People, places, clues
Hillthorn cards
Hillthorn tells the case with cards. An action card goes in one slot and a person, place, or clue goes in the other. The color notes below come from the store screenshots plus two reviews that describe the same desk. The combo column is from the achievement guide and Steam threads, and the status column says when only one of those is enough.
Three verbs
Talk needs a person and a topic. Investigate needs an object, a clue, or a person. Explore needs a place and spends the trip. Rock Paper Shotgun and GameSpew both describe that two-slot desk. The pocket watch is the odd card: you click it to push the clock toward a sermon, a closed shop, or the Out of Office achievement.
Orange reads as a clue, purple as a person, green as a place, and a gold border as something you are carrying. Small clipped cards are context you cannot play. That color reading is visible on the second Steam screenshot and matches the way guides name the same cards.
Combos that gate the story
The axe breaks the flimsy door, blocks the church, and is the weapon on the lethal ending. The mask plus the invitation opens the manor gate. The antidote is how you carry Olivia. The paralytic goes into the opened bottle and then the glasses. Beer buys the dropped key, and beer is also one paradox. The bear mask, earned from the trunk, is how a later cycle talks the bear down. Four memory cards, unlocked from the menu after specific endings, reveal the burnt house path: Forward, Left, Back, Back, Left, Forward.
Filter the table by a card name if you are holding something and you only need its pair. Chapter order is on the walkthrough.
| Card | Type | Color | Where it appears | Combine with | Result | Use | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pocket Watch | Item / time control | Gold border (carried clue) | Office desk drawer in the Prologue | None; click it to advance time | Advances the in-game clock | Reach timed events and skip to evening | 3 sources (card context); detailed combos: 1 guide |
| Talk | Action | Purple action card | Available from the start | A character card plus topic cards | Produces dialogue cards or new leads | Question characters | 3 sources |
| Investigate | Action | Pink/red action card | Available from the start | A clue, object, or character card | Reveals a detail or new card | Examine objects and people | 3 sources |
| Explore | Action | Green action card | Unlocked after the Prologue | A location card | Travels to that location | Move between locations | 3 sources |
| Mask | Item / disguise | Gold border | Jeremiah's house, from the hanged body behind the Flimsy Door | Manor Gate + Invitation | Opened Gate | Enter the Manor | 3 sources (card context); detailed combos: 1 guide |
| Invitation | Item | Gold border | Quarry Cabin barred window, broken with the Axe | Manor Gate + Mask | Opened Gate | Enter the Manor | 2 sources (card context); detailed combos: 1 guide |
| Axe | Tool / weapon | Gold border | Lonely House bench, after Locked Door + Dropped Key | Flimsy Door, Olivia, Church doors, Interactable Wall | Broken Door / Kill Olivia / Blocked Door / bleeding wall | Break, kill, block, or test | 3 sources (card context); detailed combos: 1 guide |
| Matches | Tool | Gold border | Manor cellar shortcut after the first Manor visit | Unlit Torch, Barrel, carvings | Lit Torch / Start Fire / reveal carvings | Light dark paths, burn the church, read paradox hints | 3 sources (card context); detailed combos: 1 guide |
| Antidote | Consumable | Gold border | Suspicious Spot cache (Package) | Unconscious Olivia | Carry? prompt | Rescue Olivia | 2 sources (card context); detailed combos: 1 guide |
| Paralytic | Consumable / poison | Gold border | Suspicious Spot cache (Package) | Opened Bottle | Drugged Bottle; then Drugged Glasses | Incapacitate the cult | 2 sources (card context); detailed combos: 1 guide |
| Beer | Item | Gold border | Innkeeper + Coins, twice | Tipsy Patron, Wolf | Dropped Key / Beer Paradox | Get the key or trigger the Beer Paradox | 2 sources (card context); detailed combos: 1 guide |
| Bear Mask | Item / disguise | Gold border | Ranger's car Trunk + Car Key (Ending 4) | Jeremiah's bear encounter | Talk down the Bear; save Jeremiah | Save Everyone route | 2 sources (card context); detailed combos: 1 guide |
| Falcon Mask | Item / disguise | Gold border | Burnt House opened fireplace (needs all four Memory cards) | Manor Gate + Invitation | Mask Paradox / Manor entry | Access the Burnt House and Paradox route | 2 sources (card context); detailed combos: 1 guide |
| Memory Cards | Clue / knowledge | Gold border | Main menu after specific endings: Dying (Hubris), Infinity (Newest Member), Killing (End the Cycle), Redemption (Rescue or Perfection) | Winding Trails route | Reveals the Burnt House path Forward-Left-Back-Back-Left-Forward | Unlock the Falcon Mask and the Memories achievement | 3 sources (card context); detailed combos: 1 guide |
| Necklace | Clue | Orange clue | Two halves: Jeremiah's table and the Quarry Cabin window | Ox | Opportunity → Join Community → Accept | Join the cult ending | 2 sources (card context); detailed combos: 1 guide |
15 rows from the public record, checked 2026-11-13. Global percents are a Steam snapshot, not a live ticker.
Questions people ask
What are the three actions?
Talk, Investigate, and Explore.
Which cards open the manor?
The mask from Jeremiah's house and the invitation from the quarry cabin, used together at the gate.
Do card colors mean anything?
On the store screenshot, clues, people, places, and carried items are different colors. Guides use the same split.
Related reading
Sources
- Steam store page — checked 2026-11-13
- Rock Paper Shotgun preview — checked 2026-11-13
- Spire of Completion — checked 2026-11-13