From bf315797dfeef6d371b50691654753bf2e322d3a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: =?UTF-8?q?Alexej=20Tu=C5=A1l?= <72282274+xefensor@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Tue, 18 Aug 2026 20:25:58 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 1/4] Document six-sacrifice dragon egg ritual --- docs/element-ritual.md | 77 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 77 insertions(+) create mode 100644 docs/element-ritual.md diff --git a/docs/element-ritual.md b/docs/element-ritual.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b21cf65 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/element-ritual.md @@ -0,0 +1,77 @@ +# Dragon Egg Ritual And Sacrifices + +> Current design direction as of 2026-08-18. This document records the intended player-facing design; several parts are not implemented yet. + +## Role In Progression + +After the Ender Dragon is defeated and the world enters Stage 2, the Dragon Egg becomes the focus of the ritual that leads to Stage 3 and the Aender. + +The ritual uses **six artifact sacrifices**. Four represent the classical elements and two represent the fundamental forces of Life and Death: + +| Force | Sacrifice | Guardian / source | Current direction | +| --- | --- | --- | --- | +| Air | **Heavy Core** | **Gale Core** | Air Temple / Gale Core path already exists, but currently rewards the temporary Air Element item. | +| Water | **Heart of the Sea** | **Elder Guardian** | Ocean Monument / Elder Guardian path already exists, but currently rewards the temporary Water Element item. | +| Fire | **Nether Reactor Core** | **Wildfire** | Working item choice. Wildfire is planned as a Stage 2 Nether guardian that roams the Nether and attacks undead. | +| Earth | **Lodestone** | **Custom Earth Guardian** | Working item choice. The guardian's defining mechanic is terrain construction: it places/builds blocks between itself and the player, forcing the player to mine through its defenses. | +| Death | **Nether Star** | **Wither** | The Wither is the Death-associated challenge and the Nether Star is its sacrifice. | +| Life | **Totem of Undying** | **Evoker** | The Evoker/Totem connection matches Retold's existing illager lore around avoiding death. | + +The **Nether Reactor Core** and **Lodestone** are current working choices and may still change if a better Fire or Earth artifact is found. + +## Ritual Rules + +- The six sacrifices may be completed in any order unless a later encounter design introduces a justified dependency. +- Each artifact is offered only once. +- **A successful offering consumes the artifact.** The ritual is a sacrifice, not a check that merely requires the player to possess the item. +- Stage 3 begins only after all six required sacrifices have been accepted by the Dragon Egg. +- Air, Water, Fire, and Earth are the four classical elements. Life and Death are intentionally separate from that elemental group rather than being described as two additional elements. + +## Encounter Direction + +### Air — Gale Core + +The existing Air Temple and Gale Core encounter remain the Air path. The intended artifact reward is the **Heavy Core**, replacing the temporary custom Air Element reward. + +### Water — Elder Guardian + +The Ocean Monument and Elder Guardian remain the Water path. The intended artifact reward is the **Heart of the Sea**, replacing the temporary custom Water Element reward. + +### Fire — Wildfire + +The **Wildfire** is the Fire-associated guardian. It should exist as part of the Stage 2 Nether rather than only as an isolated boss-room encounter: it roams the Nether, acts as a guardian of the realm, and attacks undead. + +The current Fire sacrifice is the **Nether Reactor Core**. Exact acquisition and encounter mechanics are still to be designed. + +### Earth — Custom Earth Guardian + +Earth uses a new Retold mob rather than repurposing an existing Minecraft boss. + +Its defining combat behavior is **building with the terrain**. The guardian creates block barriers and defenses between itself and the player. Reaching it requires the player to mine through those defenses, making mining itself a central part of the encounter rather than using an ordinary combat boss with an Earth visual theme. + +The current Earth sacrifice is the **Lodestone**. The guardian's final name, appearance, location, exact block-placement rules, and acquisition flow are still to be designed. + +### Death — Wither + +The **Wither** is associated with Death and provides the **Nether Star** sacrifice. + +The separate roadmap question of whether a Wither/Nether Star should also be required before the first Ender Dragon remains unresolved. That decision should account for the Nether Star already having a required Stage 2 role so the progression does not accidentally require redundant Wither kills without a good reason. + +### Life — Evoker + +The **Evoker** is associated with Life through the **Totem of Undying**. In Retold lore, evokers' experimentation with energy and avoiding death already gives this pairing a direct worldbuilding connection. + +The exact Life-path encounter and Totem acquisition rules are still open design work. + +## Implementation Gap + +The current implementation is intentionally behind this design: + +- `RetoldElementType` currently contains only Water, Fire, Earth, and Air. +- The Dragon Egg currently requires only Water and Air while Fire and Earth remain unfinished. +- The current ritual recognizes Retold's temporary `WATER_ELEMENT` and `AIR_ELEMENT` items. +- Gale Core currently drops the temporary Air Element. +- Elder Guardian currently provides the temporary Water Element. +- Fire, Earth, Life, and Death are not yet wired into the Dragon Egg ritual. + +Implementation should migrate toward the six sacrifices above without treating the current temporary two-item requirement as the final design. From ced222ec3a1abb378cb6a7b9e06601a67f2a2ac6 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: =?UTF-8?q?Alexej=20Tu=C5=A1l?= <72282274+xefensor@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Tue, 18 Aug 2026 20:26:08 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 2/4] Link ritual design documentation --- docs/README.md | 1 + 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+) diff --git a/docs/README.md b/docs/README.md index fc822f0..a1cd3b5 100644 --- a/docs/README.md +++ b/docs/README.md @@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ This directory separates player-facing design information from detailed develope ## Public Project Documents - [`design-overview.md`](design-overview.md) — world premise and design pillars +- [`element-ritual.md`](element-ritual.md) — current Dragon Egg ritual, six sacrifices, and guardian direction - [`../ROADMAP.md`](../ROADMAP.md) — concise public priorities - [`../CHANGELOG.md`](../CHANGELOG.md) — released and unreleased changes - [`../SUPPORT.md`](../SUPPORT.md) — help and problem reporting From 1bcd681b4d14462d107645078494f7f5a13b706a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: =?UTF-8?q?Alexej=20Tu=C5=A1l?= <72282274+xefensor@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Tue, 18 Aug 2026 20:26:18 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 3/4] Update design overview for ritual direction --- docs/design-overview.md | 7 ++++--- 1 file changed, 4 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-) diff --git a/docs/design-overview.md b/docs/design-overview.md index d2267ae..1ee89f7 100644 --- a/docs/design-overview.md +++ b/docs/design-overview.md @@ -33,10 +33,10 @@ The Aender is the dimension of change: an unstable, bright, strange, and dangero ## World Stages 1. **Stage 1:** the player works toward Nether access, the stronghold, and the Ender Dragon. -2. **Stage 2:** defeating the dragon makes the world more dangerous and begins the four-element ritual. -3. **Stage 3:** hatching the egg redirects normal End access to the Aender and begins returning the Nether toward balance. +2. **Stage 2:** defeating the dragon makes the world more dangerous and begins the Dragon Egg ritual built around four classical elements plus Life and Death. +3. **Stage 3:** completing the ritual hatches the egg, redirects normal End access to the Aender, and begins returning the Nether toward balance. -The current implementation temporarily requires Water and Air while Fire and Earth remain unfinished. +The intended ritual uses six consumed artifacts: Heavy Core (Air), Heart of the Sea (Water), Nether Reactor Core (Fire), Lodestone (Earth), Nether Star (Death), and Totem of Undying (Life). The current implementation temporarily requires only Water and Air while the remaining paths are unfinished. See [`element-ritual.md`](element-ritual.md) for the current guardian and encounter direction. ## The Aender @@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ Recipe knowledge and villager teaching replace a recipe-book-first experience. S ## Further Reading +- [`element-ritual.md`](element-ritual.md) — Dragon Egg ritual, sacrifices, and guardian direction - [`../ROADMAP.md`](../ROADMAP.md) — public priorities - [`internal/retold_mod_system.md`](internal/retold_mod_system.md) — technical implementation - [`internal/design_implementation_status.md`](internal/design_implementation_status.md) — detailed status From 80a7a57f4464e6c5d6a0faf16839217955c08704 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: =?UTF-8?q?Alexej=20Tu=C5=A1l?= <72282274+xefensor@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Tue, 18 Aug 2026 20:26:29 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 4/4] Update roadmap for six-sacrifice ritual --- ROADMAP.md | 14 +++++++++----- 1 file changed, 9 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-) diff --git a/ROADMAP.md b/ROADMAP.md index bb620c0..54c1784 100644 --- a/ROADMAP.md +++ b/ROADMAP.md @@ -5,18 +5,21 @@ This concise public roadmap may change as features are designed and tested. Deta ## Now - Verify and refine the initial Stage 2 cartographer explorer-map path for finding Air Temples in fresh and upgraded worlds. -- Continue tuning and testing the Gale Core encounter and Air Element reward. +- Continue tuning and testing the Gale Core encounter while migrating the Air reward toward the intended Heavy Core sacrifice. - Verify Aender portals, terrain regeneration, stabilizers, and progression in fresh worlds, upgraded worlds, dedicated servers, and multiplayer. - Replace provisional Aender naming and visual assets as final designs become available. ## Next -- Design and implement the Fire Element path. -- Design and implement the Earth Element path. -- Complete the intended four-element ritual in any order. +- Design and implement the Fire path around the Wildfire and the current working Nether Reactor Core sacrifice. +- Design and implement the Earth path around a custom terrain-building guardian and the current working Lodestone sacrifice. +- Replace the temporary Water Element reward with Heart of the Sea and complete the intended six-sacrifice Dragon Egg ritual in any order: Air, Water, Fire, Earth, Life, and Death. +- Design the Life path around the Evoker and Totem of Undying, and the Death path around the Wither and Nether Star. - Add Aender in-dimension transportation and meaningful late-game building or travel rewards. - Audit survival removal or replacement of incompatible modern structures and progression. +See [`docs/element-ritual.md`](docs/element-ritual.md) for the current ritual, artifact, and guardian design. + ## Later - Naturally verify the completed village-property reputation loop, including tended livestock, trade-price effects, witnesses, and Iron Golem hostility in multiplayer and existing villages. @@ -26,7 +29,8 @@ This concise public roadmap may change as features are designed and tested. Deta ## Open Decisions -- Whether Stage 1 should require the Wither or a Nether Star before End access. +- Whether Stage 1 should require the Wither or a Nether Star before End access, given the Nether Star's intended Stage 2 Death-sacrifice role. +- Whether Nether Reactor Core and Lodestone remain the final Fire and Earth sacrifices. - The final roles of Nether and Aender dragons. - Whether pyramid boss tombs, a world ending, or New Game+ belong in Retold.