It *is* useful, even if I sometimes scratch my head at the list selection (some are very niche, and I get the feeling that there are a few glaring holes).
You're talking about all those example priest base list sets (not the individual lists themselves)? That was put together by someone at the current version of ICE at the time. It showing up in the book was a surprise to us (and I agree with your opinion).
No, I'm talking about the spell lists.
I find some lists really uninspired (Aquatic Forms, Land Forms, Faith's Shield), overly generic (Divine Magic, Spirit Domination, Spirit Law), unhelpful (Holy Element - seriously, that list looks like the element-generic lists of the Elemental Companion, and that's *not* a compliment. Furthermore, you have Holy Wind, which is a fair example on how to do an element-specific list, a few pages later), niche and bizarre in their specifics (Serpent Law). The elemental lists (Holy Wind, Stone Mastery) have a very Essential feel to them, and almost no Channeling (as in 'divine inspiration') feel.
On the other hand, such important domains as Sun, Night, Fertility, Hearth/Protection, Craft, War, Fire, and so on, are not covered.
I would have expected an approach presenting how a given domain is handled by the divinity and, as such, what powers the followers can pray for. A divinity of fire as a chtonian force, violent and destructive, but also purifying and leaving potential for new life in its wake, would have a very different outlook and set of follower powers than, say, a divinity of fire that focuses on bringing light and warmth, fending off the beasts of the night, and giving visions. I think the book (like most other companions) would have benefited from more design notes and less historical notes - anyone can hit the internet to look for historical information that might or might not be relevant to their game, but no one can peek into the mind of the authors to know what was their logic and their intent when they came up with the rules they wrote.
On the other hand, I was very interested in the Summoner and Mythic professions and associated spell lists (I used both). I didn't like the warlock much, mostly because of the Transformations list, which seemed at odds with the other ones - an entity contact and possession list would have fit better, I think.
Last (but not least, I guess), I think you focused too much on religions based on deities, and also too much on spells. I would be hard-pressed to design a Shinto priest (or a Buddhist one, for that matter) with that kind of focus. Pantheic faiths (one faiths that covers everything) are very common in the real world but, for some reason, have been mostly ignored by fantasy RPGs that focus on polytheistic religions with discrete and competing spheres of power. Pantheic priests would have "something for everything" within the limits of religion - meaning that they know they do not *command* the world but try to petition for assistance or a boon, whereas most lists are focused on the intent and will of the priest, which is a very arcane way of doing things. Spells are basically that - the will of the priest changing the world - while I would have expected a system that focused on the will of the *divine* (or spirits, or whatever) and how the priest could petition for help in small or large ways but never *command* the divine. Basically a complete overhaul of the channeling rules to focus on rituals and relation with the divine instead of spells, and with prepared items imbued with the power of the divine (scrolls, warding stones, unguents or draughts...). And I think that kind of approach could have been a blueprint for the alchemy and construct companions.
Oh well. At least it gives me ideas
