Rumors are cool!
Just no mention of your personal forces. You shouldn't say "I am at war with Ermor." Although you can give a screenshot of the map where Ermor is seiging your capital.
Neutral factions are going like hotcakes!!
Maybe we should allow 3 Neutrals? It's just that I am actually worried about Evil. They should be an unstoppable hoard in the beginning. 8 v 7 is actually not that bad of odds, especially if 3 of the 7 are super-factions with bonuses in the beginning like Iron Mines.