Spells & Shields
by CAS_ual_TY
Spells & Shields adds a mana system and spell trees to Minecraft Java Edition, with spells that players learn, equip and cast from a radial menu.
What it does
Spells & Shields extends vanilla play with a mana resource that works much like the health bar, and with spell trees that grant new spells as a player explores. Mana costs differ from spell to spell, and new potions, enchantments and effects interact with the mana resource. Spell trees and their spells are defined through data packs, so pack authors can change what each tree contains.
Spell progression can be tied to an Enchanting Table: spells are learned by spending experience levels, and the number of bookshelves placed around the table sets the enchanting power available for them. Power Origins integration adds origin requirements to spell progression trees, and mana modifiers apply to tools, weapons and armor. Physical combat stays viable, so melee play still matters against magic users.
Installation requires the mod on both the server and every player's client, since the environment is client and server. Files are published for Forge and NeoForge across five release versions, and the code is open source under the MIT License.
Key features
Mana spell trees
Spells are arranged in trees that a player works through, with new spells found by exploring each branch.
Five spell slots
Five slots hold equipped spells, each bound to a key binding that is set in the options menu; the default radial menu key is V.
Spells visible in inventory
Equipped spells remain visible in the survival inventory, and invested experience stays shown in the respective spell trees.
Spell death behavior
Spells are forgotten on death by default, a setting that is configurable, and can be learned again.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
How it compares
Iron's Spells 'n Spellbooks is a Forge and NeoForge spell mod for 1.18.2 – 1.21.1, with all rights reserved and no public source. Spell Engine is open source under the GNU General Public License v3.0 only, and is available for Fabric, Forge and NeoForge from 1.19 onward. Magicraft is open source under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later, and it is server required with optional client use.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spells & Shields | Forge and NeoForge | 1.18.2 – 1.21.1 | Client and server | 2026-08-08 |
| Iron's Spells 'n Spellbooks | Forge and NeoForge | 1.18.2 – 1.21.1 | Client and server | 2026-08-18 |
| Spell Engine | Fabric, Forge and NeoForge | 1.19 – 26.3 | Client and server | 2026-10-03 |
| Magicraft | Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt | 1.21.11 – 26.3 | Server required, client optional | 2026-10-06 |
Questions
Does Spells & Shields need to be installed on the server?
Which loaders does Spells & Shields support?
How are spell trees changed?
In the catalog
Spells & Shields is one of 7,216 Magic mods on ModsFinder, and one of 3,927 Magic mods for Forge. 32,366 mods support Minecraft 1.21.1.
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What the author says
Spells can be equipped in spell trees after learning them. You have 5 spell slots available in total. Each spell slot can be equipped individually with a spell. To fire that spell you use the key binding associated with the radial menu (default is key V) or the key binding associated directly with the slot the spell…
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/spells-shields
- Owner
- CAS_ual_TY
- Published
- 2022-12-27
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-08-08
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15