does religious *need* the talisman?

[DirectorTsaarx]

Originally posted by PvK:
I think the War Shrine is good, because it lets you add combat bonuses no one else can get. That is, if you weren't counting on Talisman to make you 100% accurate anyway. Death Shrine is worth building too, but not worth a lot of racial points, though it does mean you can do more damage than anyone else with the same weapons. I'd prefer Death Shrine to Nature Shrine, if I had to choose, because Nature Shrine's effect is so slow. In fact, I think you probably should have to choose, since Nature Shrine and Death Shrine wouldn't necessarily be provided by all religions.

Without the Talisman, I think Religious would be worth less, though - no more than 1000 points. With it, it is probably worth more, except that smart players are liable to try to wipe you out before you develop it.

PvK

I think the Temporal trait has a facility similar to the war shrine; I forget the name, but it provides offense & defense bonuses within the system. The death shrine is unique - the only one I know of that provides damage bonuses.

That gives me an idea; maybe the talisman should be changed so that rather than "always hit", it's a fairly large (stackable) bonus, plus a damage bonus? At least that would provide more options for properly balancing the trait.