Favored soul should be ok- I have Complete Divine, which reprints it, and am curious as to how it works out; this will be a good way to find out!
As to religion, here's a primer for you...
A DISCUSSION OF THE RELIGIONS OF CYDRA
Galadorianism
Galador- Light, Law, the sun; LG
Dexter- Good, tolerance, the mind, the blind; NG
Prayzose- Divine right, Forinthia; LG
Malford- Trickery, revisionism; CG
Bleak- Darkness, opposition, evil; CE
The Galadorian religion is the dominant religion in and around the Forinthian region. It claims to be monotheistic, but there is a sort of tripartite divinity that is recognized by the Orthodox and Imperial sects. Due to its vast size and the huge number of cultures assimilated under Galadorianism, there are many different sects, including heretical sects, that fall under the broad umbrella of the faith. Galador is also called the Light, or, somewhat archaically, the Lord or the Law.
The primary tenets and focus of the faith as a whole can be summarized as follows: one million years ago, Galador ignited the sun and set it in its orbit around Forinthia (a moment called Solurnustice). This allowed the ‘civilized’ races to flourish. Galador is therefore revered not as a creator-god, but as the force that allowed the creation of culture. Without the sun, there could be no real agriculture, and the humans and their ilk would have remained in savagery for the intervening million years. About a century and a half ago, to prevent the triumph of Bleak in the midst of especially trying times, Galador sent his Son, Dexter, to Cydra to save us all by sacrificing himself into Bleak’s Maw. More recently, Dexter’s descendant, Prayzose, became the Emperor of Forinthia and set the Empire into its greatest resurgence in centuries. He was Galador Made Flesh and Dexter Reincarnate.
The universe is full of conflict. The primary conflict, of which all others are but pale reflections, is the war between the forces of Galador and the Darkness of Bleak. Bleak is the devil-figure of the Galadorian faith.
The three primary (non-heretical) sects of Galadorianism are the Conservative, Orthodox and Imperial branches. The Conservative branch is mostly made up dwarves, and relegates Dexter (and especially Prayzose) to a greatly inferior position to Galador, more akin to canonizing them as Saints than worshiping them as aspects of Galador Himself. The Orthodox branch emphasizes Dexter. It is in this branch that the majority of the liberal Galadorians can be found. This is also the branch with the strongest tendency to revisionism, both in terms of the faith and in terms of historical records. The final major branch, the Imperial sect of Galadorianism, is by far the most political, acting hand in hand with the Forinthian Empire to promote imperial culture and values. Naturally, the Imperial branch of the faith is the one that most strongly emphasizes the worship of Prayzose.
Worshipers of Bleak are often from cultures that have been conquered or oppressed by Galadorians, especially Forinthians. The main objective of most Bleakists is to oppose the forces of the Light. Strogass, of course, is an exception to the general rule; it is a huge continent full of- and actually ruled by- Bleakists.
Of the heretical sects of Galadorianism, a few are worthy of special note. The Alcarites, a group of mostly elven heretics on Gorel, equate Galador and the sun with fire. The Zillic heresy holds Galador in abhorrence, seeking to propitiate Him through offerings to preserve the local cultures (this is to the north, in the Azaran region). The Dualists believe that the universe turns in cycles, like a wheel, and that Galador’s day is nearly done. The Malfordites have begun venerating Malford as a god; he was Dexter’s Companion in life. Such beliefs are usually treated harshly by the mother church, for they imply that the High Priest is fallible, which in turn harms the church as a whole.
The Sea Queen
Sea Queen- The ocean in every aspect; N*
Forgotten King- Fertility, life, fecundity; NG
Sekolah- Sharks, sahuagin, rapaciousness; CE
*Clerics of the Sea Queen may be of any alignment.
The Sea Queen is known by a thousand names and more. She is seen in at least as many ways, for sometimes the sea is capricious and cruel and sometimes it brings life when all hope is lost. The Sea Queen is ancient, and her religion is as old as her; some say that it- and she- make up the oldest religion of all. Certainly, the Sea Queen and her pantheon are primal like few other deities.
The Sea Queen, obviously, represents the sea itself- vast, changeable yet simultaneously eternal, full of life and death both. Different cultures see her in different ways, and she is huge and accommodating enough to take in all of their worship and allow clerics of all alignments.
The rest of her pantheon is much less worshipped than she is. The Forgotten King rarely has more than a dozen living worshipers in a given region. He is the progenitor of life itself. It has been claimed that he was the first god, the Queen the first goddess; and when he cast his seed upon her waves life spawned everywhere. The Forgotten King is so obscure that any Knowledge (religion) checks relating to him have a +15 modifier to their DCs.
Sekolah, the Great Shark, on the other hand, is quite well known; but the majority of its followers are sahuagin. A few ruthless buccaneers and pirates follow the Great Shark, but this is very rare, for Sekolah favors predators of the deep and enemies of men at sea.
Aligion
Chorind- Chivalry, skill at arms, faithfulness; LG
Dramos- Honesty, the law, teamwork; LN
Drakos- Ambition, ruthlessness, forcefulness; LE
Bordwin- Benevolence, selflessness, generosity; NG
Curman- Boredom, apathy, indifference; N
Impellor- Malevolence, spite, violence; NE
Wulroh- Good humor, happiness, laughter, artistry; CG
Seyvash- Unpredictability, intoxication, lecherousness; CN
Feythin- Lies, fright, hatred; CE
The elven faith of Gorel’s elves is called Aligion. It is a religion of ideals. Each of the deities represents certain qualities and the values (or lack of values) behind them. The gods are not viewed as physical entities, but as ideal ways of behaving. Though the elves of Gorel are far from friendly with humans or other outsiders, a number of human missionaries have spread the faith far from its original home, and now- though rare- followers of the gods of the Aligion pantheon are found from the Parrot Isles to Tirchond.
The Great Family
Old Grandmother- Power structures, proper family relations, politics; LE
Nembreth- Artisans, craftsmen, metal, fire, quests; LN
Athpash- Assassination, murder, exile, poison; CE
Yuren- Moons, sorcery, night; N
Empeth- Trade, merchants, thievery, greed, money; NE
Crithlec- Ships, travel, piracy; CN
Lenorash- Food, indulgence, abundance; NG
Menpalath- Honesty, virtue, lack of foresight; LG
Sedra- Beauty, romance, innocence; CG
The Peshan old religion, though periodically outlawed, has managed to maintain a strong hold on Peshan culture and values. The fact that the religion’s structure is echoed in the political structure of Pesh no doubt helps as well. The pantheon consists of a divine family, arrayed in order of power from oldest to youngest (much like the cantrium system of governance in place on Pesh). The most powerful and undisputed matriarch of the divine family is simply called Old Grandmother; the others are her grandchildren. There are legends of her children, the old gods before their kids (the rest of the current family) replaced them and had to imprison them in Tarterus when their senile ravings led to terrible tantrums of divine power that made all of Pesh quake. The family is arranged in order, from oldest to youngest, on the chart above.
The New Gods
Boccob- Knowledge, magic; N
Carella- Humor, eccentricity, rebirth; CN
Coila- Time, age, relentlessness; LE
Froth- Perversion, necrophilia, rape, cowardice; NE
Garnet- Siblings, multiple births; LG
Tade- Artisans, fire, blacksmiths, creation; N
Zelman- Illusions; LN
Not so long ago a small group of new gods arrived on Cydra- exactly how, and where from, are not common knowledge. They have nonetheless set about very actively trying to grow their religions on Cydra, taking sides in a variety of conflicts and even manifesting physically in a number of instances. How long they will invest such a huge amount of energy in direct manipulations of events is unknown, but at present they are a formidable presence on Cydra.
Sedrafa
Many of the barbaric elements around Strogass worship a somewhat bestial pantheon of spirit-gods and elemental forces. This faith is very strongly focused on the here and now, and scholars often deride it as lacking metaphysical sophistication. Some even question its status as a religion. The faith is mostly about avoiding misfortune, ensuring good hunting, etc.
The Strogassian Pantheon
The Strogassian pantheon is actually a mix of the remnants of the various cultural gods of Strogass and a variety of promoted Bleakist saints, mashed into one big faith by the Dark Emperor. The entire pantheon now has a distinctly evil bent to it, though there are many underground priests who claim that they represent one god or another’s true nature rather than the corrupted one recognized by society as a whole.
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If you're interested in a list of the gods of either of the last two pantheons let me know; they're from far-flung lands, but you're high enough level that you could be from those lands and have migrated west.
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