Demon attack.

I think that in the player's city, besides the tavern, at least the first fortification should be built initially; otherwise, Alrik arrives and, with his red archers, wipes everything out by the end of the first week. I played on "Veteran" as Humans, and with Gordrik as my hero, things went downhill by the end of the first week. Or, perhaps, give additional troops to the city; this could help those factions that cannot "resurrect" units in the early game.