Origin of Vistani, Ezra, Hala?

[Pizza]

Faith gives hope and certainty. A powerful church like the Ezran church changes the facts on the ground.

And thus, Faith is sure to take root in such dark places. Especially when you have people, even few people, that can actually do miracles or use magic.
I have no issues with established religion in Ravenloft and I think it is a very reasonable and realistic turn that adds to the setting. What I don't like is that there are too few religions. It is practically Ezra + something else in most places. I would like an approach of "3-4 major religions + local, domain-wide religions + superstitions, cults, fiends"

It is insinuated that the Nevuchar Springs Sect does have a "Spanish Inquisition-like department" trying to uproot the Legions of the Night.

The theology of the Nevuchar Springs Sect places particular emphasis on ..

Also in Heroes of Light there is the Anchorite Inquisitor prestige class, ...

But those don't have to do with the trappings and idioms of the Catholic church. Even the part that there are sects instead of a pope or Patriarch, or that there are Anchorites going out with a sword in hand and heavy armor... those do not bring to mind the Catholics or any priesthood.

My approach is 9 archetypal deities with endless local aspects and poltheistic pantheons. I have three proselitizing cults who have reason to be world wide: The Church of Ezra, the Divinity of Self and the Iron Church.First and Last have a very Catholic-like ierarchy.

Good to see some still hold to the old ways and properly worship Talos.

[alhoon]

[paireon]

So... no, I am very disillusioned. These are not Lone-wolf quality books.

TBF the Lone Wolf series is arguably the zenith of gamebooks in terms of quality. I've read/played a LOT of gamebook series, and none were ever as good (though some like Fighting Fantasy came pretty darn close at times, and I have a weak spot for the weird British humour of JH Brennan's series even though they were punishingly difficult). I will agree with you though that none of the Endless Quest D&D books I've read were in any way, shape or form more than average quality at best.

I have tried the Sorcery series too (I bought them on Steam which gives quality of life stuff) and ... they are a nice distraction too.

Yeah, the Sorcery books were nice IIRC, likely on account of being by the same people behind (and set in the same world as most of) the Fighting Fantasy series.

Also, so far the closest religion to Christianity in the Mists to me also seems to be the Iron Church of the Lawgiver. I mean, they have biskops, which is one letter away from "bishops", and the Himmelsk Naeve is pretty much a pope...

Ezran sects I'd say are a mix between Catholic religious orders and Protestant denominations, though rather different in the details (and we all know that's where the Devil is...). I'd say Hala's religion is a weird mix between pagan-ish white magic practitioners, a mystery cult, and an order of nuns running hospices, but with little actual real-world similarities.

Also, both Belenus and Morninglord worship, even though concerned with sun gods, IMO have noticeable similarities with fantasy Christianity, although from vastly different perspectives and ideals.

[brothersale]

Also, so far the closest religion to Christianity in the Mists to me also seems to be the Iron Church of the Lawgiver. I mean, they have biskops, which is one letter away from "bishops", and the Himmelsk Naeve is pretty much a pope...

I would disagree on that point, for while the title of biskops is similar, the Lawgiver is based on the forgotten realms god Bane, and the culture of the one of the two primary domains the religion is based in, Hazlan, is based on the forgotten realms Thay.

The Lawgiver is always interpreted as ridged and strict its teachings allowing no forgiveness on its teaching (hence the internal conflict between the to two branches of the faith regarding magic due to Hazlik), which is not a very christian teaching, differing from Ezra which allows for a bit forgiveness in most of the sects

[paireon]

Different denominations of Christianity have been very intolerant and unforgiving at certain moments in space and time (looking at you, First Crusade, Spanish expulsions and inquisition, and Early Modern Wars of Religion), and as for Thay, a lot of their culture is reminiscent to some degree of Byzantium, which was a Christian nation. Of course, it's not super strong parallels (and as far as Ravenloft is concerned Hazlan outside of the Iron Church has more parallels with the Ottoman Empire, specifically Rumelia), and the fact that yes, the Lawgiver was inspired by Bane isn't flattering, but it's still there IMO.

[Mephisto of the FoS]

Also, so far the closest religion to Christianity in the Mists to me also seems to be the Iron Church of the Lawgiver. I mean, they have biskops, which is one letter away from "bishops", and the Himmelsk Naeve is pretty much a pope...

I would disagree on that point, for while the title of biskops is similar, the Lawgiver is based on the forgotten realms god Bane, and the culture of the one of the two primary domains the religion is based in, Hazlan, is based on the forgotten realms Thay.

I would say that in structure it is reminiscent to the Catholic church and many other religions or dogmas that have a "religious leader", in ancient christianity they are known as patriarch (for instance the pope is the patriarch of Rome). In the Orthodox Church, an ecumenical council is the supreme authority that can be invoked to resolve contested issues of the faith, compared to the Holy See, which is the government of the Roman Catholic Church, which is led by the pope as the bishop of Rome. So while Hazlan is reminiscent to the Ottoman Empire than Byzantium in culture the Church of the Lawgiver is structurally closer to the Roman Catholic Church or maybe I should say it is more reminiscent to The Imperial Cult from Warhammer 40K.

The Imperial Cult is driven by the ideology of "humanity first," (Mulan first for Hazlan) which is expressed through the concept of "Imperial Truth", (that legitimises kings in Ravenloft). This ideology seeks to promote human (Mulan) dominance and purity, often at the expense of other species and cultures.

As far as tenets are concerned I agree that the religion of the Lawgiver has nothing to do with Christianity, but historically it has similarities to the divine right of kings. In European history, a political doctrine in defence of monarchical absolutism, asserted that kings derived their authority from God and could not therefore be held accountable for their actions by any earthly authority. The idea that a king was God's chosen representative reached its greatest extent in the 1600s (Charles I was a Protestant). This has more connection though to the Imperial cult of ancient Rome that identified Roman emperors and some members of their families with the "divinely sanctioned" authority (auctoritas) of the Roman State. Many of the rites, practices and status distinctions that characterized the cult to emperors were perpetuated in the theology and politics of the Christianised Empire.

The church of Bane (the Forgotten Realms equivalent of the Iron Church) believed in subservience and submission within their hierarchy, with junior members bowing, kneeling, or even kissing the feet of their superior, depending on their rank. Superior members were to be followed and obeyed at all times. The rules in the church were of the utmost importance, but those from any other lands or faith were entirely meaningless.

Bane's authority and divinity were revered above all else. According to his priests, Bane was to be feared by his faithful and even more feared by the unfaithful. It was the duty of every member of the church of Bane to "spread (his) fear.

The overarching goal of Bane's clergy was the charge of seizing or manipulating their way into power in every nation, city-state or freehold in all of Faerûn, to bring them under his influence. Using emotionally manipulative tools such as fear, hatred or greed to sow conflict, war and chaos would allow the Black Hand to maintain control over lands too distressed to maintain stability. To this end, priests and followers were encouraged to commit acts such as torture, political infiltration or inciting mayhem with subtlety, cruelty and overall, fear.

Rituals of Bane were to be performed whenever ordered by senior clergy members and held no correlation to any seasonal shifts, marks on the calendar or specific holy days. They were held either outdoors at night, or in a space of darkness, such as darkened chambers, caves or ruins with only dim lighting. A Black Altar was prepared; consisting of a plain stone block which, if obsidian was unavailable, would be painted black or draped in black fabric. To accompany the altar was either a floating, stone Hand of Bane or, failing that, an empty black throne facing its direction.

Services included rhythmic chanting, the rolling beating of drums and the sacrifice of an intelligent creature's life. To prepare for this life to be given to Bane, the oblatory life was to be demeaned and tortured until they showed him due fear.

Clergy of the church of Bane dressed in black and were sure to always remained armed. For ceremonial purposes, the priests adorned black armor draped in blood-red capes while mages donned ceremonial black robes that had been affixed with illusion spells to present shimmering black stars or blood spilling out.

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[EO]

Is that Arijani from Sri-Raji in the 2nd one?
Where can I find them? Are they for sale somewhere, in ebook form? I don't want dead-tree books. They are very hard to bring all the way here.

Somewhat late but if interested, here's a video of a guy reading Night of the Tiger: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNUyU6ECPsQ . He might be doing read throughs of other books in the collection. I only have Castle of the Undead in ebook format.

Also, to get back on topic, as far as I can tell, the first reference to Hala was in Chilling Tales (1995) in The Scarlet Kiss adventure before reappearing in the Marla entry in Children of the Night: Vampires (1996). There was also a brief reference to it in Bleak House before being covered in detail in the Van Richten Monster Hunter Compendium III.

[alhoon]

Hala was already mentioned in 1995? I thought she was a "new" addition in 3e

[EO]

Hala was already mentioned in 1995? I thought she was a "new" addition in 3e

Indeed, she predates the appearance of Ezra even who made her first appearance in Domains of Dread (1997). I might be wrong but Hala might be the first Ravenloft-centric deity introduced in the line, since in AD&D days, most deities in Ravenloft were taken from other settings.