Well, that's how it was in the first and second games. No dolls, just two rows of slots for artifacts.
In my opinion, this system isn't very good. Although, on the one hand, it's more convenient, because, for example, if you need to turn a mage into a damage dealer, you just give him a bunch of weapons for attack.
And changing the appearance... technically, it's difficult, for the most part. And the element of surprise is lost, which is more important, in my opinion.
