Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising is Perpetual Entertainment's online world endeavor set in and around the titular city-state during the period circa 300 BC. At that time, the Republic had started down the path that would eventually lead to the building of a vast empire. However, its supremacy was far from assured. For example, relations had never been friendly with Carthage, which had aspirations of its own, fueled by the wealth from a trade network that stretched across most of the Mediterranean region, from North Africa to Iberia. Closer to home, the Etruscan tribe no longer dominated substantial portions of the Italian peninsula, but remained powerful enough that a return to its former glory was not out of the question. To the east, the Greeks could not be discounted, while the fierce Gauls held control over much of Western Europe.