Lifepath

Build a character by playing, not by picking from a list

Lifepath is a character-progression mod where three things shape who you become: what you are, what you focus on, and what you actually do.

Species — what you are

Fifteen playable species, from amphibian to undead. Each brings innate traits and signature abilities — your species defines your starting canvas, not a rigid class.

Specialization — a head start, not a lock

Thirteen trades — Blacksmith, Hunter, Scholar, Farmer and more — give you skill aptitude and a protected floor: your trade skills can't decay below a guaranteed level. But nothing is locked: anyone can learn anything; your specialization just makes some paths faster.

Skills — what you actually practice

Thirteen skills level by doing. Mine ores to improve Mining. Cook meals to improve Cooking. Skill milestones unlock real abilities — an Iceborn's frost, a Phoenix's rebirth, and everything in between (79 abilities ship with the mod).

Decay — mastery needs maintenance, not punishment

Skills fade only if you ignore them: nothing below level 25 ever decays, decay only starts after an inactivity grace period, and your specialization protects a floor you'll never fall under. Casual play is safe; peak mastery is earned and kept.

What it looks like in game

• A character screen for your species, specialization, traits and conditions — every entry has its own icon.
• A skills screen with level bands and milestone progress; click a skill for the full picture.
• A compact HUD with resource bars and cooldown/state icons that stays out of the way.
• Server-authoritative progression — safe on dedicated servers, persists across deaths, works in singleplayer.

Install

• Minecraft 1.21.1
• NeoForge 21.1+ — primary loader: grab lifepath-<ver>-neoforge.jar
• Fabric 0.16.10+ — secondary support: grab lifepath-<ver>-fabric.jar plus Fabric API 0.116.0+ in mods
• Lifepath in mods on client and server — the server owns character state
• Java 21

Compatibility

Lifepath is standalone — it does not require Origins or any other progression mod, and it doesn't touch vanilla progression systems. It's built to sit under content mods: an integration adapter for Overgeared-style smithing ships in the jar and turns forged-output crafting into Smithing XP when a compatible partner mod is present — verified live with Overgeared on NeoForge 1.21.1. On Fabric the adapter stays dormant (Overgeared has no Fabric 1.21.1 build) — see the project repo for the exact compat state).

First minutes

1. Open the character screen (default C; the Controls menu lists both Lifepath keys).
2. Pick a species with /lifepath species choose — tab-completion lists the species, and its description prints when you pick.
3. Specializations are assigned by a server admin (/lifepath specialization set) — solo with cheats, set your own. It's a head start, not a contract.
4. Go play. Watch the skills screen fill in; press the ability key (default G) to fire an active ability — click an ability row on the character screen to choose which.

Status

Approaching 1.0 — feature-complete and in release-candidate stabilization. The content set and UI are final for 1.0; balance may still shift. Report issues on the GitHub issue tracker linked from this page.