Draft:Holy Symbol of Hecate

Omega 0.90.4

Holy Symbol of Hecate&TypeArtifactBase value (Au)5000Item level10Weight5Unidentified appearanceObsidian CrescentCursed nameHoly Symbol of Hecate

The Holy Symbol of Hecate is the Obsidian Crescent artifact carried by the High Priest of Hecate. Athena's followers and Druids seek it for their final priesthood promotions. For a Hecate follower, only an authorized copy provides safe healing, cleansing and mana recovery; a stolen crescent remains unauthorized even when identified or blessed.

Generation

Meet its carrier in the Temple of Hecate, or through a mansion, wilderness encounter or randomly selected historical-NPC summon. Each newly generated high priest carries a symbol even if another copy exists. A normal death drops possessions; a successful ordinary theft takes the first carried object and can obtain the symbol without killing, but remains a dangerous check against the priest's abilities.

The initial symbol is reserved for special sources, not ordinary random-object generation, normal acquirement or automatic pawn-shop stock. Hecate's final promotion normally supplies the authorized crescent by transforming a Symbol of Athena.

Promotion routes

Goal	Required action
Become High Priest of Hecate	Bring Athena's symbol as an eligible Hecate Senior Priest and pray at a Hecate altar; it becomes an authorized Hecate symbol
Use this symbol for another faith	An eligible Athena or Druid Senior Priest offers Hecate's symbol through prayer to their own patron

Carry the offering in inventory or the pack and choose Pray, not the separate Sacrifice option. The offering need not be identified or authorized. Hecate's final promotion accepts alignment at most +1 and requires Senior Priest rank and a level above the incumbent's record. Replacement leaves one authorized symbol; separate stacked offerings and store any copy you intend to keep outside carried inventory.

Activation

Use A → a from accessible inventory with an identified, authorized copy while Hecate is your current patron. Successful use costs no mana or charge, preserves the item, heals up to 100 HP, removes blindness, poison and disease, uncurses equipped items and restores mana to at least its normal maximum. This is not guaranteed full healing or a pack-wide uncurse.

All six holy symbols share the last successful 24-hour clock hour. Reusing one at that hour shatters a symbol and leaves 1 HP, including on another date without an intervening use at a different hour. Known unauthorized or wrong-patron use can destroy accessible possessions, drain mana and reduce HP to 1. An unknown symbol doing nothing is not a promise that identified use is safe.

Strategy

For Athena or Druidism, preserve the crescent as an offering. Athena's route also requires returning with positive alignment despite theft's shift toward Chaos. Hecate followers instead seek Athena's pendant; obtaining their own priestess's crescent does not skip the promotion.

An authorized crescent is useful for spellcasting endurance when the shared hour permits. Keep a second recovery option for the interval. Neither blessing nor artifact enchantment grants authorization, and prayer at High Priest rank does not automatically replace a lost symbol. A stripped useful copy may have its activation power restored by beneficial enchantment, but an intact one produces backlash.