The charismatic - not to mention eminently bedable - Kargon VIII, High King of all of Greater Arthia, was most known for two things; his over the top debauchery and his exceedingly great charm. As a direct result of this hedonistic nature he has recently died in a most spectacular fashion.
The populace of Greater Arthia assume that the last 8 kings of the empire are showing respect for their ancestors by taking the name of his predecessors; this could not be farther from the truth. All eight kings named Kargon were the same being. Kargon was, in fact, a cambion and used this ruse to keep the population from rising up against his tyranny with the full knowledge of the Arthian Council of Ministers.
The eldest son of Kargon I, Mordank of Dankheim, during an evening of drinking with his father suggested a wager that Kargon's pride would not let him ignore. The wager went thusly...
Kargon would attempt to sleep with 2 women for a total of 24 hours. If he didn't make it to the 24 hour mark, Mordank would be given direct rulership of the eastern continent of Greater Arthia with his father's blessing and support. If he succeeded, Mordank would never ask for more power while his father was alive.
The problem was these weren't actually women per se, but a pair of polymorphed Succubi who during the 24 hour romp drained him past the point of recovery. His level of intoxication prevented him from realizing this until he had won the bet after which he promptly died; he did realize his misfortune in the end, but too late to actually prevent it from occurring.
The king had the temerity to leave behind no 'direct' heirs and the lines of succession contain no less than 100 bastards of every imaginable race; most of which are 'officially' heirs of 'one' of the prior kings sharing his name.
What's a profitable evil kingdom to do?
It has been discovered that Mordank had a hand in the planning of this atrocious assassination and in Greater Arthia there is only one punishment for commiting regicide - death.
In a fit of rage over the current state of succession passing him by for his much younger brother Horeak Olokas, Mordank has let the public in on Kargon's secret; namely that he was every one of the last 8 kings of Greater Arthia, merely pretending to die and pass on the crown to an heir. This has shaken the general populace but their love for Kargon has so far kept outright rebellion out of the immediate future.
The Arthian Council of Ministers, in it's infinite wisdom (not to mention its craven nature of self-preservation against powerful heirs), has divided the kingdom into one hundred counties of varying sizes and distributed them among those with claim to the throne hoping that most will die in the ensuing power struggle.
Let the High King's true heir rise to the top of the heap!