why not work it up a bit. Only the quartered off section of the library gives the PC's the full +6 bonus. To be able to access that area, the need to be heard by a selection committee, or need special privelidge from the chair of a certain department. That way, they need to prove themselves first. All 'grunt' members only have access to the regular library, that gives a +2 bonus.
a +6 bonus on knowledge checks can be a bit unbalancing, as the PC's have access to certain secrets (such as the cagewrights) before it becomes time to reveal such things plot-wise.
I thought about doing something like this but to be honest im not very confident in changing things too much in case it unbalances the game. :)
Don't worry about it. as long as the same rules apply to the NPC's, and you play them like you would your own characters, there's no real balance issue. Not as far as I can see, anyway.
How about the other thing i asked:Do clerics (and the temples) have to pay taxes? What sort of priviliges do holy people get in Cauldron? Would wearing clerical robes and been recognized as a cleric around town allow you to do/get away with things others cant?
Are pelors clergy even disreguarded or looked down upon slightly in Cauldron because they are only a small sized and the least popular faith? And have only two clerics at the moment and a hole in their temples roof?
Oh, and does Cauldron have a museum? If not where would you place one?
regarding clerics and taxes: I would say clerics pay taxes just as much as everyone else does. Being a cleric does not afford you any more status than any other profession in cauldron. The lord mayor's right hand man will see to that.
As a matter of fact, it you're going to have a lot of clerics, why not introduce a faith-tax. The city taxes all churches once a year (probably right after the flood festival). The in-game reason is it gives Vhalantru leverage on the churches. "You won't do as I say... perhaps I should increase your taxes. You can't pay your taxes? Well, then I'll just take posession of your church/shine/cathedral" As a GM, you can can ham up the tax problems, and really build up to the tax riots. You could even have Jenya up on that soapbox in stead of Maavu.
You can play Pelor any way you like. Just remember there is a strong rivalry between the shrine of Pelor and the Cathedral of Wee-Jas. In my game, the shrine of Pelor is the oldest temple in town. It's small because it chose not to relocate as Cauldron got bigger. It is an ancient and powerfull site, and one the cagewrights would love to tap into. As a matter of fact, they located the tree of shackled souls right under the shrine of pelor's central altar.
Your players are giving you a nice, meaty hook. You should be encouraging, not discouraging that. The +6 is too generous though. The easy solution is that they don't yet have access to the "private" libraries yet. Once they gain some experience, do a good deed for the academy, etc. then they get that access.
With 3 players having an interest, I'd change things so that the academy plays a bigger part:
* Change Jenya's god to be a god of knowledge attached to the academy
* Have the orphanage be run by the noble family that also runs the academy. Maybe the elf teaches at the orphanage.
* Change Triel in Flood Season to be a renegade from the academy. Maybe she's even at the academy at the start of the campaign, becomes a nemesis for the party, and then disappears.