[Archonsod]

HoneyBadger said:
Here are some of my ideas for implementation:
1, It could maybe be handled the way Dominion currently is-the higher the Pretender's Dominion, the greater range of spells that Pretender can grant, still on an individual basis.

Perhaps simply having a pretender grant X spells, and the holy level of the priest dictating what may be cast might be better. In other words, holy spells become similar to any other magic path, except priests are harder to empower and of course there's no research required.
There's two parts to my reasoning for this. In the first, by keeping it similar to existing magic it reduces the complexity of needing to learn how the system works on top of that inherent in the magic system. Secondly, since Holy power levels are so static, you can more easily judge how powerful a spell is. Anything requiring a Holy level of 5 or 6 for example is going to require dedicated investment to get a caster. Dominion on the other hand can wax and wane as the game goes on, and you have the problem of overpowerment (i.e. a successful player can build more temples, more temples means better spells, better spells mean more success and so on).

2, There's no reason holy magic can't be combined with other paths.

It might be good to have some lesser versions of existing spells which can be powered with holy magic instead. Slightly nerfed because research wouldn't be required (presumably). Thematically, the priest is drawing on his connection to the Pretender to power the spell, while a mage uses his own knowledge and training for a similar effect.

5, No holy gems. I'm against the idea, and if there's going to be holy spells that cost gems, then they should be holy + fire, and cost fire gems, etc.

Holy Gems wouldn't really make sense. It's not like you could store your connection to God somewhere. Perhaps however one or two more Holy enhancing items might be useful (more in the line of a religious relic than a magical artefact).

6, Combat-Oriented Pretenders should also be given a good look at, unless they're given spells too.

It depends entirely how you handle the Holy spell list really. If using Holy level rather than Dominion then the pretender type is moot, since it will be the quality of the nation's priests which decide the issue. The danger would be more along unbalancing the religiously weak nations against those with a strong priesthood, although of course it depends on the power of the spells granted.
It could provide a neat way of differentiating between the more religious nations however, especially those where magic is shunned.