If one were to look at a map of my fief, they'd see that it's 25% plains, 25% hills, 20% forests, and 30% BANDIT ATTACK! The great house ruling the fief is less a great house and more a vicious clan of bandits that took over the fief and maintained their hold on the land through a combination of killing anyone who tried to throw them out, keeping their banditry mostly out of the rest of the kingdom (mostly), and by doing a better job of keeping the troubles of the Disputed Lands from spreading into the kingdom than the previous management did.