Well, the odds of newbies completing missions have gotten horrendous (playing only h/h). 28% to kill the captain of a 2-unit warband army? 32% to kill the captain of ONE unit of rebelling peasants? 36% to sabatoge the holy grove in a barbarian settlement with 500 people in it? Those seem kinda stiff to me! I don't have a problem with 1 or 2% to kill a faction member or leader. They're important guys & they probably take some security measures to protect themselves, so yeah.
But with the odds so bad even against small rebel units, how ya gonna train your guys? Can you still do the send-assassin-to-kill-your-own-assassin thing? (& the survivor hopefully gets better?) ... or what? I can't remember if academy buildings help anyone but your family members - have been moving all agents out as soon as they're recruited.
Thanks for your interest.