_As far as I know there are no_ downsides in preaching... except the "spam"
and being pkilled by... ah nevermind.
On the other hand, there are many beneficial effects in it that I know of. (I don't know if I'm allowed to share this info, but some (most?) people really don't have _any_ clue.)
1. The preacher gets an almost non-existent amount of experience points. Not so useful for the players with lots of exp, but newbies could find this helpful.
2. The Elemental God reward those who spread 'the divine word' with a tiny amount of df... well atleast enough for few success rites...
3. Those who fall into the trance can be prayed _for_, regardless of what they worship and who prays. And praying uses the person's who prays divine favours to speed up the regeneration of the target. Templars are especially interested in praying for your well-being...
4. Preaching strengthens the glow surrounding the air_priests' altar, which (afaik) makes their spells succeed more often.
5. Some books (this I haven't witnessed myself, but I have heard people talking) have special effects when being preached from. 'Eternal banishment' for example...
So there you go. 5 reasons for you to behave yourselves
( = shut the **** up ) when someone preaches.
What is this "lowering of elemental alignment"? I find myself clueless.
BTW. These books cost money, so any player who has bought them should not be denied (or be looked down on for) preaching.