Mechanic wise, I think it leaves too many people wondering. After playing this game for years, I still need to ask the dev about many things.
Maybe in time, things can be more clear cut instead of leaving people to figure it out over years only to have them changed to relearn things again.
Also, since we are talking about the game being not newbie friendly, why not make every new character start in the capital while allowing people to pick up an estate before starting their characters? That way, you don't have to tell new players to get to the capital. I've seen a number of people quit while they travel to the capital.
Regarding the first point, I recall this as being a part of the culture/game when I first tried Battlemaster ten years ago. You were not supposed to know the inner workings of the game and what you did know was supposed to come from playing and experimenting. Half of the questions being answered today would have been given a simple response of "Go try things out and let us know" back then. Then again, perhaps my memory is off here.
Regarding the second, you can pick an estate before starting. I can not recall where you start though. Might be the capitol and it might be elsewhere. Where never bothered me much to be honest.
