Q1. Is it possible for a non-Gand to join your religion?
Q2. How can I be part of Alissma without leaving my current employment?
Q3. Okay, I believe, but can I do more?
Q4. Who do you manage facilities for?
Q5. How can I get religious facilites on my planet?
Q6. How can I get religious facilities to make an income from?
Q7. How much do religious facilities make?
Q8. How much do religious facilities cost to construct?
Q9. I want to improve morale, what's the best way to do it?
Q10. How does Alissma feel about other religions?
Q11. Do I have to believe in Ara to reach the Light?
A1. While the Gand were the first to recognise Ara, and His Light, all sentients have an equal chance of walking their Path and finding the Light. We happily welcome non-Gand into the ranks of the Faithful.
A2. Being part of Alissma is as simple as believing and trying to find your Path, which of course our ruetsavii can help guide you into discovering.
A3. There are two ways that you can be more involved in Alissma. The first is simply to spread the word. Make it known that you are a follower of Alissma, and talk about it to anyone who shows an interest. Bringing more people into the Light and spreading the Word of Ara is one of the best ways to contribute to the religion. The second way is donate directly to Alissma, so that we have more material resources for bringing the Word of Ara to more of the galaxy's sentients. All donations are entirely voluntary, and as much or as little as you can afford can always be put to good use spreading belief in Ara across the galaxy.
A4. It is up to each of Alissma's followers to talk about their beliefs, and not for us to advertise them. However, I can say that we currently preach to over half of the governments of the galaxy, as well as many other companies and private individuals.
A5. There are two ways to get a religious facility in your city. The first is to have it owned by Alissma, and the second is to own it yourself. This answer will deal with Alissma owning it. See the next answer for owning it yourself. To get a religious facility owned by Alissma in your city, you will need to provide three things: Space in the city, Power, and Raw Materials. Alissma will then provide a priest and workers to perform the construction, and cover the local construction costs. Alissma will receive all FI from the facility.
A6. To get a religious facility you own in your city, you will need to provide five things: Space in the city, Power, Raw Materials, a faction Member to oversee construction, and the local Construction Costs. You will receive all FI from the facility. We usually accept your faction member into Alissma and give them build privs so they may build for you. They should have access to the required mats. If you don't want to send the mats to your member you may send the mats to Alissma, but you should tell us your member needs Alissma mats privs too. Your member will be building on your slabs, so you need to approve the build permissions. The facilities will be built through Alissma, and will appear in Alissma inventory. We will contact you about payment and make over of facility. If you think the facility will be completed before we can complete the make-over, you may want to have it paused so that it completes under your ownership and powers up from your own PGs.
A7. The following is based on observed data, and is intended as a guide only. The first number is the lowest observed value, the second number is the highest observed value, and the third value is the commonly expected income.
Chapels: 200 - 5,000, 4,000.
Churches: 1,000 - 20,000, 17,000.
Temples: 19,000 - 38,000, 30,000.
Cathedrals: 5,000 - 104,000, 80,000.
A8. Exact costs will vary based upon the stats of the planet the construction is occuring on. The approximate average construction costs for each type of facility are:
Chapels: 17,000
Churches: 45,000
Temples: 235,000
Cathedrals: 500,000
A9. Morale increases are based heavily on the size of the facility. Therefore the best way to improve morale is with the largest religious facility that you have the room to construct. Of course, you can also achieve good results with multiple smaller facilities. A cathedral/temple combination is a popular choice for smaller operations (Mining or Production cities, for example). More densely populated planets will require more facilities.
A10. Besides Alissma, we find there are two types of religion in the galaxy. The first is where the followers are seeing an aspect of Ara, and misinterpreting it. The other type are the cults lead by charismatic madmen, where they take bizarre concepts and base belief systems around them, hoarding riches for themselves and dragging others away from the Path and into the Mists.
A11. Alissma does not require you to believe in Ara, but to reach the Light you must achieve your potential - you must walk the Path that He has set for you. While it is possible that you might do so "by accident", so to speak, you are more likely to find your Path by accepting the beliefs of Alissma and allowing our ruetsavii to guide you to discover your potential, and the Path that you must walk.