As I guessed. You know, you guys are fairly old-school in a way, with all your penalties in all your games.
'Modern Unified Gaming Theory' has long decreed that penalties suck and that players should have only bonuses, the magnitude of which alone determining how good things are. If Crusader Kings was being made by most major studios, it wouldnt be -2, -1, 0, +1, +2, it would be +1, +2, +3, +4, +5.
Resisting this trend is one reason to love Paradox.