[clark]

Just to clarify, I wasn't suggesting that all of the ideas be implemented at the same time, but some of them alone, or together, in different combinations might allow for a "re-balance" since the Religious trait is generally considered so unbalancing.

There are other solutions as well, I think, such as preventing mounts with ships that contain the Religious Talisman (doable?). So then your ship will always hit, but it isn't doing as much damage.

You could also set it so only one ship class can use the Religious Talisman (the Religious Class, or whatever) much like a Colony ship must carry a colony module. This way you could mod that class of ship to take longer to build, maintain, or contain only so much space for weapons.

I think ideally though, something simple would be more effective, like preventing the use of shields and armor if the ship contains a Religious Talisman. No retrofit would also help too.

Defense penalties might balance it a bit, as the Religious player can "always" hit, but their opponent has a better chance of scoring a hit now.