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[Glass]

Honestly, what even is this "side effect"? Everything previous with Vivomancy had been weird stuff happening when the spell was cast, suddenly it just makes everything that's been made with the stuff become hostile? That's not "unpredictable", that's just bullshit.

[Maximum Spin]

Honestly, what even is this "side effect"? Everything previous with Vivomancy had been weird stuff happening when the spell was cast, suddenly it just makes everything that's been made with the stuff become hostile? That's not "unpredictable", that's just bullshit.

I could *maybe* accept this if it turns out that the enemies can control vivomanced creatures with superior magic. That's what I assumed was going on as I read it.

[Glass]

Have we ever been able to use Vivomancy to directly control anything rather than just modify or create stuff?

[Maximum Spin]

I don't even recall, but just to be clear, I stopped thinking that was what was happening when I hit the "the most unpredictable magic" line. I'm pretty sure you're right about it, I just hope it's something different.

[Devastator]

There's another possibility.

It could be some kinda pollution.  The natural processes of vivomancy could lead to the buildup of some kind of waste product that causes these issues and random vivomantic effects, when present in sufficient quantity.  This would mesh with the existance of a Sea of Negation.

If it's some kind of pollution that isn't known about or studied, it may not be possible to avoid just by improved techniques.  Even the most efficient system will always have some leakage, and the actual process of vivomancy might require the production of a waste product.

The reason there hasn't been trouble with vivomancy has been because there wasn't much pollution around.  Now there's many more users, so they're creating a problem that wasn't noticeable when it was just us doing it.

I vote C

[King Zultan]

2

[brewer bob]

I dunno, I sort of was expecting all the magic-using to backfire at some point, but there really weren't that many options to not use it. I've had pretty much the same thoughts as Devastator about some kind of magical pollution building up.

1 or 3 aren't options for me, as I don't trust the queen or the church (nor ourselves for the matter) to make such decisions. 4 would be my ideal choice, but it'd probably just make things much worse until it's too late.

So, I'm voting 2.

[Yellow Pixel]

2

[Enemy post]

We establish magic schools.

"We can't undo the spread of magic," you tell Mayor Cos and Queen Thecla. "But what we can do is try to educate them, to prevent them from killing themselves."

"More magic?" Blessed Advisor Sam says, distressed.

"If you think that's best," Mayor Cos says uncertainly.

"I admit, it may have seemed uncharitable of the crown not to share its magic a bit more," Queen Thecla says. "Perhaps our citizens will come up with some novel innovations that make life better for everyone."

You travel from town to town trying to teach the brightest citizens of each region how to teach magic themselves.

You usually find at least one person in each region who is genuinely enthusiastic and motivated about magic, and you focus on teaching that person so that they can in turn teach others.

But when you sit in on your new teachers' first classes, you find most people see magic as an imposition on their normal way of life, just one more way in which they must catch up with their neighbors or fall behind. Studying magic for these students is a chore.

You can also tell some of these students are wondering what the point of learning about the magical esoterica is when there's a war going on, especially when that magic isn't useful for fighting. And to some extent, they're right; this educational push will take time and resources away from the war. (Lost Kingdom Power.)

You expect to hear complaints from Hierophant Elizabeth about your decision, but instead, there is a silence that speaks volumes.

As the people learn about magic, they do become more careful with it. Many didn't realize that divination reveals information to those spied upon; people certainly become more reluctant to use the magic after that. At least the people appreciate these warnings. Your warnings about vivomancy are often ignored, since the worst effects often happen to other people, but you think people appreciate your efforts anyway. (Increased Adoration.)

Unfortunately, you think this has no effect on the bigger crisis facing you. Despite your warnings, farmers can't disentangle themselves from the competition they find themselves in. It's clear any farmer who does not use vivomancy will rapidly become bankrupt.

You have the sinking feeling something terrible is about to happen.

You are taking a stroll in the Mild Woods with Sam, trying to introduce him to the place where you first got excited about nature, with little Verdigris perched on your shoulder, when you hear a loud crash nearby. It sounds as if something very large has landed in the woods, rather close to you.

Verdigris squawks in irritation.

"What was that?" Sam says.

Sam's dragon Thomas, perched on his shoulder, whimpers a little.

1.Cast a divination to learn what it was.
2.Head toward it to see what it was.
3.I grab Sam's hand and run in the opposite direction.

Spoiler: Stats (click to show/hide)

Royal Sorcerer Foo

Appearance

A bookish, spectacled man wearing a shimmering cloak and a noble duelist's uniform

Magic
  Negation:9
  Automation:11
  Glamor:2
  Divination:11
  Vivomancy:12

Skills
Ancient History: 9 (Fantastic)
Fighting: 2 (Decent)
Subtlety: 3 (Decent)
Charisma: 8 (Fantastic)

Personality
Optimism:49%/Caution:51%   
Humor:42%/Solemnity:58%   
Empathy:47%/Calculation:53%   

Relationships
Romances (Interested romantically, but not sexually, in men and women)
None

Tal: 54 (Fine)
Cos: 56 (Good)
Sam: 79 (Great)
Thecla: 65 (Great)
Church: 31 (Bad)

Kingdom

Kingdom Power: 4 (Decent)
Adoration: 49%/Vilification: 51%

Inventory
Gold: 267 gold
Sword
Alchemy Set
Torc of Life and Death
Antidivination Ring
Clutch of Dragon Eggs
History Book, True Life of Abraxas
Golem Manual


Students
Blessed Sam

Pets
Verdigris the Baby Dragon
Texas Ranger Simba, the Lion King, a Seahorse

The Dead
The Academy Inquisitor
Student Vera

Plot Points

Chapter 1

You and Tal stumbled on an ancient magic academy.
You discovered a book of vivomancy, and an inquisitor chased you.
You found an ancient dueling ground.
You killed the inquisitor with negation magic.
You explored the academy library.
A divination revealed a potential ally in the form of a golem, so you took a manual on the operation of golems from the library.
You animated a serving tray to retrieve an alchemy set, but in the process, you released some dangerous chemicals.
You found a laboratory with a trapped specter.
You destroyed the specter.
You obtained a clutch of dragon eggs from the crow's nest of an ancient airship.
It became clear that the spilled chemicals were going to consume the whole academy.

Chapter 2


You flew up the coast of the Negative Sea back to Akriton.
You created two horses and freed them in the woods.
You made your parents think your finds in the academy were purely of historical interest.
You read in True Life of Abraxas that those who follow orders regularly are more likely to be glamored.
You learned the location of the Magisterian capital from True Life of Abraxas.
You met a hat seller but bought nothing from her.
You allowed a thief to steal from Fruitseller Fran.
You agreed to hunt a dodecapede with Tal.
You kissed Tal.
You restarted the automated mine that was the dodecapede's lair.
You restarted Akriton's giant fans after the death cloud passed.
Cos and you agreed that you would secretly work for Akriton.
Though you thought you kept a low profile, you heard inquisitors are coming to town anyway.

Chapter 3

Two inquisitors came to your door: the more aggressive Blessed Jacob, and the kinder Blessed Sam.
An old man intervened, claiming you weren't home.
You waited until the inquisitors left.
The old man revealed himself to be Mayor Cos, who is a shapeshifter.
You went to a House of Sun service, led by Blessed Sam.
In the middle, your vivomancy disguise wore off, but Blessed Sam did not take any action to pursue you.
Blessed Sam asked you to heal his pet dragon, Thomas.
You agreed and healed Sam's dragon.
You offered to teach Sam vivomancy, and he agreed.

Chapter 4

You rode to the capital in a wagon with Sam and Jacob.
While Sam and Jacob fought, you sneaked into the basement.
You found a university student held in the Cathedral dungeon—the last mage left there.
You decided to leave the student in the cell.
You found a secret passage that avoided a somewhat terrifying room.
You found a room that looked similar to a vision of a pleasant afterlife.
You found the Cathedral's library.
You found an old statue of Abraxas that promised to answer questions about the Church.
You learned that an item called the Great Oracle lies in the Magisterian palace, and that it could be used to join all minds into one.
You learned some designs that may help scour the sky from True Life of Abraxas.
You read in True Life of Abraxas that Abraxas became an immortal specter, and that you might become one yourself given enough negative energy.
The hierophant came to make an offer of sainthood to you.
Inquisitors and Church guards pursued you out of the capital.
You escaped the Cathedral and headed home.

Chapter 5

You blasted all but one of the guards pursuing you, leaving the lone survivor to report that you are not to be trifled with.
You headed back to Akriton.
On returning to the market, you discovered it had burned down due to a lightning strike.
Tal's house was marked for destruction by the Twilight Band, a group of shapeshifter haters.
The queen offered you a position as an advisor, which you accepted.

Chapter 6


You returned to the capital, summoned by the queen for an interview.
You became the official court wizard for the queen.
You moved into the royal palace.
Spymaster Dol reported sightings of the Neighbors' airships near the Negative Sea.
The queen asked you to determine in what ways the kingdom should adopt magic to stay competitive with the Magisterians.
Blessed Sam became Blessed Advisor Sam when you arrived at court.
You recommended using vivomancy-created beasts to supply the kingdom's labor and enhance its military.
You told the queen glamors were not worth the health risks.
Over dinner with Tal and the queen, you learned of the queen's childhood stuffed animal, Bear Bearson.
You animated Bear Bearson, and he defeated Royal Guard Tam in combat, delighting the queen.
Your plan to create beasts to perform the kingdom's labor and fighting appeared to be working.
You learned from a book how to craft an antidivination ring, and made one for yourself.
Vera started a magic academy.
Vera's magic academy ends in tragedy, with a dead student and Vera dead at the hands of inquisitors.
You created a divination-based broadcasting system for entertainers, but did not teach the entertainers glamors.
Tal proposed.
You said you weren't ready.
You learned that Abraxas made use of an item called a fateshaper to gain negation power, and that the one he used fell into the hands of an Akritonian collector.
A visit to your mother turned deadly when she turned out to be a shapeshifter, who attacked you with a knife.
Your mother recalled the shapeshifter was Fruitseller Fran.
Your mother's house was destroyed by a Magisterian bombardment.
You advised the queen to prepare for war.

Chapter 7

You used divination magic to scout out the Neighbors' forces.
You returned from a successful scouting mission.
The kingdom prepared for war.
You decided not to use negation magic in the war.
You decided to lure the enemy forces into overextending themselves.
At your suggestion, the queen chose Cos as her heir.
The Magisterians invaded, as you planned.
The dragons on the front were reported to be more menacing than usual.
A shapeshifter masquerading as Cos attacked you, and you realized an accomplice must be attacking the queen.
The queen was being attacked by a shapeshifter pretending to be you, but you stopped the assassin and convinced the queen you were the real Foo.
Your forces succeeded in pushing the Neighbors back to the Negative Sea.
You created a new kind of creature, a seahorse named Texas Ranger Simba, the Lion King.
You created a great creature named Simba, the Lion King to help with the war effort.
Odd vivomancy-related incidents were reported throughout the kingdom.

[Glass]

1

EDIT:
I don't like what the game is doing with Vivomancy. It said it's unpredictable. If it were actually being unpredictable, there would more logically be a distribution of creatures becoming more and less intelligent, more and less hostile. All of them, across the board, becoming both more intelligent and more hostile isn't "unpredictable", it's just negative.
It's false advertising, is my point. They gave Vivomancy similar widespread side effects to Negation and Automation, but without actually mentioning that.
I just hope that there'll be any opportunities to pivot to Automation.

[Devastator]

It would have been easier to pivot towards Automation if you voted to rein in Vivomancy instead of building schools to it everywhere.  At this point Vivomancy use has been described as a requirement for survival.  I think the country was just destroyed by the decision to build those schools.

[brewer bob]

2

[Glass]

It would have been easier to pivot towards Automation if you voted to rein in Vivomancy instead of building schools to it everywhere.  At this point Vivomancy use has been described as a requirement for survival.  I think the country was just destroyed by the decision to build those schools.

I don't think trying to rein it in would have worked. Tons of people already knew how to do magic; they wouldn't just forget because we told them to stop, and a significant portion would still have kept doing it - and then we'd need to spend more resources on enforcing the regulations, and people would still be using Vivomancy to enhance their crops - stupider, more reckless Vivomancy, because nobody would have taught them how to do it safely.

I think that ideally, we'd put regulations on how much Vivomancy can be used in agriculture, but the game doesn't have that as an option for us, because CYOAs don't have space for all the options.
One reason why SGs are broadly superior, even if they take longer to update. Same reason why tabletop games are generally more fun than their video game equivalents.
(An SG based on this game might be fun to play. I want to economics at it.)

[Devastator]

Some would have stopped.  Some would have seen the various threatening things happening and started listening to the warnings about it.  Some would have stopped by force of authority.  And, as the update says, some never wanted to do it in the first place, but were forced into it due to it becoming necessary.

I think that ideally, we'd put regulations on how much Vivomancy can be used in agriculture, but the game doesn't have that as an option for us

1.Support the Church's message that magic is only for the holy.
2.Establish magic schools around the kingdom to teach people to use magic responsibly.
3.Make it illegal to practice magic without the consent of the queen.
4.Interference will only make things worse. People should figure this out themselves.

I do agree with you that things may have gone too far for 1 or 3 to have been effective.  But 3 was to put regulations on magic use, and 1 was to try and convince people to stop using magic.  2 may indeed have been the least bad option of a catastrophe that could not have been avoided at that point.

But there's no reason not to try.  If you want to limit vivomancy, why teach as many people as possible to do it?  Not only that, it's teaching people to do it more and better, making the problem more permanent and intractable.

Vote is 3  It might be our giant monster or a giant monster sent by some of our enemies.  In either case, this is our enemy's chosen battlefield, so we need to run and hopefully get a better advantage.

[King Zultan]

3


It seems to be no matter what choices we make it turns to complete shit for some reason, maybe the game wants us to fail no matter what we do.