Tears of the Nether
by tomandoawa
Tears of the Nether changes Nether portals so that they only light when crying obsidian is used, turning portal travel into a rarer event.
What it does
Nether portals in this mod need crying obsidian to be lit, and the lighting item is consumed on use. A portal built without it does not open, and an attempt to force one can make it explode. Ruined portals are made more valuable to find, and the portal opening includes added particle effects. Built by a commission through a freelance marketplace, it is a small mod. The server and every player need the mod installed. Files are published for Forge only, for 1.20.1 – 1.20.6, and the latest file is 1.0.1 for 1.20.6. The code is released under CC0 1.0 Universal, which means the mod is not open source.
Key features
Crying obsidian ignition
Nether portals require crying obsidian to light, and one piece is consumed each time a portal is lit.
Failed portal explosions
A portal built without crying obsidian does not open, and forcing one can make it explode.
Rewarding ruined portals
Ruined portals are made more valuable, and the portal opening includes added particle effects.
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
Nether Portal Nerf is server-side only, open source under the MIT License and published for 1.20.1. Instant Nether Travel is server-side only and published for 1.20 – 1.20.2, under All rights reserved. Tears of the Nether is the one here that requires crying obsidian to light a portal.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tears of the Nether | Forge | 1.20.1 – 1.20.6 | Client and server | 2026-04-23 |
| Nether Portal Nerf | Forge | 1.20.1 | Server-side only | 2025-03-04 |
| Instant Nether Travel | Forge | 1.20 – 1.20.2 | Server-side only | 2023-10-21 |
Questions
Does Tears of the Nether need to be installed on the server?
In the catalog
Tears of the Nether is one of 3,932 Transportation mods on ModsFinder, and one of 1,908 Transportation mods for Forge. 11,154 mods support Minecraft 1.20.6.
More from tomandoawa
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What the author says
Small mod I commisioned @nanodelta on Fiverr. Regular portals won't work no more and will explode if you try to open one. Crying obsidian is now needed to lit one, and will be consumed on use.
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/tears-of-the-nether
- Owner
- tomandoawa
- Published
- 2026-04-19
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-04-23
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15