I think we went about this all wrong. What are we doing still thinking the initial stages had some sort of military resistance possibility? Let's ditch that thought because it is very likely that was completely off-base.
I think that adventurers were very important in the initial stages, and the prophets that talked about throwing away one's honor weren't talking about allying with the invaders, but recognizing commoners. Debate as you will.
Furthermore, and here's the kicker: I recall Tom even mentioning once on the Dlist about how realms were wasting time initially allying with NPCs instead of doing something more important.
