Therefore, a Religion roll of 10 or higher should be made, assuming that it is common knowledge but maybe not everyone cares about religions and wouldn't pay attention to the symbols of every god or goddess, and if successful, the character should immediately be told that Shar is the evil goddess of darkness and loss.
I think a DC 10 might be a bit too high for basic knowledge. A player who knows nothing about the FR and doesn't have anyone with Religion proficiency in their party is going to be confused for a while. Probably everyone should be told she is the god of darkness secrets and loss and is opposed to her sister. Depending on how important they make alignment in the game they could throw in the evil part here as well. A Religion check should give more information, maybe make the DC lower if there is already a cleric in the party, this extra information (which should remain factual) should be able to be learned later on like you mentioned if failing the roll.
And maybe they should modify her armour a bit so people can't assume things from it.
Originally Posted by JandK
Transition over to a society filled mostly with uneducated peasants, all split apart by assorted boundaries. In a land filled with numerous races and monsters and bandits and wizards and this symbol and that symbol. No, the average person doesn't know a tenth of what the typical Forgotten Realms fan does, especially considering the fan has probably spent years reading setting books.
I agree with this entirely, most people would only know of the gods pertinent to their lives. Those with higher education and perhaps in large cities where there are temples of all types, and of course adventurers would know a bit more. However this doesn't help the situation of the player being confused, so I think more knowledge should be given somehow.
