Consecrating the Altar

Once the altar has been completed, the priest must consecrate it to his deity. The prayers, chants, and rituals require at least one full week. During this ceremony, the priest cannot be called away for other duties; if he leaves, he must begin again from the start and replace any materials expended in the abortive ceremony.

At the end of each full week of prayer, the DM makes a special check to see if the priest gains the favor of his deity. The base chance for success is a percentage equal to 5 times the character’s level, so a 10th-level priest has a 50% chance of success after one week. For each additional week of prayer, the chance of success increases by 5%. Given time, the priest should eventually succeed, unless he’s angered his deity in some way.

When the power responds to the priest’s prayers, the priest must offer up something of value or perform a special quest, whichever is demanded by the deity. The DM decides what is appropriate for the character and the deity he follows. Surrendering magical items, treasure of great value, or an item hand-crafted by the priest are all reasonable. A quest that a priest of a god of healing might follow could be to go among the poor and heal one hundred of the sick, while a god of honor might ask the priest to go to the king’s court and expose his dishonorable dealings. By completing the quest or making the appropriate sacrifice, the priest demonstrates his devotion, and the deity consecrates the altar.

A consecrated altar radiates a bless spell in a 10-foot radius. It remains consecrated until desecrated in some way by the deity’s enemies, or until the priest who consecrated it dies or falls from the faith. A consecrated altar can be used to produce potions, scrolls, and other magical items, as described in Chapter 7 .

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