Is diplomacy necessary?

I'm almost embarrassed to ask, but haven't you encountered level 9 monsters?! :)

Dmitry_A_S - this is about "In the Wake of Gods," and we're talking about monsters, like, for example, an enhanced Archangel. That's why it was written that way - it was just an expression :).

And regarding the statement that you can't gather an army larger than what you can buy in your own castles - that's a misconception; you can gather any army you want, to suit your taste. And if we're talking about morale, then someone who uses diplomacy should be aware of this, and therefore should take care of such a secondary skill as leadership :).