[Saber Cherry]

Sandman said:
Wheeeeee, more suggestions, ripped off from assorted similar games, or just made up by me:

Some of these would make really good spells or normal abilities, too.

Enchanter, Conjurer, Thaumaturg, etc: Casts the corresponding spell school with improved effect.

A great ability for the untis that are actually NAMED Enchanter, Conjurer, Thaumaturg, and etc

Chosen: The hero is rendered immune to curse, horror mark and certain afflictions.

Sounds good - hard to say how it could improve over time, though.

Raider: This ability allows ground commanders to initiate an attack from two or more squares away, like flying units.

This would also make a good special abiilty for leaders of barbarians, tribal cavalry, and BK Tien Chi.

Weaponsmaster: The commander can replace the weapons wielded by troops under their command with weapons from the province the army is currently occupying. This process costs resources.

I'm not sure this would work very well... Giving all troops under the commander a a gradual increase in weapon damage (+1, +2, ... after a long, long time, +3) might be possible, but replacing weapons would wreak havok with 2-handed weapons, mixed troop types, unit icons, and so forth.

Pilgrim: This hero gains increased experience and skills for each temple or holy site visited at least once.

Especially for "visiting" enemy temples I like this one. Wierd to say "I'm a heroic pilgrim, world-reknowned for my pligrimage," though. Perhaps certain sacred units (like flagellants) could get a special "Pilgrim" ability, gaining +3xp per turn while at a holy site and another +1 xp per turn while at a temple, and +10xp for desecrating and burning an enemy temple... much easier to implement.

Scavenger: The ability allows a modest % of gold and gems to be recovered from destroyed units in the aftermath of a battle. Enemy items are very likely to be recovered.

Great ability for huge battles, though not very heroic-sounding Treasure Hunter sounds much nicer!

Incorruptible Essence: Anyone trying to use lifedrain techniques on this hero will take enormous damage, or, in certain cases, be mind-enslaved to the 'victim'.

This would make a great magical spell: "Soul Poison: renders the life-force of friendly units in the affected area toxic to creatures that feed on souls. Any lifedrain attacks will do equal damage to both victim and attacker." Or a special ability to certain fodder troops, like Ghouls and Crossbreeds. If it could be deployed en mass rather than be a heroic ability, it would be a great defense against Lifesteal supercombattants.

A holy spell "Sanctify Blood" could similarly give a holy essence to the blood of sacred units, that damages undead and demonic life-draining attackers. Sounds overly specific, but it would be extremely useful in practice.

Guerilla: Allows the hero and/or commanded troops to join the battle from the side or even behind. Some measure of stealthyness should be needed to use this skill.

Quite a killer ability! How about this: the commander can position stealthy units under his command over a larger positioning map (the green thing you position troops on) than normal commanders. The higher the ability grows, the bigger the positioning map, such that at a very high level the troop-positioning map encompasses the entire real battlefield.

Partisan: This hero can recruit troops from enemy-held provinces. The troops must be stealthy, of course. Maybe not high-level national stuff.

Cool... The gold/resource budget could grow with the skill.

Terminator: If this assassin manages to kill his target quickly enough, the enemy will not even get to view a battle (and thus be unaware of the assassin's nationality or equipment). They just get a message saying that their unit has vanished without a trace.

My favorite so far!

Pioneer: This unit can perform the command 'colonise' which greatly boosts the growth rate of under-populated provinces.

Just like Heroic Stamina, but not quite as dirty...

Smuggler:Grants sailing, stealth and the ability to steal gold from enemy provinces that are adjacent to yours or one sea province away. It's twice as effective in coastal and river provinces.

This is pretty cool too! Sounds like a good ability for indy Smugglers, recruitable commanders from a level 0 coastal water site, "Smuggler's Cove."