SPOILER BELOW

Any faction will get you unlimited food (fishing) you just have to learn the right potion. You will need level two magic/nature and level three alchemy. also, if you choose the nature faction, it will be easier to get food before you are able to fish.

you dont need lvl 3 alchemy i did it with 2 in 1 try

No spoiler tags needed, remember; it's tagged in the topic.

But if you choose the magic faction, it's much easier to get the research points needed to get fishing, as well as to get the grove, which gives you breathing room to get those tech points.

I've played both, and I find magic faction much easier for some reason; many fewer food crunches.

Remember, there is absolutely nothing that requires L3 alchemy. Nothing at all, not one puzzle, not one accomplishment. Many potions DO like to blow up, the shark potion being one of them, but just try again with a healthy villager. If you have no healthy villagers, make some with - was it cactus-cactus-lotus? Or was it Orchid? (I just checked. Cactus-cactus-Lotus.)

There is nothing that will absolutely cause an explosion; it is random chance only. All alchemy does is lower the percentage chance that an explosion will occur.