Veil of Ashford

Veil of Ashford

When the seventh night falls and the mist rises over the graves, the wards around Ashford Manor begin to fade.

Veil of Ashford is a Halloween content and progression mod for Minecraft 1.20.1 (Forge). It introduces a multi-floor haunted estate with subterranean catacombs, a recurring night event system, a new dimension beyond the Veil, custom-modeled creatures, and a three-phase boss encounter against the Pumpkin King.

World & Progression

Ashford Manor and the Catacombs

Scattered across the Overworld, Ashford Manor is a gothic estate surrounded by a walled courtyard, graveyard, and dead trees. Beneath its ground halls and upstairs library lies an ancient crypt that leads into a procedural network of catacombs.

To awaken the master of the estate, explorers must locate three seals hidden within the manor:

• Harvest Seal — kept in the ground-floor dining hall.
• Thorn Seal — locked in the upper library.
• Crypt Seal — buried in the deepest ossuary of the catacombs.

A Hollow Compass can be crafted to locate the nearest estate, while the Keeper's Field Journal documents the household's history, mechanics, and creatures through in-game notes and lecterns.

The Veil Dimension

Using a Veil Key on a Warding Rune or Ritual Altar opens a passage into The Veil (halloween:veil) — a realm locked in perpetual autumn night. It features two biomes, Gloomwood and Graveyard, populated by Witherwood trees, glowing Ghost Flowers, Hallowed Soil, and weathered stone ruins.

The Hallowed Night

Every seventh night in the Overworld (configurable in the server config), the Hallowed Night takes hold, reaching its peak at midnight. Spirits materialize from dark, unlit ground after a brief soul-ring warning. Players can secure their homesteads by placing Warding Runes (fueled by Spectral Essence) or Scarecrows, each preventing spirits from rising within a 16-block radius.

Creatures & Boss Encounter

All entities are built with custom multi-part geometry, animations, and telegraphed attack states:

• Scarecrow — Remains motionless as a block or figure until an undisguised player approaches at night, attacking with wide claw sweeps.
• Hollow Shadow — A drifting wraith that conceals itself in darkness and strikes from stealth.
• Trickster — A fast imp that steals a sweet from the player's inventory on hit and flees. Striking it while it pauses to taunt forces it to drop the stolen treat. It can also be lured and distracted using dropped Candy Corn or a filled Candy Bowl.
• Reaper — A skeletal executioner carrying a soul censer and a two-handed war scythe that inflicts Wither.
• Will-o'-Wisp — A spirit bound inside an iron lantern cage that charges ranged soul-fire bolts.
• The Pumpkin King — Combining the three seals with pumpkin seeds creates the Royal Seed. Offering it at the Ritual Altar in the Crypt Arena awakens the Pumpkin King (300 HP). The fight progresses through three distinct phases featuring ground shockwaves, blazing ember projectiles, and summoned guards.

Equipment, Costumes & Blocks

• Costume Sets (Witch, Ghost, Pumpkin) — Wearing a full four-piece costume conceals the player from distant haunts (within 10 blocks) and doubles Trick-or-Treat rewards when using a Candy Basket on villagers:
  • Ghost Set: Grants Slow Falling and Speed I in low light.
  • Witch Set: Grants Night Vision and cleanses Poison and Wither.
  • Pumpkin Set: Grants Resistance I and Fire Resistance.
• Pumpkin Crown — Dropped by the Pumpkin King. Grants Strength I and Fire Resistance when worn, and substitutes for the headpiece of any costume set.
• Witch's Broom — A rideable flying mount (WASD to steer, Space to ascend, Sprint to descend, Shift + Right-Click to retrieve).
• Reaper's Scythe & Carving Knife — The scythe inflicts Wither and Slowness, removes Shadow invisibility, and restores health on hits against haunts and undead. The carving knife deals bonus damage to haunts and carves pumpkins into Ember, Soul, Wisp, and Void Jack-o'-Lanterns.
• Relics & Utility Blocks — Resting Coffins (Overworld respawn binding), Candy Bowls (daily treats and Trickster bait), Warding Runes, Gravestones with readable epitaphs, and the Wisp Lantern Charm (consumes Spectral Essence to emit a stunning light pulse).