Well, what's essential, really? Some realms have never even been to war, despite being around for years. Some realms have gone about with 1-3 nobles for a long time, too.
The game always had support classes. It just had a lot more characters take them, back then, and people didn't mind taking them, because it allowed them to get more involved in their realms, without multiplying the message load.
I mean, allowing two nobles with basically the same restrictions might work, though I'm not sure how much less coding it would be. I do prefer the concept of a separate somewhat lesser group that doesn't clutter the main caste, though.
