I've recently convinced a friend to start playing the game and from his reaction it seems that what is bothering to new nobles the most is the slow pace. This is something I personally don't have much of an issue with since I play 4 characters of which two are deeply involved in their realms and two I play semi-actively. Of course it does take some time to establish your characters and get truly involved but then still a new player who can play only 2 nobles is going to quit because of boredom faster than one who can play 4 characters immediately, I would think.
Now, it can take a long time for a new player to get a little busier.
So what I'm saying is that in terms of player retention and making the game attractive not only to seasoned gamers like the DF community but also to new players who aren't familiar with this sort of game, it'd be better to give them as much to do/follow/get involved in as soon as possible. Which could be easily accomplished by allowing everyone to play 4 characters from the start.
Especially since there's not many games out there that are as slow paced as battlemaster and it takes some time getting used to for most people.
