Reporting and Feedback about my latest playthrough in Avila College

[Rhialto]

So, I completed my latest playthrough of Academagia with a Male Prodigy on the Prowl from Avila who, I hope, will be able to have very interesting experiences with Cinzia Ammacampani (who, amazingly, joined my clique without my character doing anything!) and the rest of the Boys from Dorm-Tower 8 in future games. Between my goals for studying in this game (top marks in all courses), taking 4 extracurricular forms of magic (gates, mastery, incantation, and enchantment), and getting at least 5 in all base ability scores, I was honestly prepared to only be able to complete Cinzia’s Y1 adventure (getting love with her) in addition to the Purple Wizards' adventure and the Schohanwicht School's adventure, but to my considerable pleasure, I was able to achieve not only this but also some other adventures: A Walk Along the Lake, Naming Beasts, A Day in Frontino, The Edge of Nowhere, Rumors of Witches and Evil Intentions, the Tutorial adventure, The Much-Rumored Tower, The Pit(t)s, Out of Charm, Shaping her Destiny, Time to be Counted, Cloudy Skies, The Thing about the Venalicium, A Book Full of Ghosts, Just Going about Your Business, Ana Flavia's Y1 adventure, Voices at the Temple (gaining the spell Disorder the Heavens!), The Quest for the Tipsy Fairy, If Hearing is Believing, and the Main Adventure supporting Ilaro.

Here are the statistics for my playthrough.

Spoiler

Ability Scores:

Spoiler

Fitness 6

Finesse 6

Charm 6

Strength 7

Intelligence 21

Insight 9

Luck 8

Skills >7

Spoiler

Ambush: 11

Arithmetic (Course): 15

Astrology (Course): 14

Athletics: 12

Enchant: 12

Engineering: 13

Forge: 12

Gates: 10

Geometry (Course): 14

History: 11

Incantation: 12

Mastery: 10

Negation (Course): 14

Research: 15

Revision (Course): 15

School Survival: 10

Society: 13

Zoology (Course): 12

 

 

Here, then, are my comments and questions/suggestions.

1. Will Olivia's stealing Cinzia's notebook play a role in later games?

2. Cinzia really was an interesting character, whom I was fascinated to note was presented as more than just a neatness-freak, a bossy co-ordinator, or a scheming control-freak. Her adventure, moreover, allowed me to understand how she could easily fall into evil ways, with her willingness to deal with dangerous magics, her willingness to have her friends break rules in pursuit of goals, and her cliched satisfaction at success. She is still less frightening to me than Sima Venesico or Rikildis von Kiep, though - although that could change I suppose.

3. During my game, I had the Cursed Robe confiscated from me. I hope that Y2 will have a way to get it back (or continue Macha's content even with no robe).

4. This playthrough impressed me, more than any other playthrough of this game, with how genuinely strange (in an interesting way!) the setting's magic is. Too often games with magic reduce magic to numbers and bonus/malus, making it seem like a science with another name. The same also applies to some popular fiction, such as Harry Potter. But the content involving Macha's warded cavern, and the encounter with the "waiter" made me, as player/reader, truly understand that magic within the setting is very mysterious and cannot easily be reduced to game-terms in some circumstances.

5. I really hope that more adventures in future years will grant different outcomes or options if the player has a spell affecting em at certain times.

6. I really hope that the PC can reveal eir encounter with the "waiter" (and the spell) to the Triplets in future games, because of their keen interest in mysterious/illegal magics. Sima, I think, would probably try to sell the spell to a client (if such a person really exist!).

[Metis]

Speaking for myself:

58 minutes ago, Rhialto said:

4. ...But the content involving Macha's warded cavern, and the encounter with the "waiter" made me, as player/reader, truly understand that magic within the setting is very mysterious and cannot easily be reduced to game-terms in some circumstances.

One thing that's always hard to keep in mind when typing adventures, but satisfying when it pays off, is that there's a far greater ceiling to what magic can do than the first year player is ever able to do him/herself at any point. Of course what all the person the player is interacting with is actually capable of is another question in it's own right, but when said person is someone like Macha or the "waiter"? Yeah, things can (from the PC's perspective) spiral out of control fast.

1 hour ago, Rhialto said:

6. I really hope that the PC can reveal eir encounter with the "waiter" (and the spell) to the Triplets in future games, because of their keen interest in mysterious/illegal magics. Sima, I think, would probably try to sell the spell to a client (if such a person really exist!).

I'm sure they'll appreciate the sheer degree of trust - what some might describe as suicidal recklessness - you'd show them in confiding that particular encounter. Than again, if you ever find yourself in need of allies on that particular path...there'd be worse options, I'm sure.

(Speaking purely in terms of lore here, the actual follow-up adventure hasn't been finished yet and goodness knows I couldn't stick to a straight story if I tried, so...who knows where and how that'll end up)

[Rhialto]

20 minutes ago, Metis said:

I'm sure they'll appreciate the sheer degree of trust - what some might describe as suicidal recklessness - you'd show them in confiding that particular encounter. Than again, if you ever find yourself in need of allies on that particular path...there'd be worse options, I'm sure.

Well, given that Sima is willing to trust the PC about her own interest in dangerous and probably illegal magics (ditto Tabin with his creepy knowledge about plants), such a sharing would not be out of left field, as it were.

[yurisama]

@RhialtoAny tips on how do you usually get the relationship maximum bonus from etiquette to land on the right target? Do you use a macro to reload, an action to reduce random events or anything?

[Rhialto]

16 hours ago, yurisama said:

@RhialtoAny tips on how do you usually get the relationship maximum bonus from etiquette to land on the right target? Do you use a macro to reload, an action to reduce random events or anything?

I just save and reload, alas, although I have asked the Team to develop a tool to eliminate randomness. As for getting love, I find for Cinzia that one should not try for that and affection in the same day - the chance is too low. Rather, get affection on one day, save. and then try for love - if necessary reducing the relationship to below 13 first.