Holy Ground

It is All Hallow's Eve, so I thought a discussion of Holy Ground was in order.

Holy Ground in this case, is any ground consecrated to a spiritual being through a ritual of consecration. Each spiritual being (gods mostly) will have their own tailored ritual of consecration, which will involve prayer and sacrifice to achieve. Roughly, each day's worth of prayer (24 hrs) and coinciding sacrifices (really varies per deity), will consecrate a totem or altar to store 1 point of spiritual energy. Over time, these amounts can climb to extraordinary levels (or max out if the altar or totem is of insufficient quality). Of course, consecrating the alter does not also provided the energy to store there. That energy comes from the sacrifices and prayers that come later and presumably on a regular basis.

Furthermore, the altar can act as a battery for protection (or other spells) that are tied to the alter in yet another time-consuming ritual. As long as the altar's energy level is maintained, such spells are maintained. Also, any spirit caster who worships that particular deity can tap the altar (through touch) and use the energy in casting. Thus, such sites are also well protected. Crude altars, idols, or totems may be made of base materials, but they store little power compared to ones made of valuable and special materials.

Such focal points of communion with a deity are not portable, and can only be moved to a new temple site at great pains. Portable focal items are possible, and most serious casters take the time to create a holy symbol that is consecrated. each storable point requires 120 hours of prayer specifically for that purpose. The maximum number of points in a mundane holy symbol is 1 point per die of spirit magic casting skill. Once consecrated, the symbol can be charged and recharged as needed.

Spirits can be bond to higher quality altars for any number of duties, including security. More on that later.