Faiths of Purity [RPG]

Faiths of Purity is a well-conceived entry in the Pathfinder Player Companion line, with a stated premise to showcase the "good" gods to adventurers and laypeople of all stripes, not just clerics and paladins.  I really like the idea, as religion can and should be part of a campaign setting that affects far more than just a couple of PC classes.  Starting off with what you have to admit is a pretty awesome cover (repeated as the inside back cover), the inside front cover summarizes (including portfolios, alignment, domains, favored weapons, centers of worship, and nationality) the seven good-aligned "core" faiths in the Pathfinder setting:  Desna, Iomedae, Shelyn, Cayden Cailean, Erastil, Sarenrae, and Torag.

After a brief introduction that summarizes the theme well, the bulk of the bulk is devoted to two-page entries on each of these seven faiths.  Each entry is divided into a one-paragraph summary of the god and then one to two paragraph long sections titled "Adventurers" (what adventurers who worship the god tend to be like), "Classes" (how different classes do or do not tend to fit in with the faith), "Goals" (what a worshipper of the god wants), "Identifiers" (clothing, symbols, or other markers commonly associated with the faith), "Devotion" (how lay worshippers act and demonstrate their allegiance), "Other Faiths" (how worshippers see and are seen by those of other faiths), "Taboos" (what worshippers *won't* do); "Traits" (two different Religion traits, most of which are bland and unimpressive), and finally, "The Church" (the longest section, with an overview of holy sites, church rules, holy texts, symbols, etc.).

The important thing to remember about these entries is that they explain things from the view of what everyday worshippers (and most PCs) would know.  These entries are not "high-level" church theory or geopolitical roles, but are instead insights into how worshippers behave and see the world.  They're thus perfect for players wanting to run a worshipper of one of these gods, and far more useful than material in most other books or on a Wiki.  I'd strongly suggest passing this book around during character creation if someone is interested in the "good" gods of Golarion.  Before moving on, I should also call out the artwork, which is really good!

The next section of the book is "Minor Deities" (4 pages).  This is a bit of a hodgepodge section, with "lesser gods of goodness" like Apsu the Waybringer, Kurgess the Strong Man, and Milani the Everbloom receiving a few paragraphs of description and one trait each.  Next, there are a few paragraphs (and a trait) devoted to each of the racial pantheons: Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, and Halfling.  These sections were odd, in that it's not just the good deities from each of these pantheons that are covered (thus confusing the theme of the book), and there's far too little space to do each pantheon justice.  The traits for gnomes and halflings aren't bad though.  Last, there's just over a page on the Empyreal Lords (sort of demigods), with about a paragraph each on Andoletta, Ragathiel, Arshea, Korada, Valani, and Sinashakti.  There's a single "catch-all" trait for worshippers of any Empyreal Lord.  Again, there's just not enough room to make the coverage of these faiths satisfactory, and I wonder if it would have been better to save it for a separate book later on.

"Organizations" (2 pages) provides an introduction to organized groups that are outside of a faith's official clergy.  Coverage includes the Banner of the Stag (Erastil), Deepdelvers (Torag), Glory of the Risen Rose (Shelyn), The Halo of Blades (Sarenrae), Knights of Ozem (Iomedae), Starstone Brewers (Cayden Cailean), and The Whispered Song (Desna).  Two of the organizations really stuck out to me as fantastic.  First, the Glory of the Risen Rose is all about spreading beauty and artwork, and one can imagine so many original adventures that could stem from it.  Second, the Starstone Brewers are all about helping the orphans that are inevitably left near battlefields, the sites of natural disasters, etc.  Entire campaigns could be themed around either of these two organizations, and offer something very different to the norm.

"Combat: Righteous Warfare" (2 pages) introduces one or two new feats for each of the major faiths covered in the book.  I have to commend the writers for coming up with feats that are tied, flavour-wise to the corresponding faith.  Substance-wise, the feats are hit or miss, with some potentially really useful (Desna's Butterfly's Sting or Erastil's Bullseye Shot, for example) and others so underwhelming as to be forgettable (Torag's Stone Read and Undermining Exploit).  There is a drawing of a classic "bikini armor" woman on page 26 that is regrettable.

I really liked "Faith: Paladin Codes" (2 pages), which offers customized Paladin codes for several faiths that supplement what's in the Core Rulebook.  These new codes really help to distinguish Paladins from one another, and are well-tailored to emphasize the particular themes of different deities.  Erastil's code contains several elements relating to community and tradition, for example, while Shelyn's code incorporates concepts of beauty and love.

"Magic: Spells of the Faithful" (2 pages) introduces at least one new divine spell for worshippers of each of the major faiths in the book.  Overall, I found them flavourful but rather weak in a mechanical sense.  They're also all very low-level spells, an area in which clerics, paladins, and druids aren't exactly hurting for choices.

Finally, there's "Social: Religious Holidays" (2 pages).  This is the sort of thing that's really important for adding depth to a campaign setting, even if most players will overlook it (because the odds of a day "in game" falling on one of these holidays is slim).

Overall, this book is exactly what a Player Companion should be.  It provides a clear, readable, and interesting introduction to an important element of the campaign setting, it gives useful advice on how to portray and interact with that element, and it introduces some "crunch" options that aren't unbalancing.  Apart from the "too fast to be good" problem in relation to racial pantheons and Empyreal Lords, Faiths of Purity is a winner.