IGN Faction Feature: Holy Roman Empire

[Drake]

It sounds like they may have cut down the HRE's starting position. In M:TW HRE started with a lot of provinces and facilities, whereas now they kick off with 6 (I count?) settlements. Possibly a more fair reflection of the time, since the Western Roman Empire wa sin decline by this stage?

EDIt: Hit post too early. My point being that this might make the HRE easier to play since it gives them less territory to cover and manage. In the first game there was so much to be done before you could start getting into everyone else properly. Having cities like Prague nearby for easier conquest should allow expansion at a more comfortable rate but is this proximity to the Pope accurate? Being next door to him and Sicily seems a bit off to me, but then I'm no history buff.