I think there are a lot of people playing Battle Master right now that are getting caught up on mechanics.
If you look at all the rules with the mentality of "if I was a medieval knight/lord/king, what would I do?" I think they make a lot more sense.
Merge realms? Heck no. I, as king, have either fought tooth and nail to gain rulership, or to keep it. Even if it made economic/politic/diplomatic sense, odds are pretty low that I would simply let my realm be absorbed by another.
Lordships? If I get appointed as Baron of X, there is no way I am going to fix the place up and be like "man, feels good to flip this region, someone else can take it now!". Nope. I am Baron. This is MY region, that I fixed up with my own power. I is a representation of my power. Can you get tired of being in charge and abdicate? Sure, it happens in a real world sense. But you shouldn't be looking for another title in two weeks. Can you have ambition? Heck yes. I am Baron of X, but City Y now needs a lord. Screw this dirt pile, I am moving to the bustling metropolis of Y!!
Move the Capital? Ugh, I hate this one. In my mind, the only reason you should move a capital is if your historic capital was lost and you got it back, or relocating a capital to a namesake region. There is a reason we recruit in the capital and don't move them. Armies need to plan for how much they will need for gold and food, how long refits will take, how long they can stay in the field, etc. It adds elements. You know what would be REALLY dumb and boring? Realm X and Realm Y moving their capitals to within a couple regions of each other and slugging it out like two Homer Simpsons in a boxing ring. No one is moving, they just stand there and punch each other in the face until one of them falls down.
There has been a lot of mentality of a "gamer" in this game, but it is in no way a traditional game. It is a political simulator, a role playing game, a diplomatic sandbox.
My two cents. I dunno. Maybe I smoke a hobo's share of crack, but I feel like we have lost a lot of that stuff in the game, and people talk more and more about "mechanics this" and "rules that".
