Getting Started

This guide walks through installing Build a Spell, opening the Spell Builder, and casting your first spell.

Install

  1. Install NeoForge for your Minecraft version (1.21.1, 26.1.x, or 26.2).
  2. Download the jar matching your Minecraft version: buildaspell-1.0.0-mc<version>.jar.
  3. Place it in your mods/ folder and launch the game.

Optional integrations (NeoPortals, NeoOrigins) are detected automatically when present.

Open the Spell Builder

The Spell Builder is the GUI where you assemble spells. Open it with the Spell Builder keybind, which you can view and change under Options → Controls in the Build a Spell category.

The builder has three palette sections:

  • Delivery Methods: choose exactly one. This decides how the spell is delivered (on yourself, where you look, as a projectile, as a homing projectile, imbued into your next touch, or as a timed ground rune or proximity trap).
  • Effects: choose one or more. These are what the spell actually does.
  • Modifiers: optional. These change how the effects behave (more power, larger area, longer duration, and so on).

Drag components into the spell, and the builder shows the running mana cost. A spell can hold up to 30 components.

Unlock components

You start with a small kit of components (by default the Cast delivery plus the Damage and Break effects; new players also receive the in-game guidebook). Everything else is unlocked through Essence and runes:

  1. Craft a Blank Rune and keep it in your inventory.
  2. The rune gathers Essence as you play: every kill deposits some (bosses give far more), and casting spells contributes Essence based on the mana you spend.
  3. When a Blank Rune fills, it converts into a Spell Rune.
  4. Use (right-click) a Spell Rune to unlock a random locked delivery, effect, or modifier.

The Arcane Altar is the mod’s enchanting station: it applies the Mana Pool, Mana Regeneration, and Spell Power enchantments that grow your casting stats. Its input slot only accepts gear those enchantments can actually use — a weapon, a wand, or a piece of armor — so you can’t sink an enchant into an item that would never read it. Spell Runes are also crafting ingredients for higher-tier wands. See the Spell Components Reference for the full catalog.

Mana and Spell Power

  • Mana is the resource spells consume. Your maximum mana and regeneration rate come from the mana_pool and mana_regen attributes.
  • Spell Power scales damage and effectiveness: most damage and healing in the mod scales directly off it.
  • Both grow through Build a Spell’s own enchantments, which stack on top of the base attribute values with no hard cap by default (server admins can cap each enchantment in the config).
  • The enchantments only count from the gear that can use them: Spell Power is read from the item in your main hand (a weapon or a wand), while Mana Pool and Mana Regeneration are read from your worn armor. An off-hand item or a second held wand never adds to the total, so only one wand’s Spell Power applies at a time.
  • Holding a wand also grants bonus Spell Power and a mana-cost discount: higher-tier wands give more of each.

Cast your first spell

A simple, cheap spell to start with:

  1. Delivery: Self or Sight.
  2. Effect: Damage (or a status effect like Ignite).
  3. Save the spell, then cast it with your cast keybind.

From there, add a modifier — try Increased Power for stronger effects or Increased Area for a wider radius — and experiment. Some component combinations form combos (see the reference) that transform the spell entirely.

Next steps