Falk-fury rages on!

[Manofevil]

I believe the following cartoon offers an excellent illustration of the difference in attitudes between NPCs and PCs in Falkovnia.

[alhoon]

good one

[Five]

I prefer Falkovnia being about the horror of militarism, and having more hopespots.

The "hopespot" in my mind's view of Falkovnia (wherein also lies a good portion of abject horror) lies in the Freemen of Falkovnia, or, a Ravenloftian version of the Special Operations Executive.

It's a stumble (asking gets you blacklisted) into the deepest and darkest of places to be found in disease-ridden and body-beaten Falkovnia, but if one has the right combination of skills and luck (training may vary, depending on what's currently on the groups' table) then it can also lead to the cleanest and brightest of places, even if only momentarily. A tear of joy here, and quiet smile there. There is a lot of work that needs to be done and Gondegal (a warmongering taskmaster, not unlike Drakov, but with a different outcome in mind) needs people in other places and quick. Now go change your clothes and head to these coordinates to meet "Whisperain" for the next mission's details. Oh, hey. Good job mate. Seriously. Keep it up. We're one step closer. Now go.

In short, I don't neccessarily disagree with you. Maybe on the amount of torque put on the players, but as Speedwagon summed, it really all depends on the wants of the table, and who is DMing. My views here are only valid when I'm behind the themes, and depends on what my creative brain wants to currently explore, which can lead to two different versions of a single domain in two days. Campaigns in play being the only "lockdown".