In Ancient Rome the Pantheon was the official state religion, though they weren't really obsessed with getting rid of the religions of their slaves until the advent of Nero's blaming Christians for the fire that allowed him to build his private palace.

Small towns or villages would have a single temple dedicated to a single member of the pantheon, while larger towns and cities would have proportionally more temples. Of course, as the high priest of Zeus, the Emperor was in charge of all the various branches of the pantheistic faith.

However, your pantheon may have internal power struggles and competing hierarchies too, with parallel paths to power, so that while the High Priest of Zeus is technically in charge, those Archbishops of Apollo get uppity from time to time, and those meddling Herans are always up to mischief, spying on everyone and snooping.

Quote Originally Posted by MonkeySage
So, most in the most recent game, my players found themselves locked in the middle of a rebellion in the city of soholm. they were asked for help by one of rebels for help. they learned that the baron's 16 year old son is leading the rebellion(against the empire). one of my players mentioned off hand that he was hoping to get something nice out of the deal. I'm wondering if my players are ready for that sort of thing, and whether or not it is appropriate to the scenario. the scenario is pretty straight forward: kick the imperials and shadow guard out, overthrow the baron(an imperial sympathizer), put the boy in charge. if they succeed, I was wondering what reward would be appropriate. this is pathfinder, and the average party level is 5.
They could betray the rebel an favor the Empire, earning the gratitude of the Imperial officer on the scene. Appropriate rewards would be money, naturally, and a position as that officer's troubleshooter squad. They could be sent in to the next possible hot spot to 'deal' with another uppity rival.

They could support the rebel for similar rewards, but in this scenario the Imperials will send in a massive retaliation squad which the rebel will naturally aim them at. Winning the battle is not equal to winning the war!

They could be focused against the Shadow Guard exclusively, in which case the Imperials may not know of them, (though the Shadow Guard will, and will not forget.) In this case they effectively replace, or are suborned by, the shadow guard. Whether they continue to act as agents of fear to dominate the populace or whether they act as agents of salvation against the forces of fear, their work is cut out for them. A society that has been ruled by fear for generations does not easily throw that beast off their backs. Even if the Shadow Guard is gone, others within the community will attempt to continue the 'normal' practice of domination by fear, either in competition with or outright hostility against the PC's.