You are a citizen in a relatively successful empire. Aalas, the new emperor has arrived, and he's decided that the best thing for everyone would be to burn it all to the ground with you all still inside it. Nothing to be done but carry on as usual, you suppose. He is, after all, the emperor.
Each turn, roll the dice to see what happens in the imperial palace and in the city. Your goal is to escape the city (Relocation reaches 10) before you're consumed by the flames (Flames reaches 10) or the empire falls and you die in the collapse (Desolation reaches 10).
You can also attempt to assassinate the emperor. This is risky, but if you succeed, you win the game (you die, but you go out as a martyr, so there's that).