Grand Theft Civilization

[need my speed]

As Bilbo's mind works in odd ways - perhaps he recognises that he can't face the Romans - the minds of the lions that decided to attack the Antonii work in even odder ways, what with the lions being pummelled to death.



The Antonii receive orders from Antium to head north-west into the jungles outside of Roma.



These orders come from Marcus Antonius himself, who met Cicero, the aide of the sibyl of Cumae, just as he was about to march back home. Cicero warned Marcus Antonius of grave dangers that would soon rise, and was convincing enough for Marcus Antonius to send his army eastwards into the wilderness.



Meanwhile, Rome's great men had arrived in Michel Delving to properly Romanise the city and the populace. They also caught wind of Cicero's warnings, and learned that Cumae was busying itself researching all it could of this unknown threat.

Marcus Antonius had also sent word to Antium to let the city garrison scout the lands to the west, and even to erect large monuments to honour the gods, so that they might protect all of Rome from the rising danger.



The Leonum, at this time, sighted a strange and small boat in the distance. At first, they mistook it for a boat from Vice City, but the pink is deeper, darker, and the shade of brown isn't at all similar to the light blue of Vice City's flag.



They didn't yet know about the foretold rise of the bar-bar, and so, approached the crew of labourers of this tiny boat.



These men turned out to be emissaries from the distant lands of Khand, steppe nomads who had settled down and lived now in relative peace amongst the horses and fortresses dotting their lands, ready to rise up in arms at but a moment's notice.









The city garrison of Antium, nursed and nurtured under the wings of Marcus Antnius, charged any pack of beasts or other threats they could find.



In this they were victorious, but they did lose more men than necessary.



The governor of Antium, meanwhile, apprehended the Hobbit labourers who were on their way to Rome, and told them to work on his monument to the gods. Everything to stave off imminent disaster.



The army of Marcus Antonius moved into position, clearing out the remaining wildlife on their way.





Whereas Michel Delving's lands were quickly improved to provide enough food and production to keep the armies in the field and raise new ones as needed.





Perhaps Gondor and the Enclave were also preparing themselves, with their new cities of, respectively, Minas Ithil and Navarro. It was rumoured that Gondor, while not having a sibyl, had a palantír, a device that showed visages of past, present, and future. Or perhaps they were both wholly oblivious.

The governor of Antium had, as time passed by and as Marcus Antonius stayed in the field with his armies, grown more and more ambitious, no longer content with serving as the sockpuppet of Antonius. An understandable sentiment, to be sure, but an ill-advised notion, considering that, for many citizens of Antium, their loyalty went to Marcus Antonius first and foremost.



But the Antonii Clubmen II and III were out in the field, guarding the outlying lands that would, one day, be incorporated into the Imperium Romanum. As such, it fell to the citizens to organise themselves, imitating these bands of clubmen that Antonius had raised, to forestall a power struggle that would see the city descend into anarchy.



Roma herself, meanwhile, took her rightful place as the mightiest city of the whole wide world, by constructing the Great Bath. Romans would forevermore be known for their expertise concerning matters of aquatics, hydraulics, sanitation, and more.







Now, it was time for Roma to train her own military force; they couldn't be reliant on Marcus Antonius forever, certainly not considering that the governor of Michel Delving was drawn from the armies of Antonius.



As this happened, the Leonum were on their way back to Roman lands, with the occasional pride of lions on their way.



These were no trouble at all, of course.



Nor would they be trouble in the future. Hopefully.



But the future is a story for the future, and not for the present.

So, peoples, is this a 'nice' story? Too many pictures of too many insignificant details? Personally, I found that I preferred the Civilization III stories that were in this format; a lot of pictures with a small bit of text in a light story-telling manner, treating the game as if it was real. But of course, I am but one person - what would you suggest, if anyone is reading? And yes, I know that I would almost never reply to such a question, as my sentiment would probably be 'it's fine, carry on' and I would view that as a relatively useless message. Of course, now that I am writing, instead of reading, it isn't a useless message anymore.

 

[clanky4]

I generally put in a bunch of images and comparatively few words. Making it more like a collection of images with some subtitles thrown in. There are also others who have comparatively more words than images. It comes down to preference.

 

[Noyyau]

It's fine, carry on.
(cit.)

 

[need my speed]

Very well - thank you!

As predicted, the closest pride of lions was no threat to the Leonum. Nor was a far more distant pride of lions for Antium's - and not Antonius's - axemen regiment.



Roma had by now trained her own garrison force, and as such, sent the Antonii out into the wilderness.





The Leonum, meanwhile, had the choice of playing it safe or knocking a few lions' heads together.



Well. They survived! Sort of.



As the Leonum settled down to tend to their wounds, Roma continued rapidly building up her self-defence force. Of course, Roma had the population for it; 469.000 and growing, whereas Antium had stagnated at 48.000.



Cumae was of a size equal to Antium, yet with the sibyl preaching disaster, the citizens of Cumae had become afraid - paranoid, perhaps - and some took the opportunity to stock up on foodstuffs and valuables, be it to survive an impending disaster or simply out of opportunistic sentiment.

Young men guarded their homes, banded together to patrol the streets, and their neighbourhoods, and the governor of Cumae was working on organising these men into a cohesive police force for Cumae.



The Leonum had their own problems with unwanted aggression, but in the form of lions, instead of humans. They withdrew to safer grounds.



Tommy Vercetti had, apparently, invented golfing, as a counterpart to Roman bowling, for the Leonum heard of the city of Leaf Links being established in distant lands.



Roma's growing garrison force was this time dispatched towards the eastern tundra.



As the Leonum came under threat again, Vice City's research efforts had taken a turn for the worse. Perhaps the bar-bar threat had sabotaged their research efforts. And perhaps, while one civilisation sang boldly in the face of the bar-bar threat - a great musician by the name of John Lennon - another civilisation built a Great Wall to see nary a face of this bar-bar threat. Perhaps.



On the eve of the bar-bar threat, a great monument to the gods was finished, in a last effort to stave off the predicted disaster.





The sibyl of Cumae personally blessed this monument, Stonehenge, and spoke words of hubris and arrogance, and of how Roma was but one speck of light amidst a vast ocean of darkness, a void of black that could crush civilisation in mere moments, if not for the gods' generous protection.



Stonehenge attracted quite some citizens from all throughout Roman lands, seeking to pray or ask for blessings or whatnot at the famous monument, and this saw quite the increase of revenue in Antium.

One of Roma's garrison forces went about cleaning out the jungles.



Clearly the gods were pleased with the construction of Stonehenge and the humbleness of the Roman people; Mars blessed the Roman warriors, and they fought as if invincible - which they perhaps were.



A final garrison force was sent into the jungles.



Yes, the garrison forces of Roma were busy, seeing quite a bit of combat, and Titus Livius, inspired by the speech of the sibyl, wrote his Ab Urbe Condita Libri, in which he detailed the civilisations of the known and unknown world.



But, as nihilism caught on in Roman lands, about how Roma was nothing at all in a black void of all-encompassing darkness, Michel Delving found itself to be quite developed. The remaining Hobbit populace had fully integrated and intermixed with the Roman people, and they certainly couldn't argue that Rome hadn't done more for them than the Shire ever had.



Roma's final garrison force also headed to the tundra, and it was wondered whether this bar-bar threat would materialise at all.



That would be something for the mystics to ponder, as the rest of civilisation held its collective breath.

 

[need my speed]

Religious fervour was at an all-time high, yet the prophesied bar-bar threat failed to materialise. Citizens grew restless, and some started questioning their betters - men of import, local governors, all the way up to the leadership of Rome herself - whether there was merit in paying such a large sum of gold to the outstanding forces of Rome's military.



Things came to a head when, during one of the sibyl's sermons at Stonehenge, her house in Cumae was ransacked, uncovering a body of knowledge amongst which was this paper:



This was soon deciphered to mean that the bar-bar threat should have materialised half of Rome's lifetime ago! '75', not '150', whatever these 'turns' might represent! Had the sibyl tried to doom them all by leaving them intentionally unprepared? The sibyl was put in chains and taken to Roma, leaving a broken Cicero behind in Cumae, whispering that he didn't know, that he hadn't known, pleading to the gods to give him strength and clarity.

Really... Where are the barbarians? I honestly thought they'd spawn in 150 turns, but, although the World Builder does reveal a nice amount of farms and mines, there are zero barbarians. There are civilisations with Archers, Ballistas, and so forth - Archery and Bronze Working - and Sailing - barbarian Galleys - was widely researched all over the world... And yes, barbarians are turned on. Can anyone shed any light on this?

Although... Rome's military did spot barbarians, of a sort:













That reminded the Romans; they hadn't yet investigated the Enclave of Dick Richardson:





I am unsure why Protective states '+1 happiness from Tomb'. The Tomb is the unique building of Angmar, replacing the Walls. And yes, Protective does grant +1 happiness from Walls, and the Tomb does replace Walls - everything works correctly. Curious.





As the pseudo-barbarians from Mordor sailed by, wild animals clashed with bronze spears. And bronze spears clashed with wild animals. Bronze beat fur both times.





Cities grew - Michel Delving - expanded their borders - Antium - or were founded - Ammu Khand.

One city even gave birth to a great artist, though this Jean-Honore Fragonard never showed up in Roman lands. Even so, Antium was making its own cultural developments, and Pompeius and Vergilius were both present to seize the opportunities this brought.

Vergilius, with his scientific and studious bent, with his sage wisdom and great intellect, combined with Pompeius' more hands-on approach, whose concerns were efficiency and optimisation, exploitation of opportunity - together, they sought to tame the largest beasts they had ever seen.



As the sibyl of Cumae was carried into Roma's dungeon, a great spy - John Barlow - was born somewhere.



This spy never entered Roman lands, though, as far as the Romans knew, and it wasn't much later when the sibyl had broken down to incoherent sobs, revealing all that she knew and thought, suspected and wished, seen and imagined...



She had attempted to codify the Roman pantheon, from which she had excluded the ancient deities that the Romans held to have come from foreign lands. Stories of Titans and Olympians, deities bested by the might of Roman gods. But with all the wild animals prowling Roman lands, she was sure that Artemis, one such old deity, the goddess of the hunt, had cursed the Romans to forever be haunted and hunted by the wild.

Of course, this merely strengthened Rome's resolve to drive back the black of the wild, to spread the light of Roman civilisation into the farthest reaches of the dark abyss surrounding them. Cicero, when he heard of this, hurried to Roma, to properly interpret the wails of the distressed sibyl. Afterwards, he deemed it prudent to establish a temple dedicated to Artemis.



This was the beginning of great religious turmoil, though it seldom turned to violence. Some would say that Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt, had been bested by Artemis, and that, therefore, Artemis should be worshipped, lest the Roman civilisation be overrun by the wilderness. Others argued that Artemis merely wanted to be a proper Roman goddess, while yet others argued that it was impossible for a Roman deity to ever fall to an outsider, and that Diana had sent many wild animals to Roman lands so as to prepare the Roman military.

Regardless of which interpretation was correct, it was clear that no commonly agreed upon pantheon could exist, and that the codifications of the sibyl were but her personal and subjective scribbles. No codified pantheon was, as such, adopted.



Elsewhere, religious strife would eventually lead to religious unification, under the tenets of Islam.



The Temple of Artemis wouldn't be built in Roma, but in Antium, for a variety of reasons. For one, it was deemed better to keep the sibyl away from the temple until it was finished. For two, Antium had less citizens than Roma, and crucially, citizens that were far less religiously inclined; there was little risk of riots over the construction of this temple. For three, Rome's workforce was, by and large, present in Antium.



Pompeius and Vergilius had become local celebrities, riding around on elephants one day, and they would soon raise Rome's second stock of domesticated horses too. Crassus, meanwhile, had set his eyes on the silks growing in a forest near Antium, and was cutting down said forest to begin adding silks to his wealth.

Marcus Antonius, meanwhile, was still busy fighting the good fight.



And so would the Leonum, healed from their daring ordeal.



They did so without losing any men.



While the Hobbit workforce of Michel Delving looked on, Crassus lay waste to the entirety of 'his' silk-forest... Only to find out there was no Vergilius nearby to help him figure out how to set up a silk farm. At least the wood would contribute to the Temple of Artemis - not that Crassus was a particularly god-fearing man, but it was a nice gesture.



Although the Hobbit workers were working alongside Roman greats such as Crassus and Vergilius, the Hobbits who had stayed in Michel Delving had fallen sway to a small stint of nationalistic nonsense. This absurdity was, of course, stamped out of their heads by the properly Roman citizens.



Whether the Hobbits would rise in revolt or not, remains to be seen.

 

[Noyyau]

Huge map size and Marathon game speed both influence many factors in the game, including barbarians. So they'll probably appear later than you think (I'm still looking for actual numbers though).

 

[need my speed]

Mhm, this ìs a map that is larger than a normal Huge map, as it is based on a Terra Huge map, and a Terra Huge map is larger than, say, a Pangaea Huge map... Mhm, that could be it. Well, I'll see. I'll just let the treasury run dry for a while, paying for all the units.

Also, the picture of Sauron's greeting screen / diplomacy window didn't work, but I fixed it now.

 

[Noyyau]

Correction:

Barb Animals start appearing after game turn 5 (hard coded, independent of game speed). As mentioned earlier the game stops spawning them if both of the following two conditions are met:

1. The average number of (non-barb) cities per player must be >= 1.5.
   .
2. A certain number of game turns must have elapsed (depending on difficulty [iBarbarianCreationTurnsElapsed] and game speed [iBarbPercent], marathon is special with 400%).

So in a quick deity game animals are usually only created in just 1 IBT (5->6).

When the era of barb animals is over, the existing creatures are not eradicated in 1 major extinction event. Instead, the game kills off 1 animal per turn until they are all gone and will insert regular barb units (Warriors, Archers, ...) as they are "needed" during the next IBT (can be > 1 unit/turn!, ALL required units are created immediately).

 

[need my speed]

The citizens of Michel Delving were reassigned to more productive labours, whereas a crew of proper Romans was brought in to spread the glories of Roman culture. This staved off any discontent that might have erupted had the city's population grown - especially as the more rebellious Hobbits left the city ever so slowly, causing the city's populace to actually shrink.



Perhaps one of these Hobbit malcontents was Allan Pinkerton, a great spy active in lands unknown.



A garrison force charged bravely into the claws of a pack of bears, figuring that their meagre encampment wouldn't help much in defending against an inevitable attack - but if they attacked, perhaps they might surprise the bears, and gain valuable combat experience in the process.



Fortunately enough, this proved to be a success. Michelangelo might have painted about their heroics, if only he had known them, and Bilbo Baggins might have hired them, as mercenaries, had they not been firmly loyal to Rome.



Meanwhile, Pompeius and Vergilius had successfully domesticated Rome's second pack of horses. Vergilius would meet up again with Crassus, working on lumbermills to the north, while Pompeius would survey a range of hills in the hopes of finding more copper depots.



Marcus Antonius continued his victorious strike, but Rome also saw cultural successes; Roman attempts to make Michel Delving a thriving and fully Roman city had paid off. Udham Singh, a great spy, was welcome to report the might of Roman culture to anyone he wished to.



This development saw Michel Delving's workforce hurrying back to their homelands, where many large wheat farms could now be safely established, especially with the protection of the Antonii who had faithfully guarded the wild lands.



Now that Roman culture had properly spread throughout Michel Delving, the citizens were free tend to their farms and mines and pastures.



The Leonum won yet another skirmish against lions, and heard of the Enclave city of Poseidon, as well as the Hobbit city of Westmarch. The Hobbits were on the march, again, but surely, they knew they could pose no threat to Rome?



The debauchery of Tommy Vercetti, meanwhile, now not only included drugs and prostitutes, but also slaves.

Speaking of debauchery, the Leonum sighted the fearsome looking borders of scorched and ashed lands that could only belong to Mordor. From his palace, this tyrant ruled cities such as Minas Morgul, the Tower of Dark Sorcery. And no, this tower wasn't the Great Lighthouse.



But they also met a self-proclaimed gangstah by the name of Carl Johnson, who was needlessly rude and very much uncivilised.











The garrison force moves away in disgust - and to gain some more combat experience.



They got their wish:



But now, Rome had to make a decision. The treasury was almost empty. Perhaps there were economical merits to be found in this palace economy of Mordor, that Carl Johnson's San Andreas had also adopted.





It had been ascertained that the bar-bar threat would come, though they did not know when. Perhaps they had come already, for a great prophet by the name of Calchas had been born in unknown lands. Regardless, it would be prudent to keep the Roman military in the wilderness, despite the cost of supplying and maintaining them. Small cottages would be set up to provide more housing space for the armies and their baggage trains - Crassus developed these cottages the outskirts of Roma, Vergilius in Antium.



But until these projects had born fruit, Rome couldn't afford to fund the scientific efforts of Cumae nor those of Michel Delving. These cities would focus their efforts on generating gold and creating cash, instead of pondering philosophy.



Orrr... Marcus Antonius could ransack Westmarch...



What a brilliant idea!





It was a very easy victory, but didn't yield anything worth mentioning.

And Bilbo Baggins was hardly loved by other rulers - well, of course the barbaric tyrant of Mordor and the uncouth gangster of San Andreas would take offence to Bilbo's peace-loving ways.



But Marcus Antonius might as well investigate Bilbo's capital before signing a peace treaty.

The Leonum won a risky victory, and then, dinner was served. I'll be dining on lion meat! Ta-ta!

 

[need my speed]

Ah, thank you! I see where my 150 estimate came from; inbetween the 140 and the 160, as I positioned my own difficulty to be right in the middle as well.

So... 400% of 75 is 300 turns. Well, that's quite a lot. I suppose I could withdraw my forces and spare the treasury some expenses, then. Maybe I'll do so. Or maybe I'll handicap myself some more. I know Tommy Vercetti is quite a powerful opponent, though - but he's far away for now.

 

[need my speed]

Just as funding for the philosophers and priests of Cumae was cut drastically short - the sibyl had been allowed to return from her imprisonment in Roma, and was now working as the housewife of an influential citizen of Cumae - Cicero discovered a mistake in the sibyl's calculations and interpretations. The bar-bar threat would rise, yes, but that would happen many years into the future. Enough years, in fact, that Rome's military could be recalled to Roman lands.



Fathers were reunited with their sons, and sons discovered they now were fathers. So, too, were Pompeius and Vergilius reunited, this time working on the cottages near Antium.



The Leonum had suffered trekking through the harsh desert, but they prevailed, as they always had. They would not for nothing go on to become mythical warriors, looked up to by anyone and everyone.



With Cumae's philosophers and priests losing their funding, they turned to other jobs, and so, spread their highbrow culture throughout the city and beyond, as they found new farms and forests to tend to, businesses to run, and other pursuits that saw Cumae thrive.



Marcus Antonius observed the defences of Buckland, and as the rest of his scattered army was still on its way, he decided to pillage the pastures of Buckland. He would send part of the loot back to Antium, of course, and part of that would find its way into Rome's treasury. Combined with the whole of Rome's military being recalled, the tax rate would, for the first time in many years, be ever so slightly lowered.





Antonius' army cleared out some of the local wildlife, which gave them valuable combat experience; many hadn't seen a fight in years.





As Marcus Antonius pondered what to do now, Gondor turned to slavery, and the Enclave set up an underground vault - Vault 13 - presumably to protect themselves against the coming bar-bar threat.



Rome, meanwhile, saw an increase in food production - the wheat farms near Michel Delving - and housing - near Antium, for example - to properly integrate the recalled military into Roman life.





Cumae also profited from this, in that new funding was found for the philosophers and priests.



Rome's massive military relocation was perhaps noted by Asuka Kasen, a great spy of an unknown nation.



And as more and more elements of Antonius' old army found their way back to their commander, Sauron built the mountain stronghold of Cirith Ungol. Here, allegedly, he housed monstrous spiders that would feast upon any threat, real or perceived, of Sauron's worldwide domination.



Crassus finished his construction of cottages around Rome, but again, lacked Vergilius expertise to figure out how to cut the northern jungle. As such, he hurried over to Cumae, where a lot of undeveloped land lay waiting for him to exploit its potential.



Despite the Romanisation efforts, and despite the increased garrison, renewed war against Bilbo Baggins had its effect on the Hobbit populace of Michel Delvings. Of course, the Antonii made short work of the rebellious citizens, and when funding and supplies from Rome didn't arrive, the citizens discovered just how very reliant they were on Roma, Antium, and Cumae.





Marcus Antonius' entire army had arrived in full force, just as Marcus Antonius himself had restored his axemen to full strength. They marched on Buckland.



And at their home, in Antium, their wives and children prayed for the gods' favour in war, be it Artemis or Diana, Ares or Mars, Zeus or Iupiter.



This proved to be a very wise decision; no regiments of the army suffered major defeats, and indeed, most of the men handled themselves exemplary well.



Further, Salvatore Leone, a member of the Leonum, opted to become a teacher at Antium's military academy. Whether he was inspired by Marcus Antonius' success, or fleeing from Asuka Kasen, is something we will never know.



As Marcus Antonius prepared himself for the final assault, Sauron received disturbing news; Gollum had been born, somewhere...



This didn't distract Marcus Antonius, who employed his very own shock tactics to quickly take the city.



To quickly crush the city.



To forever extinguish the light of Hobbit civilisation. To crush any resistance that might have ever formed. He salted the earth of Buckland, christened it to Saltland, put Bilbo's head on a pole as promised so long ago - and yes, it dìd look good - and commanded his army to head to Michel Delving. If the Hobbit populace there would ever dare to rebel again...



Well, they had learned their lesson, it seemed. And the revolt status wasn't too bad. For now...

And why, yes, Antium can now produce units that start with three promotions. How very nice.



That would be very useful, against the perpetually-coming-yet-never-quite-arriving bar-bar threat.

 

[Noyyau]

Once they return home, the Leonum should receive some form of award for their bravery: upgrade to Axemen at least, and I wanted to suggest "attach a Great General to them", but I'm too late. Oh well.

 

[need my speed]

Mhhhm, I suppose that could happen. I mean, it'd be a waste of a Great General, but they should be very common anyway, and it'd be a nice bit of roleplaying. But yes, the Leonum will go on to become the subject of the Heroic Epic at the very least, and if they ever die, there will undoubtedly be units lining up to be their successor.

I do believe the Antium Axeman II have been Marcus Antonius' unit for a while, so they're also up for a Great General at some point. Although I'm letting the characters travel freely between units (Crassus and Vergilius already switched workers). Of course, the Antium Axeman II was sent from Antium by the governor, and wasn't part of Antonius' original army... But perhaps that is all the more reason for Antonius to have taken charge. One wonders how the governor will react to that development.

 

[need my speed]

Roma, as the jewel of the known and unknown world, had only grown mightier; huge networks of mining tunnels, fields of crops as far as they eye could reach... The city had grown large, in wealth, in production, in food - perhaps too large, even. Marcus Licinius Crassus had expanded the suburbs of Roma by constructing cottages, but even so, the city had become crowded. It was time for a new city to be found.



Suburbs popped up around the cities of Cumae and Michel Delving as well. Michel Delving's populace grew quickly, bolstered by soldiers coming back from war, passing through the streets and women of Michel Delving.

Antium, on the other hand, saw growth in another manner; with Marcus Antonius having taken personal command of Antium's regiment of axemen, the governor of Antium had raised another regiment of axemen. It wouldn't do for all of Antium's military to be under the control of one man.



Further, Antium's governor intended to erect walls around Antium, as he had no intention of being pushed aside by Marcus Antonius; he was the city's governor, not Antonius. Advances in masonry were made, as a result, but to cloud himself in a cloak of innocence, Antium's governor drew on his religious connections. After all, having established Stonehenge and the Temple of Artemis, he was a popular man amongst those religiously inclined. And what better way to celebrate the population boom all of Rome was experiencing, by building a monument dedicated to the little-known fertility goddess Ishtar? Of course, Ishtar was also the god of war, and the monument would serve as a wall, too...



The few surviving Hobbits from Buckland were brought in to assist with this project.



Amongst these Hobbit labourers, perhaps, was a spy or even an assassin posing as a Leonum, but this Speaker the Lionhearted fled before he or she could be brought to justice (Speaker is actually a beta tester of Civilization IV).



More spies were heard of, though not sighted; Ken Rosenberg, an old acquaintance of Salvatore Leone, and Morgan Everett, an elusive figure associated with something shady called the Illuminati. Ishikawa Goemon, meanwhile, was a confirmed assassin; a so-called ninja who stole from the rich to give to the poor. Perhaps he rose up in disgust after the poor's lives were squandered in the construction of the Pyramids - or perhaps not, as their construction with slavery is a myth, not a fact.



While the Ishtar Gate brought advances in masonry to Roman lands, perhaps the Pyramids had served a similar function in other lands.



With Rome's continuing population boom, it was recognised that self-sufficiency was officially done with as an economic policy. Of course, change had already seeped in naturally and gradually, what with the sponsoring of artists in Michel Delving, philosophers and priests in Cumae, and so forth. With more and more citizens working not on farms or in mines, but preforming services and producing goods, and moving farther away from the main cities too, Rome had changed. No longer were Roma, Antium, or Cumae pillars of Roman culture in a land of wilderness - no, a vast road network had emerged for trade, and along it, many citizens had found work, relatively far away from these cities. Rome had become one whole, more interconnected than ever before, and whether a citizen worked inside the borders of Antium or Cumae mattered less than that they were a citizen of Rome the empire.

But with the return of Marcus Antonius' army, there existed a chance that he would take control of Antium, and by proxy, Michel Delving. He could revert the growing change in culture and perception - and Roma's ruling class disliked that possibility very much, of course, as Roma the city was synonymous with Rome the empire. And so, they drafted an official economical policy, redistributing food and gold as needed to citizens all throughout the Imperium Romanum, no matter whether they lived in Roma or in Michel Delving.





This, of course, was such a dramatic restructuring of the economic policy of all of Rome, that it would take some time before it was all implemented and done with. But hey, you know it's gonna be alright.



The impacts on Rome's economy were immediately evident, and would only become more evident as time went by.



Crassus, of course, had his own plans to exploit this new economic policy; mining marble, which would see him garner great influence with Antium's governor, as marble would be of great help in constructing the Ishtar Gate.







Yes? No? Would Marble even be useful, considering the time it would take to acquire it, going by this dotmap? I'm unsure if forts work outside of civilisations' borders... I think so, though?

It would also be nice if I didn't need to waste units defending the north (and east, and west) against barbarians.

 

[Noyyau]

What mod is your own mod based on anyway? I see there's BUG, revolutions...
Dunno about the forts, build one outside your borders and see if it projects tile ownership or not.

Also, what's with all the Great Spies that everyone's getting?

 

[need my speed]

RevolutionDCM, which includes BUG.

Apparently, forts require cultural borders, so the plan wouldn't work with the above dotmap. Perhaps it would be better to settle a city next to the wheat, then... But Crassus' plan is already set in motion, per the last post. Ah well, nobody said I had to play optimally.

They presumably come from the Town Hall, which allows a citizen to become a spy specialist. Similarly, I wanted to see what would happen if Monuments allowed a citizen to become an artist specialist.

 

[need my speed]

The migrating Romans didn't settle themselves far away from Roma.



Neapolis, as such, became a sister city to Roma. The citizens freely mingled, and indeed, certain farms traditionally worked on by citizens from Roma would become more and more populated by citizens from Neapolis.



A headcount of all Romans revealed that there now existed more than a million Romans. A spy by the name of Claude Dansey reported this to his foreign masters, and the Romans of Neapolis celebrated the ever-growing glory of all of Rome - and the establishment of their own city - by hosting festivals for all to see.



Kundaj V and Saruman also founded new cities - Kajbah and Carach Angren - and they perhaps hosted their own festivals, what with the great artist Yan Liben being born in distant lands.



Soon afterwards, the city of Aldea Variag was founded by Kundaj V. Rome's population grew, in Michel Delving, but didn't feel the need to migrate as of yet.



A similar pattern of events happened when Ciryaher founded Dol Amroth and Frederick Sackrider Remington was born in distant lands.



Even Tommy Vercetti managed to pass his debauchery off as culture, with an Edouard Manet at the fore.



But soon this monotony would be broken by Roman exploits.





... Or not. I had assumed the three religions present had come from Meditation, Polytheism, and Priesthood. But of course, Priesthood doesn't found a religion, so it'd have been Monotheism.

Pity, then! I'm sure I can put the Etemenanki to good use somewhere, if I ever get around to building it. Which I probably will, in Roma (every city can only construct three world wonders, so Antium's out), with the help of marble. I had originally intended to chop all those jungles - which give production, much like forests - but that can be saved for later. Perhaps even after the Romans can do their mathematics.

At this time, the sibyl of Cumae and Cicero had a falling out. The sibyl had, earlier, codified all of Rome's deities in a massive pantheon, declaring some deities to be false and not including them, and designating roles to other deities that certain priests disagreed with. It was, by and large, found to be the subjective opinion of the sibyl, and so, nothing had come from it. Cicero, however, now found himself arguing that all deities, known and unknown, were but aspects - faces, if you will - of one single deity. While this was an original way of both codifying the deities and including even those deities he had never heard of, this debate was largely confined to the homes of Cumae's philosophers, and as such, little traction was found for the idea.

Which isn't to say that it mightn't have lead to spies being exposed, unable to participate in these highbrow philosophic conversations; Odysseus and Giacomo Casanova, for example. Perhaps they were successful in spreading some of these religious tenets, and perhaps a certain civilisation underwent cultural upheaval because of it - but perhaps not.



As Ciryaher founded the city of Emyn Arnen, Neapolis had become a retreat for the elite of Roma.



And even though a list of the most cultured civilisations found Rome to be 'pathetic' and Vice City to be 'fine', this cultured elite did bring Rome in contact with the seas, for the first time ever. And perhaps more importantly; this development brought Crassus in contact with marble.





Marble would go on to become a material of cultural and religious significance. Of course, Crassus had already cut profitable deals with the governor of Antium - Crassus would supply marble to help construct the Ishtar Gate - but the religious community of Antium also showed its appreciation. This community mostly consisted of migrants from Cumae, attracted by Stonehenge and the Temple of Artemis. Galadriel would be their spokesperson.



However, as Cicero's notions slowly - very slowly - gained traction in Cumae, and as Antium's religious community grew, tensions arose between the two cities. Cumae considered itself to be Rome's intellectual capital, full of philosophers and priests, whereas Antium was a barbaric hamlet fraught with corruption and nepotism, full of lumbering brutes fit only to shovel dung and point spears. On the other hand, Cumae was a city of rotten carcasses and effeminate cowards that called themselves men, whereas Antium was the picture perfect of Roman might and glory.

These hyperboles came to a head as the two religious communities exchanged their views, and resulted in many of Cumae's populace accepting Cicero's notions as gospel. Us versus them at its finest. Yet Galadriel sought to temper these tensions, and, in a bold and not at all risk-free move, settled down in Cumae to spread her teachings. This act would go a long way in bringing the two cities together.





And yes, it's a pity Galadriel had no shrine to construct. If only Monotheism had founded a religion for Rome!

Perhaps, so it was theorised, this rise of tensions had also come about as a result of the adoption of a palace economy, what with all cities, all lands, and all people now being one under Roma - certainly, the exaggerated hyperboles and the predominant 'us versus them' attitude hankered back to the times before Rome's adoption of a palace economy.

And so too did the Hobbits' antagonism... What was Marcus Antonius doing, was a question privately thought by the governor of Antium for many months - he should have been back already - and now publicly asked by people all over Rome.



Well, he was busy writing letters, and travelling in secret to Roma, without his army. For, if Rome truly was to be a one nation and one people, then they would need a leader not confined to the halls of the palace in Roma. They would need a leader equally adept in the ways of war and in the ways of philosophy, a leader capable of navigating corruption and nepotism, and yet being fair and just to all, a leader with a mind for farming and mining, yet also a leader experienced in engineering projects and cultural festivals. And such a leader didn't exist.

But Marcus Antonius had made Antium his domain, and knew all there was to know about war. And Marcus Licinius Crassus had practically made Rome an empire, what with his wealth propping up ventures all throughout the lands. Not to mention Publius Vergilius Maro, loved in Cumae for his inquisitive and philosophical bent, responsible for thinking up the concept of farms and more.

Through Antonius and his Antonii, Michel Delving - and if worse came to worst, everyone - would follow. The elite of Roma, even those who had migrated to Neapolis, would follow Crassus, for his wealth was almost directly responsible for the wealth of this elite. And if not, then they would follow Vergilius, who was greatly popular amongst the cultured and the religious.

And so, as national cohesiveness was smoothed once more, and as trade picked up as a result of it - primarily thanks to Galadriel's example...



The First Triumvirate was established between Marcus Licinius Crassus, Publius Vergilius Maro, and Marcus Antonius.













That is another reason for adding an artist specialist to the Monument and a spy specialist to the Town Hall; it'd make a Plutocratic and a Sophocratic Oligarchy more attractive options. But no, I suppose nothing beats a free specialist, and so, Rome will turn into a Technocratic Oligarchy as well.

Of course, this was a revolution, and war broke out in the city of Roma as palace guards and Roma's city garrison fought to protect Roma's leadership (losing the +1 happiness per military unit will hurt Roma... Perhaps I could move that from Despotism to Noble Oligarchy or somesuch). In foreign lands, battle had also broken out, evident by Papa Khan rising to prominence as a great general.



But Roma's city garrisons couldn't hold against the growing support of the whole empire. The First Triumvirate was successfully installed, and promptly put its plans in place to improve Rome's cohesiveness (thank you, free artist specialists from monuments). Roma would lose some of its citizens to fighting, and others to lingering dissent and migration, but all in all, she wouldn't shrink too much.



That isn't to say that almost everyone was happy with this revolution. Gaius Marius, who had been quietly tending to his pastures, had seen his herds been slaughtered by soldiers of Marcus Antonius in need of food. Gnaeus Pompeius had thought he had become friends with many of Rome's great men, but now, found himself to not even be thought of as these men entered the palace of Roma. And Marcus Tullius Cicero was shocked at the barbarity of all this madness, and would devote many of his sermons to the opposition of Rome's new government, fully buying into the hyperbolic descriptions of Antium and completely undoing the work of Galadriel.

Perhaps these men could have undertaken action immediately, for Pompeius happened to be in the fields right next to Cumae at this time. But that wasn't to be, as Pompeius retreated in disgust to Michel Delving, as far away from Roma as he could be... And as close to a hotbed of resentment against all of Rome as he could be, too.

 

[need my speed]

The pacification of Michel Delving was held up as a great success of the Triumvirate's policies - especially when the treasury wasn't negatively affected at all.



Indeed, it ended up having a positive impact. Cumae had, by now, grown rather hostile to any associates of the Triumvirate, in specific all of the soldiers under the command of Marcus Antonius. These soldiers themselves had also grown rather hostile, being denied the opportunity to pillage Roma, and being further denied the opportunity to pillage the homes of these priests and philosophers that spoke out against them. Marcus Antonius called all of his men to Michel Delving to forestall any further trouble.



Meanwhile, he sent out a few of his Antonii, adept at scouting, to investigate how Gondor was doing these days. Surely, they wouldn't still be using mere clubs when the era of bronze had long since dawned... Would they?



As discontent in Roma and Michel Delving was quelled - with thanks to the marble - the Triumvirate truly entered its cultural golden age. Sure, other civilisations had their own achievements, and perhaps if Rome had been blessed with a less misguided sibyl, she might have become the first world-renown Oracle, but that wasn't to be. And that Maurits Cornelis Escher, a great artist, had been born in a distant land, was largely irrelevant too.



Roma, however, had now spread the light of civilisation over almost all of the northern lands, and although the jungle still harboured dangerous flora and fauna - too dangerous to start exploiting the gems there, for instance - that wasn't the case for a cold hill range where one of Crassus' workers had discovered silver.



Meanwhile, the Triumvirate supplied large shipments of marble to Antium. If the governor had thought of rebelling against Antonius, he was very grateful to Crassus, and knowing that these two men were two-thirds of Rome's leadership, he quickly thought twice of acting against any of them.



Of course, measures had to be taken to prevent both Roma and Michel Delving from slipping into malcontent again. The citizens of Roma would be kept busy working on a new palace-temple complex, one that properly showed the glory and might of Roma and Rome.



Whereas Michel Delving's citizens were sent into the woodlands to start profitable lumbermills. Surely they could do without the riches of food their wheat farms brought them for some time.



The exploring Antonii learned that Gondor was now the worst enemy of Mordor. An interesting development, especially after the Hobbits had been Mordor's worst enemy before being wiped out.



Meanwhile, Vergilius - and the workforce of Michel Delving, kept under close watch for any dissent - had come to help his old friend Crassus with mining silver.



Sauron's enmity lasted but a short while, but in the meantime, Khand grew to include the city of Chelkar, and the world grew to include a spy by the name of J.C. Denton.



The Triumvirate's achievement came to include the establishment of an official bureaucracy, and the formalisation of diplomatic channels. Marcus Antonius in particular didn't see the need to send out his soldiers on information gathering quests to the far ends of the world; wouldn't it be better if an emissary took up permanent residence in Roma, closely watched - and spied upon, of course - by Romans?



These open border treaties were signed with all known civilisations, and perhaps, one day, trade might even flourish between them - Crassus looked forward to exporting his silver, for one.



That isn't to say that Rome now viewed itself as one nation amongst many - no, Rome was undoubtedly the mightiest and most glorious, and to be a Roman was to belong to the best people in the world. But that would become evident in due time - was already, as far as Antium was concerned.





For now, Rome would tolerate others, as it had always done, content to be left alone in peace. But a brotherhood of nations, with universal values... No. Rome was superior, and that was the long and short of it.





Of course, this diplomacy and all was a rather bureaucratic process, and many scribes had to be trained in the various languages of the world. Further, they had to write down all that they did. Procedures had to be codified and negotiations had to be recorded. This was a massive undertaking, for most people couldn't read, let alone write, let alone write words and sentences the same way others did, from basic handwriting to spelling and sentence structure.



The elite of Neapolis came in handy for this, as did the philosophers of Cumae and those few Romans who found themselves in the service industry, often residing in outlying cottages or in the heart of Roma herself. From basic scribes to educators, many jobs were handed out, and a feeling of equality and cohesion settled down all across Rome. This massive undertaking had only been possible thanks to the palace economy and the Triumvirate, so that all of Rome could be drawn on - and indeed, it was time to end the hegemonic ways of Rome once and for all; Rome was a confederacy of equals, where both noble lords and common citizens were needed. And in time, though this massive effort saw a decrease in production throughout the empire, science and culture would increase as class divisions were lessened.





And so, as Rome finally restructured itself from a hegemonic power into a confederacy of cities, there was a choice to be made. The ongoing bureaucracy would profit greatly from a standardised alphabet, and especially with education programmes to spread literacy all throughout Rome, commerce of all forms could greatly increase. Archives storing the knowledge of hundreds of thousands of Romans, not confined to the philosophers of Cumae, not to mention the opportunities for merchants and trade - concepts such as lending money, perhaps, or investing, could be applied to all of Rome's citizens, instead of the rich few.





Studying and codifying mathematics could equally help out here.





Iron, while not superior to bronze, was rumoured to be available in larger quantities. Instead of smaller regiments of axemen and spearmen, whole armies could easily be equipped with iron swords. Not to mention Rome's workforce, to finally brave the jungles and cut them all down for the glory of Roma - provided Rome could secure a source of iron.





Or perhaps something entirely different? What would Rome's choice be? And mind; Cottages and Hamlets only generate +1 commerce, whereas Villages and Towns only generate +2 commerce, without any technologies. Just like Farms and Mines, they get better as they are worked and as technologies are researched.

 

[need my speed]

As Rome's reforms come to an end for now, Crassus and Vergilius decide to deepen their knowledge of metals by researching iron. They know iron lies just south of the tundra in rocky terrain, but this is as of yet a land where no Romans live, travel, or work. Even so, it is a land that lies just beyond Cumae, and perhaps the philosophers there know more. The great spy Lance Vance, famous for his 'Lance Vance Dance', going by the name of Quentin, certainly didn't know more.



The exploring Antonii meet a pride of lions in combat.



And then they stumble upon iron!



A small shipment would be sent back to Marcus Antonius, and from him, to Crassus and Vergilius. Initial findings aren't too positive, indicating that bronze is of superior quality, but they also find out that iron is easier to forge into useful tools. And from the philosophers of Cumae, they even find hints of a 'super iron' called 'steel' that is of a far higher quality than bronze ever could be. Crassus and Vergilius have their work cut out for them, verifying what is true and what is false of these vague rumours and scribbles.

And of course, work doesn't stop just because they're researching a new metal on the side. In other news, a charismatic statesman with great cultural influence is born somewhere, by the name of William Taggart.



The exploring Antonii discover that Sauron has rekindled his hatred of Gondor, perhaps in response to the founding of the Gondorian city of Calembel.



Further, the painter Francesco Hayez was born somewhere, and a forest had grown near Rome, despite being closer to Antium.



The Antonii also discover that Gondor is developing its infrastructure, sighting mined hills and farmed riverlands near the capital Osgiliath - not to mention a galley! Minas Anor is a city rich in pastures, and Gondor itself has the most curious road network - where is Gondor founding all these cities? Deep within Vice City lands?



The Gondorian people seem somewhat frightful over rumours of two assassins prowling about; Balthasar Gerard and Gonzalez. The Antonii move without fear to Minas Anor, where they will heal their wounds - and learn all they can about Gondor.

Which isn't much; a failed assassin by the name of Grima Wormtongue has apparently set sail for a mountainous island to the south-east where a white wizard lives, and a select few paintings of a largely unknown Kamal al-din Bihzad from far away arrived in Gondor by the sighted galley. But, Gondor does have access to copper, and the Antonii catch men wielding bronze axes patrolling the city of Minas Anor - valuable information, to be sure. Further, Gondor's road network allows them to trade with Vice City.



And so every Roman duly does his or her job; Pompeius, for example, is still helping out Michel Delving, the populace of which is still being kept in check. The foolish Hobbits should never have dared to revolt.



Revolts were also something that plagued the Gondorians; Minas Anor descended into anarchy just as the Antonii were resting there - but the reason of this revolt filled the Antonii with excitement; Sauron had declared war on all of Gondor!



Pity that there was no way for Sauron's warriors to actually reach Gondor in a timely manner.

Back in Roma, the heart of Rome, the new palace complex was finished. While this caused a bit of grumbling amongst the plebeians and the caput censi, in time, the palace complex would come to house a large administrative workforce, and indeed, many of the now grumbling Romans would eventually find employment there. This did wonders for easing the maintenance of the burgeoning Imperium Romanum, and would also be yet another method for increasing Rome's literacy.



Gaius Marius visited the new palace complex - the Etemenanki - with a request for compensation of his ruined pastures and slaughtered herds. He was recognised by Crassus, and, to the shock of Gaius Marius, Crassus hired him and asked him to explore the idea of mounted warfare. This was an old idea, buried with the advent of copper, and soon, iron, but Gaius Marius was overjoyed. The Triumvirate, meanwhile, patted themselves on the back for successfully turning one of the biggest nay-sayers against Rome's new government. If only Cicero could fall in line...



But the Triumvirate was busy solving other problems; how would they get access to enough iron to arm the whole military? And the civilian workforce, too, to cut down the jungles which Crassus and Vergilius were already exploring? And to further forge any tools that citizens might ever need, cheaper and more abundant than bronze tools?

The solution was obvious; any human would do what lay in his or her own best interest. Settle Roma's malcontent population right in the middle of the jungle, and they would attempt to remove the diseased and dangerous jungles without any other incentives. Settle Antium's veteran soldiers and generals near iron, and their own pride would see them arm first themselves, and then the whole of Rome, with iron weaponry. And once iron mines and forges existed, well, they'd be foolish not to expand their efforts into civilian markets.



The Triumvirate eagerly looked forward towards the future, especially so considering Rome's mysterious leader - really, it's strange; sometimes the Triumvirate felt as if they were but characters in a story, not in control of their own actions - had received word of finally passing his thesis and thereby earning his Bachelor degree, just in time to start on his Master's degree.

... The Triumvirate went back to working on Rome's education programme.

 

[need my speed]

As the days went by, Rome learned that the forces of Mordor had somehow burned the Gondorian city of Calembel. It was theorised that Gondor had perhaps used its galleys to found cities on distant islands, perhaps even on lands Sauron considered to be his - but then, Sauron considered the whole world to be his.



This theory was further supported by the sighting of the first non-Gondorian ships...



Had the bar-bar finally arisen from their slumber? Come to plunge the civilised world into an abyss of hopeless dark? To answer both the question of the bar-bar threat and that of the war between Mordor and Gondor, Rome turned its growing bureaucracy - town halls had been established throughout the empire for administrative purposes - away from culture towards espionage.

To face the bar-bar threat, iron would be needed, now more than ever.



Certain priests were eager to encourage the dawning of a new age - the final age, an epic battle between civilisation and barbarity, enlightened and civilised humans against brutes and wildmen - this was dismissed as nonsense; only one ship had been sighted, after all.



Some of these priests found support from an unlikely direction; the military, having grown restless, especially with Marcus Antonius being buried into more and more paperwork - that is to say, scrolls of papyrus and tablets of clay and stone - but the Triumvirate saw no need to restructure Rome's economy in a total-war economy.



The ongoing and ever-expanding administrative efforts of Rome had its positive sides, despite the growing wariness of Marcus Antonius; the workforce in Roma's jungles was quickly equipped with relatively easy to manufacture iron tools and armaments, and soon, Roma - and all of Rome - would have a plethora of new lands to exploit.



Still, there was the problem of having no large iron deposits - certainly not enough to see to the needs of all of Rome - and, so long as this scarcity existed, the little iron Rome had would have to be used with great care. In addition to that, the many riches of the jungle couldn't flood the markets all at once, for that would play havoc on Rome's economy. And finally, the jungle wood might be usable for many purposes, from building houses to constructing battering rams and ballistas, but the specifics of this kind of wood would need to be measured first. Mathematical models would come in handy for all of these purposes, as well as easing the jobs of Rome's growing number of bureaucrats.

As mathematics was developed into a prestigious science and codified into a concrete whole, Tommy Vercetti had grown quite paranoid and started housing his citizens in forts instead of cottages. Perhaps the many great generals were to blame.



The military-religious community of Antium hadn't quite given up on preaching about the inevitable coming of the bar-bar threat, clamouring that Rome needed ships to take the fight to them, and that, yes, a strong military was of vital importance, more important than anything else, because what if the bar-bars rise up today or tomorrow, as foretold by the sibyl?

The governor of Antium didn't want to let down the religious community - he liked being loved by them - and Crassus didn't want to do anything that could impact the wealth his marble exportation generated. But Marcus Antonius had no time for this, and travelled to the city to send the most influential of these doomsday preachers away. Exiled to Cumae, Santo Antonio would occasionally share his misery with Cicero, but they didn't agree on anything much beyond 'the government's bad, man'.



And yet...



Rome ushered into a flurry of activity. Citizens were forcibly relocated to secure iron, to make sure the northern jungles harboured no threat, and to eventually establish a navy capable of pushing these bar-bar invaders back into the seas.





The military, meanwhile, moved out in force.





And of course, the military was victorious. So far, the grave bar-bar threat had been grossly overestimated.



The exploring Antonii, meanwhile, had their own victory.





Why exactly Antium felt the need to build another wall is still a mystery - mystics speak of 'misclicks' and 'might as well enjoy the +1 trade route'.



As certain citizens of Roma were expelled and forced to settle themselves somewhere else, Roma understandably shrunk in size. Sauron founded a new city of his own, by the name of Gorgoroth. Unbeknown to Rome, the mother of Toni Cipriani, leader of Liberty City, had turned up in Washington Beach to inform Tommy Verceti of Vice City all about Liberty City.



As in Roma, so too in Antium, with Marcus Antonius handpicking strong men with a broad build to found a mining outpost and bring iron to Rome. That these men also happened to be quite religious and had fully agreed with the exiled Santo Antonio was entirely coincidental, of course.

They were dubbed sparrows by the religious community and crows by the military community, both seeking to distance themselves from this group, even though it was played up as an honour; being found to be strong enough to go mine iron and fulfill a most important duty to Rome only few could do. The men didn't let it bother themselves, but instead, chose another bird for themselves and their city; the ravens of Ravenna. Eventually, these sparrows and crows would feature in a short and happy song known as 'A Song of Ice and Fire'.



While the new citizens of Ravenna originally took some spice with them, to flavour their food after the hard work of trekking through the unknown and setting up an outpost to mine the iron, they soon got orders from Pompeius to start mining the aluminium. This would prepare them for their task of mining iron, and would reduce the workload of Pompeius and his crew.





As they let the spice be and started learning more about mining and aluminium - note the small science difference - some priests, gardeners, architects, and more, were brought in from Cumae to turn Ravenna from a mining outpost into a proper city. This, too, would be a bastion of Roman culture.

A group of bar-bar brutes armed with mere clubs, trailing behind the bar-bar archers, found their doom against the same Antonii who had slayed the archers. Despite the easiness of these fights, the Antonii did send back some of the bows and arrows for further study. They were nifty devices, to be sure, but to properly train soldiers in their use would take time Rome didn't have at the moment. These archers, however, had also been spotted in Vice City... Could Tommy Vercetti be responsible for the bar-bars?





In the western part of Rome, only animals roamed.



Animals, and discontent Romans stuck between the jungle and the sea, neither of which were places where these Romans felt comfortable. The only good thing was the abundance of gems, which would make many of the citizens moderately rich. As such, they decided to found the ore town of Arretium.