Basics of Book of Hours

Just some basic information I found useful for playing this game.

Getting Started

Getting a place to stay

1. Collect from Consider
   
2. Consider Book + Storm
   
3. Consider Book + First Element
   
4. Consider Book + Second Element
   
5. Collect from Talk
   
6. Talk First Element
   
7. Talk Fisherman's Assistance + An Old Friend's Address
   
8. Unlock Brancrug Villlage with Fisherman's Assistance
   
9. Visit Contact An Old Friend's Address + Health [Half-Drowned]
   
10. Visit Contact Appropriate Element with Journal as the topic
    
11. Consider Journal + Second Element
    
12. Post Office Journal
    
13. Sweet Bones Ten Shilling Note
    
14. Sweet Bones Shilling
    
15. Unlock Bridge with Miner
    
16. Unlock the gatehouse (the Blacksmith, Midwife, or Rector can do this)
    
17. Move in (use Heart)

Finding a routine

Work
Based on the aspect you use at the Sweet Bones, you can earn money. Using Heart, Forge, or Lantern will earn you 6 pence, and using Moth will earn you 2 pence.

Rest
Resting at the Sweet Bones takes 60s, 2 pence, and will restore 1 aspect.
Resting in your bed takes 90s, a beverage of some kind, and will restore 1 aspect.

Books
Once you've catalogued a book, you can study it. You can use Memories (including the weather), Skills, and your Soul aspects to buff your research. In addition, if you're short on the required number, you will get three random opportunities to add additional things to increase the aspects.
Some mechanics details: these opportunities are randomised only after all effects have been taken. So if you have already taken 3 risky study actions, all of which gave you 3 Element of the Soul opportunities, the chances below are shifted. For example, the chance of getting another Element of the Soul opportunity is now (25-9)/(66-9) => 16/57, or about 28% vs the base 38%.

Type	Probability
Element of the Soul	25/66 (38%)
Memory	9/66 (14%)
Comfort	5/66 (8%)
Thing	5/66 (8%)
Wall Art	5/66 (8%)
Weather	5/66 (8%)
Awen*	3/66 (5%)
Duende*	3/66 (5%)
Epiphany*	3/66 (5%)
Ubi Sunt*	3/66 (5%)

* These are special effects, each simply raises the relevant aspect by 1

Elements of the Soul

Here are all the Elements of the Soul, what their aspects are, and what aspect is needed to cure a malady. Malady cures always require 5 of the aspect for the Element.

Parts of the Human Soul

Chor

• Heart (2)
  
• Grail

Malady Cure: Moth (5)

Ereb

• Grail (2)
  
• Edge

Malady Cure: Forge (5)

Fet

• Rose (2)
  
• Moth

Malady Cure: Grail (5)

Health

• Heart
  
• Nectar
  
• Scale

Malady Cure: Heart (5)

Mettle

• Forge (2)
  
• Edge

Phost

• Lantern (2)
  
• Sky

Malady Cure: Nectar (5)

Shapt

• Knock (2)
  
• Forge

Malady Cure: Winter (5)

Trist

• Moth (2)
  
• Moon

Malady Cure: Sky (5)

Wist

• Winter (2)
  
• Lantern

Malady Cure: Lantern (5)

Assistance

All of the various sources of assistance you can get

Barber (Sweet Bones - Summer)

• Moth (2)
  
• Rose

Blacksmith (Denzil)

• Forge (2)
  
• Edge (2)

Coffinmaker (Mr. Kille)

• Winter (2)
  
• Sky

Fisherman (Sweetbones - Winter)

• Moon (2)
  
• Sky

Midwife (Mrs. Kille)

• Grail (2)
  
• Heart

Miner (Sweet Bones - Spring)

• Scale (2)
  
• Forge
  
• Moon

Orchard-Keeper (Sweet Bones - Autumn)

• Nectar (2)
  
• Heart

Rector (Reverend Timothy)

• Lantern (2)
  
• Knock

Unlock Requirements

The Rectory
An Introduction +

• Knock
  
• Lantern
  
• Sky

The Smithy
An Introduction +

• Edge
  
• Forge
  
• Heart

Mrs & Mr Kille
An Introduction +

• Grail
  
• Heart
  
• Lantern
  
• Moon
  
• Sky
  
• Winter

Sweet Bones

• Assistance
  
• Pence (12)
  
• Mettle
  
• Chor
  
• Shapt

Post Office

• Readable
  
• Journal

Mist-Soaked Bridge (Cucurbit Bridge)
Assistance +

• Forge
  
• Lantern
  
• Sky

Tidal Flats

• Winter (2)
  
• Moon (2)

Gate

• Forge (2)
  
• Heart
  
• Knock

The Great Gate of the House
Use the key in Gatehouse
Essential: Thing + Knock (3)

Detailed Starting Information

The Journal

Depending on what you choose for your initial aspects, your journal picks up different traits.

Element	Journal Aspect
Chor	Sky
Fet	Rose
Shapt	Knock

Additionally, your second choice affects what mystery your journal starts with.

Element	Journal Mystery
Ereb	Grail
Mettle	Edge
Phost	Lantern
Wist	Winter

Depending on what you use when considering your dried journal, you get one of the following starts. Each start grants you an additional Element of the Soul.

First Element	Secont Element	Journal	Bonus Element
Chor	Ereb	The Artist	Ereb
Chor	Mettle	The Executioner	Health
Chor	Phost	The Prodigal	Phost
Chor	Wist	The Symurgist	Chor
Fet	Ereb	The Artist	Ereb
Fet	Mettle	The Revolutionary	Mettle
Fet	Phost	The Cartographer	Fet
Fet	Wist	The Magnate	Wist
Shapt	Ereb	The Artist	Ereb
Shapt	Mettle	The Archaeologist	Shapt
Shapt	Phost	The Twice-Born	Phost
Shapt	Wist	The Archaeologist	Shapt

[JonMcJoy]

thanks. i lnew most of it after and hour but cleared up most of my suspitions

[Reianor]

... unless you have mettle that is. That should win you the needed time. But also save you an element... so not 100% sure there either. Didn't test that one.

[Reianor]

Aaaand I made a mistake there. If you don't delay journal cataloguing in favour of opening the path asap and start it right away as I wrote, than that late night book cataloguing will not finish before dawn. (should be about ~1sec late from all the pausing delays.)
Pick your poison. Probably the smartest move is to just not do the third element restoration at the inn, since we can't put it to use anyway.

[Reianor]

Trist is probably your least useful element during day 1 so if you can master the journal with a memory and a Trist consider doing that.

I suggest you leave lesson learning, and bed occupying alone till the dawn of d2.
You'll get to your lessons,your bed and your uncatalogued books too late in the day.
But you should have enough time to use the last element to catalog a book and still get it back before dawn.
(Unless you had to waste time talking the midwife into doing something about the bridge, poor you.)

[Reianor]

You should have enough time to restore (and put to use) your elements 3 times. After the third stuff your non-fatugied element into the inn instead. If done right you should get it back shortly before dawn of day 2 letting it be restored.

Btw, unlocking the inn should have given you Memory:Solace so even if your free assistant is the midwife, who can't unlock over the bridge as is, you can talk to her using that memory and give her the push she needs. Meaning that no, you don't have to waste a shilling on a miner even with the mid-wife.

[Reianor]

17 Now take a twopence and slot it into the inn which should be at around ~40 seconds left by now (Keep exchanging more money as needed this way, further exchanges will not be mentioned, as a rule of thumb it's a good idea to always have a twopence on hand, and the moment you use your last one exchange more money so that you have one for when you next need it.)
18 Once your element is restored stuff another one into the inn and send this one to catalogue your journal. That should give you your third element and let you slot the journal into the ToW for the Trist.
19 Now keep grabbing your free assistant and restoring elements as needed to unlock your way into the house. And to master your journal along the way.

[Reianor]

Your starting sequence from 10 and onwards is wrong.
10 If you have Mettle as your second element you should at this point use it to unlock the inn.
If not, use you second element to talk to your contact, but do NOT use the journal as a topic. Instead talk without the topic and you should have your contact's assistance.
11 Use your contact's assistance to unlock the inn. (or use your Mettle to visit the contact)
12 Dry your journal at the inn (simultaneously with 11 if you have Mettle)
13 As soon as it's done drying, stuff your exhausted element in there and start.
14 Simultaneously stuff your dry journal to the post office.
15 Then stuff your Ten Shilling Note there.
16 Then the Florin.

[Reianor]

@Asahida
In crafting.
Hopefully in crafting something more useful than said material.
This game is weird like this.
Very little options in gaining things you'd need and a lot of options in gaining things you don't need on their own.

Possessions that push you forward the most are:
Tools - for reading and all assistants. Not used up (unless it's a device), but not very potent either.
Inks - for reading.
Beverages - for all assistants. Also for maladies.
Sustenance - for all assistants. But it's more or less a non-craftable category. IIRC only one food item is craftable (even though the game has whole 3 "kitchen" workbenches, go figure). You can gather some though.

Everything else is more or less fuel for the furnace, so to speak. If you can put it to use to make any of the above, then good. If not then it's just cluttering up your bridge.

But DO keep in mind that some assistants can use other items.

[Asahida]

how do materials differ from things and what can I do with them? I found a very good material with 3 points in 3 different aspects (Lignum Vitae Blank), but I do not know how to actually use the aspects it provides as a material.

[ArmedPenguin]

In regards to Enyetahips question on day length, I believe each day is 6 minutes. The Sweetbones interaction, of which there is only one, during Numa season (which lasts precisely one day) is 6 minutes long.