Here's a suggestion to reduce the number of restarts when a starting hero with a level higher than 1 appears: allow players to continue the game if they wish, with the condition that this hero does not participate in battles and possesses the skills of logistics, pathfinding, and scouting (in case these skills are not initially assigned to the hero). The hero should be dismissed no later than the first day. Something along these lines, perhaps with some adjustments, should be added to the rules. IMHO.