Mob Madness

Core System: Mob Events

Every event is a timed period where specific mobs spawn with boosted rates, custom equipment, potion effects, attribute modifiers, and unique AI behaviors. Events are selected randomly using a weighted chance system, with stronger events gated behind a minimum day count so your world escalates naturally.

WIP - Private Beta — fully functioning player entities that walk to the nearest player and progresses through the game while doing so. Utilizing advanced goals and AI rules, aims to add a functioning player without the use of LLMs. Avoiding LLMs will also allow more of these to run at once.
Weighted random selection — each event has a configurable chance/weight that determines how often it rolls
Tiered progression — events are organized into 5 tiers (Day 0 → Day 100+), gradually introducing harder encounters as your world ages
Per-event duration — each event defines its own min/max duration in seconds
Dimension-specific events — events can be restricted to the Overworld, Nether, End, or any combination
Required mods — events can optionally require specific mods to be installed (e.g., addon mob packs), and are silently skipped if the mod isn't present
Forced weather — events can force rain, thunder, or clear skies for the duration
Custom start sounds — each event can play a unique sound when it begins (goat horns, mob ambients, music discs, etc.)
Starter events — special low-intensity events that run on first world load to ease players in
Persistent across restarts — active events and their remaining duration survive server restarts and world reloads

Event Mob Configuration

Each mob entry within an event supports:

Spawn multiplier — how aggressively the mob spawns relative to vanilla
Spawn cap — per-type population limit to prevent lag
Spawn weight — weighted variants of the same mob (e.g., weak vs. elite zombies)
Spawn condition — land, water, air, or default (vanilla rules)
Potion effects — any combination of effects with custom amplifier and duration
Equipment — weapons and armor with enchantments (e.g., weapon:bow:power:3:infinity:1, armor_chestplate:iron_chestplate:protection:4)
Attribute modifiers — add_value, multiply_base, multiply_total on any attribute (health, speed, damage, etc.)
Passengers — stack any entity on top of another (skeletons riding spiders, drowned riding dolphins, TNT on parrots)
Passenger effects/attributes/NBT — passengers get their own independent effects, attributes, and NBT data
NBT tags — arbitrary NBT data on spawned entities (powered creepers, baby villagers, custom block states for falling blocks)
No-loot mode — prevent certain mobs from dropping loot (with configurable drop chance override)
Passive aggro — make ANY mob aggressive, even passive ones like chickens, cows, and fish, with configurable damage, speed, range, and optional projectile type
Per-mob AI flags — individual mobs can be flagged for horde digging, tunnel digging, ladder climbing, or bridge building

Global Event Effects

Events can also apply:

Global potion effects — applied to all mobs in the event (e.g., all mobs get Speed during Spider Event)
Global equipment — default equipment for all mobs in the event
Normal spawn multiplier — controls whether vanilla mobs still spawn alongside event mobs (0 = only event mobs, 2.0 = double vanilla spawns)
Special AI toggle — enables or disables the mod's enhanced AI behaviors per event

Custom AI Behaviors

When special_ai is enabled for an event, mobs gain access to a suite of custom AI goals that make them dramatically more dangerous:

Horde Digging

Mobs mindlessly dig through blocks to reach their target. Multiple mobs digging the same block share progress — a horde breaks walls exponentially faster than a single mob. Dig speed is affected by Haste and Mining Fatigue effects. Configurable per-mob dig speeds, block whitelist/blacklist with tag support, and optional tool requirement.

Tunnel Digging

Intelligent mobs (pillagers, vindicators, evokers, piglin brutes) dig 2-block-high horizontal tunnels toward their target, creating passable corridors for the rest of the horde.

Ladder Climbing

Any configured mob can climb ladders like spiders climb walls. Mobs detect nearby ladders, navigate to them, and climb up. If they reach the top and their target is still above, they'll extend the ladder by placing new rungs upward — breaking blocks in the way if needed. Works with vanilla's climbing mechanics via mixin.

Bridge Building & Pillaring

Mobs can pillar straight up by placing blocks beneath themselves, or bridge horizontally across gaps to reach targets. They'll break obstructing blocks, build with configurable materials (default: cobblestone + ladders), and respect max length/height limits. Inspired by Epic Siege Mod.

Passive Mob Combat

Normally peaceful mobs like chickens, cows, fish, ocelots, frogs, dolphins, and armadillos can be given full combat AI:

Melee attacks with configurable damage, speed, and range
Ranged attacks with configurable projectile type (arrows, fireballs, small fireballs), damage, speed, and range
Aggressive following — passive mobs actively pursue targets instead of wandering aimlessly
Flying mob attacks — bats, parrots, and other non-pathfinder entities get velocity-based flight combat AI

Enhanced Enderman AI

Endermen receive a complete AI overhaul:

Instant aggro — no 5-tick delay; endermen aggro the moment they enter your center vision cone (configurable fraction of screen)
Stare teleport — stare at an aggroed enderman for a configurable number of seconds and it teleports directly behind you
Aggro teleport — while chasing you, endermen have a chance to teleport directly to your position at configurable intervals
Clear path — when an enderman can't reach you, it picks up blocking blocks, teleports away to place them, then returns instantly, tunneling toward you over time
Faster block handling — configurable speed multiplier for pick-up and placement (up to 10x vanilla)
Custom block whitelist/blacklist — fine-grained control over what endermen can pick up, with block tag support
No fall/water damage — endermen can survive falls and water during events

Enhanced Creeper AI

Instant detonation — no fuse timer; creepers explode the moment they're within range (configurable distance)
Always charged — all event creepers spawn as charged creepers
Sky Strike — if both the creeper and its target have no blocks above them, the creeper launches into the air, teleports 100 blocks above the target (with random X/Z offset), and detonates on impact. Configurable chance, cooldown, and offset.

Shulker Teleport

Shulkers teleport away when a player gets within a configurable radius, making them extremely difficult to melee.

Enhanced Skeleton AI

Long-range shooting — skeletons can shoot up to 64 blocks (configurable up to 500), far beyond vanilla range
Ignore line of sight — configurable mobs can path through walls and continue attacking without direct line of sight

Pumpkin Head Protection

Wearing a carved pumpkin provides limited protection: event mobs won't aggro on you initially. However, once aggro is triggered (by attacking them or removing the pumpkin), they stay aggressive. Endermen still aggro if you stare at them while wearing a pumpkin, just like vanilla.

Potion Effects on Hit

Configurable mobs apply potion effects when they hit you (melee or projectile):

Phantoms — apply Levitation (launch you into the air)
Shulkers — apply enhanced Levitation
Glow Squids — apply Glowing (reveal your position)
Fully configurable: any mob can apply any effect with custom duration and amplifier

Dismount on Hit

Configurable mobs knock you off your mount when they hit you. Default: Phantoms and Shulkers.

TNT Passenger Behavior

TNT riding any mob detonates instantly when a player enters the configured proximity radius. This makes mobs carrying TNT into devastating ✨ bombers.

50+ Default Events

Tier 0 — Starter Events (Day 0+)

Event	Description
Blood Moon	Enhanced vanilla spawns with phantoms. Double normal spawn rate.
Vanilla	Standard spawning at normal rates. The calm before the storm.
Wolf Event	Aggressive wolf packs with boosted speed and melee damage.

Tier 1 — Early Game (Day 10+)

Event	Description
Mountain Lions	Fast, strong ocelots with jump boost. Elite variants with attribute multipliers.
Glow Tide	Aggressive glow squids flooding waterways.
Creeper Event	Charged creepers with speed and darkness effects.
Skeleton Event	Skeletons with Power II bows and speed boost.
Zombie Event	Strength-buffed zombie hordes.
Spider Event	Spiders and cave spiders with speed and strength.
Bull Run	Stampeding cows with melee attacks.
Cats and Dogs	Aggressive wolves and cats.
Calm Belt	Near-zero spawning. A rare peaceful reprieve.
Fox Hunt	Fast, deadly foxes.
Rolled Up	Armored armadillos with resistance and speed.
Boat Raiders	Skeletons, zombies, pillagers, and drowned in boats on the water. (Requires Boat Mobs mod)

Tier 2 — Mid Game (Day 20+)

Event	Description
Frog Plague	Poisonous frogs with extreme jump boost. Elite variants with 2x speed.
Llama Revenge	Aggressive llamas and trader llamas, some with boosted max health.
Lightning Drowned	Thunderstorm event. Drowned with Channeling tridents ride nautilus mounts. Charged creepers and phantom-mounted drowned.
Enderman Event	Enderman swarms with full enhanced AI active.
Illager Event	Pillagers and vindicators with goat horn fanfare.
Lava Chicken	Fire-resistant chickens that shoot fireballs. Elite variants launch ghast fireballs. Invisible stray-riding chickens.
Skeleton Cavalry	Skeletons riding skeleton horses with speed boost.
Spider Jockeys	Skeleton-mounted spiders and cave spiders.
Ghost Event	Invisible speed-boosted mobs.
Phantom Event	Massive phantom swarms.
Wind Siege	Breezes, vexes, and phantoms — all aerial threats.
Swamp Siege	Bogged skeletons, witches, and poisonous slimes.
Desert Siege	Armadillos, husks, and strays.
Sun Baked	Falling sand, husks riding armored camels with spear-wielding passengers.
Goat Charge	Powerful ramming goats with extreme knockback.
Undead Event	Armored, enchanted zombies and skeletons with Iron Swords and Infinity bows.
Heavy Snow	Falling snow blocks and aggressive snow golems.
Pufferfish Plague	Poisonous pufferfish in water. Bogged-riding pufferfish variants.
Dolphin Blitz	Fast, powerful dolphins. Elite variants carry drowned or skeleton passengers.
Tropical Poison	Poisonous tropical fish and pufferfish swarms.
Salmon Run	Aggressive salmon and cod schools.
Sea Mines	Nautilus mobs carrying TNT passengers that detonate on proximity.
Miasma	Poison and wither area-effect clouds blanket the landscape.
Rapture	Levitation clouds launch players into the sky.

Tier 3 — Late Game (Day 35+)

Event	Description
Creaking	Extremely fast, powerful creaking mobs with up to 6x damage and 4x speed multipliers.
Silverfish Infestation	Silverfish and endermite swarms with Infested effect.
Slime Surge	Giant slimes rain from the sky with Oozing effect. Oozing area-effect clouds everywhere.
Mysterious Event	Extremely rare. A single shulker with near-zero spawn rate and a 0.1% loot drop chance.
Apocalypse Event	Ravagers, wardens, and invisible ghasts.
Magic Event	Illusioners, evokers, witches, and vexes.
Angry Birds	Aggressive parrots — some carrying TNT.
Lord of the Flies	Baby villager hordes, some riding bats and cats. Cat snipers shoot arrows.
Evil Mountings	Full cavalry — drowned on zombie nautiluses, zombies on zombie horses, strays on skeleton horses, husks on armored camels, vindicators with diamond spears.
Polar Bear Uprising	Powerful polar bears with strength and speed.
Bee Swarm	Aggressive bee swarms with melee attacks.
Bat Swarm	Aggressive bat swarms with flying combat AI.
Panda Pandemonium	Slow but devastatingly powerful pandas (8.0 damage).
Golem Uprising	Iron golems and copper golems — some carrying TNT, some airborne with slow falling and armor.
Acid Rain	Rain event. Poison splash potions fall from the sky.
Glass Storm	Instant Damage splash potions and falling glass rain from above.

Tier 4 — Endgame (Day 50+)

Event	Description
FLOOD	Falling water blocks and airborne aggressive salmon. Forced rain.
Nether Invasion	The Nether bleeds into the Overworld. Falling netherrack and lava. Full nether mob roster: zombified piglins, wither skeletons, magma cubes, blazes, piglins, piglin brutes, hoglins, ghasts, zoglins, striders with riders. Tiered variants with escalating equipment (golden → iron spears, full enchanted armor).

Tier 5 — Apocalypse (Day 100+)

Event	Description
Skyfall Cataclysm	Falling TNT blocks, primed TNT, and fireballs rain from the sky during a thunderstorm. The ultimate test of survival.

Nether Events

Event	Description
Blaze Inferno	Blazes, magma cubes, and wither skeletons in the Nether.
Piglin Warband	Full piglin army with equipped brutes and hoglin cavalry.

End Events

Event	Description
Shulker Assault	Shulkers and endermite swarms.
Ender Swarm	Massive enderman invasion with tiered strength variants and phantoms.

Commands

Command	Permission	Description
`/mobevent`	OP	Start a random event immediately
`/mobevent <event_name>`	OP	Start a specific event by name
`/mobevent end`	OP	End the current event
`/currentmobevent`	Everyone	Check what event is currently active

Configuration

Everything is configurable through a single TOML config file (mobmadness-common.toml). The config is hot-reloadable.

Global Settings

Default event duration (min/max seconds)
Default event chance
Maximum pack size per spawn attempt
Maximum spawn multiplier
Maximum mobs alive during events
Event start/end sounds with volume and pitch
Dimensions where events can occur

AI & Behavior Settings

Horde Digging — enable/disable, block whitelist/blacklist with tag support, per-mob dig speeds, tool requirement
Tunnel Digging — enable/disable, per-mob configuration
Ladder Climbing — enable/disable, per-mob configuration
Bridge Building — enable/disable, per-mob configuration, block type, max length/height, placement cooldown
Enderman — instant aggro toggle, aggro distance, vision cone fraction, stare teleport delay, clear path behavior, block pickup/place radius/delay, whitelist/blacklist, aggro teleport chance/interval, no-damage toggle, block speed multiplier
Creeper — instant explode toggle, explode distance, charged toggle, sky strike toggle/chance/cooldown/offset
Shulker — teleport radius
Skeleton — long-range shooting toggle, max shoot distance
Follow Range — per-mob custom detection ranges
Line of Sight — mobs that ignore walls for targeting
Potion Effects on Hit — per-mob configurable effects applied on melee/projectile hit
Dismount on Hit — mobs that knock riders off mounts
TNT Passengers — instant explode toggle, proximity distance

Event Definition Format

Events are defined as pipe-delimited strings in the config, making them easy to add, remove, or modify without writing any code:

Event Name | duration_min:300 | duration_max:600 | chance:0.5 | min_days:10 | allow_normal:0 | special_ai:true | dimensions:minecraft:overworld | weather:thunder | sound:minecraft:entity.wither.spawn | required_mods:modid ; minecraft:zombie | 2.0 | cap:30 | speed:2:6000 | weapon:iron_sword:sharpness:5

Technical Details

Server-side only — no client mod required. Works on dedicated servers and singleplayer.
NeoForge 21.11+ for Minecraft 1.21.11
Performance optimized — throttled AI checks, cached pathfinding, shared dig progress, level-scoped entity caches
Mixin-based — integrates deeply with vanilla spawning (NaturalSpawner), mob categories, creeper behavior, enderman targeting, ladder climbing, and flying speed