There are nature, death and sun temples as well, each one with it's own unique benefits. Other races are also available in the game. Elves, Gnomes and Dwarves can all be recruited, but once you pick one race, no other race will join you. Like the heroes, each race offers different benefits. Elves are mean mothers with a bow, but they also bring gambling to your kingdom, which you can't tax.
Dwarves are sturdy fellows, but they're pricy.
Gnomes are cheap and help build your kingdom quickly, but, well, they're kind of trashy and breed like rabbits. You can't directly control your heroes, however, and that is where the Settlers style game play comes in. You can place a bounty on the head of an invading spider, but you can't direct a wizard to go smite the spider. It turns out you're a hands off ruler. Majesty isn't terribly difficult, but it is terribly addicting.