1.

CARAUSIAN REVOLT
Year 286. Maximian appoints Carausius, a Roman officer
from BELGICA, to clear the English Channel of Frankish
and Saxon raiders, but rumors of his collaboration with the
HISTORICAL SCENARIOS pirates lead Maximian to order him arrested and executed.
Fight the wars of the Tetrarchy! Carausius declares himself Augustus, with the support of
his fleet, the British and northern Gaul legions, and allies
along the Atlantic coast. Maximian prepares an invasion of
Britain that ends in total failure, and a truce follows.
Carausius searches legitimacy and official recognition, hon-
oring Maximian and Diocletian as co-Augusti, but they
cannot let him go if they want to stop the endless chain
of rebellions, and in 293 they appoint Constantius as Cae-
sar with one mission: crush Carausius. The Tetrarchy is
born. Constantius first isolates the rebel by retaking the
land he held in Gaul and securing the Rhine delta against
his Frankish allies, and then builds two new fleets.
Roman determination pushes a subordinate, Allectus, to
assassinate Carausius and assume British command. In
296, with Maximian holding the Rhine frontier, Constantius
is ready for the final assault. Landing at two different sites,
TETRARCHIA has simple rules and variable setups. How-
one force defeats and kills Allectus, while the other, lead
ever, with only a few special rules and starting conditions,
by Constantius himself, enters London, where the Caesar is
you can experience the main real wars that the Tetrarchs
acclaimed as “restorer of the eternal light”. The ten-year
had to fight in order to preserve the Empire.
adventure is over.

Difficulty level: [4231]

INTRODUCTION
Rebel army: use the Dux as Carausius, and place it on
top of a Revolt token in BRITANNIA.
These are the only new game elements:
Revolts: place 4 tokens in GALLIA, in provinces gfII g
1-
Revolts In the region(s) where the war started, several
g2 -g
4 -g5 . Roll to place 1 token in the other five
Revolt tokens are placed during setup. In all other regions, regions.
place 1 Revolt token following the standard setup rule. If
Expansion module: use the Pirates, and place them in
for any reason you prefer a fixed setup, we suggest to place
MARE ATLANTICVM.
the Revolt token of those regions in province g 3.
Special rules:
Rebels In most of the scenarios, a new concept is intro- – In order to attack Carausius you must have a Ro-
duced: the Rebel Army. These are Barbarian armies that man fleet in MARE ATLANTICVM.
remain on their border province on top of a Revolt token, – Place Constantius in GERMANIA SVPERIOR.
until they are defeated (they do not move towards Rome). – Constantius starts the game.
Other than that, they block the arrival of other armies and
count for the maximum of 3 armies.
All other rules and the victory conditions remain the same. 2. DANUBE WARS
Some scenarios use modules from the Dux expansion (Pi-
rates or Goths), some use its components but only as Rebel Year 293. Diocletian starts a series of campaigns against
meeples (Dux or Goths). This is the scenario list: the shifting pressures of Barbarian peoples. In order to seal
this long and porous frontier, he builds several forts and
1. Carausian Revolt (286-296). The most serious chal- bridgeheads north of the Danube, creating a new defensive
lenge to Diocletian, that leads to the Tetrarchy. line called the “Ripa Sarmatica”. In 294 he defeats the
2. Danube Wars (293-296). A series of campaigns to Sarmatians, and accepts some in the Roman army while
maintain the most difficult frontier. providing help to the rest of them against their northern
3. Mauretanian War (296-298). Maximian pursues neighbors. In 296 Diocletian defeats the Carpi.
the elusive Berbers into their home territory. But the length and geography of the frontier makes seal-
4. Great Persian War (296-299). The combined threat ing it almost impossible. Galerius takes over during sev-
of a Persian army and an Egyptian revolt ends in total eral years and defeats the Carpi, Bastarnae and Sarmatians
Roman victory and a 40-years peace. again, settling many of them on the south of the Danube.

1
Scenario design ⃝
c 2017 Miguel Marqués
By the end of the first Tetrarchy the frontier is safe, with Diocletian marches to Egypt.
15 legions taking care of it. An inscription found on the
Alexandria falls in 298, and Diocletian advances up the
lower Danube extols the “restoration of tranquilitas”.
Nile, where he is hailed as a Pharaoh. That same year,
Difficulty level: [4122] Galerius moves with his Gothic and Sarmatian mercenaries
through Armenian mountains, and obtains a total victory
Revolts: place 2 tokens in ILLYRICVM, in provinces over Narses. Diocletian joins him in 299 and imposes a
g
fIII g
3 -g
4 , and 2 tokens in GRAECIA, in provinces
peace treaty that would last 40 years. Galerius is hailed in
g
f
IV g 1 -g
2 . Roll to place 1 token in the other four
Antioch as “conqueror of Persia”, and a combined triumph
regions. to all the Tetrarchy victories is celebrated in Rome.
Expansion module: use the Goths, and place them in
SARMATIA. Place the second army in GERMA- Difficulty level: [4132]
NIA MAGNA. Rebel army: use the Goths as the Persian army and the
Special rules: place Diocletian in THRACIA and Ga- Dux as Domitianus, and place them on top of a Re-
lerius in PANNONIA SVPERIOR. volt token in PERSIA and LIBYA, respectively.
Revolts: place 2 tokens in AFRICA, in provinces g f
VI g1-
g2 , and 3 tokens in ASIA MINOR, in provinces
3. MAURETANIAN WAR g
fVg 1 -g
2 -g3 . Roll to place 1 token in the other four
regions.
Year 296. The Berber tribes from the Atlas and Sahara ex- Special rules: place Diocletian in BITHYNIA and Ga-
tend their raids to the coastal Roman provinces. The return lerius in CILICIA.
of Constantius from Britain allows Maximian to turn his at-
tention to Africa. He raises an army and advances through
HISPANIA, defending the region against raiding Moors, EPILOGUE
and crosses the strait of Gibraltar into TINGITANA, clos-
ing both coasts to the Frankish pirates.
The wars of the Tetrarchy were not over in 299, there were
By March 297 he begins a bloody offensive against the still campaigns to be fought on the Rhine and Danube.
Berbers, devastating their home bases, killing as many as However, the almost simultaneous recovery of Britain,
he can, and driving the remainder back into the Sahara. eradication of the Berbers, crushing of Egypt and humil-
On March 298 Maximian makes a triumphal entry into iation of Great Persia were very clear signals of the new
Carthage where, as Constantius in London, he is hailed for Roman supremacy for any potential rebel. Now the swords
the restoration of the “eternal light” to Africa. He returns of Rome were four, and would fall without hesitation over
to Italy in early 299 to celebrate a triumph in Rome. their enemies.

Difficulty level: [4221]

Rebel army: use the Goths as the Berber army, and place
them on top of a Revolt token in GAETVLIA.
Revolts: place 2 tokens in HISPANIA, in provinces gfI g
1-
g2 , and 2 tokens in AFRICA, in provinces gVI g
f 4 -g
5.
Roll to place 1 token in the other four regions.
Expansion module: use the Pirates, and place them in
MARE ATLANTICVM.
Special rules:
– In order to attack the Berbers you must have a
Roman fleet in MARE ATLANTICVM.
– Place Maximian in CARTHAGINENSIS.
– Maximian starts the game.

4. GREAT PERSIAN WAR

Year 296. Narses of Persia culminates a escalation of anti-
Roman provocations invading Armenia. Diocletian protects
Syria while Galerius crosses the Euphrates, to be defeated
at Callinicum. To make things worse, in 297 all Egypt re-
volts, probably with Persian support, and proclaims a new
Emperor, Domitianus. Galerius recruits a new army, and

2
Scenario design ⃝
c 2017 Miguel Marqués