[Scott Hebert]

Originally posted by Chris Byler:
Building temples is a Hierodule's job. What does the Keeper do that the red Sauromancer doesn't do better? (You can ask that kind of question about a lot of cheap national mages - but the Shaman has an answer.)

Bless, Preach, and Build Temples. For an answer that is somewhat conducive to discussion, however, I would use the Keepers to summon your Banefire Archers. All they need is a single +Death item (which your Sauromancers are guaranteed able to make). That's a 110g sacred mage (I can only believe the lack of sacred is an oversight) doing a job that would otherwise need a 180g non-sacred mage.

Also, if I have a Keeper building my temples, I don't have to build a Hierodule to build my Temples, since I'm already going to have Keepers for Research purposes anyway.

Please change the Keeper to 1 Fire, 1 Death, 1 Astral. Appropriate and useful (although still probably not as useful as the Shaman - no access to Relief or healing spells, can't forge supply items; but still usable as a communion slave, researcher, forger or site scryer).

I think that would be a singularly bad idea. They already have easy access to Banefire, do you really want them to have Astral Fires as well? And that's not counting Nether Darts, either...

This also ignores the fact that you are advocating to give C'tis a researcher in the top 10 in the game and you give Desert Tombs access to Astral items that really don't belong there.

I mean, how hard is it to find Shamen in independent provinces, anyway?

Although you could argue Desert Tombs needs them less, they don't have less need for Arcane Probing, communion slaves and cheap sacred researchers. If the Keeper's not going to be sacred he could at least be a point better researcher than the Shaman.

Actually, I would argue that yes, indeed, Desert Tombs has less need of communion slaves and Astral magic, due to an unlimited supply of undead troops. There is only _one_ nation in the game that gets Astral Magic, Death Magic, AND Unholy priests, and that's BE Ermor, and it pays a stiff penalty for it.

I really think that the Keeper's nonsacredness is an anomaly. I mean, can anyone name another priest that isn't sacred?