Arcana: Magic and Minecraft

Updated on Dec 5th, 2012, 12/5/12 5:36 am | 1 logs
Published Dec 4th, 2012, 12/4/12 11:14 pm

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jhask
Level 26 : Expert Lumberjack

Before I get started, let me say that this Minedea consists of many different parts that all work together to create one beautiful system that should be implemented in Minecraft. That means this article is fairly long. If you dono t want to read all of it...too bad, youo ve missed an awesome Minedea! Anyways, there have been many mods that have attempted to add the element of magic to Minecraft, but none have had any true system to them, leaving out elements necessary to create a o finished producto . The following is my interpretation of magic and how it should be incorporated into our beloved blocky game.

What would this magic do?
Magic in Minecraft could serve many purposes. Players could heal themselves (and others if in SMP), use spells as a way to fight players and mobs, conjure structures without building, and many more options. Adding magic would add an entire new element to the game, opening up development for new structures, blocks, items, NPCs, the whole shebang (which I will talk about later on). Look in the spoiler below to see my full proposed lists of spells and uses of magic in Minecraft.

List of Uses

Healing-Ah, that feels better.
Regaining Hunger-Not so hungry now, are we?
Enchantments w/o XP-Just what it says.
Mob taming/controlling-Creeper army, anyone?
Fighting/PvP-Ouch!
Hiding blocks in SMP-Poof! Your chest is hidden from others.
Transmuting objects/items into others (via an o Equivalent Exchangeo -esque system)-obsidian to diamonds!
Quicker traveling-I can fly! Sorta...
Quicker crafting-Crafting o templateso , so to say.
Automated building-Build me a house, you buffoon!
Terraforming-I want rolling fields here, a mountain there...
Farming/growing trees-Self explanatory
and much more!

How to Attain Magic
Since magic would be a very powerful weapon and tool in Minecraft, it must be difficult to attain and use. The system for magic must be balanced so as not to under or overpower it. Magic could be gained by finding a o spellbooko (New Item!) that has a random chance of spawning in mob dungeon chests. These spellbooks, once opened by right clicking (with item in hand), would bring up a new GUI element on the players screen: a mana bar. Mana is the o currencyo of this magic system. Using spells costs mana points, the amount of which varies on the power of the spell being used. Mana can be gained by killing mobs and gathering mana orbs along with xp and mob drops, and by finding arcanic ruins (new dungeon/village that randomly generates on the surface of Minecraftia). As more and more spells are used, the player can unlock new trickery and mayhem to cast.

How to Cast a Spell
Firstly, after opening the new spellbook item, a player must craft the wand, done by 3 sticks placed in the middle row (one can see this crafting recipe in the picture right underneath the title of this article) in the crafting table. Right clicking with the wand will open a GUI that allows the user to pick which spell to cast from their available spells. Left clicking with the wand will cast said spell in the direction clicked, or onto the mob/player clicked. Doing so will reduce your mana points in accordance with the spell used.

Advanced Wizardry
More advanced spells will require the player not only to have sufficient mana, but also certain items in their inventory. For instance, an advanced o terraformingo spell may require the player to have a flower, a stack of bonemeal, and 3 diamonds in their inventory, all of which will be used up when casting the spell.

Arcanic Ruins
I briefly mentioned these in the above section o How to Attain Magico . Arcanic ruins would serve as two things: a new dungeon/structure, and a secondary way to get mana if you prefer not to kill those lovable brain-eating zombies and suicidal creepers. Arcanic ruins would be guarded by ghosts (New Mob!). Ghosts would be a transparent flying mob that only attack if you anger them by breaking part of their ruin or directly attacking the ghost itself. The ghost is basically a o mini-bosso ; like the Wither and Ender Dragon, but not nearly as powerful. They would definitely take a good long while to kill though, and are immune to any harmful spells. If you kill the ghost, they will drop 3 o Mana Potionso , along with some other items already in the game (Stone/Iron tools?). These mana potions can be consumed, each potion giving you a large amount of mana points to fuel your dark magic. So not only would the ruins add something cool to see on the surface of Minecraft, but they would contribute to your magical powers too.