Well, if you'll accept me I'd like to play.
I'm not really a newb, but having played only one MP game (that is, I'm still playing it. And doing quite badly), I would definitely not consider myself a veteran.
If you'll agree to accept me then my votes are:
Middle Era - I'm a bit sick of Early Era, and Late Era is not newb friendly.
RP is great, as long as we decide on some rules in advance, like is metagaming allowed? (For example, one player could RP a battle another player would otherwise not know about, would you consider it fair for that other player to attack the first player knowing he is weak from that battle?)
Either way, I think I'd like to play Pangaea, as I have almost never played them
