A controversial suggestion

[Apollo Densin]

Quick edit but: Every war is a settlement destruction raid now so if you lose, you're the reason you no longer have a home and faction.

There was a suggestion I heard from someone. Can not remember it now. But if you wanted to have a town on your own, you needed to tie it to one of the big countries. So arcadia gets set up, but they ultimately would answer to Delphina as they are just one of the towns there. You could be the mayor/lord/whatever of that town still, you just had a bigger boss at end of day. So a war on a nation would require you to conquer all of their satellite towns before you got a chance at their capital or a good chunk of those towns at least.

I just wanted to repeat this suggestion I got DMed because of the edit I saw. Though make wars actual wars. Need to be several battles as you advance towards their heartland in order to defeat them. Reminds me of the Past wars of e1