[jason taylor]

Here's one I got from the book Blood Royal.

The King of a multinational crown just died without issue (this is in a verse where the monarch is head of government as well as head of state). There are several claimants to the throne. The claims of the different ones are various and sundry. The wise men of the realms (the lords spiritual and secular and the most powerful burghers and guildmasters, etc) appoint a joint committee from each constituent nation to choose the successor.

The PCs can play as the committee or it's bodyguards. The later may be more interesting. Likely there will be an assassination plot. Or there could be a unit of loyal knights chosen specifically to make sure the decision was enforced.

By the way this is how Ferdinand of Aragon came to the throne. It was generally conceded that his legal claim was not the best but no one's claim was very good anyway and he was known for being rich (so he could pay out of his own pocket unless he was going to war), and canny on the battlefield thus making the possibility of a functionally useful king. As it turned out according to the wikipedia he apparently was skilled at his job and his reign was a good one.

Another interesting fact was that a future saint served on that committee. The Dominican, Vincent Ferrer, a famous preacher, but apparently also known in political circles.