Yes, it sounds very interesting, hadn't occured to me at all. I don't know exactly how much work is for a person to modify say 10 starting positions, plus what will be the case with the AI oppenents, or will it be solely human? (Pope should be a weird technicality).
But I fear the load of work the Gamemaster will have, could be a hindrance. Ofcourse with a team things could go faster....