Rome is the longest enduring civilization in western European history. It is synonymous with empire, legions, dictators, gladiators and decadence. The Romans have been an inescapable influence on our lives. Much of modern law, European languages and even some political systems are based upon their legacy.

The efforts of this once mighty nation still echo in our psyche, making Rome a perfect setting for roleplaying campaigns. Whether you prefer the gritty underhanded corruption of Roman politics, fighting great battles against Rome’s enemies, or participating in the spectacular excitements of chariot racing and gladiatorial combat, ancient Rome can cater to your needs.

In its own peculiar way, Rome is the archetypal metropolis, the original upon which our modern cultures are but a pale shadow. Welcome to the Eternal City, and plumb its treacherous depths…

This book contains setting information for role-playing in Rome during its Monarchy and Republic. Although it includes some complementary rules and skills, it is not a game in its own right and was designed for use with Chaosium’s Basic Basic Roleplaying system (BRP) for play – although it should be easy to use with any percentile based role-playing game.

The content focuses on the city and culture of Rome from its legendary founding in 753 BC, to the end of the Republic in 27 BC. Seven hundred years is an incredible length of time, which makes it difficult to cover the period in any detail. Imagine how much modern society has changed in the last hundred years… women’s suffrage, economic reforms, the rise and fall of communism, fashion, entertainment; the transformations have been profound. Though readers may find the following contents more comprehensive than any previous role-playing supplement on the era, it still only scratches the surface!

Despite the focus on the city itself — rather than its burgeoning empire — game masters should bear in mind that to a Roman, Rome was the centre of the world, and the provinces merely places to conquer and reap taxes from. On a more practical level, there simply wasn’t room to add any additional material covering the regions and enemies of the empire!

Most of this book contains dates and periods to indicate when certain historical events occurred. The author has used the following generalisations to break the era into four parts and utilises BC instead of BCE out of old fashioned familiarity. For those who desire to use the more authentic Roman dating system of AUC ab urbe condita (from the founding of Rome), simply subtract the BC year from the value of 753 and add one.

Although primarily a historical guide to early Roman life, some supernatural and mythological elements have been included in the Magic and Creatures chapters to provide for Game Masters desiring a mythic campaign. These aspects are more subtle than their earlier archaic Greek counterparts and demonstrate Roman superstition prevalent at the time.

The layout of the book places the cultural sections first, leaving the majority of chapters involving game mechanics and campaigns to the latter half.