[Master Shake]

If you want to get a feel for Ermor, you might want to try Ashen Empire first - it's easier to handle and better against the AI imo.

Dominion is very important, so build temples. It determines how many units spawn in each province. To get the best units to spawn, you need castles/temples/labs.

I would not suggest taking minus Luck - it's a pain to lose temples to random events, especially since you don't get a huge income base. Research is tough to get going - some sages early on can really help and make some skulls (+9 research).