by XFreeBirdX
You should have a look at the revised rules, they might help you with the anticlimatic end as they autoinclude the "Road to Victory" variant from the expansion (actualy almost exactly what you suggestet). Also you seem to have a weird idea of the setup, every player gets 2 pieces, so you should have 8 instead of 4.Generally I would agree with Wayne in that I dont feel that your ideas would make the game better for me (I love it the way it is with BoW) but well, to each his own. Runewars is a game that really hits the table too rarely with most people it seems.
Have fun!