We like warzone to pick the starting squares because it randomises the games we play more
But at the same time it can be game over before a turn is actually played
My solution to this is that you bid for the starting set you get. So with two players on the first go the loser would get the bid difference in extra armies
It adds another element of skill
Would such a mod be possible and how easy might it be to create

I think manual distribution (picking) solves this problem

You can randomize the map using random warlords, or full dist with hundreds of +2 wastelands
It's more flexible than only "set A versus set B" (which adds another element of skill)

I don't know if it's possible to create a mod that allows bidding on sets of starting spots

Sure, you can make this mod. But I agree with OvertForeigner, I don't see the use case for this.

Besides, if you really want, you can play like this already, just using gift cards and reinforcement cards. You need to trust the opponent ofc, but this sounds niche anyway.

Awesome idea!

Thanks for the idea of doing the same using cards
That will let us test it and see what we think

Picking is basically bidding already... If you pick something as 1 you bid a lot on it, and you bid a bit less on your pick 2... and so on.

we play Roman Imperium a lot and found picking would give similar games because the strategy behind the picks was always there
By having warzone do the picks for us this shook things around a lot but also sometimes the result was a given even before round one
So my possible solution to this was to go through a bidding system of some sort
There is then another stage of skill where you have to decide how much one set of starting

is worth over another lot
And so bid accordingly