History VideoGame / BookOfHours

* ExtranormalPrison: Cliffside of Hush House stands Brancrug Gaol, a wing of the castle that the Suppression Bureau's precursor had turned into a prison for all occult troublemakers they could capture, from simple occultists and people incautious with their dreams to more extraordinary inmates like an Edge dyad, Longs or Labhites. They had tailor-made prisons protected with silver bars and spells, and the Governor Collers occasionally used torture to rehabilitate his inmates, along with more distinctly supernatural forms of rehabilitation. [[spoiler: Then the Name of the Chandler being kept in the basement escaped and killed everyone in the prison, starting the fire that leads your character to become the new Librarian.]]

** The Symurgist Librarian overhead the songs of the aviform Hours, something they were warned would drive them mad. Not only did this ''not'' happen, but the Symurgist's goal is to discover the things they know they ''didn't'' hear in the songs.

*** History: Most endings, consisting of [[spoiler: The Librarian writing a new History in their journal]]. This has the most variations, depending on the Numa and Aspect you choose and your backstory (certain Librarians get special endings for certain Numa). [[spoiler: You can make Port Noon a sanctuary, make the Carapace Cross return, become part of the 'City Never', create the City Ys, colonize the House of the Moon, bring the Gods-From-Stone back, accelerate the Second Dawn, imprison the Watchman so it never happens, and more.]]
*** Pale, invoking Winter instead of a History. [[spoiler: Quite possibly the 'true' ending.]]

* RestingRecovery: The Librarian can use his bed to rest any fatigued element of the soul with any drink, which can be useful to make the most of their day. Moreover, resting in bed is also the way to cure maladies, although the Librarian then needs to provide enough of the good aspect as well via Skills, Memories or Drinks.

* YouWakeUpOnABeach: The game starts this way, with the Librarian waking up in St Brandan's Cove after being swept up by a storm.

** The Prodigal is the child of two Longs

** The Revolutionary came to Hush House to create a history that overthrows "the most fundemental law."

*** History: Most endings, consisting of [[spoiler: The Librarian writing a new History in their journal]]. This has the most variations, depending on the Numa and Aspect you choose and your backstory (certain Librarians get special endings for certain Numa). [[spoiler: You can alter Port Noon, make the Carapace Cross return, become part of the 'City Never', accelerate the Second Dawn, imprison the Watchman so it never happens, and more.]]

*** History: Most endings, consisting of [[spoiler: The Librarian writing a new History in their journal]]. This has the most variations, depending on the Numa and Aspect you choose and your backstory (certain Librarians get special endings for certain Numa).
*** Pale, invoking Winter instead of a History.

* MultipleChoicePast: At the start of the game, choosing which soul cards to take end up giving the Librarian a specific background out of several. You could be a repenting agent of the Suppression Bureau, or even a being from the Mansus who fled to the outside world.

%%** '''Ace of Cups/Evening Falls:''' [[spoiler:The Librarian chooses a simple life inside Hush House, living with their books, their clock, and their fire. The ambitions they may have had when entering may be unfulfilled, but they have found happiness and contentment nonetheless and know they will pass on with a smile on their face. The game mentions that while there are greater victories to be had, this may be considered the "best" ending]]. %% Need more than one ending to be detailed for this to apply.

You are a nameless individual who has been appointed as the Librarian of Hush House, an ancient manor situated on the isolated isle of Brancrug and one of the nine sites sanctioned by the Hours as a repository of arcane lore. As Librarian, you are tasked with finding and cataloguing the books of the house to rebuild and organize the collection, and to do so, you will have to restore Hush House to its former glory. Alas, your mission begins on a bad note as you wake up ashore after a dire storm, your memories scattered.

* ExtranormalPrison: Cliffside of Hush House stands Brancrug Gaol, a wing of the castle that the Suppression Bureau's precursor had turned into a prison for all occult troublemakers they could capture, from simple occultists and people incautious with their dreams to more extraordinary inmates like an Edge dyad, Longs or Labhites. They had tailor-made prisons protected with silver bars and spells, and the Governor Collers occasionally used torture to rehabilitate his inmates, along with more distinctly supernatural forms of rehabilitation. [[spoiler: Then the renegade Forge-Name being kept in the basement escaped and killed everyone in the prison, starting the fire that leads your character to become the new Librarian.]]

* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: The various aspects most cards and items that have to do with them are color-coded to make it easier to see what they are at a glance. Grail is bright red, Heart is pink, Forge is orange, Edge is pea green, Nectar is emerald green, Moth is light gray, Moon is dark gray, Knock is purple, Lantern is bright yellow, Winter is pale blue, Sky is dark blue, Scale is brown, and Rose is magenta.

* DoubleMeaningTitle: "Book of Hours" can refer to a prayer book in Christian tradition (in-universe main religion isn't Christianity, but it borrows a lot of trappings from it), a catalogue of the gods, who are collecively named Hours, or to [[spoiler:Librarian's efforts at rewriting history with their journal]].

* AbusiveParents: The Prodigal Librarian's parents are Longs, aka immortals, who [[spoiler:are uncontrollably driven to commit The Crime of the Sky, devouring them and becoming Alukites as all immortal beings with offspring are compelled to]]. How the Librarian managed to survive to presumed adulthood is unclear (although they mention crossing three oceans and nearly drowning in another [[spoiler:and there's one case mentioned in CS where a Long incorrectly believed both their children had died in childbirth and only went after the surviving twin after learning they existed]]), but Hush House is a safe haven (for now), and may even show them a way to defend themselves. [[spoiler:They appear to have been Lantern-Longs as a couple of Prodigal endings mention that they serve The Watchman]].

* AnatomyOfTheSoul: Referred to as the "elements" of the soul, they are: Health (the dwelling place of the soul), Chor (exuberance, instinct, and rhythm), Shapt (eloquence and understanding), Fet (the part which walks in dreams), Ereb (pride, compassion, hatred and fear), Trist (change and longing), Mettle (will and self-discipline), Phost (sight, perception, and inspiration), and Wist (name and memory). In gameplay terms, each of these is a resource that recovers each day and needs to be expended in order to perform practically any task, and each one has its own aspects that make it more suited to some tasks than others.

You are a nameless individual who has been appointed as the Librarian of Hush House, an ancient manor situated on the isolated isle of Brancrug. As Librarian, you are tasked with finding and cataloguing the books of the house to rebuild and organize the collection, and to do so, you will have to restore Hush House to its former glory. Alas, your mission begins on a bad note as you wake up ashore after a dire storm, your memories scattered.

* AbusiveParents: The Prodigal Librarian's parents are Longs, aka immortals, who [[spoiler:are uncontrollably driven to commit The Crime of the Sky, devouring them and becoming Alukites as all immortal beings with offspring are compelled to]]. How the Librarian managed to survive to presumed adulthood is unclear (although they mention crossing three oceans and nearly drowning in another), but Hush House is a safe haven (for now), and may even show them a way to defend themselves. [[spoiler:They appear to have been Lantern-Longs as a couple of Prodigal endings mention that they serve The Watchman]].

** A side effect from failing to read a book properly can cause one of your Elements of Soul to be damaged in some manner. In some cases, this reduces its usefulness, but it's not all bad. The damaged Element can still be used in certain situations (like re-reading a book to get a memory or crafting) and cannot be exhausted. Plus, some damaged elements have a different Principle from the one they had before, which can be useful if it's something like Scale or Nectar, which only appear on the Health card otherwise.