Arcanus
by Cammie
Arcanus, a Fabric and Quilt magic mod by Cammie, lets players build their own spells from shapes and effects that are cast with the mouse.
What it does
Spells in Arcanus are assembled from two kinds of parts. A spell shape determines how its effect reaches a target: an instance shape runs the chained effects on the caster, and a projectile shape runs them on whatever the projectile strikes. Spell effects are the functioning parts, such as damage or freezing, and they are chained together in any order, so the limit on a spell is mainly power and the mana it costs.
Players start at a Wizard Tower, where a spell book is made and placed on a lectern to begin. The variety of spells a local Wizard offers depends on how many knowledge scrolls the player has obtained. A documented in-game book, the Compendium Arcanus, explains the system, and the author recommends reading it before playing.
Mod installation needs Cardinal Components API, Fabric API, Patchouli, Resourceful Config and Sparkweave Engine on either loader. First-person Model, LambDynamicLights - Dynamic Lights and Pehkui are optional. Arcanus runs on client and server, so the server and every player need it. It is released under a custom license that is not open source, and it is built for 1.19.2 – 1.20.1, with a release on 1.20.1 published 2026-08-16.
Key features
Player-made spells
Spells are built from shapes and effects in any chained order, in place of a fixed list of magic.
Mouse-driven casting
A square is cast with the left button and a circle with the right, with up to eight slots on a staff.
Visible spell shapes
Shapes appear around the crosshair when a spell is cast, and other players see them in front of the player model.
Configurable spell set
Options include disabling specific spell shapes and spell effects completely, which pack makers can use.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Requirements
Dependencies declared by the latest file for each loader.
Required 5
Optional 3
Use cases
Who it’s for: Players who enjoy building their own spells and modpack makers who want to control which spell parts are available. Spells are cast with mouse input, so the system suits players who like working out combinations.
How it compares
Zauber is open source under the MIT License, runs on Fabric and Quilt for 1.20 – 1.21.1 and works on client and server. Invocations is also open source under the MIT License and runs on Fabric only, for 1.20.1 – 1.21.1. Arcanus is not open source, and it is a client and server mod for 1.19.2 – 1.20.1.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arcanus | Fabric and Quilt | 1.19.2 – 1.20.1 | Client and server | 2026-08-16 |
| Zauber | Fabric and Quilt | 1.20 – 1.21.1 | Client and server | 2024-08-14 |
| Invocations | Fabric | 1.20.1 – 1.21.1 | Client and server | 2025-01-27 |
Questions
Does Arcanus need Fabric API?
Does the server need Arcanus?
How does a player start casting spells?
In the catalog
Arcanus is one of 7,216 Magic mods on ModsFinder, and one of 3,630 Magic mods for Fabric. 34,764 mods support Minecraft 1.20.1.
More from Cammie
Similar mods
What the author says
Arcanus is a small magic mod that allows players to create their own spells, and a casting system akin to Wynncraft. Find a Wizard Tower, don a hat, and speak to the wizard at the top to start your magical journey. To create a spell, you first need to make a spell book and place it on a lectern. Depending on how many…
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/arcanus
- Owner
- Cammie
- Published
- 2023-08-21
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-08-16
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15