Well as another example, every knight in Obsidian Islands has just turned out to help Perdan fight the entire North. Seems to me their getting to see plenty of action.
But how many engaging messages do they receive in comparison ? The answer is Perdan's received 74 realm-channel messages in the last month while Obsidian Islands has received 6. Would it not be better for them to be part of Perdan's team without having to march through additional lands to participate in the war?
There should be an exemption. If a Duke is banned they should have the opportunity to secede no matter what.
No. There is no inalienable right to secede. Internal situations as dukes being banned were considered and this is why there is not a requirement for the old realm to have any minimum, so there is flexibility for a realm's nobility to side with the duke and then wage war upon the old realm without keeping them stuck in one realm.
There's a big difference between letting people found arbitrary-sized realms when the overall playerbase is healthy, and letting people found arbitrary-sized realms when the average realm size is below 20 and there are issues with finding a decent, interesting, and interactive realm wherever you go.
When the playerbase was healthy, generally founding particularly tiny realms did not bode well for one's longevity - there was a natural minimum enforcement. The way I see it, this is replicating that in an environment that can no longer naturally pressure small realms.
That's a small price to pay to retain Ducal Power. Dukes have always had that power. Taking the power away to allow them to secede is a HUGE power shift. I understand why you are making the changes, but this changes a very large dynamic to the game. Being able to secede as Duke is what kept the balance. If they banned you, good chance you were taking your Duchy with you.
I'm not sure if dukes have *always* had that power, but certainly as long as you've played, its been true. While the change wasn't about the following at all, dukes *have* been considered overpowered and needing balanced in relation to the rest of the hierarchy for some time. Again, there is no inalienable rights for dukes to do as they please and always get their way. The game is a *team* game, not about particular individuals' getting their way, everyone else can be banned and lose lands too, if they're not prepared or in a bad spot. The changes were made such that if the dukes have the popular support of the realm, they should be able to emerge victorious in any power struggles.
