It has been over one hundred years time since the civil wars of Caesar, Pompey, Antony, and Octavian destroyed the Roman Republic. Now, in the year 55 AD, the mighty Roman Empire stands in dominance over the Mediterranean World and most of Europe, it's borders reaching from the sands of Persia to the shores of Britannia. It is a time of peace in Rome--the Pax Romana--as the Caesars have brought great wealth to the world's largest city and created an unstoppable military force.

Now, however, that peace has been threatened. After fifteen years of ruling over a Roman golden age, Emperor Claudius Sabucius Augustus Caesar has been poisoned and is now on his deathbed, delirious and unable to make many coherent statements, but still alive. Without having appointed an heir, having only married a younger wife a short time ago, Rome is on the brink of civil war once more as various individuals step forward to lay claim to the Imperial Throne. The man who secretly poisoned the emperor, an ambitious aristocrat named Camillus Dexsius of the Julii, has begun courting followers to support his bid to become Caesar and reinstate the Julii family to the Imperial throne. Manius Leontius Sabucius, the nephew and pupil of the dying emperor, has also stepped forward with ambitions for the throne. Various generals and senators have expressed interest too, with some senators plotting this as the perfect time to overthrow the Empire and return to a Republic.

Meanwhile, as Rome is in turmoil, the provinces are beginning to act up too. Barbarian tribes to the north and client kings throughout the provinces see this as the perfect time to assert their authority and independence from Rome. This has led to disruptions in trade and travel as the outer reachers of the empire become unstable.

While the elite wait for the emperor to die, the people of Rome continue about their daily lives, many of them ignoring the political turmoil for now. Eventually, though, everyone from the lowest slave to the highest senator will need to choose a side in this battle over who will become Emperor of all Rome and thus the most powerful man in the world.

What will happen? Will the bloodthirsty Camillus succeed in his quest for the Imperial Throne, or will Manius be able to take power? Or will one of the powerful generals of the Roman Military or rhetorical geniuses of the Roman Senate manage to sneak in? Will the republicans manage to step forward and overthrow the empire altogether? Will rebellions in Greece, Egypt, and Judea be able to be kept down at the same time that barbarians in Gaul and Germania begun raiding into Roman territory? Who will rule Rome?

You decide. Senators, slave, generals, infantry, barbarians, citizens, merchants, travelers, and all of the Roman World have a part to play in Aeterna Roma.