And I made a clan the day I made my account, and it now has 4 members, so i don't want to just screw them all over and leave lol 
It's already been said, but crpg clans =/= strat factions. You can be in any clan and any faction. Some factions may be comprised entirely of members of a certain clan, but most are not at all restrictive.
Idk why everybody says its such a big deal to join a faction though. Even the more massive factions on NA only have 10-15 ACTIVE players.
There is definitely a limit to how much you can accomplish as a loner in strat, since owning a fief (and maintaining it) is a very active process; i.e. you can't trade/attack while managing it. Basically, if you want to be a land-owning faction, you will need other members working alongside you. Owning a fief is a very simple thing to do, and you can practically have afks do it, yet it doesn't give much freedom. Also, earning troops is a relatively slow process... if you have one guy sitting in a fief pumping out troops that he has no need of, then that doubles your troop-making rate. Having just a four man faction earns you nearly 100 troops per day while you alone can make just 24. Not to mention amassing wealth is much easier when you have several traders running across the map, carrying four times the goods you alone would, and by doing so visit fiefs you have yet to, allowing them to purchase gear you would have otherwise not have had access to.
The list goes on, but basically, strat is intended to be a faction vs. faction war for control of the world, similar to a game of RISK. In RISK a single player controls many troops, split up into various armies, yet in strat you alone can only control a single army. In order to have a multi-front war, or a successful single-front war, you need other commanders fighting alongside you. Being in a faction also increases the fun of strat, in many peoples' opinions, as it forces you to coordinate your efforts, and well, work with people. If you've already got your clan established, why not try and bring your fellow Palagorians into strat?
