Intelligence
by jacobxny
Intelligence adds a progression gate to crafting, where players must earn Intelligence points before they can craft stronger tools and armour on Fabric.
What it does
Crafting stronger items requires a minimum Intelligence value. Iron tools need 30 points and diamond armour needs 60, so players gain some Intelligence before they can craft diamond tools or iron armour. The system slows the pace of a survival world, and on a server it keeps diamond gear from arriving in the first minutes of play.
Each player starts with 10 Intelligence points. Crafting a book raises the total by 8, and bookshelves add more. Crafting any item other than books or bookshelves costs 3 points, and the mod's loss rules apply to those recipes. Wood tools and some stone tools carry no Intelligence requirement, since they are not a concern in the early game. Fabric API is required, and the mod runs on client and server, so both the server and every player need it. Files cover 1.21 – 1.21.11 across 12 release versions, and the code is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license, which is not open source.
Key features
Intelligence points
Each player has a point total that rises as books and bookshelves are crafted and falls when other items are made.
Crafting requirements
Iron tools, diamond tools and armour pieces each need a set Intelligence value before the recipe can be completed.
Starting value
Every player begins with 10 Intelligence points, so early recipes remain open from the first session.
Item list
A full list of which items carry requirements is published and kept current with each release.
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
1.21.x12 of 12 versions with builds
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Requirements
Dependencies declared by the latest file for each loader.
Required 1
Use cases
Survival pacing
Players who want a slower route to diamond gear use the points to delay late-game equipment in a survival world.
Server progression
Server owners rely on the requirements to keep new players from reaching the strongest gear within minutes of joining.
Who it’s for: Survival players and server owners who want crafting to depend on progress, rather than on resources alone.
How it compares
Better Armour Progression is server-side only and covers 1.21.1 – 26.1.2 under All rights reserved. Slow Start is server-side only, MIT licensed and published for 1.21.2 – 26.3. Simple Horseshoes is a client and server mod for 1.21.11 with All rights reserved, so it differs in both range and scope.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence | Fabric | 1.21 – 1.21.11 | Client and server | 2025-12-09 |
| Better Armour Progression | Fabric | 1.21.1 – 26.1.2 | Server-side only | 2026-06-07 |
| Slow Start | Fabric | 1.21.2 – 26.3 | Server-side only | 2026-09-21 |
| Simple Horseshoes | Fabric | 1.21.11 | Client and server | 2026-02-21 |
Questions
Does Intelligence need Fabric API?
Do the server and players both need Intelligence?
Which game versions does Intelligence support?
In the catalog
Intelligence is one of 5,392 Social mods on ModsFinder, and one of 4,084 Social mods for Fabric. 19,862 mods support Minecraft 1.21.11.
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What the author says
Intelligence slows down your progression in the game by making you gain Intelligence points to craft certain items. You start off with 10 Intelligence points, and you can gain points (up to 8), by crafting books, bookshelves and more. Every craft you do (excluding books and bookshelves), you may lose 1 - 3…
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/intelligence
- Owner
- jacobxny
- Published
- 2025-12-05
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2025-12-09
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15