As per the Drawback:
"You are fanatical in your beliefs, ruled by emotion over reason. When you attack a creature that you know worships a different religion than you do, you take a –5 penalty on the attack roll and a +2 trait bonus on the damage roll with your first attack."
1)What happens if this first attack is a spell?
2)What if this spell deals damage but does not require an attack roll, such as a Fireball?
My reading is that it would affect a spell that requires an attack roll, but not one like Fireball that doesn't.
It does say "penalty and bonus", so I imagine if your first attack doesn't have an attack roll it won't get the damage bonus either.
And "first attack" means first attack. So there are no effects on any additional rolls.
Any which way you look at it, this seems an easily avoided Drawback for some characters. Especially when you take into account you have to know the enemy is an unbeliever. Not "think", not "assume". Know.
1) If the spell requires an attack roll, it applies exactly as it would for any other attack.
2) Outside the context of discussions regarding breaking invisibility and the like, an attack is generally considered to be something that requires an attack roll.
Any which way you look at it, this seems an easily avoided Drawback for some characters.
To me the fluff is more off-putting than the crunch. "You are fanatical in your beliefs, ruled by emotion over reason"? That would clash terribly with so many of my character concepts.
Thanks for the replies, guys.
The Drawback is a consideration to a potential BBEG I am designing as the group is part of an organization and follow the same religion.
I might just add a Scroching Ray to his arsenal.