[magnate]

Fighting independents may not be exciting, but it is the first thing you have to do as a new player. So I do think it would merit a section or subsection of its own, before you go into detailed tactics about battles vs. other races. You don't need too much detail on the mechanisms of battles, just some tips for taking indy provinces without huge losses (the SC pretender, assassinating all the commanders, using very heavily armoured units, etc.).

If your guide is more of a reference encyclopaedia for dipping into, you probably don't need this, but if you intend it to be read through by new players, I'd think you'd want such a section somewhere near the beginning (after a brief intro to pretender creation and choosing a race - each of which, like battles, would have a more detailed section later).

Just my 2p.

CC