Book of Hours: the Comprehensive Recipe Guide: From Unlocking Rooms to Getting Endings

The core gameplay of Book of Hours involves unlocking rooms, reading books, upgrading Skills, crafting stuff, and eventually, writing a History to end the game.

Besides upgrading Skills, all other actions have an aspect (Principle) requirement, ranging from 2 to 25. In order to complete these actions, you need to make sure everything slotted into the interface can meet or exceed the required level of Principles.

This guide is about reaching these requirements, about finding easy-to-access items and slotting them in. Since there isn’t one single optimal way to meet the final aspect threshold and end the game anymore, this guide will provide easy, simple, and repeatable ways to meet the requirements in most possible situations.

• Note that you can find a lot of the items listed in this guide in the Hush House, and you don’t really need to craft every one of them. If you somehow used them up, then the crafting part of the guide will come in handy.
• All the recipes are shown with the lowest requirements. If you have any Skills, Souls, Memories, or Items that are at a higher level, use them.
• If you need to check any specific recipes, please use ctrl+f to research the keywords. This guide also has a reference appendix that lists some of the most important Skills, in case you just want to know which Skills are worthy of upgrading.

(This guide is written in pre-DLC times. The DLC will likely introduce new Foods and Drinks that might change the recipe and combinations.)

0. Probably the most important thing you should know:

• When leveling up a Skill, you don’t need to slot the same Lesson as the Skill; it just requires the Lesson to have at least one marching Principle. Leveling up a Skill is in fact relatively easy as long as you have a steady inflow of new books.

1. Try to use Consider to catalogue books, rather than using Desks.

• For some reason, cataloging books via Consider doesn’t seem to inflict a Malady even if the book revealed is contaminated. And you don’t want to have a Soul with Malady in the early game.
• In addition, if you don’t reply to the letter from the Rhonwen Trust, the game will not trigger any contamination in the books. You can use this trick to get 100% safe books in the early game. The downside is that you will not get any salaries or Visitors unless you replied the Trust.
• Use Desks to re-read a mastered book for Memories.

2. When unlocking rooms, try to make a beeline for these three places: Motley Tower, Kitchen, and the Well.

• Motley Tower is the 3-storey high tower behind the Long Tower. It has some useful Workstations, and cataloging all the books in there will always yield three guaranteed books (Perugian Diaries, What Does Not Bark, and The Locksmith’s Dream vol.4: Stolen Reflections). They will give you three guaranteed skills (Strings & Songs, Edicts Inviolable, and Watchman’s Paradoxes) that are going to be useful in the long run.
• Kitchen is the second room behind the Scent Garden. The Kitchen has tons of food and drinks that can help you unlock more rooms.
• The Well is behind the room right below the Kitchen. It is an unlimited source of cheap drinks (Isle-Water) which is very useful for curing Maladies (requiring a Beverage) and resting a fatigued Soul card during Numa season (also requiring a Beverage).

3. Some beverages have a “To Serve – ” aspect, which can be broken down into multiple servings at the cupboard-looking workstations (located in the Keeper’s Lodge and the Kitchen). Without this, the said beverage can be only served once.

4. Don’t sleep on small ornaments scattered around the House. Some of them can be used to boost reading books in the early game when sources of Principles are scarce, and they won’t be consumed after use. See the “Reading Books” section of this guide.

5. There are also hidden items across the House, and they will be quite helpful if you can access them early.

• Notably, in the Grand Ascent – Ground Floor, consider the Delightful Repose (the big red sofa) will reveal a Bronze Spintria. You can learn a Language from a Visitor very early with this Bronze Spintria.
• For other hidden items, see the Appendix of this guide.

6. When learning and upgrading Skills throughout the game –

• Keep most of your Skills at level 1, and concentrate on only upgrading a handful of useful Skills. Beginning from mid-game, the quality of a Skill matters much more.
• Try to refrain from slotting high-level Skills into the lower levels of the Wisdom Tree. You are very likely to upgrade the useful Skills to maximum (lv9), and since the Tree’s upper level slots require higher level skills, slotting a high level Skill into a lower level slot would be a “waste”. Just slot those Skills you are never going to upgrade.
• Similarly, it is better to slot the Language Skills into the 1st level of the Wisdom Tree rather than other Skills. You only need a lv1 Skill for a Language, slotting them into the Tree’s lowest level is just handy. It also makes opening up the Tree’s higher slots a bit easier.
• For Rose Skills, keep upgrading only one Rose Skill and ignore all other Rose Skills – there are only 6 Rose Skills, and none of them are really useful or irreplaceable, so it would be better to concentrate on one of them to give you a better Rose-reading boost.
• In general, besides the must-have useful Skills, try to concentrate all the Lessons to upgrade one Skill per Principle.

7. Due to how the game works, it is possible to s/l the first book of a given era.

• I would strongly suggest to s/l your first Nocturnal book to get An Exorcist’s Field Manual, which will yield Edicts Martial, one of the most powerful Skills in the entire game.

8. In the mid-game, you can organize a reference library (“Memory Generator”) for generating as many different Memories as possible. See the guide here:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3239174950

In the early game, when you don’t have enough mastered books, getting different Memories for leveling up a Skill is not easy.

On the other hand, there is plenty of stuff sitting around the Hush House that can generate a quick Memory when considered for 30 seconds or doing a brief action in the background. Having these early will help you tremendously.

Any Armchair or Chair in the House

• Consider it will generate Memory: Touch (1 Forge).

Hush House Key

• Consider it will generate Memory: Sound (1 Heart).
• After using the Key to unlock the House, you can recover it again randomly from Gathering.

Quire of Paper

• Consider it will generate Memory: Sight (1 Lantern).
• Located in the Watchman’s Tower: First Floor.

Watchful Potted Plant

• Consider it will generate Memory: Scent (1 Nectar).
• Located in the Infirmary. One of the few reusable sources of Scent.

Basket of Towels

• Also located in the Infirmary.
• If you go swimming at Crosscrow Sands (use Health), swimming with Towels will yield Memory: Salt (1 Knock, 1 Moon, 1 Winter) and Memory: Solace (2 Heart, 1 Sky). The towels will become wet, and they will revert back the next morning.

There are certain versatile items that can be used in a lot of situations, and you can also get them relatively early in the game. Prepare these important items at any time.

1. Unlock the Motley Tower up to the Dispensary, the middle section of the Hush House to the Westcott Room, and the lower levels to the Kitchen. Collect the January Sanguinary and the Sly Alembic in the Dispensary.
2. Catalogue all the Nocturnal books in the Motley Tower, which will always yield a copy of Perugian Diaries. Read the book and learn the Skill: Strings & Songs.
3. In the Westcott Room, click on the wall panel to the left of the scroll cells. It will reveal a Black Dove Wine.
4. Consider one January Sanguinary, which will generate the Thunderskin’s Paean Memory.
5. Go to the Kitchen Range.
   Kitchen Range (15 Heart): lv1 Strings & Songs (1) + Chor (2) + Thunderskin’s Paean (4) + Sly Alembic (3) + Black Dove Wine (4) + Kitchen Bowls (1) = Swaddled Thunder.
6. Alternatively – if you don’t want to sacrifice the Black Dove Wine, which is a unique item – then level up Strings & Songs, and go to the Dispensary instead.
   Dispensary (15 Heart): lv2 Strings & Songs (2) + Chor (2) + Thunderskin’s Paean (4) + January Sanguinary (5) + Canned Ham (2) = Swaddled Thunder.

Swaddled Thunder, when considered, will yield Weather: Storm (4 Heart, 4 Sky), a powerful 4 Principle Memory that can be used to boost a lot of reading and crafting checks. It is also a reusable item that will give you this Memory repeatedly.
In addition, Swaddled Thunder has the Fabric aspect, and can be given to Mrs. Kille to unlock Heart rooms.
For its possible uses, this is probably the first craftable item you want to beeline.

1. Amethyst Ampoule: 5 Knock = Any Workstations: lv1 Lockworks & Clockworks or Glassblowing & Vesselcrafting (2) + Shapt (2) + Memory: Salt (1, from Swimming; see above)

This item is the bread and butter for almost all the Knock-related craftings, helping both Gervinite and Curious Hunch down the road. At least prepare a couple of them.

1. Dearday Lens: 5 Lantern = Any Desk: lv1 Disciplines of the Scar or Glassblowing & Vesselcrafting or Glaziery & Lightsmithing or Pyroglyphics (1 or 2) + Phost (2) + Weather: Sunny (2)

Dearday Lens is a 1 Edge, 1 Forge, 2 Lantern, 2 Sky item with a Tools aspect, which means it can be used for both reading and room unlocking. Easy to make and helpful in the early game.
Note that Dearday Lens is not reusable and will be consumed after use.

1. Unlocking the Well.
   The Well requires Nectar 7, which can be achieved with Assistant: the Orchard-Keeper (2, hired in Autumn) + Health (1) + Weather: Rain (2) + Dandelion Wine (2).
2. You can draw a pitcher of Isle-Water (1 Heart, 1 Moon, 1 Winter) from the Hush House Well during normal seasons.
3. You can also draw a pitcher of Mist-Kissed Water (1 Heart, 2 Knock, 2 Moon, 1 Winter) from the Well during the Numa season.

The Isle-Water is a cheap Beverage for curing Maladies (requires a Beverage) and resting a fatigued Soul card during Numa season (also requires a Beverage).
The Mist-Kissed Water can be used for boosting Knock and Moon in crafting and room unlocking.

1. Unlock Motley Tower, and collect the Elegant Sunburst Lamp from Illopoly’s Nook.
2. Unlock the Grand Ascent all the way up to the Nave of the Abbey Church, the huge two-story room in the upper middle section of the House. There should be a Workstation called Solar Altar.
3. Mazarine Fife: 10 Sky = Solar Altar: lv2 Sacra Limiae (2) + Phost (1) + Weather: Storm (4, from Swaddled Thunder) + Elegant Sunburst Lamp (3) + any Wood

Mazarine Fife is a 3 Sky, reusable Tool. Its reusable trait means it can easily boost Assistants and help reading books. It is also a crucial element for crafting many Sky Memories.

1. Gathered from the Practic Garden during the Numa season.

Pyrus Auricalcinus, or “copper pear”, is a Food with 4 Forge and 4 Nectar. This is not only a powerful boost to Assistant for unlocking rooms but also an essential item in many Forge and Nectar crafting recipes. Stock them up during Numa.

1. Catwink: 5 Moon = Any Desk: lv1 Edicts Inviolable (1) + Trist (1) + Memory: Confounding Parable (2) + Lunar Globe (1)
2. Perhibiate: 5 Heart = Any Desk: lv1 Stitching & Binding or Weaving & Knotworking (1 or 2) + Chor (2) + Storm (4, from Swaddled Thunder)
3. Yewgall Ink: 5 Nectar = Any Desk: lv1 Insects & Nectars or Leaves & Thorns (2) + Health (1) + Memory: Scent (1, from Plants) + Quire of Paper (1).

Catwink is a 1 Edge, 1 Grail, 2 Moon, 2 Scale Ink; Perhibiate is a 2 Heart, 2 Lantern, 2 Scale, 1 Winter Ink; and Yewgall Ink is a 1 Moth, 2 Nectar Ink.
These Inks can cover most of the Principles and are very easy to craft. In the early and mid-game, they will be very helpful in reading books.
It is worth noting that Edicts Inviolable is one of the three guaranteed Skills you can get from the Motley Tower.

There are a total of 12 craftable Persistent Memories in the game. Among those Memories, there are some powerful Memories that are relatively easy to craft if you have the necessary Skills, items, and Tools.

1. Prepare two Amethyst Ampoules.
2. Curious Hunch: 10 Knock = Foundry: lv1 Preliminal Meter (2) + Shapt (2) + Knock Memory from Books (2) + Amethyst Ampoule (2) + Amethyst Ampoule (2)

Curious Hunch is a 3 Heart, 4 Knock, 3 Lantern, and 3 Moth Persistent Memory, very useful for Knock-and Moth-boosting recipes.

1. Old Wound: 5 Moon = Any Desk: lv1 Edicts Martial (2) + Trist (1) + Memory: Salt (1, from Swimming) + Lunar Globe (1, from Map Room). Or just use Weather: Fog (3)
2. Wormwood Dream: 10 Moon = Telescope: lv3 Edicts Martial (4) + Trist (1) + Old Wound (2) + Lunar Globe (1) + Moon Memory from Books (2)

Wormwood Dream is a 3 Edge, 6 Moon, 6 Winter Persistent Memory, a crucial element in almost all the Moon- and Winter-boosting recipes.
This is the first time we encountered the Skill Edicts Martial. It is the only Skill that can craft Old Wound (3 Winter) with only a 5 Moon requirement, and the only Skill that can craft Wormwood Dream (6 Winter and Moon) with only a 10 Moon requirement. The entire Moon and Winter crafting needs this Skill to work. As described in the General Tips sections, I would highly recommend s/l this Skill.

1. Prepare two Mazarine Fifes.
2. Wind-in-Waiting (6): 15 Sky = Telescope: lv3 Strings & Songs (4) + Phost (1) + Weather: Storm (4, from Swaddled Thunder) + Mazarine Fife (3) + Mazarine Fife (3).
3. Yes, you can slot two fifes in the Telescope.

With a relatively easy way to craft Swaddled Thunder and two Mazarine Fifes, Wind-in-Waiting (3 Grail, 3 Moth, 3 Scale, 6 Sky) becomes one of the easiest 6-Principle Memory to craft. You can also use it to boost Moth and Scale.
Strings & Songs is also one of the guaranteed Skills from the Motley Tower, making this recipe consistently repeatable.

You need to hire an Assistant to unlock rooms in the Hush House. Then, you can dump a lot of stuff onto the said Assistant – Memories, Souls, Foods, Drinks, Tools, and some specific items – to boost their stats and meet the requirement. Foods and Beverages are usually your best friends.

Some Principles are much easier to stack than others – there are Lantern, Heart, Knock, Nectar, and Sky. If you found a room with one easy Principle requirement and one much harder, always pick the easy one.

There are 19 rooms with a Lantern requirement, and the highest requirement is 10.

• The majority of the late-game rooms in the House require 14 or 15 corresponding Principle to unlock; this means Lantern is *the* easiest aspect to fulfill.
• However, most of the late-game rooms don’t have a Lantern requirement, so you also don’t want to over-invest in the Lantern (for instance, don’t bother crafting Candles for Lantern-boosting).

Example Recipes

• Prepare a Dearday Lens; recipe see above.
• Keep the Dawnlion Coffee you found in the House around.
• 10 Lantern Room
  
  • Assistant: Reverend Timothy (2) + Weather: Sunny (2) + Phost (2) + Dawnlion Coffee (2) + Dearday Lens (2)

There are 35 rooms with a Heart requirement – the most common in the entire House. The highest requirement is 14 Heart, although the majority of them are at or below 12 Heart.

• Because of the Swaddled Thunder, all the Heart rooms are very easy to unlock – that’s more than thirty rooms!

Example Recipes

• Make a Swaddled Thunder; recipe see above. Consider it for the Weather Storm.
• 14 Heart Room
  • Assistant: Mrs. Kille (1) + Weather: Storm (4, from the Swaddled Thunder) + Chor (2) + Isle-Water (1) + Swaddled Thunder (6)
  • Mrs. Kille accepts fabric, so she is the only Assistant who will accept Swaddled Thunder.

There are a total of 25 Knock rooms, and the highest requirement is 15.

• Knock boosting, unlike other Principles, is entirely evolved around one particular Skill, the aforementioned Lockworks & Clockworks. It has a self-contained crafting chain; however, if you don’t have the Skill, there is almost no alternative.
• There is also Edicts Liminal, which is a guaranteed Skill once you unlock the Keeper’s Lodge, and can make the Sacrament Ascite, a 6 Knock drink. However, it requires at least two other Skills to support its crafting chain, not necessarily the “simple recipes” we are looking for. Just use the Sacrament Ascite found in the House, you don’t need that many.

Example Recipes

• Prepare a couple of Amethyst Ampoules; recipe see above.
• Gervinite
  • 10 Knock = Foundry: lv1 Lockworks & Clockworks (2) + Shapt (2) + Knock Memory from Books (2) + Amethyst Ampoule (2) + Amethyst Ampoule (2)
• Chronsichord
  • 15 Knock = Foundry: lv3 Lockworks & Clockworks (5) + Shapt (2) + Knock Memory from Books (2) + Gervinite (4) + Amethyst Ampoule (2)
• 15 Knock Room
  • Assistant: Denzil (0) + Shapt (2) + Knock Memory from Books (2) + C&H Second Flush Assam or Mist-Kissed Water (1 or 2) + Gervinite (4) + Chronsichord (6)
  • Denizl will accept metal, which makes him the only person who can take both Gervinite and Chronsichord. It is very easy to boost him to 15 Knock even though he has 0 base Knock.

There are 18 Nectar rooms, and the highest requirement is 14.

• Those glowing copper pears will be our best friend. There are also tons of drinks with Nectar scattered across the House.

Example Recipes

• Gathering a couple of Pyrus Auricalcinus; recipe see above.
• Sacrament Malachite
  • 15 Nectar = Kitchen Range: lv1 Leaves & Thorns (2) + Health (1) + Nectar Memory from Books (2) + Pyrus Auricalcinus (4) + Pyrus Auricalcinus (4) + Bronze Knife (2)
• 14 Nectar Room
  • Assistant: Orchard-Keeper (2) + Nectar Memory from Books (2) + Pyrus Auricalcinus (4) + Sacrament Malachite (6)

There are 19 Sky rooms, and the highest requirement is 15, although the majority of them are at or below 12 Sky.

• We already have Swaddled Thunder and Mazarine Fife at this point.

Example Recipes

• Prepare Swaddled Thunder, two Mazarine Fifes, and craft a Wind-in-Waiting; recipes see above.
• 12 Sky Room
  • Assistant: Mr. Kille (1) + Memory: Wind-in-Waiting (6) + Phost (1) + Veiled Goddess Lapsang Souchong (1) + Mazarine Fife (3)
• 15 Sky Room
  • For 15 Sky rooms, replace Mr. Kille (1) with the Elegiac Poet (4) or Travelling Musician (4)

These rooms are not as easy as the ones above – you usually need to hire an Unusual Helper (4) to meet the highest requirements (14 or 15) – but still very much doable.

There are 17 rooms with a Grail requirement, and the highest requirement is 15. A couple of very late-game rooms are locked behind Grail.

• There are two Grail-boosting drinks, Rubywise Ruin (4) and Sacrament Calicite (6), which are not only craftable in the same crafting chain, but can also be found throughout the entire House.

Example Recipes

• Witching Tisane
  • 5 Grail = Any Desk: lv1 Leaves & Thorns (1) + Ereb (2) + Grail Memory from Books (2) + Spice Scales (1)
• Rubywise Ruin
  • 10 Grail = Alchemist’s Glassware: lv2 Leaves & Thorns (2) + Ereb (2) + Grail Memory from Books (2) + Fragrant Chalice (2) + Witching Tisane (2)
• Sacrament Calicite
  • 15 Grail = Kitchen Range: lv2 Leaves & Thorns (2) + Ereb (2) + Grail Memory from Books (2) + Rubywise Ruin (4) + Rubywise Ruin (4) + Bronze Knife (1)
• 15 Grail Room
  • Assistant: Surrealist Painter or Unusual Nun (4) + Grail Memory from Books (2) + Ereb (2) + Sacrament Calicite (6) + Normal Pears (1, gathered in Summer and Autumn)

There are a total of 27 rooms with a Forge requirement, and the highest requirement is 15, although many of them are at or below 12 Forge.

• Forge unlocks benefit a lot from the Pyrus Auricalcinus mentioned above, which has 4 Forge.

Example Recipes

• Gathering the Pyrus Auricalcinus in the Practic Garden during Numa season.
• Iotic Essence
  • 10 Forge = Alchemist’s Glassware: lv1 Transformations & Liberations (2) + Mettle (2) + Forge Memory from Books (2) + Honeyscar Jasmine (2, gathered from the Scent Garden in Autumn) + Veiled Goddess Lapsang Souchong (2)
• Rooms at 12 Forge
  • Assistant: Denzil (2) + Mettle (2) + Forge Memory from Books (2) + Pyrus Auricalcinus (4) + Veiled Goddess Lapsang Souchong (2)
• Rooms above 12 Forge
  • Assistant: Consulting Engineer (4) + Mettle (2) + Forge Memory from Books (2) + Pyrus Auricalcinus (4) + Iotic Essence (4)

There are 19 Moon rooms, and the highest requirement is 15.

• Even though it is relatively easy to level up Moon Skills (plenty of Memories have Moon Principle), there are not a lot of Moon Foods, Drinks, or Memories. You very much need Edicts Martial and the Nun here. Every Moon thing counts.

Example Recipes

• Gathering the Mist-Kissed Water from the Well during the Numa season.
• Prepare Wormwood Dream; recipe see above.
• 15 Moon Room
  • Assistant: Unusual Nun (4) + Trist (1) + Wormwood Dream (6) + Mist-Kissed Water (2) + Mackerel (2)

There are 12 Moth rooms, and the highest requirement is 15.

• The 4 Moth drink is relatively easy to craft. The 6 Moth drink, Skinshuck Mead, can be commonly found across the House (but not very easy to craft; just use the ones you found in the House).

Example Recipes

• Gather the Cuckoo-Honey from Beehive during the Numa season.
• Leathy
  • 10 Nectar = Kitchen Range: lv1 Insects & Nectars (2) + Health (1) + Nectar Memory from Books or Rain (2) + Pyrus Auricalcinus (4) + any Beverage + Kitchen Bowl or Bronze Knife (1 or 2).
  • For the Beverage, just use the Isle-Water from the Well, which is cheap and renewable.
• 15 Moth Room
  • Assistant: Elegiac Poet or Surrealist Painter (4) + Trist (2) + Wind-in-Waiting (3) + Cuckoo-Honey (3) + Leathy (4)
  • OR replace the Honey-Leathy combo with the Skinshuck Mead (6)

There are a total of 30 Winter rooms, the highest requirement being 15, and there are many late-game rooms with a Winter requirement (mostly in the Cucurbit or the prison area).

• Winter mostly benefits from Solomon’s Preparation and Wormwood Dream – although crafting either of them requires some prep work.

Example Recipes

• Gather the Blue Crown flowers from St Brandan’s Cloister in Spring and Winter.
• Gather the Pale Marrows from Kitchen Garden in Summer and Autumn.
• Prepare at least two Wormwood Dreams; recipe see above.
• Solomon’s Preparation
  • 10 Winter = Alchemist’s Glassware: lv1 Sights & Sensations (1) + Wist (2) + Wormwood Dream (6) + Blue Crown (2)
  • If you don’t have Wormwood Dream in hand, try a normal Winter Memory (2) + Wolf-Snow Ampoule (4). However, the number of Wolf-Snow Ampoules is limited (not craftable or buyable).
  • In general, I would highly suggest leveling up Sights & Sensations ASAP (which is a guaranteed Skill anyway) to reduce the need to pre-build Wormwood Dream for a Solomon’s Preparation every single time.
• 15 Winter Room
  • Assistant: Mr. Kille (2) + Wist (2) + Wormwood Dream (6) + Solomon’s Preparation (4) + Pale Marrow (1)

These Principles either have few effective boosters or require very convoluted recipes. It would be better to pick the alternative Principle for a room instead.

There are 16 rooms with Edge requirements, the highest being 14.

• The most important Edge items are the Serpent-Milk drink (6), Memory: Forbidden Epic (6), and Memory: Invincible Audacity (6).
• However, Serpent-Milk requires the Ink Perinculate, which in turn requires either a late-game Workstation (Hearth: Hall of Voices) or a niche skill (Putrefactions & Calcinations) that also needs Winter items – very convoluted. Just use the Serpent-Milk you found in the House.
• The two Memories are also not easy to craft unless you leveled up the related Skills. Luckily, both require the Edicts Martial, a Skill you want to level up anyway.
• Yet, you still need to level Edicts Martial up to lv7 for Forbidden Epic – a very high level. All the previous recipes in this guide only require low-level Skills, and this is not really worth it.
• This left us with Memory: Invincible Audacity, which still has a convoluted recipe. Edicts Martial can craft this Memory, but it requires a prerequisite not covered by Edicts Martial, which requires another Skill to make. Still not really worth it.

Example Recipes

• I would recommend using the Schloss Jannings drink (2) to unlock some early Edge rooms and using the few Serpent-Milk (6) you found in the House to unlock late Edge rooms. Just don’t craft anything extra here.

There are 16 rooms with Rose requirements, the highest being 15.

• Rose items and Memories are among the rarest in the entire game. There isn’t even a 6 Rose Memory or Drink.

Example Recipes

• Avoid using Rose to unlock mid- and late-game rooms if possible. Most of the late-game Rose rooms can be unlocked via Moon or Winter.

There are 17 rooms with Scale requirements, the highest being 15.

• Similar to Rose, Scale items and Memories might be the rarest in the entire game. There is a 6 Scale Memory, the Earthquake Name, but it needs Old Moment as a prerequisite, which is also not easy to craft (pet a Living Relic, considering a Cuckoo-Honey, or if you really want to craft a Year-Tally or an Essential Periost…). Not really worth it.

Example Recipes

• Avoid using Scale to unlock late-game rooms if possible. Most of the late-game Scale rooms can be unlocked via a range of other Principles.

Reading books in the early game is much more crucial than in the late game, since you are not going to read every single book before you beat the game.

• There are 280+ books in the game, and in the Hush House, there are only around 170+ books, including the hidden Numen Books. The rest of the books in the Oriflamme’s, and it would take years to buy out their entire stock.
• In addition, the 170+ books in the House will only yield 22 different Memories (excluding the 13 different Numens) and 63 different Skills. If you are lucky enough, you only need to read about 50 different books to get all the Memories and Skills. And you don’t need every single Skill.
• Once you finish the 22-book collection for your Memories, the only reason to read a new book is to get lessons to upgrade your existing skills further.

A reading Desk can slot up to five different things: a book, a Skill, a Soul, a Memory, Papers, and a helping Tool or Ink.

• The most important variables here are the Memory, Papers, and the Tool/Ink.
• Leveling up Skill is also very important for reading books, which is why I suggested concentrating on leveling up just one Skill per Principle.
• Once you build up the 22-Memory book collection, you will have at least a 2-Principle Memory for every Principle.

In general, the Lantern, Heart, and Nectar books are much easier to read than others; Rose books are probably the hardest to read.
The two unlocked books in the Keeper’s Lodge will yield Solace (2 Heart, 1 Sky) and Impulse (2 Moth, 1 Nectar), making them the two earliest consistent Memories you can use.

• Memory – There is Weather: Hail (3), but this weather is very rare.
• Tool – Saw (1)
• Ink – Perinculate (4). However, as mentioned above, this ink is not easy to replace. Use it wisely.

• Memory – You can get a quick Memory: Touch (1) by considering the furniture.
• Tool – Mortar & Pestle (1)

• Memory – Weather: Rain (2) will be your best friend.
• Tool – Spice Scales (1)

• Memory – Once you have the Swaddled Thunder, you can consistently get Weather: Storm (4).
• Tool – Kitchen Bowls (1)
• Ink – Perhibiate (2); recipe see above.

• Memory – Only Weather: Fog (3) can help here. Around the mid-game, you may have Curious Hunch (4) instead.

• Memory – Weather: Sunny (2). There is a reason why Sunny is a meme in the community.
• Tool – Mirrorscope (1). Or Dearday Lens (2); recipe see above.
• Ink – Perhibiate (2); recipe see above.

• Memory – Weather: Fog (3). Around the mid-game, you may have Wormwood Dream (6) instead.
• Tool – Lunar Globe (1). Although this one shows up a bit late.
• Ink – Catwink (2)

• Memory – Besides the Weather: Clouds (1), discarding a Penny at Sea’s Edge will yield Memory: Impulse (2 Moth, 1 Nectar). In the early game, throwing Pennies at sea is probably the most consistent way to get a Moth Memory.
• Tool – Snootle Jar (1)

• Memory – Weather: Rain (2)
• Paper – Quire of Paper (1). It shows up very early in the game and will help a lot.
• Tool – Mortar & Pestle (1)
• Ink – Yewgall Ink (2)

• Memory – Occult Scrap (2, consider the Yellowing Newspaper). Or wait for the Numa Weather, which has 5 Rose.
• Tool – Lunar Globe (1)

• Memory – There is only the Scale Memory from Books (2). If very unlucky, you won’t get any Scale Memories until mid-game.
• Tool – Serpent-Styled Glass (1)
• Ink – Catwink (2) or Perhibiate (2)

• Memory – A couple of Weathers have 2 or 3 Sky in it. There is also Weather: Storm (4) from the Swaddled Thunder.
• Tool – Baron Silence’s Astrolabe (1). Dearday Lens (2); recipe see above. Around the mid-game, you may also have the Mazarine Fife (3).

• Memory – Weather: Snow (3). There is also possibly Wormwood Dream (6) around the mid-game.
• Ink – Perhibiate (1)

Late-game Book-reading is essentially Ink-making.

• The mystery level of the majority of the books in the game is 4-18. About the mid-game, after you finish all the low-level books, you are going to face 12+ mystery-level books. Without high-level Skills or Memories, it would be a pain to reach 12.
• This is where the Encaustum Terminale comes in handy. These “Great Inks” all have three Principles at level 7, making reaching the 12+ requirement much easier. Moreover, in order to finish the game with a proper ending, you need these Inks to write a History. Being able to craft those Inks will always be beneficial, no matter what.
• Note that even though there are dedicated Ink Skills, you can actually make most of the Encaustum Terminale using other utility Skills with much less effort.

1. Xanthotic Essence

• 10 Lantern = Solar Altar: lv1 Auroral Contemplations (2) + Phost (2) + Lantern Memory from Books (2) + Elegant Sunburst Lamp (3) + any Lantern Liquid (1 or 2; better to use the C&H Second Flush Assam)

2. Uzult

• 15 Lantern = Solar Altar: lv2 Anbary & Lapidary (3) + Phost (2) + Lantern Memory from Books (2) + Elegant Sunburst Lamp (3) + Xanthotic Essence (5)

Uzult has 7 Lantern, 7 Moth, and 7 Sky.

1. Leathy

• 10 Nectar = Kitchen Range: lv1 Insects & Nectars (2) + Health (1) + Nectar Memory from Books or Rain (2) + Pyrus Auricalcinus (4) + any Beverage (just use Isle-Water) + Kitchen Bowl or Bronze Knife (1 or 2)

2. Marakat

• 15 Nectar = Kitchen Range: lv3 Insects & Nectars (4) + Health (1) + Nectar Memory from Books or Rain (2) + Pyrus Auricalcinus (4) + Leathy (2) + Bronze Knife (2)

Marakat has 7 Grail, 7 Knock, and 7 Nectar.

1. Ichor Auroral

• 10 Sky = Solar Altar: lv1 Sights & Sensations (2) + Phost (1) + Storm (4, from Swaddled Thunder) + Hurricane Lamp (1) + Sky Memory from Books (2)

2. Porphyrine

• 15 Lantern = Solar Altar: lv3 Auroral Contemplations (4) + Phost (2) + Lantern Memory from Books (2) + Elegant Sunburst Lamp (3) + Ichor Auroral (4)

Porphyrine has 7 Knock, 7 Moon, and 7 Rose.
Note: Even though Porphyrine is essentially a Rose Ink, Rose is quite hard to come by, while Lantern is much easier to boost. Because of this, Auroral Contemplations, the only non-Rose Skill that can craft Porphyrine, becomes very valuable.

1. Iotic Essence

• 10 Forge = Alchemist’s Glassware: lv1 Transformations & Liberations, or lv2 Anbary & Lapidary (2) + Mettle (2) + Forge Memory from Books (2) + Honeyscar Jasmine (2) + Veiled Goddess Lapsang Souchong (2)

2. Orpiment Exultant

• 15 Forge = Alchemist’s Glassware: lv3 Transformations & Liberations, or lv4 Anbary & Lapidary (4) + Mettle (2) + Forge Memory from Books (2) + Honeyscar Jasmine (2) + Iotic Essence (5)

Orpiment Exultant has 7 Forge, 7 Heart, and 7 Sky.

1. Wormwood Dream

• 10 Moon = Telescope: lv3 Edicts Martial (4) + Trist (1) + Moon Memory from Books (2) + Lunar Globe (1) + another Moon Memory from Books (2)

2. Solomon’s Preparation

• 10 Winter = Alchemist’s Glassware: lv1 Sights & Sensations (1) + Wist (2) + Wormwood Dream (6) + Blue Crown (2)

3. Nillycant

• 15 Winter = Alchemist’s Glassware: lv4 Sights & Sensations (4) + Wist (2) + Wormwood Dream (6) + Solomon’s Preparation (4)

Nillycant has 7 Edge, 7 Scale, and 7 Winter.
Due to the need to craft Wormwood Dream repeatedly, this might be the hardest Encaustum Terminale to craft. It would be better to level up the Sights & Sensations Skill to reduce the Wormwood Dream pressure.

Back in the Cultist Simulator, you need to reach a total of 36 corresponding aspects in a Rite to achieve an Ending. In BOH, the requirement is similar – you need to reach a total of 25 corresponding Principles in your Journal.

The requirement – See the 25 Knock at the bottom right

• The Librarian’s Journal begins with exactly 0 Principle, but you can write two Determinations on it. Two Determination combined will give the Journal 2 of a Principle at maximum.
• To write a Determination, you need to reach at least 20 of a Principle on a Desk. A corresponding Numen (5) and an Encaustum Terminale (7) are already 12; with a high-level Skill and a Soul, you can meet the rest 8.

To write a History on the Journal, besides the usual Soul, you also need an Encaustum Terminale, a Numen, and a (at least) lv5 Skill.

• Numen comes from the Numen books, which can be found across the House. You can check my other Guide for where to find them. Numen books usually don’t have a very high mystery level, but they are often written in an unknown language, so pay your visitors to learn more languages.
• In terms of meeting the Principle requirements, the two-Determination-Journal now has 2, the Ink has 7, and the Numen has 5. This means Soul and Skill combined should meet 11 of a Principle.
• However, it is much, much harder to upgrade a Soul than leveling up a Skill. In the late game, most of your Souls will be at the + level (3); you may concentrate on a given Soul and reach the ++ level (4).
• This means the Skill should be at lv6 (7) or lv7 (8). With a carefully planned Memory Generator, and making as many different memories as possible within a day, leveling a Skill up to lv7 is not that hard.

Example Recipe

• 25 Lantern = lv6 Auroral Contemplations (7) + Phost++ (4) + Numen: the Paths of the Sun (5) + Journal with the Lantern plus Moth Determinations (2) + Uzult (7)

Congratulations, you have written a History.

Try to learn these skills as early as possible and concentrate on upgrading them. Some Skills are so useful that I would recommend s/l them (An Exorcist’s Field Manual – Edicts Martial, and Against Vitruvius – Lockworks & Clockworks).

Anbary & Lapidary (Sky, Forge)
It has the full crafting chain for Orpiment Exultant (Forge Ink). It can also make the Uzult (Lantern Ink) when paired with Auroral Contemplations.

Auroral Contemplations (Lantern, Edge)
It has the only Lantern recipe for the Porphyrine (Secret Histories Ink) in the game. It can also make Xanthotic Essence, the prerequisite for Uzult (Lantern Ink). It also has the entire crafting chain for all the high-level Edge Memories in case you need it.
This is a guaranteed Skill if you begin the game as the Twice-Born.

Disciplines of the Scar (Edge, Lantern)
It can make Dearday Lens. It also has the only Lantern recipe for making the Old Moment (4 Scale) and the Earthquake Name (6 Scale) in case you need the Scale Memories.

Edicts Martial (Moon, Edge)
It is the only Skill that can craft Old Wound (3 Winter) with only 5 Moon requirement, and the only Skill that can craft Wormwood Dream (6 Winter and Moon) with only 10 Moon requirement. The entire Moon and Winter crafting needs this Skill to work.
This is a guaranteed Skill if you begin the game as the Revolutionary.

Inks of Power (Rose, Scale)
It can make a bunch of different Inks (several Encaustum Terminale and several low-level utility Inks) as well as the Leathy drink (an important item in the Nectar crafting).
This is also probably the only Rose Skill or Scale Skill worthy of upgrading.

Insects & Nectars (Nectar, Moon)
It is the only Skill that has the entire crafting chain for Marakat (Nectar Ink).

Leaves & Thorns (Nectar, Grail)
It can make both Sacrament Malachite (6 Nectar drink) and Sacrament Calicite (6 Grail drink).

Lockworks & Clockworks (Knock, Sky)
It is the only Skill with an Amethyst Ampoule-Gervinite-Chronsichord crafting chain. This chain basically prints Knock items for both room unlocking and book reading (you can use the Chronsichord to read books since it is a Tool).

Preliminal Meter (Knock, Rose)
Another important Knock Skill, which has the full Knock Memory crafting chain. The most important Memory it can make is the Curious Hunch.

Sacra Limiae (Moth, Sky)
It can make the Mazarine Fife.
In addition, using this together with any Soul at the Chancel of the Abbey Church will grant you the earliest Numen Book in the game. The book will yield Numen: the Sun’s Weakness (Grail 5, Lantern 5, Moth 5) which can be used as a very versatile Memory.
This is a guaranteed Skill if you begin the game as the Magnate.

Sights & Sensations (Sky, Winter)
It has the entire Solomon’s Preparation into Nillycant (Winter Ink) crafting chain. It also has a Sky recipe for making the Ichor Auroral, the prerequisite for Porphyrine (Secret Histories Ink).
This is a guaranteed Skill once you unlock the Keeper’s Lodge.

Strings & Songs (Sky, Heart)
It can make the crucial Swaddled Thunder very early into the game (another Skill that can do this is Drums & Dances). It can also make the Wind-in-Waiting Memory (6 Sky, 3 Moth, 3 Grail, 3 Scale) with the Mazarine Fife.
This is a guaranteed Skill once you unlock the rooms in the Motley Tower.

Transformations & Liberations (Forge, Moth)
It has the full crafting chain for Orpiment Exultant (Forge Ink). It also has the Chimeric Larva in the Perilous Imago crafting chain, which will create a butterfly that can generate the Hive’s Lament Memory (4 Nectar), essentially making Nectar from Forge.

Watchman’s Paradoxes (Lantern, Sky)
If you don’t have Anbary & Lapidary, upgrade this Skill, as it can also make Uzult (Lantern Ink) when pairing with Auroral Contemplations.
This is a guaranteed Skill once you unlock the rooms in the Motley Tower.

1. In Watchman’s Tower: First Floor, click on the wall right below the window divider will reveal a Gervinite.

2. In the Grand Ascent – Ground Floor, consider the Delightful Repose (the big red sofa) will reveal a Bronze Spintria. You can learn a Language from a Visitor very early with this Bronze Spintria.

3. In Motley Tower: Regensburg Room, there will be a Candle named Weighty Bedside Candleholder. Consider it will reveal a Gervinite. A similar Candle also exists in the Servants’ Quarters.

4. In the Westcott Room, clicking on the wall panel to the left of the scroll slots will reveal a unique item: Black Dove Wine.

5. In the Fludd Gallery, there will be a blue chair named Lumpy Melodic Chair. Consider it will reveal a Pale Mommet.

6. There is a particular type of Cranial Tchotchke called Glinting Cranial Tchotchke – its skull is facing left instead of right. Consider it will reveal a Dearday Lens.

7. Consider a Soft Amber Pumpkin will reveal a Cuckoo-Honey.

8. Correctly placing all the busts of the Barons and Librarians in the Grand Ascent will yield an extra Wist.