Archon
Archon (archon, v0.8.1, by Safro) describes itself as “Sorcery, Necromancy, Bosses, and More!” and ships its own Patchouli guidebook, the Grimoire, with seven categories: Mana, Spells, Necromancy, Bosses, Effects & Enchants, World, and Misc. It depends on Spell Power Attribute directly (spell_power >=0.11.0), and its mana system is separate from Botania’s — Archon mana regenerates passively at a base 1/second and is boosted by Mana Catalysts, placeable blocks that raise everyone’s max mana within a radius (Normal: 16-block range/+50, Diamond: 22-block range/+100, and higher tiers beyond).
Archon’s two headline systems are spells and necromancy. Spells are element-themed (Fire, Water, Earth, Sky, End) and found as loot in world structures — Fire spells specifically drop in Nether Fortresses and Bastions (Fireball at 20 mana, a Fire Resistance buff scaling with spell power at 50 mana, an ignite-DoT at 30 mana/30 range, and a quick heat beam at 10 mana). Necromancy runs through the Staff of Undead: killing mobs with a Soul Scythe (or a weapon enchanted with Reaping) drops Souls, which the staff auto-consumes for Soul Power, spent on five summon types — angry wolf pack, “the Titan” golem, undead knight pair, life-stealing silverfish swarm, and a fire-bow undead archer — each with its own base lifetime that scales up with more Soul Power banked.
The mod’s boss roster is a matched set of five elemental bosses summoned at a Summoning Pedestal with themed ingredients: Ayla (Sky, feather/gold/2x Sky Essence → Angelic Star), Inigo (Fire, magma cream/blaze powder/2x Fire Essence → Charred Eye), Leven (Water, kelp/pufferfish/2x Water Essence → Wave Crystal), Tar (Earth, the weakest of the five, deepslate/2x Earth Essence/emerald → Terranite Stone), and Null (End, the strongest, ender pearl/end crystal/2x End Essence → Soulless Eye). Their drops feed further crafting. Essence itself comes from Nodes — ore-like veins generating in specific dimensions and Y-ranges per element (Earth underground Y -64–0, Water in ocean biomes Y 27–40, Fire in the Nether Y 10–117, End anywhere on End islands, Sky in small clouds at Y 192–196). A Wizard Villager profession also sells scrolls, crafting items, and enchantments including Arcane (10% mana-cost reduction per level, stacking, though it can’t apply to unique items like the Channeler or Staff of Undead). This pack’s archon.json5 tunes cosmetic/QoL values only (mana HUD position, screen-shake toggle, soul drop chance at 5%, wizard village weight 10) — no core mechanics are disabled.
Anticipated questions
Is Archon mana the same as Botania mana? No — it’s a completely separate system. Archon mana is a personal bar that regenerates at a base 1/second, boosted by placing Mana Catalysts (Normal +50/16-block range, Diamond +100/22-block, higher tiers beyond) and by mana-regen gear like the Mask of Power (4 mana/sec while worn). Botania mana lives in Mana Pools and never touches this bar.
Where do I find spells and how do I cast them? Spells are loot tied to their element and cast with the matching Wand: Fire in Nether Fortresses/Bastions, Water in ocean structures and fishing, Sky in villages, End in End Cities/Strongholds, Earth in temples and mineshafts. Damage scales with your Spell Power Attribute.
How does necromancy work? Kill mobs with a Soul Scythe (or a weapon with the Reaping enchant) to drop Souls; the Staff of Undead (once given a core) auto-consumes them as Soul Power to summon minions — an angry wolf pack, the Titan golem, undead knight pair, life-stealing silverfish, and a fire-bow archer. Each summon’s lifetime scales with how much Soul Power you’ve banked.
How do I summon the elemental bosses? Place the themed ingredients on a Summoning Pedestal — right-click while holding them (there’s no GUI; shift-click clears it). The exact recipes for Ayla, Inigo, Leven, Tar, and Null are listed in your Grimoire. The Essence two of the ingredients require comes from mining Nodes in each element’s dimension/Y-range.
Who’s the easiest boss to start with? Tar (Earth) is the weakest of the five; Null (End) is the strongest. See Creatures, Bosses & Mobs and Archetypes & Builds for how a caster build approaches them.