[moderation]

I think the issue with random scales is that is it just easier to implement. Of course if it were possible for the game to accept a package of player-made pretender/scales designs from the community, then maybe it would be possible to create more challenging SP opponents. Master of Magic had something like this, it had a set of pre-made opponents that you would encounter. Of course, I think it was only about ten or eleven, but it is an interesting example.

Of course, maybe you still need to get the AI to exploit the player-made designs, e.g. in the case of pretender god designed around a bless strategy, but it could be a first step. And of course, useful scales, like productivity for Ulm or Abysia would probably help out the AI automatically. Just a thought.