I'd like to hear an explanation of that. I can't see how it does.
In the former case (reducing NPs), you might not be able to complete
your plans, because you have already expended too many NPs in one area
(such as magical skills) and not have enough NPs for other areas (such
as more nobles).
In the latter case (increasing FORM cost), whatever you were planning to
do, you can still do, unless your "plan" was to have zillions of nobles,
which is the one thing we are trying to discourage. In other words, it
specifically targets the thing that people want to discourage, without
interfering with other decisions that players have made.
David desJardins