At the very least, Rob and I have disliked this idea for some time now. If realms with 100+ nobles were the norm, it might be something to consider. Without that, though, all it does is destroy the realm structure without adding anything that most people in the game really want. Duchies are just too small to be a viable "us" unit, in the "us vs them" of the world.
Yep. I completely agree with Anaris here. Duchy-v-Duchy warfare internal to a realm would be a horrible addition to the game. There are several reasons why, and the number of nobles in the typical duchy these days simply won't support it. Even 5 years ago, many duchies were just too small to support it. There are other reasons as well, such as the loss of the team identity.
In order to really make it work, you'd have to have realm-sized duchies. And then the massively complex options of adding realm-to-duchy relations to handle external interference in the war, etc. Just imagine how incomprehensible setting up the sides on a battle would be.
