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Clerics of Velsharoon prayed for their spells at midnight, when the secrets of the night were best unearthed. For a relatively young faith, the clergy of Velsharoon had quickly established a large number of holy days and rituals. The faith had yet to coalesce into a homogeneous creed, however, and widely varying rituals were found not only in different temples but within individual temples as well. Two rituals became fairly widespread. The Binding of the Crypt and the Pact of the Everlasting were two rituals performed by powerful clerics, allowing them to return as an undead creature or be raised from the dead automatically if they were slain. Both rituals involved numerous other horrible incantations and the foul sacrifice of numerous good-aligned sentients. Prominent theologians of the faith claimed that these rituals were merely two of seven to be revealed by Velsharoon along a path to achieving immortality.

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The church of Talona observes thrice-daily prayers to the goddess (morning, highsun, and evening, though the timing of such rituals need not be precise), and daernuth (holy festivals) every 12 days. Festivals are events open to nondevotees, where such visitors are encouraged to pray and give offerings to Talona to spare themselves or loved ones from death, disease, wasting diseases, and the like. At such day-long celebrations, priests of Talona are always careful to show lepers and other victims of disfiguring diseases being cured by priestly magic before everyone and also to demonstrate their immunity to contracting disease by touching disease-carrying or filthy objects to the stillbloody ritual wounds of a Talontar (inflicted as during a private cicatrization ceremony). A long symphony of rolling drums, deep-voiced chanting, and glaur, shawm, and zulkoon music proclaims the power and veneration of Talona throughout the day, and minor priests busily sell poisons (for eliminating vermin, of course), antidotes, and medicines throughout the day, assisted by senior clergy who diagnose conditions (usually with great accuracy) and prescribe treatments in return for stiff fees (typically 50 or 100 gp per examination). Annually at the daernuth falling closet to Higharvestide, initiates of the faith are formally inducted into the priesthood. This ascension is marked by horrifying private ceremonies involving ritual scarring and sacred tattoos. Exceptionally unappealing individuals (Charisma 3 or 4) who undergo the ascension ceremony find their personal Charisma raised by the ceremony due to the respect engendered in those viewing them by the fact that they survived the experience causing such scars (Charisma goes up to 5). The amount of scarring is so severe for specialty priests of the faith that their Charisma drops to a maximum of 11 if it was higher before the ceremony, though the same benefit for a dismally low Charisma is accrued.

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The most basic ritual performed by Loviatans is a kneeling prayer at morning and at evening performed after striking oneself once with a whip. Other rituals of the faith center on consecrating wine, whips, holy symbols, and other items-both practical, such as potions of healing, and horrific, such as tortune implements-used by the devout and on celebrating advancement in priestly rank. All four seasonal festivals are celebrated by Loviatans with the Rite of Pain and Purity: a circle dance of chanting, singing clergy members performed upon barbed wire, thorns, or broken glass or crystal, where the priests allowed themselves to be urged to greater efforts by the whips of high-level priests and are accompanied by the drumming of lay worshipers. A red radiance rises gradually and forms a flickering cloud above the ring. If Loviatar has important missions to speak of, is especially pleased with this group of followers, or wants to enact her displeasure, she manifests in the heart of the cloud. If Loviatar does not manifest, the ritual ends after half an hour, and the priests heal themselves. Every twelfth night (unless such a night coincides with a Rite of Pain and Purity, which preempts it) the clergy members celebrate smaller Candle Rite wherein they sing, chant, and pray as they dance around lit candles, passing some parts of their bodies through or over their flames repeatedly until the rite ends with the highest-ranking priestess extinguishing her candle with consecrated wine.

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Worship of Malar centers around the hunt and tends to consist of personal prayers to the Beastlord offered before the chase, during pursuit, and while drinking a toast over the slain quarry (sometimes a toast of the blood of the very animal killed). The droning Bloodsong is intoned over the bodies of all creatures slain during a hunt—and specific ritual prayers and chants should accompany feasting on any beast slain during a hunt. The only high rites of the faith are the Feast of the Stags and the High Hunts. The Feast is celebrated at Higharvestide, when Malarite clergy parade through settled areas bearing the heads of the beasts they have slain during the previous tenday (a frenzied orgy of killing) and lead all who desire to eat to a feast. The beasts hunted down by Malarite hands are the main dishes at this two-day-long revel of gluttony, and all folk are invited (even druids may come and dine in safety, protected by "the Peace of the Table"). At this feast, clergy publicly undertake to hunt throughout the winter ahead for the tables of specific widows, aged folk, infirm individuals, and orphan children. This day marks the annual high point of regard for the faith of Malar in most communities. By Malar's command, every hunt (religious ceremony) of his worshipers must celebrate at least one High Hunt in each of the four seasons of the year. A High Hunt is a sporting event attended by all Malarite clergy members able to walk. They wear boots and headpieces made from the skulls or heads of beasts they have personally slain, and each wields only a single knife or the claws of Malar. Their quarry—a sentient humanoid, usually a human male—who is set free in a wooded area (or extensive cavern complex if necessary) ringed by Malarite clergy members. The quarry is armed and armored with all the nonmagical items he or she desires that can reasonably be obtained—and then hunted to death for the glory of Malar. However, if the prey escapes the boundaries of the hunt (set up at its beginning) within a day and a night or survives until the sun has cleared the horizon on the morning after the hunt begins, he or she wins freedom, can never be so hunted again, and can ask any boon of the Huntmaster that is within his or her power and does not involve killing a Malarite. The prey is often a druid and cannot be a worshiper of Malar. (Huntmasters cannot use the High Hunt to eliminate potential rivals within the clergy.) When slain, victims of the hunt are wholly burned to ashes as a meal for Malar.

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Midwinter Night is the most holy time of the year to clergy of Auril. It is a festival of ice-dancing that lasts the whole night through, during which the goddess desires her clergy both to enjoy themselves and to lure as many folk as possible into her service. Postulants are instructed in the ways of the goddess, and must undergo the most sacred ritual of Auril to gain admittance into her clergy: the Embracing. This personal ritual may occur at any time of year, but if it is in summer, the postulant must journey to arctic or high mountain regions in order to find a blizzard. The Embracing consists of running through a blizzard all night long dressed in only boots (though they may be thigh-high), a thin shift, and body paint depicting symbols sacred to Auril. Celebrants either perish of exposure or are accepted by the goddess by being rescued from the pain and shivering by Her Embrace. Thereafter, clergy members usually pray in private, by lying out in the snow all night long in prayer vigil. In summer, her clergy usually immerse themselves (except for their heads) in the coldest water they can find, typically by lying down in a fast-flowing stream. Auril answers their queries and gives them directions and missions through mind visions. Two informal but enthusiastically celebrated rituals are the Coming Storm and the Last Storm-howling ice storms called up by clergy working en masse with all the cold magic they can muster. Together they bring fierce weather down upon a town or region to mark the onset of winter or its last gasp as spring begins.

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Myrkul is worshipped on a daily basis at dusk, but there is only one calendar-related ritual observed by the Church of Myrkul; The Feast of the Moon is known to the faithful of Myrkul as the Day the Dead are Most With Us. Myrkulites believe that on this day the essence of all dead folk rise and drift as unseen ghosts across Faerûn, seeking their living descendants to deliver messages or warnings, or just to observe. To those worshipping the Lord of Bones, this is a day to celebrate the dead.

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Cyric as yet has established few holy days. Until the destruction of Zhentil Keep, the final day and night of Marpenoth was observed as a holy day in celebration of the Banedeath, the purge that ensured Cyric's total victory over the persistent worship of Bane within Zhentil Keep. After the Keep's destruction, that holy day suddenly ceased to be observed, and all mention of it has been wiped from official church records. Cyric's church does not celebrate the anniversary of his ascension to divine status as this also marks the anniversary of Midnight's ascension (and Cyric hates her). In addition, church histories now note that Cyric has always been divine, and therefore his ascension would be illogical to celebrate, although the history of Cyric's noble efforts to regain the Tablets of Fate as a mortal are also a part of church canon. The obvious contradiction of speaking of Cyric's mortal life while maintaining his eternal divinity is not allowed to trouble the minds of Cyric's faithful. Blood sacrifices are deemed necessary for Cyric to hear any prayers of entreaty. Local priests usually declare an impromptu Day of the Dark Sun (a high holy day) whenever they acquire something (or someone) deemed important enough to sacrifice to Cyric.

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As so many devotees of Shar keep their faith secret (and this secrecy is encouraged by senior clergy), the Sharran faith has no set holy days aside from the Feast of the Moon. To Dark Followers (the faithful of Shar) this holiday is known as the Rising of the Dark. They gather on it under cover of the more widespread venerations of the dead to witness a blood sacrifice and learn of any plots or aims the clergy want them to work toward during the winter ahead. The most important Sharran ritual of worship is Nightfall, the coming of darkness. Clergy hold this ritual every night. It consists of a brief invocation, a dance, a charge or series of inspiring instructions from the godgess spoken by one of the clergy or by a raven-haired female lay worshiper, and a revel celebrated by eating, drinking, and dancing together. Lay worshipers must attend at least one Nightfall (or dance to the goddess themselves) and must perform - and report to their fellows - at least one small act of wickedness in salute to the Lady every tenday. On moonless nights, Nightfall is known as the Coming of the Lady, and every congregation must carry out some significant act of vengeance or wickedness in the Dark Lady's name. The most important ceremony of the priesthood of Shar is the Kiss of the Lady, a horrific night-long revel of slaying and doing dark deeds in the name of the lady that ends with a feast at dawn. Kissmoots are scheduled irregularly, whenever the priests of Old Night decree. Increasingly the rival clergy of the Embrace have been proclaiming that this ritual be celebrated at different times than those decreed by the temple of Old Night.

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