I definitely support the idea of using talismans to add extra challenge to a level whilst also making it
not necessary to repeat a level in the same pack.
I'd probably count myself amongst the more casual players of
Lemmings - I
can solve a massively difficult puzzle if I put my mind to it, but I rarely feel the tendency to do so and more often prefer levels/challenges that let me create pretty much my own solution.
That said, it really does depend on the difficulty of the puzzle - I love original
Lemmings for its general open-endedness and emphasis on execution as well as puzzle solving, whereas I love the
Oh No! levels because they made Lemmings much more of a puzzle game whilst still being fairly accessible to more casual players; despite its infamous difficulty spike at the beginning of Crazy, it manages to draw the player in gradually from that point on, and never presents anything that feels totally unsolvable.
So, I do like more challenging puzzles, but if a level presents me with the opportunity to find my own solution
as well as the intended one, so much the better! That way, I can enjoy it no matter what mood I'm in. Talismans achieve this perfectly.
I also think that this plays into the "creating-
good-easy-levels-actually-isn't-that-easy" thing: if an author has managed the considerable task of making an
entire pack of high-quality, enjoyable easy levels (which in itself is an admirable feat), to then boost the pack by adding relevant Talismans to challenge the less casual/more able/more patient/haplessly completionist (delete as appropriate!) players makes it an ideal pack, and one I'd be way more likely to take an active interest in.