The Lord of the Rings

That's exactly the question: which side to play as. It seems that the human player plays on the side of Evil (Red - Sauron), and if you want to play for Good, you need to change the settings in the editor. Which color should you choose in this case? Orange, to play as Frodo?

Do you mean the map settings editor in the game itself? Yes, Frodo is orange. If it weren't for this strange bug that prevents the heroes of most players from being displayed, you would be able to see which color each player has.

And I'm also confused by: "allows for a completely different plot development." In my opinion, if a map is based on a particular work, the author's task is, on the contrary, to ensure the correct course of events and a finale that corresponds to the given plot.

Perhaps the difference lies in our understanding of the words "based on." In my understanding, "motif" and "plot" are different things. As I already wrote, I focused on the correct geography and the general idea of the work (the struggle between good and evil for the Ring). At the same time, events can develop in any way, it is not at all necessary that they develop as they did in the book, which is the main difference from the aforementioned pHOMM map, where almost every step of the player is scripted, he is not free to choose how to deal with the Ring, where to go, and who to fight.