Editing Ezra (section)

==The Erudites==
The most unusual of the Ezra sects, the Erudites are a faith of philosopher-mystics, whose theology emphasizes the idea that the Grand Scheme is not yet ''known'' to mortals and that their Ezra-appointed duty is to try and understand it better.

This is only the start of their differences; like the Home Faith, they have no real interest in proselytizing, but this is because they believe salvation is a spiritual affair and not directly connected to Ezra's worship. 

They even disagree on one of the few shared beliefs of the other sects, claiming that Ezra is ''not'' a mortal who ascended to divinity, as the other sects do, but rather that she was a goddess all along, and she is merely the goddess who is most interested in mortals.

For this reason, they were one of the only two sects to get a proper dogma writeup in the 3rd Ravenloft Gazetteer, which neatly summarizes just what they believe and how they should act:

''"Ezra was a goddess who saw that the gods had abandoned the Hollow, a place hidden by mists and burdened by suffering. She beseeched the gods to tend to these people, but they refused. She left the realm of the gods and gave herself to the Mists in order to watch over the mortals within the Hollow. Other faiths simply worship other aspects of Ezra. The Grand Scheme has not yet been revealed to mortals, and thus study must be devoted to Ezra's other aspects. Ezra waits for us at the end of our life, on the other side of the Mists of Death, to take us to our final reward."''

In AD&D, an Erudite anchorite's Shield of Ezra shields them from magic; spells that ordinarily allow no save against their damage now can be saved against to halve the damage, and spells that allow saves inflict no damage if the anchorite saves and only half damage if the anchorite fails its save.

Likewise, its Major Spheres are All, Charm, Divination, Guardian and Healing, whilst its Minor Spheres are Law, Protection and Wards. Its unique Minor Sphere is Chaos.

In 3rd edition, an Erudite Anchorite's Shield of Ezra grants them a +10 bonus to all Fortitude and Reflex saves made against damaging spells. Its favored secondary domain is Protection.