I like the idea of religions, it makes the world more believable, but I believe this can be an element which makes or breaks an interesting storyline. Forget the cliche of warring religious factions, with do-gooder water element wielders against the maligned fire wielders. Give us say, a group of atheists, a group of seemingly good aligned tyrants, a group of benevolent death cultists, etc. Try to make it different and memorable, unlike the jumble of cliches in my head that I really can't distinguish. Instead, forget gods in the traditional sense. I realize that classes such as clerics need healing spells, which by definition is an overt godly act. Instead, let everyone have the potential for magic, and make it a great and heated scholarly debate as to whether these gifts come from gods or whether humans have the ability to ascend to a higher level of being, etc. Are the gods everlasting, or are they former humans ascended Buddha style, or are there no gods and humans make their own way...? I really don't want to go through another game where some Forgotten Realms' god was borrowed, the name changed (from Tyr to Tyros, Tyra...), and the description stays identical. They serve basic purpose: an obligatory reason for paladins and a source of spells for clerics. All I can ask is that you make the world totally original, and that you don't adopt boring conventions from high fantasy.