In which MMORPGs can I mass an army and build an empire?

Do you want to command other players who join your army? Or command an army of non-player characters (bots)?

@HungryGuy I would prefer an army of NPCs. I would hope that having a large enough army of AI soldiers would convince other players to join and be my sub-commanders.

tons nowadays, especially on facebook, but a few not on FB would be:
pox nora
starcraft
warcraft 3

Well, that’s the rub, you see. If you can amass an army of NPCs, so can the other players. The game would just become a contest to see who could amass the biggest army in the least amount of time, and thus become the superior force in the game. Though a player with a smaller army might still prevail if he could devise a better strategy than you.

I’m not sure that any MMORPGs fit this description. You want more of an MMORTS. Does anyone know if Warhammer 40,000 fits this description? I think it is more or less like WoW though.

@ChaosCross Starcraft and Warcraft 3 are RTS, not MMORPG. :)

EVE Online. Get a real army (corporation) of real people. Control space through force or finance.

@ChaosCross Which games on Facebook fit this description? I’m looking for games more captivating there than Mafia Wars.

(Btw, Starcraft and Warcraft 3 don’t fit the “MMO” part of the description. ;) )

You’re uh… not looking for an RPG.
Strategy games (Real-Time [RTS] or Turn-based [TBS]) are what you’re describing.

Honestly, outside of browser games like Tribal Wars or AstroEmpires, I’ve never heard of the kind of thing you’re looking for.
You may want to look at this wikipedia entry, there are a few listed.

Yeah, I think the civilization games are awesome, if you are looking for an open source (free!) alternative, you can try FreeCiv. Also, an awesome game called “Darwinia+” just came out for Xbox live arcade, and fits your description quite nicely! If you dont have an Xbox, there is another version available for PC here. Hope that helps!