possess:
25 gp spent on a flask of holy water (which weighs 1 pound)
Couldn't they have at least made the material component cost 20[ gp, or something? Something to make the spell useful to adventurers without components-dodging exploits? I get it's only in that book to explain where the water comes from, but why not give it some sort of practical function? What am I missing here?
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It blesses water. That's it. Congrats. You have discovered that it does what it says on the tin. Are you going to complain about mundane weaponsmithing not being massively useful to PCs too? As for slight advantages over buying the water, spells can't be stolen or broken, plus the buraq and lar have it as SLAs.
I think it's mentioned in the book that churches sell Holy Water at cost. That's why the spell and the item cost the same.
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Because otherwise holy water wouldn't exist?
It's not a spell that you would take, unless you're far from civilization where you can't buy holy water. Holy water is special in that good-aligned temples sell it at cost, as a public service.
But the silver can be stolen. :P
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The point of the spell is to explain how holy water is made. The implication is that normal clerics sell holy water at cost. It is a world building spell, not necessarily something PCs are expected to use.
Because otherwise holy water wouldn't exist?
It's not a spell that you would take, unless you're far from civilization where you can't buy holy water.
But you can buy silver dust?
It just seems pointless to include in the spell list when it's literally useless for a PC to take. No PC would ever take it, so why list it? Might as well just be a flavor note in the Equipment chapter. Or stick it in some obscure splatbook/DM's guide (since it's a relic from D&D times, after all). :P
Y'know what would actually make it a bit interesting? If it worked with just silver, period. That way, you could easily just lug around a few pounds of silver, which remain valid trade goods. Hell, a smart cleric could just shave off the silver when he needs it, negating the need even for that change. There, I "fixed" the spell. ;D
By the way, this is purely a pedantic thread. I realize that. No serious complaints here. It's just fun now and again to point out to the people who call everything and their dog a "trap option" what a real trap option looks like. ;D
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Because otherwise holy water wouldn't exist?
It's not a spell that you would take, unless you're far from civilization where you can't buy holy water.
But you can buy silver dust?
It just seems pointless to include in the spell list when it's literally useless for a PC to take. No PC would ever take it, so why list it? Might as well just be a flavor note in the Equipment chapter. Or stick it in some obscure splatbook/DM's guide (since it's a relic from D&D times, after all). :P
Y'know what would actually make it a bit interesting? If it worked with just silver, period. That way, you could easily just lug around a few pounds of silver, which remain valid trade goods. Hell, a smart cleric could just shave off the silver when he needs it, negating the need even for that change. There, I "fixed" the spell. ;D
Lots of people carry around silver... after all, coins are made from silver. Even if you don't carry it, it's likely that even towns or outposts too small to have a cleric will have some silver you could trade for.
Like you say, if you want to turn silver into silver dust, take out a file and go for it.
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It's just fun now and again to point out to the people who call everything and their dog a "trap option" what a real trap option looks like. ;D
That's not what a trap option is - a trap is something that tricks you into making a permanent character decision based off something that looks good, but either doesn't work they way you think it will, or limits your growth potential.
Preparing a sub-optimal spell for one day is not a trap, as it doesn't limit your growth potential. It's just a bad option. Not all bad options are trap options.
Bless Water could be considered a trap option for oracles, if it wasn't so obvious in that it's usefulness is extremely limited.
But the thing with trap options is that they are options that for a new player _look good_. Like, say, Powerful Sneak or Death or Glory.
I took it for my inquisitor early on. The first thing I did whit it was to swap it for something useful at the first chance while leveling.
I've been in an undead heavy post-apocalypse 'walking dead' style game. We could find silver and water. We had the time to file down the silver. No-one had Bless Water.
Would strongly recommend +1.
But, yes, situational.
Note: interesting to use with Blood Money, though.
I think it's a reaction against ludicrously overcomplicated rules way back when. Dig up a copy of the first edition AD&D DMG and look up holy water fonts.
By the way, this is purely a pedantic thread. I realize that. No serious complaints here. It's just fun now and again to point out to the people who call everything and their dog a "trap option" what a real trap option looks like. ;D
no, monkey lunge, elephant stomp, and the rumormonger rogue talent are real traps, since they make you worse at their intended function or are impossible to actually use. this thread is about a spell that does it's intended effect and one person finds it boring.
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By the way, this is purely a pedantic thread. I realize that. No serious complaints here. It's just fun now and again to point out to the people who call everything and their dog a "trap option" what a real trap option looks like. ;Dno, monkey lunge, elephant stomp, and the rumormonger rogue talent are real traps, since they make you worse at their intended function or are impossible to actually use. this thread is about a spell that does it's intended effect and one person finds it boring.
You know, I actually like there being some rules for things that will most likely never effect the PCs. It makes me happy to think that the game world functions on more than just straight DM fiat... kinda makes me wish there were rules for ritual magic too, no matter how impractical for PCs, just to know how exactly those high level casters get up to their wacky, not-actually-on-the-spell-list hijinks.
I've been in an undead heavy post-apocalypse 'walking dead' style game. We could find silver and water. We had the time to file down the silver. No-one had Bless Water.
Would strongly recommend +1.
But, yes, situational.
Note: interesting to use with Blood Money, though.
Particularly good way to use all those coins that have suddenly lost their value (gold lost all value when 'rat meat' became more valuable per the pound)
wow, 5 pounds of silver dust? That's a hell of a lot. Assuming its mixed in somehow to make the holy water It would be more like holy paste.
wow, 5 pounds of silver dust? That's a hell of a lot. Assuming its mixed in somehow to make the holy water It would be more like holy paste.
As a material component, the silver is completely destroyed during casting. There is no silver in the holy water at all.
note that using false focus or blood money, this spell could be interesting.
I'm dreaming of a inner pool, with a sacred altar, filled with holy water for my priest.
..ah. That...actually makes an idea I had in the anti demon trap thread more viable: A room flooded ankle deep in holy water.
Because teleportation means nothing if they can't survive there (like fighting lava men in a volcano). Get some net to take down flyers, and suddenly you are sitting pretty (and wet).