Inca nobility maintained their authority and legitimacy through extravagant displays of their wealth and power. One such display was by literally exalting themselves above their subjects by being lifted up in a palanquin. In my opinnion, the Inca War Chief would look a hell of a lot cooler hoisted up on one of these.
Depiction
This could be represented in game by changing the Inca War Chief from a heavy infantry unit to an uber shock infantry unit carried about on a palanquin. Some animations might even be able to be borrowed from Captured Mortars and Builder Travois (I’m not sure why it is called a travois, something like “Construction Porter” would be more accurate). Examples of what this could look like are picture below.
Basically one of these guys…
…seated on top of something similar to this:
Combat
In addition to looking awesome, this exalted position meant to awe conquered subjects would fit very well with the Inca War Chief’s aura that buffs native warriors. Palanquins were used as a vantage point for leading armies, so it is also reasonable for a combat unit.
Inca leaders carried around a golden halberd as a symbol of their power (which is the War Chief’s current weapon), and this polearm would give them the reach to attack even from their elevated seat. The attendants carrying the palanquins are often shown with a variety of weapons, so they could join in the attack with daggers and such to deal AoE damage around the War Chief. In the battle of Cajamarca, ambushing Spaniards directly attacked the emperor’s palanquin, and his unarmed attendants continued to hold him up even as they were being dismembered, so armed carriers would be even more formidable.
Condor Eye
The image above shows a sling being wielded from atop a palanquin. The War Chief’s Condor Eye ability could be reworked to use a sling like this instead of a spear. Given the similarity of this attack mode to Huaracas, and the similar stance between a palanquin and how Mortars are carried, this charged attack could be specialized for taking out artillery and buildings. This new Condor Eye ability could have greater range to reflect the War Chief’s higher elevation, and deal siege damage with bonuses against artillery and buildings instead of the cavalry multiplier it has now. With this ability, the siege unit tag would also be appropriate for the War Chief.