I just got a great idea (think)--feudal europe: with a new twist. You start out on a blank Europe map, after the fall of the Roman Empire or whatever, and you start with one fief-which provides you with a steady income, troop supply, etc. Then, as you order to expand, the moderator divides your territories as he sees fit into more fiefs.
Then, after you contact other players and NPCs, you can agree to form kingdoms, either by him swearing allegience to you or vice versa. These kingdoms are eventually mostly non-royal lands, for most of it is ruled by the feudal lords and their fiefs under the king. The king can grant new titles, like "Earl of ___" which increase the people's confidence in you.
However, kingdoms won't necessarily last. Each lord, like you, has a bloodline, and part of your stats is how many heirs to the throne you have. To increase these, you have to have your lords marry other fief's ladies. In doing so, you get a claim to their land, but a very weak one. This will only go into effect if all of their male heirs die, but if they all do, you will get most of their lands, and if you married into royal family, a whole kingdom.
Anybody who has this misfortune happen to them loses half their fiefs and the titles. And perhaps a throne.
However, if more than one person has a claim to an open throne, either one must defer to the other... Or they have to settle it on the field of conflict. Those who do not have a claim can either declare for one noble or the other and supply their claim with manpower, or stay neutral.
Thus, it means a constantly shifting Europe with feudal claims right and left, quite a bit of intrigue, and (I think) a very fun game.
