[Septimius Severus]

A lot can be done with pretenders via the map file as well. But yes, the 4th consideration was doing this without the need of any mods and from the in-game pretender set up screen.

So you and everyone else sure you don't want the rainbow pretender option (limited to one or two paths)? I sorta like that idea, but it depends on how everyone else feels, don't want to complicate anything more than necessary. But if people want those cheap rainbows that sounds like the easiest way to go.

On a side note: I do like the idea of a special commander available to each team's flagship nation or captain though. Ulm, Ermor, Abysia, and R'lyeh for instance. Each team gets one. An uber commander alligned with the main path of each team. Though unlike a pretender, a commander cannot be recalled. So it must be used wisely. But I guess the random in-game heroes pretty much answer this function to a small degree.