I'd forgotten how awesome this game is.
Just threw on the new CK2+ mod and gave the Shattered World overhaul a whirl. Having a blast so far. It's really interesting watching everyone try to hold onto their little piece of land while desperately taking others' stuff. The strong get stronger, but when they're weak from fighting they tend to get conquered back really quick (Which is how I've managed to grow my land into two whole duchies).
The stories that naturally come up out of the game are also awesome. I had a mayor in an unstable region die of natural causes recently. He was replaced by the new mayor, who was killed by a mob the very next day. I had to laugh, and then felt bad for the guy.
The best natural story so far is the one of my spy master, though. He was off stealing technology in foreign lands and got arrested. He was getting on in his years, and had given my little duchy lots of breakthroughs, so I decided to lay down the 10 gold to free him so he could have a happy ending rather than rot in a dungeon. He returns home, and a few days later his wife dies. My first thought was, "Wow, I'm glad he got home in time to say goodbye." I eventually gave him control of a county once my demesne started getting too large, he remarried, and now his children rule in his stead. The dude lived a good ten years or so after I got him out of jail, too.
So freaking awesome.