Grand Theft Civilization

I just finished designing a huge map consisting of the islands of the 3D-verse Grand Theft Auto games; GTA III, GTA Vice City, and GTA San Andreas:











On it, the glories of the Imperium Romanum shall be made clear for all to see, what with the only victory enabled being total conquest. No vassal states, only absolute world subjugation - will this game ever be finished? That is moderately doubtful, especially considering my custom Marathon speed. But Roma will try!



A custom Marathon speed? Yes, this game is played with my own mod, that I've been working on more or less continuously, and am always fine-tuning. That is rather evident by the tech tree or the civics:











Balance is not guaranteed, certainly not as I changed a lot recently - but it'd be fun to test it out in this game, and I figured, why not make a story out of it?

But wait... What are those civilisations we see on the map?

Portland (of GTA III, as are the next two islands) is inhabited by Helga Steele of Atlas, and Handsome Jack of Hyperion. Coming from the game Borderlands, they will soon border each others' lands.

Staunton Island is inhabited by Toni Cipriani of Liberty City, and Bob Page of the Illuminati. The former, from GTA III and GTA Liberty Cite Stories, feels quite at home, but the latter, from Deus Ex, will need a deus ex machina to make this island his home.

Shoreside Vale is inhabited by Big Brother of Oceania, Revolutionary Chairman of Eastasia, and Comrade Uncle of Eurasia. It is, however, the year 4000 BC; not 1984 AD.

The western island of Vice City is inhabited by Claude Speed of Anywhere, Brand of Rhovanion, Durin of the Dwarves, Eorl of Rohan, and Elendil of Arnor. With Claude Speed being the only person not originating from Middle-Earth, one wonders if he will find himself to be diplomatically isolated. On the other hand, Anywhere City was the most technologically advanced place in any GTA game so far - but then, GTA2 was set in the near future.

The eastern island of Vice City is inhabited by myself, of Rome, Bilbo Baggins of the Shire, Ciryaher of Gondor, and Tommy Vercetti of Vice City. Tommy Vercetti should feel right at home, but one wonders if Gondor can protect the Hobbits against Rome's might.

Los Santos, of San Andreas, is inhabited by Carl Johnson of San Andreas, Mr Dark of the Valley, and Rayman of the Glade. Can CJ secure his homeland, or will Mr Dark and Rayman ally against him, despite being supposed to be arch-enemies?

Speaking about arch-enemies, the woodlands between Los Santos and San Fierro are home to Razorbeard, Rayman's nemesis in Rayman 2. Further north lives Kundaj V of Khand, and even further north dwells his master, Sauron of Mordor, watching from Barad-dur. To the west, Saruman has found Mount Chiliad as the perfect basis of his industrious and scientific empire - will his Furnaces swarm the world with Uruk-hai?

North of Mordor, the Enclave, under Dick Richardson, seeks nothing short of complete control over the whole wide world. To the east, Benny, of New Vegas, only wants to grow rich. East of him, the Brotherhood of Steel, under John Maxson, may grant him his wish, but Caesar's Legion to the south, under control of Edward Sallow, styling himself as Caesar, seeks to seize New Vegas for itself. Of course, every true Roman citizen knows this is but a false Caesar, and luckily, the New Californian Republic of Tandi might rise up to step Edward's delusions of grandeur. One wonders what the fallout of such a war might be.

The Imperium Romanum shall surely set these peoples straight, and to do so, it shall grow from the northern part of the eastern half of Vice City:



And it is there, that our story will start. Without any starting technologies. Because that seems like an interesting twist. Similarly, Agriculture seems the most sensible choice for our first technology; farms!

As for the difficulty, this seems, to me, to be the 'fairest' difficulty - but that is entirely subjective, of course:


The many things that have been changed in this mod, will come to light as the game progresses. I mostly kept the tech tree the same, because I don't like losing the 'feeling' of Civilization IV (though, my mod is based on Revolution DCM). None the less, you are, of course, free to ask everything you wish to ask.

EDIT: Updated the screenshots with the method in post twelve.

I know very little about GTA, but I will be following this... it seems interesting. I hope you finish it.
Subbed.

Niccolo Edwards said:

I know very little about GTA, but I will be following this... it seems interesting. I hope you finish it.
Subbed.

Click to expand...

I only called it that because the map is based on it. As far as the game goes, the only GTA-elements are the four civilisations, so no worries! The other civilisations come from Lord of the Rings, Fallout, Deus Ex, 1984, Rayman, or Borderlands. Or history, what with me being Rome... But thank you! And now, it is bedtime for me.

I really really hope you will be able to finish this game!
This seems very promising.

Oceania has always been at war with the Enclave.

Amongst the Roman people, it is practically tradition for children to sneak into the jungles to the north. The lucky few children who come home with the delicatesse that is sugar, are said to be blessed by Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, trade, arts, and strategy. Sugar-hunting is, after all, equal parts wisdom - knowing where to look - and strategy - making sure nobody follows you to steal your prize, making sure you look in an orderly and logical manner. It is an art, amongst the Roman people, and once one has caught the valuable sugar, one may trade it and grow modestly wealthy with enough mercantile skill.

Marcus Licinius Crassus was such a sugar-hunter. He was nicknamed 'Saccharum', 'Sugar', for being the best sugar-hunter in memory. He was a controversial figure, too, because he was still sugar-hunting at the age of twenty-one, well past childhood. He had grown fabulously wealthy because of it, and that, alas, drew the ire of many envious Romans.

Their concerns weren't entirely unfounded; they worried that their age-old tradition of sugar-hunting - a nice game and a nice opportunity for children - would soon die out. In this, they would eventually be proven right, when Marcus Licinius Crassus posed a world-changing question: "What if we could grow sugar everywhere?"

This would lead to the development of agricultural practices, as well as crews of would-be sugar-farmers. For the moment, these hopefuls would be ordinary farmers, but in due time...



Isn't it nifty how both Agriculture and the Worker take eighteen turns?

Farther away from Roma, a band of mighty Roman warriors, armed with mere clubs, stumbled upon the beasts of the wilderness. Horses, sheep, elephants, more horses... And a lion. With a 90%-something chance of victory, they took nary a scratch, and that evening, they boasted of their martial prowess around the campfire.



And yes, all the resources are visible from the start. I found it to be rather annoying otherwise.

Soon, the clubmen sighted verdant meadows, pristine grass, hills and hovels in perfect condition, all decorated in orange and green.



As they approached these seemingly friendly people, a short and slightly chubby man approached them, surrounded by even shorter men. He introduced himself as Bilbo Baggins, of the Shire, leader of the Hobbits - Shirefolk - and offered the Romans a cup of relaxing tea.



His words were quite confusing to the ears of the clubmen, and they all would go on record stating that they suspected the Hobbits of drugging them somehow. Certainly, the lands seemed far nicer, the grass far greener, the air far cleaner, than at home. They were tempted, so very tempted, to become a part of these peaceful Hobbits, living an idyllic life surrounded by calming clouds of incense, drinking wine every morning, noon, evening, and night, eating meals every other hour, and making merry every other second.

But then... They didn't even know what 'incense' and 'wine' were, and even if they had known, as far as they could see, the Hobbits had none! Besides, they had their duty to uphold, they owed their lives to Roma, where they had their family, and their friends, and all that they valued. They went onward, declaring ever-lasting peace and prosperity for mighty Roma and the quaint Hobbits, and went on with their exploration. For their homeland, Roma, and not for this baloney Bilbo the bagpipe-player or whatever he might be.

And speaking about the homeland, Marcus Licinius Crassus' enterprising sugar-farming business had hit a snatch...





Publius Vergilius Maro - Virgil - had come into Crassus' office, one late evening, telling him that, while sugar-farming didn't seem to be possible for now, farming in itself would also be a lucrative venture. And so it was that the first Crassus Vergiliusque workforce was born (on the picture, the worker isn't yet renamed - and by the way, the '&' symbol apparently doesn't work in the game, and I'm not sure if the Latin -que (meaning 'and') can be added to the end of a name in proper Latin, but oh well).

The worker will spend one turn working on a farm at the tile on the picture, so that it can start on a corn farm on the next turn, without wasting a turn. I could immediately have moved it to the corn, but then it would have no movement left.

And yes, the worker is building a 'Small Farm', that will become a 'Developed Farm' after being worked for 30 turns, much like how Cottages grow. I hope this makes sense:



So it takes 30 turns for a Small Farm to become a Developed Farm, and 60 more turns to become a Fertilised Farm. A Developed Farm would give an additional food when its on a crop - such as the upcoming corn farm - and a Fertilised Farm would give yet another additional food when Chemistry has been researched. All farms yield one additional food with Medicine. So, before Chemistry, there is no functional difference between a Developed Farm and a Fertilised Farm.

This is something of which I haven't yet tested the gameplay effect. I wanted to make a clearer distinction between a civilisation's core territory and newly built cities. I also wanted to make pillaging more valuable; pillaging yields more money - certainly when you're pillaging all these improvements down to nothing - and your units even gain one experience from pillaging. But, of course, if you intend to keep the city, you may have just bought one experience at the cost of 30 or so turns.

I also added a few wonders, and moved a few others around, so that many early technologies unlock a wonder. One city can only contain three world wonders, and, of course, investing so much production in wonders mightn't be advisable... But it does mean that wonders should be (more) spread out over and within civilisations. Marble boosts the production speed for all ancient and classical world wonders - stone boosts the production speed for all non-world wonders - and wonders never obsolete. Never? Never.

It's probably worth it to try to get Stonehenge, in that situation... But I'd prefer trying to get the new wonders I added, to see how they function. The Great Bath - of Harappa - is one of those. I might as well put some production in it while my city grows; it's not as if I need scouts for now, and a Barracks would be doing nothing productive either. A Town Hall, another building available from the start, reduces maintenance costs by 10% and allows an early spy specialist - not very useful in the capital, unless you want to run an espionage economy. I added this because maintenance costs are larger than normal, and a Courthouse only reduces them by 25% (so does a Jail now, but that comes far later, of course).



Anyhow! The valiant Roman clubmen continue clubbing with lions - or at, I suppose; nightclubs haven't been invented yet - and earn their first promotion. Flanking, for Flanking will lead to Sight (the other promotions you see are the Woodsman and Guerilla equivalents for desert and tundra/snow; Nomad and Arctic Warfare, as well as Marauder, which increases the money earned from pillaging by 100%).

Meanwhile, the struggles with lions inspire the Romans at home to formalise the best practices of hunting; they start researching Hunting as an official doctrine. Perhaps, one day, they might hunt the cows in their homelands.

And that's it for now, because a lot of noise is distracting me from writing anything. I hope it's a nice start.

Would anyone know if it's possible for CivFanatics to resize my images in such a way that they fit nicely on a page, instead of being just a bit too large (which is why I put them in spoilers)?

EDIT: Updated the screenshots with the method in post twelve.

Your mod seems quite interesting.
And I'm loving the combat messages!

About the images, since you're using Imgur, you could try to resize them?
When you upload the files, under "add to album" there is also a "auto resize" menu, so that the images are automatically resized to whatever size you specify during upload.

Yes, I like to add flavour, or immersion, whatever the appropriate word is. The combat messages are one example. Another example would be how 'You have fallen under the sway of a heathen religion!' is now 'You have fallen under the sway of a heathen religion, you wicked sinner!', and so forth. Nicely noticed.

I use ShareX to automatically upload screenshots - to imgur, in this case - but, Google tells me that adding l to the image's URL should result in a thumbnail. I played a tiny bit to see if this works.

The clubmen rest on a hill, healing, after their last fight with the lions. They are close as brothers now, and indeed, on this hill, they christen themselves the 'Leonum', 'Of Lions'. Their brotherhood would be honoured throughout the ages.



They had barely left their hill before stumbling upon yet more lions. Had the gods sent them, as a test, to see if they were worthy of being known as the Leonum?



Clearly, Mars favoured them:



Meanwhile, in Roma, Marcus Licinius Crassus and Publius Vergilius Maro had overseen the establishment of the very first Roman farm. Yes, it is but a paltry collection of a few small farms - but, with Minerva's blessings, they will grow to feed all of Roma for many millennia.



And, as agriculture would soon transform the life of all Romans, so too would Hunting soon allow the Romans to domesticate all the wildlife the Leonum had spotted, by way of Animal Husbandry. And, if the Romans would ever be inclined to explore the more esoteric arts of Polytheism, the Temple of Artemis would further improve any Camps, Pastures, Lumbermills, and Forest Preserves; Artemis is, after all, the (Greek; the Roman counterpart is Diana) goddess of the hunt.



I wonder whether to research Mining or Pottery next. Pottery unlocks Granaries, Cottages, and the Ishtar Gate - a free Granary in every city; Ishtar is the Mesopotamian goddess of fertility (... And war, and more ) - and it would be interesting to see how that would work combined with the Great Bath.

On the other hand, Roma doesn't have much production, and that lone hill could do with a mine. And besides, the Ishtar Gate would be another huge production sink, better saved for later; I am, after all, only producing the Great Bath now to let the Romans breed merrily before sending all the new citizens away as a Settler. That sounds a bit evil, not?

The Wheel is another possibility, but there's no real need to connect the cows to the capital yet (corn is connected by the river... Or maybe only after researching Fishing or Sailing, come to think of it?).

EDIT: Mhm, so adding an l or an h or such changes the image size, but doesn't make it clickable to view it in full size... Let's see what I can do about that... For now I have added spoilers.

EDIT2: Updated the screenshots with the method in post twelve.

The Fraternitas Leonum - the Brotherhood of Lions - prove their prowess once again, by killing more lions. Spears and scouting techniques may have been formalised in Roma, but nothing beats Mars' blessings and a close familiarity with the land and the beasts - and the Leonum are unrivalled there.







Strong as they are, they opt to sniff around the borders of the Shire before making camp and healing their wounds. Apparently the Hobbits do have wine after all, though no incense, presumably.

Meanwhile, Roma continues to grow thanks to the genius of Crassus and Virgil - and their loyal workers, not to forget. Indeed, Roma grew enough to be called an Empire, as visible on the last screenshot; the Empire of Rome. Unfortunately enough, the Python code governing these dynamic names is a mess I really can't be bothered with, especially considering the many, many civics this mod has. So the name changes are quite limited and occasionally quite silly, too.



Two more farms can be established in sixteen turns, just in time for Animal Husbandry.



... Or not. Well, I suppose Roma could use some production, eventually. Would it be fun to never chop down any forest, ever - to put lumbermills in them, boosted by the Temple of Artemis? Perhaps something for the Roman mystics to explore, eventually - perhaps they can establish a paranormal connection to the Cives Fanatici pantheon.

A third person was brought into the quickly forming de facto oligarchy that ruled the Imperium Romanum; the upstart Gaius Marius, a country boy who had scarcely set foot into the magnificent city of Roma, but instead, worked hard days and nights at his farm. His farm, the corn farm, was the very first proper farm to be established by Roma, and as such, Marcus Licinius Crassus had taken a special interest in him. After all, these large-scale farms were unproven constructions, and much depended on whether Gaius Marius and his people could make it work.

Gaius Marius did make it work, and it is thanks to his success that farms spread so quickly around Roma. Over the years, Marcus Licinius Crassus and Gaius Marius had built up a close friendship, and when Gaius Marius expressed his interest in animal husbandry, he soon got his wish. He moved to the herd of cows grazing the land near Roma, letting his trusted aide, Gnaeus Pompeius, oversee the corn farm. Subsidised by Marcus Licinius Crassus, Gaius Marius booked quick success:



Some Roman citizens were quick to accuse them of nepotism, and a priest by the name of Augustine even went so far as to declare his fellow Romans as uncultured barbarians not worthy of any mention:



Despite misgivings over land and money, science and culture, none could contest that the Romans were a martial people; the Leonum scored success after success, culminating in unparalleled scouting abilities:



At the same time, Marcus Licinius Crassus arranged his workforce to put Gaius Marius' knowledge to practical use:



The Leonum sighted at least three different prides of lions:





Now, they might be scouting for Roma, but they were also hot-blooded men, boisterous, prideful - rightfully so! - and, occasionally, with too much a taste for the grape-juice - wine - they had taken with them. They were attacked while feasting, and only survived thanks to the timely aid of strong men dressed in steel-blues:







Ciryaher of Gondor was a protective man, and spoke of white citadels cleaving through the cloudy ceiling of the world, so tall that none could pierce it. He planned on planting a single white tree on top of this citadel, as a testament to the rulers of his beloved Gondor. Clearly, he was an ambitious man, caring more for the splendour and prosperity of Gondor than for anything outside his borders - and yet, he had come to save the Leonum, and bid them a hearty welcome to this lands' borders.

He would have offered them sanctuary in his House of Healing, a Hospital that healed units 50% per turn, instead of 10%, and further provided new units with the Medic I promotion, but that was a dream for the future. So too were his Citadel Guards; Pikemen with an incredible 75% defensive bonus! Perhaps Ciryaher's Protective and Financial nature would see his empire become as unconquerable as his visions foretold. Perhaps Roman might would crush him well before he could ever hope to achieve his dream.









Of course, the Creative and Charismatic Bilbo Baggins was inbetween Gondor and Rome. Both his Smials and his Shirrifs would aid the Hobbits in developing their cities and lands, creating a flourishing empire wholly unprepared for Roman axes and swords. Hopefully.









Back in Roma, Gaius Marius was now the proud overseer of a cow pasture, while Gnaeus Pompeius, left in charge of the corn farm, had expanded the farm to a size never seen before, supplying Roma with even more food:





This food quickly lead to such an overpopulation that enterprising Romans opted to settle themselves elsewhere; for themselves, a new future, for Roma, the spreading of her values and culture - yes, Augustine, yes - and for both, a new land full of opportunities.

But where would they go? Especially now that a bear has been sighted. The obvious idea is to secure the horses and copper north of the Hobbits. The Hobbits have copper right next to their capital, and either them or Gondor will secure the horses to the south-east, too.



I suppose one of these two spots:



The southern one is more risky, but would also be a better city. The northern one grabs more resources, and it'd be quite bad if the Hobbits settled there. I'd probably go for the northern one.

But perhaps the Cives Fanatici pantheon knows more!

EDIT: Updated the screenshots with the method in post twelve.

Northen spot is definitely better. A tad low on food, though. At least there's the Sheep.

For the images, you could try resizing the images before uploading?
Or just keep using the spoilers.

PS: congrats on using correct latin by the way, I had to check but leonum is indeed the genitive plural!

Will there be bowling?

Bowling? Do explain, if you wish.

I had Latin in secondary education, although I don't know much of it these days.

Let me experiment some more with these images... I want them to be clickable here, so that everyone can see them in their proper size without ruining the formatting of the story, so that people don't need to keep scrolling from left to right and back again. That seems to be the most comfortable way of reading a story, not? EDIT: Well, look at that, does that work or does that work?

[url = *Original image*] [/url]

Considering the wildlife that is sure to be prowling around the borders of Roma, brave men with old-fashioned clubs were sent along with the emigrating populace:



You might see - or have seen - 'Residences' being present in the city; a Palace automatically puts 'Residences' in every city. The city tile produces no food, production, or commerce, so that the yield of the tile the city is founded on matters. Flood plains don't disappear, but forests and jungles do, if a city is founded on them. To prevent a city having no food or production, 'Residences' produce two food and one production - but no commerce.


As the new Roman clubmen join the migrating families, full of optimism, Rome's most famous clubmen - the Fraternitas Leonum, of course - saw danger looming in the distance:



They won - of course, as if any lion has a chance against them - but they had also sighted panthers and wolves prowling about... Luckily, they weren't attacked. But it would have been a possibility, and so, for the safety and sight of a hill, they trekked onward:


The panther had moved on to find new hunting grounds, but the wolf lingered, tasting the scent of Roman blood in the air.

With Crassus overseeing the growing amount of Roman farms - and his equally growing personal fortune - Vergilius opted to look into Roman infrastructure. There was a hill between Roma and Gaius Marius' pastures, not to mention Crassus' latest farms. Perhaps one day, this hill might be flattened, mined, and settled by Roman workers, but for now, it was an obstacle. Still, if a road could be cut through it...


Then he would cut a road through it!


The annoying thing about wheels is that they need to be pushed up to roll down. Vergilius would look into this more, for while the advantages of wheels were clear to see concerning trading and farming, his mind had now latched onto the idea of mining, and how best to use wheels for such an endeavour.

Elsewhere, wolves and panthers attacked. The Leonum proved they were more than capable of dealing with animals other than lions, whereas the sons and brothers of the migrating Romans fought with a ferocity unexpected of these rather inexperienced young men. Especially as they were trekking through a dark forest; hostile predators could lie in waiting behind every tree and trunk. Of course, they often fought for their own family, and for the glory of Roma, and that surely helped bring victory.





Marcus Antonius was perhaps the most celebrated warrior, heroically saving the soon to be governor of the soon to be established city. Thankful to his selfless efforts, the city was named Antium - Antonium would have been too obvious - and soon, the governor only had ears for Antonius' suggestions and ideas. Antium would go on to become a city focused around warfare, having valuable metals and war animals nearby, not to mention hills and forests rich in minerals and timber, all valuable resources for any war effort.



The establishment of this city put a dent in Roma's treasury; at a tax rate of 35%, they would break even, and at a tax rate of 40%, they would make a tidy profit. Perhaps Vergilius' roads could help out here - the first of such a road network had just been successfully developed on the hill - and if not, then perhaps his ideas on mining would bear fruit.


Antonius would, through the governor, request a crew of workers from Roma, to improve the living standards of Antium.

Gnaeus Pompeius, still overseeing Roma's farms, would apply to join this crew. He felt that he was stuck, with no opportunity for advancement, and with most profit landing in the lap of Marcus Licinius Crassus. But had he, Gnaeus Pompeius, not overseen the establishment of multiple developed farms, grown beyond the size of any of Crassus' farms? Did he not deserve rewards for this? He needed to get out of Crassus' shadow and make his own glory. In Antium, yes, where he was sure plenty of opportunities lay waiting for the right man. For a great man. For him, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, as all Romans would call him, one day.

need my speed said:

Bowling? Do explain, if you wish.

Click to expand...

Link to video.

It was a a little random phone call you could get every once in awhile in GTA 4

Ah, I see - well, who knows what this universe's idea of 'panem et circenses' is? Corn and bowling, perhaps!

The Hobbits have apparently established the city of Hobbiton, in distant lands unseen.



And while work goes on as usual in the Roman lands, Marcus Antonius has by now taken charge of Antium's escort-defence force. The Antonii - the men of Antonius, loyal to the core, emboldened by the heroic tales of the mighty Marcus - set off to scout the lands. Marcus Antonius, of course, remains in Antium, de facto governing the city.



The Leonum, meanwhile, are surrounded by many of their best friends.



They are victorious, of course.



But they are immediately threatened by more lions.



The Leonum have enough experience with lions to strongly suspect this would be their death. They sneak their way downhill, fortunate that the wind blows away from the lions, and ascend the hills on a safer point to the north.



At this point, word reached Roma that the Hobbits had opted to become a Technocratic Oligarchy. The AI consistently does that, and one day, I will get around to making the other forms of oligarchy more attractive while not making them too different from each other.

The Antonii, meanwhile, sighted the first lions.



Emboldened by the heroics of the Leonum, not to mention their own personal hero Marcus Antonius, they prepared themselves to attack. After all, only a weakling cowers in waiting, as Antonius would say.



They won. Of course they did. They are the mighty Antonii, feared throughout the known and unknown universe!



And so they fortified themselves on the hill, their first of hopefully - nay, undoubtedly - many victorious under their belts. Antonius would be proud of these brave warriors of Rome.



As Gondor also reformed itself along technocratic ideals, Gnaeus Pompeius and his troupe of labourers left Roma to cultivate the lands of Antoniu- No, of Antium.



Already, the Roman road network - and efficient labour techniques - was increasing the productivity of Roman citizens and workers.



Though not too efficient... Vergilius worked day and night to draw the schematics of his first mine, while his workforce stood idly nearby.



However, when a new day dawned, Vergilius presented his schematics to his workers, and the first Roman mine would soon be a fact. Who knew what minerals they would find? Bronze, perhaps?



That was what Pompeius intended to do; secure the primary copper depot in Rome's lands, and through it, control Rome's entire military. History would speak of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, the powerful, the one who provided copper to Rome, forever tying the industrious Roman mines to Pompeius' magnificent self!



There was a risk here, as a fast-moving animal could be lying in wait in the shroud. That would also be true for lower lying forest, though.



Fortune favours the bold, and so, Pompeius and his men climbed the forested hill, eager to start working on Rome's most famous mine ever. But Pompeius wouldn't be the first one to construct a mine. That honour would go to Vergilius, a fact that upset Pompeius greatly.



His anger was compounded by the fact that he had to busy himself with setting up a road network between Roma and Antium. Why couldn't Vergilius do that? Didn't he pioneer roading techniques? Just as he pioneered farms? And now mines? But, Pompeius contented himself, it was Crassus who was famous for his farms, and so it would be Pompeius who would be known for his mines.



Meanwhile, the Leonum hadn't made much progress, between healing and sidestepping lurking predators.



The Antonii hadn't made much progress either, but they had at least spotted a curious expansion of the Shire's borders. Was this still their capital? Or was the second city, Hobbiton, hidden here?



No matter. As if those peacenik Hobbits matter to use brave and mighty warriors. Into the unknown, we go, to bring the light of Roman civilisation even to the wilderness!



It is unknown if Antonius was pleased with this development; his men were now travelling on their own, out of his reach, drunk on adventure and future glory. But Antonius had other things to occupy himself with; greeting Pompeius and his men.



The Leonum, meanwhile, had a few interesting observations.



One, some kind of migration or exodus was taking place in Gondorian lands.



Two, Gondorian citizens were content to roll around in the mud instead of doing honest work at a farm, forest, mine, or what have you.



Three, wolves were certainly no match for the heroes that made lions worldwide flee with their tail between their legs.



How different that would be for the Antonii, who were in for a rude awakening. Sure, imitating the Leonum, they, too, could hold themselves against a pride of lions.



But then a bear caught their scent, and they knew they couldn't stand against such a pack of such ferocious animals.



Perhaps, with the blessings of Yahweh and this Judaism, they would have fought and prevailed then and there, but it wasn't to be. They ran eastwards, knowing better than to fight, and knowing nothing of Judaism.

The Leonum, meanwhile, observed how the Gondorians moved from Osgiliath and established the city of Minas Arnor.

http://i.imgur.com/nGvIcFw.jpg[/url]

The city was quickly the victim of a forest fire, but worse was that the Antonii were the victim of a very persistent pack of bears.

Defending against such a beast would be unwise, even accounting for the added bonus of having struck camp on a hill. Besides, they knew what Antonius would say, and they weren't weaklings waiting for their own slaughter. Oh no, they were the Antonii, and they would make Antonius proud - in life, or in death! And so, they charged, a battle cry on each lip.



They were annihilated. Sporting gruesome wounds being for all intents and purposes entirely destroyed as a cohesive force, they had still survived longer than the bears had. Over the days, some of the scattered Antonii reformed, and their limited herbal knowledge was at least enough to ease some of the pains. Even if many had lost a hand, a foot, or even a whole arm or leg.

This experience had shattered their illusions of glory and greatness, but it had also made them far stronger. Where they had been young and boisterous fighting men, now they were hardened soldiers who had seen more than their fair share of the harsh realities of battle.



This helped them fend off the wolves that came prowling about, no doubt smelling the rotting carcasses of bear and man alike.



Again the Antonii were reduced in strength, with even more blood spilled and even more wounds suffered, but they fared better than they had fared against the bears, and that at only half their strength.



In happier news, the very first mine was constructed in Roma, just as Vergilius had planned. Beautiful.



And the Leonum had met the final civilisation present on this continent; the peoples of Vice City, known as the Vice, under the leadership of the scrupulous Tommy Vercetti.











The Romans dismissed the Vice warriors' talk about how they were the rightful rulers of these lands and how they would be happy to welcome the Romans into the fold. Roma was independent, Roma was mighty, Roma was eternal - and none could change that. Not even the prostitutes and the drugs that Vice City was apparently famous for. Cherry Popper's Ice Cream, pfah, how about Roman corn, cows, copper - bowling!



Besides, the lions would surely fight for the Romans if the Vice people turned hostile. After all, the lions wouldn't want to face the Leonum, now, would they?



And so, with two turns left until Pompeius can start mining his precious copper and with the same two turns left until the Romans can found their third city, it becomes time to have a hard look at the treasury...



Pity. The Romans would have liked bronze working for the lumbermills. And the many military opportunities it provides; axes, ballistas, battering rams... They would be needed, too, for as Roman mystics would soon foretell; at the dawn of the hundred and fiftieth turn, they who speak bar-bar will rise and plunge civil society into anarchy and madness! But that is a story for another day.

The adventures of the Antonii continue with the sighting of more fast-moving wolves. Luckily, by now, they have become quite proficient at defending their hill, despite grievous losses in numbers.



They easily win the battle, suffering only light wounds.



Meanwhile, Rome has sharply increased its tax rate, which caused somewhat of an uproar in Roma itself. Accusations of corruption and of squandering the national treasury flew around, and matters weren't at all helped when it was revealed that Antium barely paid anything to Roma and Rome. Marcus Antonius was quick to point out that Antium - and by extension, her citizens - was dirt-poor and had nothing to pay, but that only resulted in more mud-slinging, proverbial and otherwise. Some would point at Antium's nascent copper mine, and say that this clearly indicated that Antium could easily pay its due, while others would point out that this was an example of Antium trying to pay its due but that it had no money to pay, yet.



Regardless, the situation became bad enough that two noteworthy events happened. One, the arming of Antium's citizens with spears, and two, a bunch of Roman citizens declaring that 'if Antium can do it, so can we!', migrating away from Roma.



Marcus Antonius managed to convince the Roman leadership that these spearmen could be used against the many animals prowling the lands, not to mention the Hobbits, who would surely still be reliant on clubs, sticks, and fists. However, this situation could have easily spiralled out of control, in such a way that Antium could have declared its independence and marched its formidable armies of spearmen to Roma itself. Regardless of the true purpose of why these spearmen were raised, it cooled down a toxic verbal fight into a grievance nursed for many years.

Violence might still have erupted between Antium and Roma, had Rome's migrating citizens perished into the wilderness, for theirs was a journey fraught with risk.



They survived, though their hastily drawn up borders were surrounded by at least three prides of lions. A sibyl - an oracle - had apparently foreseen this, and, as such, had known that it would be a safe journey. She was old, but kind, and came to serve as a mother or grandmother for many of the migrating people. Her herbal knowledge was also much appreciated, and so the city was named Cumae, in her honour. Though this sibyl's exact name has been lost to history - records refer to her as Sibyl - it is known that she was actually named 'Cumae' or a variant thereof.



Meanwhile, Roma's growing populace, and the needs of the citizens of both Antium and Cumae, who were still reliant on Roma, caused the tax rate to spike at 75%. Cumae promised to train its own crew of workers, and Marcus Licinius Crassus promised to invest in the new city, but that was for the longer term.

Hoping to find a way out of this predicament, Roma's leadership promised ample rewards to any citizen who could help the financial situation. Old men turned into self-proclaimed philosophers overnight, sharing their 'wisdom' with anyone who would listen, and young boys started thinking and tinkering, but without an actual concept of 'state-sponsored science', these efforts wouldn't bear fruit quite yet.





Meanwhile, the Leonum continued exploring southwards, hoping to find the lands of Vice City. Of course, they had little trouble with the lions on their way.



Nor had the Antonii, hardened by their experiences.



With the help of Gaius Marius, a pasture of sheep was set up, to further help Antium - and Rome's wealth as a whole - along.



A road was soon finished too, upon which Pompeius was ordered to build a longer road, from Antium to Cumae.



Earlier, Antonius had visited Pompeius, practically demanding him to hand over his copper mine for the good of Antium and the entire Imperium Romanum. Copper was a strategic resource necessary for the arming of soldiers, copper was a valued substance fuelling Antium's coffers with great wealth... But the long and short of it was that Pompeius lost - again.

While working on the sheep pasture, he hatched another idea to make his name in the history books. Pastures. Or, more specifically, domesticating animals in such a way, that they could be used for war. Imagine hordes of sturdy cows charging at the enemy, or a swarm of sheep overrunning all those who would oppose him! He struck up a friendship with Gaius Marius, and as a result, he learned much of domestication, breeding, and pastures. This was invaluable for the construction of the sheep pasture, which he did together with Gaius Marius, but it would be even more invaluable when he would set up his own pastures, in the future.

And now dinner is here!

One might comment at Pompeius quick change of mind, but Pompeius figured he should remain on the good side of Antonius. Antonius was a very powerful man, what with de facto controlling Antium, and what with having a de facto private army; note how Antium's spearmen are colloquially known as the Antonii Spearmen.



The Leonum, meanwhile, had stumbled upon the borders of Vice City, and had here caught wind of a new city; Vice Point. Tommy Vercetti, it seemed, would make a powerful ally or adversary.



On the other hand, Hobbit clubmen exploring Roman lands told the Romans of their new city of Buckland. With so many unknown cities, Gibbon poked fun at the very notion of 'advanced civilisations'.



This joke, curiously enough, went a long way to easing tensions between the Roman cities and citizens. And the horse pasture Pompeius and his men started building would further unite all Romans; behind a powerful military, adept at foot and mounted warfare. Of course, that lay in the future, at the moment.



The Leonum made the observation that Vice City was quite small, compared to Roma's 232.000 citizens (size seven). They also noted that Vice City's lands were unimproved, with labourers idling in the city square, sipping on their drinks and leering at the busts and bottoms of women passing by.



Perhaps it wasn't a good idea to remove all starting technologies? But most civilisations don't start with Agriculture, to give an example, so most would have to research it anyway...

At this point I went into the World Builder. Apparently, almost all civilisations have researched Fishing, Sailing, and Trade, but many have ignored technologies such as Agriculture, Mining, Hunting, and The Wheel. This isn't because I removed them, because Tommy Vercetti, who would have started with Fishing and Agriculture, has teched Fishing (and Sailing, and Trade, and Mysticism). Almost everyone seems to be going into the naval direction - maybe because there are so many landmasses? There's an Eastasian worker walking around (a Prole, the Eastasian unique unit), and Bob Page's Illuminati has a Worker building a mine on a hill, to give two examples, so not all is lost... But this is very curious. Well, I'll play on, I suppose. Perhaps the AI will catch up. Somehow.



The Antonii sighted Dick Richardson's Enclave across the sea. They are by now so experienced that it isn't a mere youthful boast when they ask 'and with what military are you going to bring us into the fold?'.



Cumae, thanks to generous investments from Marcus Licinius Crassus, finally organises a coherent labour troupe. While Crassus starts imagining the coins he will earn from this investment - already, the treasury sees the tiniest of growth - Vergilibus stays a while to teach the citizens how to properly build and administer the farms.



It was then that Roma's call for help paid off; a combination of improved mining techniques leading to a larger export of copper, ingenious citizens setting up timber businesses in Roma's forests, a slight growth of the treasury, and, in general, a greasing of the wheels of the Imperium Romanum as tensions between the cities died down.

Lumbermills would become state-supported businesses for the time being, and as commerce and production rolled in, Rome's finest minds would soon turn their eyes to military matters.



However; no chops, no slavery. Really, the AI is acting so weird... I must give them a chance to have fun, instead of needing to face Cavalry with Archers.

Another questionable decision is teching Mysticism...



Rome needs gold. Pottery, for Cottages, would be the obvious tech choice. But I might as well try to add some more difficulty for myself.

Besides, the Temple of Artemis (Polytheism, reachable through Mysticism) adds commerce to every Camp, Pasture, Lumbermill, and Forest Preserve. And the civic Palace Economy (Masonry, boosted by Mysticism) also boosts commerce, amongst others.



So perhaps I'll ignore Pottery for now. Or perhaps not - who knows!

Regardless, the workers of Crassus and Vergilius were drafted by Roma to construct the first state-sponsored lumbermills. This was a venture Crassus and Vergilius would see no profit from - yet? - as Roma demanded all the commerce and production it could squeeze from these lumbermills.



The Leonum would observe the death of a band of Vice clubmen, clearly far less apt at handling lions than the mighty Leonum.



Even the Antonii proved their own competence at handling lions:



Yet all of their competence would pale next to the might of the spearmen of Antonius. And with the copper mine under his control, he also started fashioning bronze axes. Soon, the world would tremble before Antonius - or, would he turn inwards, and conquer Roma itself?



It seemed as if Pompeius would be late again; what use could his domesticated animals have, when there existed no doctrine of mounted warfare, not even a notion of how to train animals so as to attack the enemy?



There was, however, a valuable skill that Pompeius had learned; the importance of logistics, of roads, both for commerce and for supplying an army in the field. Pompeius rise might have been delayed by Antonius, but by Mars' balls, he would be Ganeus Pompeius Magnus!

The histories of Rome take care to mention the expansion of the very first Roman mine, which happened as a result of and further ensured the rise of commerce and production in the Imperium Romanum.



A Hydraulic Mine, using Roman techniques of water management, could better extract valuable minerals; copper, iron, silver, gold, gems... Pity Rome's first mine didn't extract a noteworthy number of these minerals. But Antium had Roma's main copper mine, and there, hydraulic mining showed a clear increase in production.



Antium's production, however high it may be, could be further optimised by those new-fangled lumbermills of Roma. Marcus Antonius approached Gnaeus Pompeius as a friend, conscious of how the man felt that he had been 'robbed' of his copper mine. Pompeius saw this as his big chance in life, and was only too happy to help Antonius and reap the rewards. As such, Pompeius told his men to start working the forests of Antium.



The Leonum stumbled upon the expertly defended Vice Point. Yes, this 'empire of Vice' was a place of debauchery, no doubt, what with haram pigs and jungles filled with disease. This, of course, in no way applied to Roma's jungles, which were rich in wood and animals, sounds and colours, and were a most beautiful place to visit. Yes.



Antium's lumbermill would soon be finished.



And Antium's army was already finished.



In Roma, however, protests had broken out; the citizens fearful of the growing force of Antonius.



Regardless, Antonius instructed a small part of his Antonii, armed with simple clubs, to go to Roma and keep order. These were the men who had defended the migrating citizens from Roma in the wilderness, and who had remained in Antium to serve as the advisers of Antonius, instead of joining up with the exploring Antonii.

Of course, this only increased tensions in Roma.

Vergilius objected vehemently to this wanton violence - Crassus only wondered whether war would be profitable or not - and convinced his workforce near Cumae to demonstrate their objections by not building a mine, not even a farm, but instead, a useless road.



I misclicked.

As risks and rewards increased in Roman lands - the treasury was shrinking, with Antonius needing more copper to both arm and pay for his army - so too the Leonum had to make a decision.



A risk that rewarded them by being closer to their fourth promotion.



The sibyl of Cumae told stories about a man named Kongzi, apparently known for his doctrine of Confucianism in faraway lands.



Antonius organised his remaining clubmen into two forces; one would secure the peace in Roma, the other in Cumae. He instructed the force heading to Roma personally, instructing them to be on their best behaviour. These men were given priority, and were soon on their way, whereas the men heading for Cumae still had to wait on the necessary supplies for their journey.

This was, however, the final straw for Roma's worried citizens. A bunch of brutes armed with clubs, that they could handle, but what if Antonius had ordered his clubmen to intentionally provoke the citizens? What if Antonius would use this opportunity to reinforce his clubmen with his own private army? Antonius was ordered to march his forces away from Roma, even away from Antium. It was, after all, only a short distance between the two cities.



So it came to be that Antonius ordered his army of spearmen and axemen to march towards Hobbit lands, confident they wouldn't face any weapons that could equal the bronze of Antonius.

They did catch sight of a Hobbit scout, and that could be dangerous; scouts moved quickly, stealthily, and these tiny Hobbits could easily be highly capable assassins, too. Although they probably were too peaceful for that - but still, there is no telling what Hobbit poisons can do to a person.



In other words; scouts can attack, which isn't the case in unmodded Civilization IV.

The exploring Antonii observed that this band of Hobbit clubmen seemed to be suffering from wounds. They would keep tracking them, inconspicuously.



As to the growing issue of one man dominating the army, Ciryaher of Gondor had apparently stumbled upon a similar development; the city-states of Gondor each hired their own armies, bereft of national oversight.

Vergilius, however, was contented with these developments, and ordered his workers to continue being useful to the Imperium Romanum.



Pompeius also continued being useful, and had completed Antium's first few lumbermills.



The clubmen of Antonius, ordered to go to Cumae, would end up staying in Antium. The Hobbit scout could enter Antium in two turns, whereas he would need four turns to sneak inside Cumae. It further seemed unlikely that the Hobbit military - what military? - made use of scouts, and so, Cumae was probably relatively safe for the nonce. While Antonius had left Antium, travelling along with his army, his clubmen knew Antonius would wish to preserve his personal city - his powerbase - at all costs. And so, they stayed.

Of course, the men Antonius had sent to Roma hadn't caught wind of this news, and arrived in Roma unaware of any scouts.



Besides a few boasts about how Antium's lumbermills were better, they behaved themselves in a remarkably civil manner, and indeed, some citizens of Roma wondered whether Roma's leadership had painted Marcus Antonius with a far more unkind brush than he deserved.

The Hobbits, of course, would unanimously disagree.





Isn't that right?



In unrelated news, the Leonum found a nice hill to heal upon. And a lion, to serve as a guard, or as pelts and meat.



The Hobbits, of course, were too cowardly to attack their Roman superiors.



Indeed, the only thing of note that happened was Bilbo Baggins, from his 'throne' in Michel Delving - a pile of cushions surrounded by many drinks and foodstuffs - proclaiming the Romans to be the Hobbits' worst enemies forevermore.

And speaking about Michel Delving... One whole troupe of clubmen?



Well, that was scary.



The Hobbit scout, as predicted, came snooping around Antium's borders, and so, the Antonii clubmen spread out to guard both Antium, Antium's copper, Antium's workforce, and the path to Roma.



Both Antium and Roma enjoyed their new lumbermills, as both the crew of Pompeius and that of Crassus and Vergilius finished their work at the same time, and indeed, ever since the remarks of the Antonii in Roma on Roma's lumbermill, an almost friendly rivalry had set in; which city owned the best lumbermills?



The Hobbit scouts were undoubtedly trying to reach the undefended city of Cumae, but with the Antonii closely watching the borders for anything suspicious, the Hobbit scouts were soon caught.



And slaughtered to the man; the Antonii were, after all, trained by Marcus Antonius, and he wasn't a big proponent of taking prisoners.



This allowed the rest of the Antonii to march quickly over to Cumae.

The assault on Michel Delving didn't entirely go as planned; the axemen were grievously wounded, and a hastily formed citizen militia meant that the spearmen would also see action. But then, the Hobbit labourers were fleeing, knowing that theirs was a lost cause.



Besides, combat experience helped ease pains and numb wounds; the axemen would live to fight another day.



A push by the spearmen breached the city, and then all that remained was to mop up the citizen militia that had by now turned into a citizen guerrilla.





Michel Delvings was a very unimpressive city, but then, half of its citizenry had taken up arms against the Romans. Bilbo Baggins, however, had decided to flee instead of fight. Perhaps he was with the workers, a fitting army for such a mighty leader.



With both of the spearmen regiments still being at full strength, they pushed on deeper into the Hobbits' lands, while the axemen stayed behind to both heal.



With the loot that this conquest brought first into the hands of Marcus Antonius and his army, then into the private vaults of Antium, and finally, into the national treasury of all of Rome, bronze weaponry could have become more widespread throughout Roman lands, but Rome's leadership decided that it'd be wiser to keep this money in the treasury for now. Marcus Licinius Crassus heartily agreed.



For some very strange reason, Bilbo Baggins declared the Romans to no longer be his worst enemy. Perhaps this was done in the hopes of attaining peace - a forlorn hope, of course.



Going back to a turn earlier, apparently Bilbo is no longer upset at the Romans having declared war on him. A curious creature, this hobbit.



But it was, as said, a forlorn hope; peace was the last thing on the minds of the Antonii, even the exploring ones... Dare they take this risk?



They are the Antonii, of course they dare. Besides, they can flank the hobbits and withdraw from combat with their superior knowledge of the terrain.



They were victorious, of course. The workers near Cumae finished constructing a mine, and, knowing that the hobbits posed no threat, would soon start work on a farm.



When Bilbo Baggins heard of Michel Delving now being a proper Roman city - the maintenance costs! - he promptly went back on his words and re-declared the Romans to be his worst enemy.



This he did from his new quarters in Hobbiton, a city known for its racialism, named after the best species of humankind - in their own eyes - the hobbits. It is clear to see why Bilbo radicalised here, and this also explains the rather large garrison.



With Marcus Antonius away from Antium, Antium's de jure governor could finally take charge. First, he used the loot sent to Antium to raise a new regiment of axemen. Whether this was to help the war effort, to placate Antonius - look, the armies of Antium have grown even larger! - or even to defend himself against Antonius, is unknown. Secondly, however, he started a campaign to make Antium - and all of Rome - richer; the treasury was in dire straits.



Marcus Antonius, meanwhile, was busy training his spearmen in shock tactics, having found a few things to improve after seeing their admittedly admirable performance in the battle of Michel Delving. This raised the odds of a crushing victory from 60-something percent to just over 90 percent.



The successes of his spearmen regiments saw Hobbiton's garrison wiped out, except for a few scouts who couldn't possibly infiltrate the sturdy Roman encampments. The 'shock doctrine' of Marcus Antonius became well-known, so much that a soldier by the name of Wilhelm would go on to found a recruiting office offering special training in these tactics in Antium.



And yes, that is Wilhelm the Enforcer from Borderlands.

As you can see, great generals will spawn very quickly. I wonder how that will play out. In my experience, the AI is nicely aggressive - certainly considering the civilisations on this map, and the fact that 'Aggressive AI' is on - but, well... Their lands! What are they doing!

Well, the axemen are conquering the cows, that's what they're doing!



The Hobbit worker fled back into Hobbiton, but the Roman spearmen only have odds of approximately 30%, and looking at the size of the city... The spearmen could never police the unruly citizen mobs and militias that would form.



With the establishment of Roma's lumbermills, Crassus opts to direct his workforce to the unimproved Hobbit lands.



This he coordinated quite nicely with Vergilius, who was still overseeing the establishment of farms around Cumae. The road should be finished just in time for Crassus' workers to pass.



Meanwhile, there was no real reason to cancel the war against the Hobbits anytime soon.



No reason whatsoever.



Then, three nuggets of news reached Roman lands. A jungle growing near Roma was very inconvenient, but would provide a nice production boost in the future. Pompeius finishing new lumbermills near Antium was decidedly good. And the Moai Statues, a world wonder, well, the Romans didn't even have a coastal city, and knew nothing of fishing either.



Making the Moai Statues a national wonder would be like making Stonehenge a national wonder. And while you could make a 'dolmen' building, or perhaps even a 'national dolmen' national wonder, I couldn't really find such alternatives for the Moai Statues. Despite world wonders needing to have an impact that goes beyond one city, I found it to be too powerful to increase the production of all water tiles, and so the Moai Statues now add +2 production to every water tile of the city its built in. I'm not entirely happy with it, but oh well.

The arriving workers, under Crassus' command, transfer to Vergilius to establish a farm, while Crassus takes command of Vergilius' workers and heads to Michel Delving to see what opportunities lie there.



The axemen of Antonius, having arrived at one of the encampments surrounding Hobbiton, decide to not engage just yet; Bilbo Baggins has whipped his people into shape and organised them into an almost professional force of clubmen.



... Apparently, the Leonum went exploring instead of healing. It is good fortune, then, that they survived, gathered news of the new city of Washington Beach, and even got skilled in the arts of beach and desert warfare.





Pompeius decided it'd be wise to move towards the Hobbits' lands as well; with Marcus Licinius Crassus, Publius Vergilius Maro, and Marcus Antonius all there, he could hardly stay behind - who knew what opportunities awaited him?



With so many great men passing through Cumae, the sibyl of Cumae saw more work than ever before; all wanted to know about their future, about the gods, and much more besides. She even got her own aide, a man named Cicero, and together they would further explore - and even attempt to codify - the mystical ways of the heavens and the gods.

Meanwhile, a wolf became famous for being the first to be introduced to bronze weaponry.



Pompeius met Vergilius, and the two men quickly struck up a friendship. Pompeius respected the inquisitive mind of Vergilius, smarter and wiser than his own, as he would admit, and Vergilius respected the opportunities and possibilities Pompeius saw in many of his ideas.



The axemen of Antium were welcomed by Marcus Antonius, and even though Hobbiton was now garrisoned by two regiments of clubmen, Antonius ordered his men to prepare to finally give battle.



The fresh recruits from Antium marched at the front of the large army commanded by Marcus Antonius.



They incurred very little losses, which was a fortunate turn of events.



So too was the case with the personal axemen of Marcus Antonius, marching just behind the recruits from Antium to steel their nerves.



The spearmen guarding the right flank of the army (they are attacking southward, so the spearmen to the left on the screenshot are actually on the right of the army ) caught the Hobbit scouts - it is unknown if they were fleeing or attacking, but they died all the same.



And... The citizens surrendered the city. Well, that was unexpected!



The treasury quickly saw the loot stack up, but Marcus Antonius knew he would be held responsible if the maintenance costs spiralled out of control. Further, it would fall to him to properly guard the city. Both of these difficulties were compounded by the fact that it would be a Herculean effort to properly integrate the radicalised populace of Hobbiton into the Imperium Romanum. And finally... His second regiment of spearmen hadn't seen combat yet, but all of his soldiers had encamped here, many days and nights, missing home, lacking luxuries... They deserved their rewards.



A small part of the populace was taken prisoner by Marcus Antonius, mostly important citizens that would act as hostages.



He promptly informed Bilbo of this, so as to prevent him from declaring a war of revenge on the Romans anytime soon.



Rome was overstretched, and the sibyl in Cumae was still warning the Romans of the bar-bar people that would wreck all of civilisations. Better to let the Hobbits live on in a state where they couldn't pose any threat to Rome. Peace was declared, and Rome would see if the captured Hobbits could be of use in Roma herself.