You are trying to solve a social problem with a mechanic. People WILL line up a 2nd character. If you restrict character count, that character will simply not be created until the other is dead. But I can guarantee you that if this were to be implemented, the replacement character would show up in the realm the day after the other one died, and be handed all the titles and other stuff as soon as game mechanics allow for it.
And if we increase those limits further, say raising prestige limits, the replacement character will simply be made and "leveled up" on another island and then immigrated as required.
Players WILL find ways around this.
When a character dies, put 6 month lock on that player creating a new character on that continent. Players who have characters old enough to die from old age will have been around for multiple years and should either already have several characters elsewhere or enough slots to do do so if they wish. By doing this you stop the dead characters from being instantly replaced with new ones, and 6 months (or even 3) seems ample time for things to change enough that they don't simply have their titles handed back to them, and it also forces people to spend some time investing playtime in other continents, realms, etc.
