This post is part of a series where I put forth a challenge for bloggers to answer all 100 questions on this table by d4 Caltrops. This week I rolled a 77.
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77. What do your Cleric's Holy Symbols Look like? Are they needed for Turning?
Let's see what DCC RPG has to say about this.
"A cleric wields his holy symbol to turn away abominations." - p. 30
"By wielding his holy symbol and uttering holy words, a cleric can turn away the enemies of his faith." - p. 96
Furthermore, Divine Aid and a handful of Cleric spells mention wielding holy symbols as part of the casting process. It seems that the intent of the rules here is, yes, a holy symbol is needed not just for Turn Unholy but for casting (except Lay on Hands) in general.
But that's not really the question. What do I personally do at my table? I follow those rules, and here's why.
First and foremost, it's something that'll hardly ever come up. There are exactly two instances where this can be relevant. At level 1, just after the player chooses the Cleric class without having started with a holy symbol; or the holy symbol gets lost through in-game events - stolen, sacrificed, etc.
The former is less of an issue than the Warrior starting without a sword. Your PCs likely come out of the funnel with treasure enough to afford one. In my campaign, it actually created a fun roleplaying moment where the brand-new Cleric approached the priestess of the local chapter to simply ask for one. It set up the character as an established acolyte in the world and, even better, came with obligations.
This is the kind of thing that happens when you don't handwave things. It creates choices, writes stories and builds characters when your players have to go out of their way to play the game on the gameworld's terms.
The latter option (holy symbol gets lost) is the kind of thing that only comes up as a consequence of failure, so it should only happen when it makes sense as the result of a risk taken or as part of the narrative. Like that trope where players are captured and need to escape. This is something the Judge generally has control over and should assess whether it's the kind of thing players will enjoy. Taking things away from players is a whole discussion on its own.
As for what they look like, well, it varies from Cleric to Cleric. The specific Cleric mentioned above has a scepter with a handle that looks like a bee's stinger. It's a bee god.
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Here is where I'll link your blog if you join me on this 100-post journey through 100 questions.
