Ashen World

Ashen World

Ashen World is a NeoForge mod that introduces radiation, mutations, survival mechanics, and post-apocalyptic inspired gameplay to Minecraft.

The goal of the mod is to create a more dangerous world where exposure to radiation can permanently affect the player, forcing them to manage contamination, craft treatments, and adapt to powerful mutations.

Features

Radiation System

Players accumulate radiation through environmental hazards, contaminated biomes, irradiated fluids, and radioactive blocks. Radiation is persistent and does not decay on its own. Different biomes irradiate at different rates. Caves below sea level provide natural shelter from surface radiation.

High radiation levels cause escalating negative effects through a rad-sickness ladder, and trigger mutations at specific thresholds.

Mutations

Radiation exposure causes mutations that alter gameplay. Mutations are organized into three tiers that escalate as radiation increases:

• Tier 1 mutations occur at moderate radiation levels and provide a single minor mutation with both benefits and drawbacks.
• Tier 2 mutations occur at higher levels and can evolve between Half and Full states, with up to two active at once. They can go dormant if radiation drops and reactivate when it rises again.
• Tier 3 transformations occur at extreme radiation levels and permanently lock the player's mutation loadout. Each transformation fundamentally changes how the game is played.

Mutations are weighted toward biomes that match their theme. All mutations can be cured with FEV Antiserum.

Mutation Archetypes

Specific mutation combos form recognized archetypes that grant powerful passive bonuses:

• The Fungal Horror — poison clouds root enemies in place
• The Undying — undead mobs become persistent followers
• The Apex Hunter — unarmed kill chains deal escalating damage
• The Living Fortress — survive lethal damage with temporary immunity
• The Phantom — stealth kills go unnoticed, phase shift through walls
• The Nuclear Engine — emit a passive radiation field that damages nearby enemies and heals you
• The Chaotic — Neural Decay's random effects can briefly synchronize into a power spike

Each archetype can be permanently enhanced with FEV Serum, a rare endgame consumable.

Gene Inspector

A handheld scanner item that displays the player's current radiation level, active mutations and their states, archetype status, and FEV Serum status in a dedicated GUI.

Radiation Treatments

Several items are available to help manage radiation exposure:

• RadAway — removes radiation over a drip duration
• Rad-X — reduces incoming radiation gain
• Hazmat armor — blocks most incoming radiation and provides rad-sickness resistance
• Decontamination Arch — a multiblock structure that rapidly purges radiation, with a Control Hub to toggle it on and off

Chem Station

The Chem Station is a custom 4-slot crafting station used to create medical supplies, radiation treatments, and FEV items. All recipes are shapeless and support JEI browsing when JEI is installed.

World Generation

The mod adds multiple wasteland-themed biomes with custom terrain, surface blocks, vegetation, and atmospheric effects. A custom Ashen World world preset is available at world creation for a fully post-apocalyptic experience.

Current world content includes:

• Multiple irradiated, scorched, frozen, and toxic biome variants
• Custom wood sets with full block families
• Animated Irradiated Water and Toxic Sludge fluids with contact effects
• Custom terrain, building, and decorative blocks
• Radiation Crystal blocks that emit radiation in a radius
• Vanilla structure generation within custom biomes

Equipment

• Hazmat armor — reduces radiation gain and provides rad-sickness resistance
• Scrappy armor — early-game protection crafted from scrap materials
• Consumable items including Stimpaks, Med-X, and Nuka-Cola variants
• Gene Inspector — view your mutation status

Additional Content

• Custom status effects including Rooted
• Radiation commands for testing and administration
• Contact damage from hazardous blocks and fluids
• Configurable radiation rates, thresholds, and equipment values
• JEI integration for recipe browsing
• Loot table integration for FEV Sample distribution

Compatibility

• JEI — optional. All Chem Station recipes are browseable when installed.
• Configuration — radiation rates, mutation thresholds, hazmat effectiveness, and loot weights are configurable via config/ashenworld-common.toml.
• Designed as the core of a Fallout-themed modpack.

Current Development Status

Ashen World has reached its initial design vision with v1.0.0. All core systems are implemented.

Development will continue with balance adjustments, bug fixes, companion content, and mod compatibility. World generation and mechanics may still change between updates.

Feedback, bug reports, and suggestions are welcome as development continues.

Requires: NeoForge 1.21.1 Optional: JEI (for recipe browsing)