Priestly Items (CPrH)

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The most common and important tools of the priest (as far as his culture is concerned, anyway) aren't his weapons and armor. They are the actual symbols of his priesthood.
Not all of these symbols are useful in combat situations, but they're appropriate for role-playing the priest. Let's discuss them briefly.
==The Canon==
Many faiths have a canon , or holy book. This work was written at some time in the distant past, either by the god or by a believer obeying the word of the god. This book usually describes important events of the past in which the god participated, explains the requirements the god makes on his followers, and explains the god's philosophy, goals, and concerns.
If the faith has a canon, then the priest will wish to have one. Books are expensive commodities: Assuming that it's a mere 200 sheets (400 pages) in length, according to the costs in the Player's Handbook, you're talking about 400 gp in paper alone (2 gp per sheet); binding will cost another 50 gp, for a total of 450. Sometime between 3rd and 5th level, the priest should have saved or accumulated enough money to commission a copy of the canon; perhaps, if he is lucky, someone will gift him with one, or he will inherit one. Regardless, a priest who reaches 6th level without having acquired a copy of the canon will be viewed with some suspicion by commoners and his fellow priests, who will question his devotion.
The priest should carry the cannon wherever he travels, and if it is stolen should make every effort to recover it. The canon is not a magical work, and does not act as a Holy Symbol when used to confront vampires or similar monsters.
Not all faiths do have an individual, written canon. Some faiths share a common canon. Some transmit their canon orally; it is not written down anywhere. Some have none at all.
==Holy Symbol==
Most faiths have a holy symbol, some sign which serves as a representation for the god and his faith. This symbol is usually duplicated in wood, glass, or precious metals and carried by priests of the god. Ordinary followers of the god also can carry the holy symbol.
Every priest player should know what his holy symbol looks like. The DM can either decide, or let the player of the priest design it. (If he does allow the player to do so, the design of the symbol is still subject to the DM's approval.)
It's easy to create symbols for most deities, and there are suggestions for symbols for all the gods represented in the Sample Priesthoods chapter.
==Holy Water==
Holy water, that bane of vampires and many other monsters, is created in the following way:
In a temple of the god, three priests of second level or higher stand over an empty water-basin and perform a ritual of prayer. They pray for the god's blessing and protection for an entire hour. At the end of that time, they each cast a spell, and do so simultaneously: One casts create water , the second casts protection from evil, and the third casts purify food & drink. Half a gallon of holy water is created.
(The create water spell can create up to four gallons of water, but the protection from evil and purify food & drink used this way can only create half a gallon of holy water. Therefore, for every two extra priests, one to cast each of those two spells, an extra half-gallon can be created. Nine priests together can create four gallons.)
The tremendous expenditure of magic and the time involved are the reasons why a single dose of holy water costs 25 gp to the adventurer. Obviously, any three priests can create holy water "for free" so long as they are second level or higher and are priests of the same god.
Holy symbols are enchanted in the same way. Each enchantment takes an hour, requires three priests (substituting sanctuary for create water), and requires a material component: Some object carved with the god's symbol.
==Priestly Vestments==
As mentioned in the Designing Faiths chapter, each priesthood has its own distinctive costume, and priests normally wear these priestly vestments whenever they perform their official duties. Some must wear them whenever they appear in public.
It adds color to a campaign when the players know what these vestments look like. If the DM doesn't wish to design the priestly vestments for all the priest player-characters, he should allow the players to do so (subject to his final approval).