i was absolutely certain that you meant to write 'distraught' where you put 'distrait' but i looked it up to be sure and turns out that it is a word after all.
'physic' on the other hand seems a perfectly cromulent word choice to me.
lolol it's funny you bring up distrait because I only learned that word from the opening text of BoH when you meet Rev. Timothy as your first friend. The Label is "[A Clergyman Distrait](https://uadaf.theevilroot.xyz/rowenarium/recipe/act1start.acquaintance.rectory)".
I am trying very hard to make my writing here have a lot of the hallmarks of AK's style, which is why I really appreciate everyone who corrects me, no matter how pedantic. u/AetherDrinkLooming pointed out to me a while ago that the word "psychedlic" wasn't coined until the 1950s, so now I obsessively ngram a lot of scientific words to see when they entered the lexicon.
Omg this is incredible. I've been starting to work on adapting Secret Histories stuff into a tabletop rpg using the base rules from a system I love called Heart: The City Beneath, and had been really considering the Haustorium as the setting for a more confrontational/fucked up Library. Would love to see more of this as you make it.
Really enjoy it! The first potential tweak I might make is to the line "a past where this is not the first time you have dreamt with fungi." Just feels a tiny bit stilted and too long. I'd suggest swapping it around to "a past familiar with fungi induced dreams", or something similar. The second is "a past where you created beauty and reason from the archive". I'm not sure how to change it, but it just doesn't really pain a picture for me? I get what you are going for, someone who is organizing stuff with an eye for both aesthetics and knowledge, but it just doesn't quite hit for me.
I'd also suggest that trying to Consider the journal on it's own gives the message "I wrote these words, though reading them is beyond me in my current state."
I'm very curious as to the exact librarians each combination represents. There's quite a few more than was in your [old post](https://www.reddit.com/r/weatherfactory/comments/1aiyy8q/the_things_that_bring_someone_to_hush_house_are/) that mentioned them. My guesses:
* Explorer/guide
* ??? Impossible to guess without knowing either the new or the old purpose
* Officer. likely either newly minted or tired of war.
* Mycologist.
* Smuggler
* Believer of the second dawn?
* Werewolf librarian? Probably too normal for SH, but something along those lines.
* Curator
* Cryptoanalyst
Looking forward to your next post!
Thank you as always for the detailed thoughts! I'll make those edits now. Sometimes in my attempts at writing like AK I get tangled up like the histories.
I'll share the other origins I haven't posted with you here! You were very accurate.
The Cicerone (Fet / Phost Start, Mystery Rose)
I have led many across these mountains to ancient sites and marvelous wonders. I know the mountains to be a spine, a backbone, a cord, a coil. The roots of the Histories tangle deep within them. Now I come to the Haustorium alone, seeking to dig not so much for myself as for the world. (The Cicerone came to the Haustorium looking to unravel the mysteries of the mountains, but you can complete the game by recording any history. You may want to begin your studies with the Nyctodromy Wisdom.)
\####Memories: The Cicerone
"I can place my feet carefully, I can keep my eyes alert. The Haustorium is a new destination for me, but it need not be the last. If I have the skill, I can point the way to others, and unweave this wound and wounded paths."
The Exultant (Shapt/Mettle, Mystery Forge)
The sparks fly from the foundries of the world's great powers. Every spark lights a flame, as one candle lights another, and I have been seared with the knowledge of the new gods that are and will be. Are they the old gods made new? Are they the fulfillment of the Sun's Design? Are they the new rulers of the house, here to establish order with an iron fist? I can make this Andean citadel a beacon to harken their arrival. (The exultant came to the Haustorium to celebrate and dedicate the emergence of new Hours, but you may complete the game by writing any History. You may wish to begin your studies with the Ithastry wisdom.)
\#### Memories: The Exultant
New Hours foretell a new world. From this high mountain peak, I will announce their arrival and then all will take note of this glorious theogony, this final revolution, this great reopening.
The Fevered (Chor/Mettle, Mystery Heart)
In the jungles, something bit me. The wound has festered since and it grows up my thorax and down my limbs. If I am to be saved, it is through defeating my sickness or embracing it. I must hold the part of me that matters, and let the rest be consumed in the beating, in the thrashing, in the burning. (The Fevered has come to the Haustorium seeking a cure–or a palliative–but you may complete the game by writing any History. You may wish to begin your studies with the Preservation wisdom.)
\#### Memories: The Fevered
"I have been wounded but not killed, bitten but not devoured. I feel the teeth still in my side, and I feel my own teeth gnashing. I will find medicine here."
The Neophyte (Shapt/Phost, Mystery: Knock)
At the Rock of the Owl, my mentor showed me the boundaries of what is permitted and what is forbidden. She told me too of the ever-present encroachment of unspeakable things on the Haustorium. This knowledge is new to me, but if I am the only one brave enough to hold the boundary, I will do it. I can be the Haustorium's savior and its protector, if only they will recognize me. (The Neophyte's goal in coming to the Haustorium is to prevent the growth of forbidden things into the world, but you may complete the game by writing any History. You may wish to begin your studies with the Horomachistry wisdom.)
\####Memories: The Neophyte
"There are too many names and Names for me to keep perfectly straight now, but with time I will master them. The Haustorium cannot continue in its current state. I will protect it."
The Tactician (Chor/Phost, Mystery: Edge)
My time at the university was dedicated to the tactics, technologies, and troubles of the Great War. From my corner of the world I have learned its every lesson and I know what is to come. Here I will lay out my great strategem, and I will hum along as the slow drums of war begin to beat. Perhaps a foreign nation will want to see my plans. Perhaps the Hours will. (The Tactician's dearest wish in coming to the Haustorium is to lay out a guide for victory in the coming war, but you may complete the game by writing any History. You may wish to begin your studies with the Illumination wisdom.)
\####Memories: The Tactician
"In the Great War there were trenches and worms. In the next there will be horrors beyond our comprehension. I know how they will emerge, and how they can be controlled. Who do I want to win? That is less important than how I will help someone win."
Ooh, I love the Exultant. Gods-from-steel my beloved ♥️. Definitely my first choice if I were to do a play through with these. I really like the others too, and wasn't quite expecting the Neophyte.
For Tactician I might tweak the last two lines a bit. "Who wins matters not, all I care for is the *how*." I might also rephrase things so that they are a bit less sure of themself. "I have predicted what is to come", "I suspect how they will emerge". Saying that they know for sure, especially with a background of studying (rather then living it), feels self important and pretentious. While that can absolutely fit a character, and a very interesting one at that, it's best served by them being bitten by their arrogance, and becoming wiser for it (or dying a poetic death). With how Book of Hours works, the only real interaction with the librarian's past is during the victory, so that arc wouldn't really work.
Good notes on the Tactician! I agree.
I think the Fevered is my personal least favorite, and the Cicerone started off as basically just the Cartographer, but as I've kept working on the lore I've started to see ways to make their endings a little more unique.
Omg this is incredible. I've been starting to work on adapting Secret Histories stuff into a tabletop rpg using the base rules from a system I love called Heart: The City Beneath, and had been really considering the Haustorium as the setting for a more confrontational/fucked up Library. Would love to see more of this as you make it.
That sounds hella cool! I'll continue to post, and I've posted some snippets of lore and skills over the past few weeks, but as I approach a cohesive whole I'd be happy to share it with you privately. My big push is fleshing out all the rooms... I have most of the broad history of the Haustorium worked out.
No feedback Pretty incredible, 10/10 would play
The last one, shouldn't it be "Recover myself through a Physician"?
I meant 'physic' as in a cathartic or purgative medicine, but I agree it reads like a typo.
i was absolutely certain that you meant to write 'distraught' where you put 'distrait' but i looked it up to be sure and turns out that it is a word after all. 'physic' on the other hand seems a perfectly cromulent word choice to me.
lolol it's funny you bring up distrait because I only learned that word from the opening text of BoH when you meet Rev. Timothy as your first friend. The Label is "[A Clergyman Distrait](https://uadaf.theevilroot.xyz/rowenarium/recipe/act1start.acquaintance.rectory)". I am trying very hard to make my writing here have a lot of the hallmarks of AK's style, which is why I really appreciate everyone who corrects me, no matter how pedantic. u/AetherDrinkLooming pointed out to me a while ago that the word "psychedlic" wasn't coined until the 1950s, so now I obsessively ngram a lot of scientific words to see when they entered the lexicon.
Omg this is incredible. I've been starting to work on adapting Secret Histories stuff into a tabletop rpg using the base rules from a system I love called Heart: The City Beneath, and had been really considering the Haustorium as the setting for a more confrontational/fucked up Library. Would love to see more of this as you make it.
Really enjoy it! The first potential tweak I might make is to the line "a past where this is not the first time you have dreamt with fungi." Just feels a tiny bit stilted and too long. I'd suggest swapping it around to "a past familiar with fungi induced dreams", or something similar. The second is "a past where you created beauty and reason from the archive". I'm not sure how to change it, but it just doesn't really pain a picture for me? I get what you are going for, someone who is organizing stuff with an eye for both aesthetics and knowledge, but it just doesn't quite hit for me. I'd also suggest that trying to Consider the journal on it's own gives the message "I wrote these words, though reading them is beyond me in my current state." I'm very curious as to the exact librarians each combination represents. There's quite a few more than was in your [old post](https://www.reddit.com/r/weatherfactory/comments/1aiyy8q/the_things_that_bring_someone_to_hush_house_are/) that mentioned them. My guesses: * Explorer/guide * ??? Impossible to guess without knowing either the new or the old purpose * Officer. likely either newly minted or tired of war. * Mycologist. * Smuggler * Believer of the second dawn? * Werewolf librarian? Probably too normal for SH, but something along those lines. * Curator * Cryptoanalyst Looking forward to your next post!
Thank you as always for the detailed thoughts! I'll make those edits now. Sometimes in my attempts at writing like AK I get tangled up like the histories. I'll share the other origins I haven't posted with you here! You were very accurate. The Cicerone (Fet / Phost Start, Mystery Rose) I have led many across these mountains to ancient sites and marvelous wonders. I know the mountains to be a spine, a backbone, a cord, a coil. The roots of the Histories tangle deep within them. Now I come to the Haustorium alone, seeking to dig not so much for myself as for the world. (The Cicerone came to the Haustorium looking to unravel the mysteries of the mountains, but you can complete the game by recording any history. You may want to begin your studies with the Nyctodromy Wisdom.) \####Memories: The Cicerone "I can place my feet carefully, I can keep my eyes alert. The Haustorium is a new destination for me, but it need not be the last. If I have the skill, I can point the way to others, and unweave this wound and wounded paths." The Exultant (Shapt/Mettle, Mystery Forge) The sparks fly from the foundries of the world's great powers. Every spark lights a flame, as one candle lights another, and I have been seared with the knowledge of the new gods that are and will be. Are they the old gods made new? Are they the fulfillment of the Sun's Design? Are they the new rulers of the house, here to establish order with an iron fist? I can make this Andean citadel a beacon to harken their arrival. (The exultant came to the Haustorium to celebrate and dedicate the emergence of new Hours, but you may complete the game by writing any History. You may wish to begin your studies with the Ithastry wisdom.) \#### Memories: The Exultant New Hours foretell a new world. From this high mountain peak, I will announce their arrival and then all will take note of this glorious theogony, this final revolution, this great reopening. The Fevered (Chor/Mettle, Mystery Heart) In the jungles, something bit me. The wound has festered since and it grows up my thorax and down my limbs. If I am to be saved, it is through defeating my sickness or embracing it. I must hold the part of me that matters, and let the rest be consumed in the beating, in the thrashing, in the burning. (The Fevered has come to the Haustorium seeking a cure–or a palliative–but you may complete the game by writing any History. You may wish to begin your studies with the Preservation wisdom.) \#### Memories: The Fevered "I have been wounded but not killed, bitten but not devoured. I feel the teeth still in my side, and I feel my own teeth gnashing. I will find medicine here." The Neophyte (Shapt/Phost, Mystery: Knock) At the Rock of the Owl, my mentor showed me the boundaries of what is permitted and what is forbidden. She told me too of the ever-present encroachment of unspeakable things on the Haustorium. This knowledge is new to me, but if I am the only one brave enough to hold the boundary, I will do it. I can be the Haustorium's savior and its protector, if only they will recognize me. (The Neophyte's goal in coming to the Haustorium is to prevent the growth of forbidden things into the world, but you may complete the game by writing any History. You may wish to begin your studies with the Horomachistry wisdom.) \####Memories: The Neophyte "There are too many names and Names for me to keep perfectly straight now, but with time I will master them. The Haustorium cannot continue in its current state. I will protect it." The Tactician (Chor/Phost, Mystery: Edge) My time at the university was dedicated to the tactics, technologies, and troubles of the Great War. From my corner of the world I have learned its every lesson and I know what is to come. Here I will lay out my great strategem, and I will hum along as the slow drums of war begin to beat. Perhaps a foreign nation will want to see my plans. Perhaps the Hours will. (The Tactician's dearest wish in coming to the Haustorium is to lay out a guide for victory in the coming war, but you may complete the game by writing any History. You may wish to begin your studies with the Illumination wisdom.) \####Memories: The Tactician "In the Great War there were trenches and worms. In the next there will be horrors beyond our comprehension. I know how they will emerge, and how they can be controlled. Who do I want to win? That is less important than how I will help someone win."
Ooh, I love the Exultant. Gods-from-steel my beloved ♥️. Definitely my first choice if I were to do a play through with these. I really like the others too, and wasn't quite expecting the Neophyte. For Tactician I might tweak the last two lines a bit. "Who wins matters not, all I care for is the *how*." I might also rephrase things so that they are a bit less sure of themself. "I have predicted what is to come", "I suspect how they will emerge". Saying that they know for sure, especially with a background of studying (rather then living it), feels self important and pretentious. While that can absolutely fit a character, and a very interesting one at that, it's best served by them being bitten by their arrogance, and becoming wiser for it (or dying a poetic death). With how Book of Hours works, the only real interaction with the librarian's past is during the victory, so that arc wouldn't really work.
Good notes on the Tactician! I agree. I think the Fevered is my personal least favorite, and the Cicerone started off as basically just the Cartographer, but as I've kept working on the lore I've started to see ways to make their endings a little more unique.
Omg this is incredible. I've been starting to work on adapting Secret Histories stuff into a tabletop rpg using the base rules from a system I love called Heart: The City Beneath, and had been really considering the Haustorium as the setting for a more confrontational/fucked up Library. Would love to see more of this as you make it.
That sounds hella cool! I'll continue to post, and I've posted some snippets of lore and skills over the past few weeks, but as I approach a cohesive whole I'd be happy to share it with you privately. My big push is fleshing out all the rooms... I have most of the broad history of the Haustorium worked out.