A holy water font is a specially blessed basin of fine workmanship and precious metal (copper, silver, electrum, gold, or platinum), engraved with the holy symbols of the deity. It is mounted in 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.
To create holy water (unholy water in the case of evil priests), the priest, robed in the formal vestments of his or her religious persuasion, casts the following spells in succession: [[Create Water (p)]], [[Purify Food and Drink]] (the reverse for evil priests), [[Bless]] (or its reverse [[Curse]]), [[Chant]] (for one turn), and *prayer*. Typically, the ceremony is performed no more than once per week; enough for the daily needs of the priesthood.
The amount of holy water created depends on the metal of the receptacle (see table). Once created, the holy water cannot leave the font for more than a turn without losing its efficacy, unless it is placed within a specially blessed vial of crystal – either rock or special leaded glass. An empty vial is worth 2-5 gp. Fonts and basins are constructed and designed by special order, the process taking 4–10 weeks (2d4+2).
Variations on the standard fonts, with differing capacities, may be allowed by the DM, using the table values as a guide. For example, a copper basin chased with silver and set with silver rim and handles would hold 8 vials and cost 50% of the copper basin cost, plus 50% of the silver basin cost.
Capacities are design for game purposes to limit supplies of holy water. It is thought that deities find fonts constructed of more costly materials more pleasing, and favor them accordingly.
# Receptacles
|Metal <br>Cost|Capacity|Min-Max <br>Basin Cost|Font|
|---|---|---|---|
|Copper|6 vials|130-180 gp|200 gp|
|Silver|10 vials|1,900-2400 gp|500 gp|
|Electrum|18 vials|8,000-12,000 gp|1,000 gp|
|Gold|32 vials|19,000-22,000 gp|1,500 gp|
|Platinum|50 vials|110,000-200,000|2,000 gp|