[PvK]

It's still not really game over, especially in SP. In MP, it's time for diplomacy and secrecy. Independent attacks never assault a castle, so you should have some units that can be mustered to relieve the seige, while perhaps you summon some creatures or forge magic weapons (bye bye, ethereal protection) and/or research appropriate spells inside the castle. Also, if you were prudent, you have some cash reserves and can hire mercenaries, and even without a castle, troops can be hired in other provinces. This is a good situation in which to use the so-called "useless" low-resource light troops, because for a single battle like this, strength can really lie in numbers.

Still, I agree it'd be nice to have limits on the early-game disasters, and I do like Chris' suggested events.

Oh, and I think it was earlier on this thread I mentioned I wasn't sure, but there is a "large numbers of immigrants arrive in province Q" event.

PvK