[shovah]

chokepoints are generally areas where only 1-2 provinces are exposed and can therefore be easily defended (ie not a wide front). gems can be used to raise lvl through empowerment or temporary during a battle. resources are only used for troops. good places for castles/forts=high resource areas (mountains are good examples) and chokepoints and finaly the reason you couldnt recruit could have been because your unrest was over 100 in that provinces (lower it by lowering taxes/doing some patrolling) and if you want any other help either pm me or add me on msn (my emails in my profile i think)