[llamabeast]

I would be disinclined to go with Cradle, I'd say it was a bit big for 8 players.

One objection I've heard to Aran is that it's a bit wasteland-y. I've not really looked at it myself though.

Another alternative is my modified version of Parganos (where I have tried to even the terrain up and make it much less unbalanced). I can modify it a bit more as per suggestions you made before LP.

I'm still intrigued why you loathe random maps LP? I agree they're not as interesting chokepoint-wise, but they're not that bad. And it's easy to add real mountain provinces if you want.