I find ruins as they rare relatively boring; i.e. unlock ruin, enter run tile with large army, kill guardian(s) and collect treasure. It takes no skill or thought to explore these ruins.
Suggested Improvements:
a. Diverse selection of maps for ruins - the ruins of a castle, a swamp with muddy terrain, a mountain keep, the ruins of an ancient keep, ruins overgrown with forests.
These maps would add a wider range of tactical considerations to the battle, especially if the creatures in the ruins had AI that took advantage of the terrain.
b. Add line of sight to the map so that I can't see every enemy unit. Perhaps a squad of monsters lies in wait (not all monsters are stupid) beyond a hill or behind the ruins of an anicent wall.
c. Wider range of encounters. Sure you are attacked by a group of spiders - but what if on occassion they swarmed your army from all sides - not just from the front. What if guardians attack by firing arrows from behind a wall that can only be breached with a seige engine.
d. An incentive to attack enemy leaders. What if your army was mobbed by an army of undead that could be dispelled by slaying the high priest commanding them. Adds an option for victory in the face of overwhelming odds - do I focus on attacking enemy army units or attempt to slay its leaders.
d. Dual Ruin Maps: Wilderness and Dungeon - While a characters army can enter the wilderness ruin map, within this map is a portal to the Dungeon Ruins which only champions or lords can enter.
e. Dungeon Maps - Dungeon ruins; accessed from a portal or doorway in a wilderness ruin map, can only be entered by champions (or lords). Entering a dungeon ruin might drop the explorers into a cavern system, a dungeon, or perhaps the hall of an ancient castle. (aka the old Diablo dungeon maps).
f. Dungeon Choices - Within the Dungeon ruins there may be decision encounters (in addition to monsters). Perhaps the PCs meet a wizened old man that asks them a question or a creature that warns them to leave. Perhaps a riddle. Their response can affect the encounter, the treasure they receive, summon a mosnter or start a war. Perhaps you insult the king of the lizard men in exploring a ruin. Perhaps there are two cups - a copper one and the gold one. Take the gold one and it summons a monster. Take the copper one and it reveals a magical sword. Perhaps a riddle of 5 stones that placed in the correct order solve the puzzle and release the treasue. Clues are hidden in the encounter map surrounding the player.
g. Awakened Ruins may spawn creatures that invade surrounding lands. Perhaps entering a ruin awakens an undead army or a slumbering army of lizard people. Force players to ask them selves, do I really want to enter that graveyard? Perhaps entering a ruin causes surroundings lands to rise to impassible mountains or sink and be flooded by water.
h. Some creatures should trigger fear in low level units. A peasant army that encounters giant spiders or a dragon may freeze in place, flee the battlefield, or desert, while more experienced troops will gladly attach the creature. Entering ruins with a peasant army may not be a good idea - especially if they desert.
j. Not all champions like to explore ruins, most prefer good honest combat others trade. What if only some champions were dungeon dweleving adventurers. Others decline to enter dungeon maps (but will enter the ruin titles, but not the dungeon maps linked to them. This makes the recruiting techs more valuable - If you want to find champions that will explore ruins.
