A few questions and observations regarding Dark Ages

So we played our first session of AW: Dark Ages today (my GM will post his observations, our map, and stuff about our game probably next week) and I had some things to ask

1. The outlaw heir's "Yours By Right" Holdings, how do you get them? Do you have to assert your hold over them? Or are they holdings like the War Herald's stuff are holdings as in you automatically have them?

2. In our first game my War Herald leveled up twice, it seems like the War Herald has far more stuff to mark for XP due to the fact that many of the things involving their warband are marked individually, including using your lieutenant, and each of your individual notable members. It seems really easy for the War Herald to get more XP than anyone else.

3. This will probably be expanded on more in the future summation of our game but I think there should be bonuses for people being of lower rank, I know they have less to worry about when they have a roll for changing the seasons (Oh trust me, they have a LOT less to worry about), but you would think you would have more reasons to be lower rank

We had a lot of fun though, I really love the holdings system.

1. You have to hold them in the fiction. People there must see you as their "lord". You do not start with them.

2. I had the same thing happening, however i heavily played to get a lot of XP too.
In my understanding you have to actually "use" your notables though. Just saying they are there isn't enough. If the GM brings them up in a scene you should at least make a move at them. If you have a scene with you and them that started from your initiative that should be enough. But going into battle with a warband can be a lot of XP.
Battle+(wolfpack)+(warband harm)+(warband armor)+(their qualities) add up.

Vincent, would something akin to "You can only mark 1 thing on your sheet for each action you take" make sense?
I don't think it is needed yet but i need to see more play. The War Herald should be rewarded for using the Warband though as this is what we want to see from them right?

When it comes to the War Herald, they get all that xp but only if they charge into battle like, every session, right? To me, it looks like a feast-or-famine thing, and sort of the Herald's motivation to bring war with them everywhere. At some point, the other PCs might have to go "we're trying to negotiate with the heathens, please stop your endless offensive march."

(But I haven't played yet, this is just me reading the playtest. Maybe it's too easy for the herald to battle endlessly with no repercussions, especially with trolls and whatnot?)

Experience is significantly different in the upcoming document, and may change more significantly yet.

-Vincent

Good to know!