RPG Lore

A data-driven lore book mod for Minecraft Forge 1.20.1. Define custom books via simple JSON files and have them drop from mobs based on configurable conditions.

Features

• JSON-defined lore books -- add, edit, or remove books without recompiling. Each .json file in the config folder becomes a lore book.
• Conditional mob drops -- control which mobs drop which books based on entity type, biome, dimension, time of day, weather, Y-level, and more.
• Auto-generated title page -- every lore book opens with a stylized title page showing the book's title (scaled up, bold, colored) and author (bold, colored), both centered on the page.
• Custom book GUI -- lore books use a unique book texture distinct from vanilla written books.
• Tooltip styling -- bold colored title, bold colored author, italic description, and generation label with automatic formatting.
• Configurable appearance -- per-book title color, author color, description text, and description color via hex codes in the JSON.
• Enchantment glint -- all lore books shimmer with an enchantment glint to stand out in inventories.
• In-game commands -- give books to players, reload configs, and list loaded books without restarting.
• Per-player copy limits -- optionally restrict how many times a player can receive a specific book.
• Looting scaling -- optionally increase drop chance with the Looting enchantment.

Requirements

• Minecraft 1.20.1
• Forge 47.3.0+
• Java 17

Getting Started

1. Install the mod in your mods/ folder.
2. Start the server (or singleplayer world) once. The mod creates:
   • config/rpg_lore/server.toml -- server settings
   • config/rpg_lore/client.toml -- client settings
   • config/rpg_lore/books/ -- lore book definitions folder with an example book and a _README.txt
3. Add your own .json files to config/rpg_lore/books/.
4. Use /rpglore reload in-game to hot-reload book definitions.

Book Definition Format

Each .json file in config/rpg_lore/books/ defines one lore book. The filename (minus .json) becomes the book's internal ID, prefixed with rpg_lore:.

Fields

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
title	string	Yes	--	Book title displayed in-game
author	string	No	"Unknown"	Author name
generation	int	No	0	0 = Original, 1 = Copy, 2 = Copy of Copy, 3 = Tattered
weight	number	No	1.0	Selection weight when multiple books match a drop
pages	array	Yes	--	Page content (JSON text components or plain strings)

Appearance Fields (all optional)

Field	Type	Default	Description
title_color	string	"FFFF55" (yellow)	Hex color for the title
author_color	string	"AAAAAA" (gray)	Hex color for the author
description	string	(none)	Brief description shown in the tooltip
description_color	string	"55FFFF" (aqua)	Hex color for the description
hide_generation	bool	false	Suppress the generation label in the tooltip

Drop Conditions (all optional)

Nested inside a "drop_conditions" object. Omitted fields match everything.

Field	Type	Default	Description
require_player_kill	bool	true	Must the mob be killed by a player?
base_chance	number	(global)	Override drop chance (0.0--1.0) for this book
max_copies_per_player	int	-1	Max times a player can receive this book (-1 = unlimited)
mob_types	array	(any)	Entity type IDs, e.g. ["minecraft:zombie"]
mob_tags	array	(any)	Entity type tags, e.g. ["minecraft:undead"]
biomes	array	(any)	Biome IDs, e.g. ["minecraft:plains"]
biome_tags	array	(any)	Biome tags, e.g. ["minecraft:is_overworld"]
dimensions	array	(any)	Dimension IDs, e.g. ["minecraft:overworld"]
min_y / max_y	int	(any)	Y-coordinate range for the kill location
time	string	"ANY"	"ANY", "DAY_ONLY", or "NIGHT_ONLY"
weather	string	"ANY"	"ANY", "CLEAR_ONLY", "RAIN_ONLY", or "THUNDER_ONLY"

Example

{
  "title": "The Ancient Battle",
  "author": "Unknown Chronicler",
  "generation": 0,
  "weight": 5,
  "title_color": "FFD700",
  "description": "A faded account of a great battle fought long ago.",
  "drop_conditions": {
    "mob_types": ["minecraft:zombie", "minecraft:skeleton"],
    "biome_tags": ["minecraft:is_overworld"],
    "time": "NIGHT_ONLY"
  },
  "pages": [
    "Long ago, in these very fields...",
    "The battle raged for three days..."
  ]
}

Pages can be plain strings (auto-wrapped) or full JSON text components for advanced formatting:

"pages": [
  "{\"text\":\"Chapter 1\\n\\nIt began with a whisper...\",\"color\":\"dark_red\",\"bold\":true}"
]

Commands

All commands require permission level 2 (operator).

Command	Description
/rpglore reload	Reload all book definitions from disk
/rpglore give <players> <book_id>	Give a specific book to player(s)
/rpglore list	List all loaded book definitions

Server Configuration

config/rpg_lore/server.toml

Setting	Default	Description
globalDropChance	0.05	Base drop chance (0.0--1.0)
onlyHostileMobs	true	Only hostile mobs drop books
maxBooksPerKill	1	Max different books per kill
enablePerBookWeights	true	Use per-book weight for selection
lootScaling	false	Looting enchantment increases drop chance
allowNonPlayerKills	false	Allow non-player kills to trigger drops

Client Configuration

config/rpg_lore/client.toml

Setting	Default	Description
showLoreIdInTooltip	false	Show internal lore_id in tooltip (for pack authors)
showEnchantmentGlint	true	Show enchantment glint on lore books

License

MIT