I don't think there is a consensus, however I can recommend starting with expert scholar. Gives you 200$/day income, academy standing and job, influence boost for the early emerald city access, nice bonus in stats/skills that are difficult to train (Int, Academics,Science) and also in some skills that are quite important and helpful early game - charisma and manipulation. You can train them easy with caress and suggest sex from seduction but the initial boost helps getting to the training part fast with some easy girl like Amelia for example.
My advice would be to forego skills and attributes that are easy to train in the game like all of the combat skills and focus on useful skills that are very difficult to naturally get in the game like manipulate, charisma, and intelligence. I usally play on the max difficulty and the rise from the ashes option and start by maxing those three as high as I can get them. Combat skills can be trained as can physical skills. Willpower can be trained by becoming a devout athiest. Academics, and science can be trained in the taverns and working the assyembly line. Beauty can be bought at the Doctors office. Medicine can be trained in battle. Copulation and kissing arent super important as long as flagellation and bondage are high but they can both be trained through practice. Flagellation and bondage can be trained at furrys tavern in the velvet room and through practice. Blacksmithing and Artisan can both be increased by crafting stuff. However, while it is possible to increase intelligence, charisma and manipulaiton, it takes forever and brute forcing it just isnt worth the time sink. This is especially true for manipulation.
I agree with intelligence being difficult to increase other than one time bonuses but both charisma and manipulation are easily trainable.
I will make a point of trying this on my next playthrough. I have always had issues training all three of them and I never realized this worked. Probably because I tend to max their corruption and elimiate their willpower through bondage as soon as I get them. Thank you for the advice!
The whole wiki has gotten far better in the past few months due to the efforts of several people including at least one of the regulars here. Color me impressed as I've seen several sandbox game wikis that, to be blunt, aren't that good. Has made playing this far more interesting in a good way.
You should wait, also with completing Academy courses.
You can be good at everything eventually, but if you want something that makes you OK at combat immediately, be an Expert soldier and hire Einar Corso (he does it for a low price in this case). Expert scholar is also good because of the free $200 a day plus the ability to teach at the university for more money plus Intelligence is an important stat to have high to maximize skill gains from books+lessons.
Not exactly a newcomer build, but I'd focus on "Mind/Charm" skills like Intelligence, charm, manipulation, flagellation, kissing, copulation and etc... Since those are a pain to train, while physical skills like Stamina, Melee/Ranged Skill, Strenght, Dexterity are easy to train since you can train those twice per day, I'd reccomend the Wealthy and Disciplined trait for beginners
If the Academy doesnt pay out through donations, is there another way to get it to pay out? There is a section on the business tab under factions specifically devoted to the Academy or is it just not implemented yet?
