Sounds like a solid potential addition to me.

Agree that champs are bland. I started a thread on something similar that just sank to the bottom though. Hopefully this one lives longer. But yes, there are only a few champs i can recognize right away. The red-head assassin, that one blond merchant. Most of the champs feel no different than any other rare resource. Except they are more common than everything but food and shards.

Anything to make champs actually feel like individuals instead of cogs would be great.

I agree with the OP. Giving champions more of a fantasy flavour would really help the game. It struck me as amusing that the first npc to join you in a game called War of Magic was - Fred in Accounting! When I played the game for the first time, I was sort of expecting something like an elven ranger riding a winged unicorn.

How to fix Champions in v1.1

At least in my opinion. This opinion is based upon playing numerous games both release and beta up until this point.

• First. Champions MUST get experience on a turn by turn basis. Combat experience simply is added to this. There are several reasons for this. The primary reason is that currently the AI doesn't get their champions any experience at all and when you engage in a battle with them they are always at 1st level. This would add more difficulty and interest in the game. The experience should be given to all Champions, whether recruited or not, however, recruited Champions would gather a higher level of experience per turn. This would also make additional use of those Champions that are hired to simply be stationed in a city for their early game bonus. This is important for Sovereigns as well. Yesterday after 150 turns I beat a Sovereign that still had only 30 or so hit points in the game while my Sovereign had something like 103.
• The AI MUST be coded to use the Imbue Hero enchantment as soon as it becomes available on it's Champions. Allowing the Champions to use spell attacks in defense of a city is important. Additionally, the AI has to better equip their Champions. Always seeing a Champion rushing you with a dagger and nothing else is simply dumb. If Brad wants the AI to perform better in combat, he needs to focus on AI Champion usage.
• Champions are dull, generally without exception. When they level, they should increase in power in other ways that make them more interesting. One poster has already noted that the initial skills should increase which is a great idea. Additionally, other skills should be made available much like is in MOM. Skills like Regeneration, combat bonuses, special attacks, defensive bonuses, special defensive powers as well as additional game skills like increased gildar/mana/tech production. Each Champion should be able to be different and special.
• IF the game cannot handle the special skills/bonuses for heroes, then either create a building that bestowes additional benefits to your recruited champions OR have books/tomes that can be found and used by quests or have magical items that bestow some of these abilities. The game is really, really short on neat magical items that make champions unique.
• The spell to bring back dead heroes is too far up the magical spell book chain or there needs to be so lower spells that can help get your champions back from the dead. Champions can result in a high time/game expense expenditure. There needs to be some lower level enchantments that allow us (as well as the AI) to get these champions back (perhaps sans equipment or at a experience penalty).

These are pretty much off the top of my head, but I believe that every one of them would greatly improve the game. However, the most important is getting all champions experience on a turn by turn basis so even if the champion just sits in a city, they gain in power. Once champions start to level in the game, the game becomes much more interesting.

Just my opinion.

There we go, these are all awesome ideas for what we need. @nitey47 I generally agree with all your changes, we should have a building that alots experience to champions if they stay housed in a town, up to a certain level that is-I still think heroes should require some experience to be truly epic.

That could work for me, but I think some system should be in place to make the higher levels an automated process.Maybe the administrator can only reach its final level when the town it's in hits level 5. *Shrugs* Something of that sort!

Royalty is kinda lame now that CHA effects prestige. Royalty should instead add maintence decrease or something more fitting to a royal role.. I mean they can bend the rules right? Never the less good suggestion but I would like to see a lot more skills than the current one. FF Tactics/Total War had some interesting ideas. (Psst.... I want a dragoon)

Need to do something.  Much of the above has been asked for before.  Champs are waaaaaay bland compared to MOM.