Lavender & Black Roses

My Modded Play Diary

Day 503

in a white room, a villager in a blue shirt looks at the player

I've captured relocated a Paleontologist villager. The Village Names mod tells me he's called Ine. For now, he can live in the second floor of the laboratory, though I really should get to making a villager trading hall one of these days.

Day 509

in an enclosure, a tiny mottled-green dinosaur sits next to a feeder block

My newest dinosaur is Dryosaurus, a timid little herbivore from the Late Jurassic. She makes the cutest cheeping sounds. I'll call her Daria (it's a good thing Animania makes name tags craftable).

Day 512

the player stands looking at a shelf with teapots, in their hand is a mug of black tea

I've gotten into teamaking!

Tea is my preferred hot drink irl, and the Simply Tea mod adds a neat system for brewing several different types, from green and black to herbal and even chorus tea, all with varying effects. I've planted a couple saplings outside my brewery, and have been harvesting the leaves and fragrant tea sticks. It's nice to just sit back on a rainy day and have a cuppa.

Day 514

Enough relaxation, time for an adventure!

Today, I ventured into the Twilight's Snow Forest, home to powerful yetis and vicious Winter Wolves. I found a large, hollowed-out hill filled with Yetis, and in the center the huge Alpha Yeti.

through a haze of snow particles, a giant furry blue creature with a gaping maw throws a block of ice at the player, surrounded by more yetis

The brute attacked by throwing blocks of ice, or by picking me up and hurling me into the air. But in the end, I was victorious, and slew the creature. Touching its Alpha Yeti fur opened the way to the Glacier biome beyond the snowy forests.

Day 516

in a brick room, a red and orange dog sits on top of a furnace next to a Nether portal

I was on a brief trip to the Nether, and made a new friend. Quark, among many other things, adds these cute fiery Foxhounds to the Nether. They're hostile by default, but if you drink a Fire Resistance potion, you can tame them with coal. Foxtrot here will guard my Nether portal; as a bonus, he'll speed up any active furnace he sits on!

Day 521

in a barren ice field stands a tall tower in shimmering blue and green hues

Today I went to the Glacier, in search of the beautiful Aurora Palace. The climb was perilous, with narrow walkways and frigid Ice Spirits. At the top sat the Snow Queen in her sled of ice.

a blue-skinned woman with a crown floats before the player, surrounded by ice blocks

She threw magic, she summoned minions. She even tried to crush me with her icy throne. But finally, I defeated her, and gained her trophy as well as the legendary Tri-Bow.

It took beating the Hydra, Ur-Ghast, and Snow Queen, but the Highlands are finally open to me.

Day 527

in the Nether, a low nether brick building

I've been working a bit on my Nether base, trying for a design sort of like a Nether fortress. It's still not the biggest or most comfortable build, but now at least I have some room to expland.

Day 531

a yellow apiary block sits next to a purple solar panel

I'm starting to get into bees that require different climates. The Gendustry mod is an addon for Forestry that has some powerful tools to help with bees, one such being this Industrial Apiary. It can have various upgrades applied to it, such as ones that alter the temperature and climate of the apiary. Hooked up to some solar power, this will be the next step of my bee breeding career!

Day 540

a stone room underground, with arched ceilings and villagers peeking over slabs

I've built an underground villager trading hall! Right now it has room for 16 traders, though I can always expand. As usual with my builds, there's certainly a more efficient or elaborate setup I could have done, but right now, this should suit my needs.

Day 543

in a brick and glass enclosure sits a downy white chick

My new prehistoric creature may not be a dinosaur, but it sure is cute! Meet Dorothy, my new Dodo.

Day 550

Today I travelled to the Twilight Highlands. My first destination was underground, to the hidden vaults of the trolls. I fought off the guardians and broke into an obsidian vault containing Magic Beans.

the land is dark beneath a thick cloud layer in the sky, with a huge beanstalk spiralling upwards

With my Magic Beans I returned to the surface. Upon planting, they grew into an enormous beanstalk spiralling upwards to the clouds above.

Day 552

I clambered up the beanstalk; at the top was a cottage and tree formed of giant blocks. And a Giant living there.

on a fluffy cloud sits an oversized cottage and tree, as a giant wielding a pickaxe walks towards the player

The Giant was wearing my player skin for some reason.

Killing the Giant got me its Giant Pickaxe, which I took back underground and used to break into a Giant Obsidian Vault, holding the legendary Lamp of Cinders. This can be used to burn away the wall of thorns covering the way to the Final Castle.

a tall white brick castle with many towers connected by bridges I made my way through the thorns and to a castle of gleaming white brick, covered in runes. There was no loot, and strange enemies called Harbingers and Adherents. At last I made it to the central tower, and to a great platform with... in a fenced-in room, the floor is covered with purple runes, a small blue bat-eared creature rushes at the player

...a Kobold with a thousand health. Final Boss, You Win!

Unfortunately, the Twilight Forest is unfinished, and there is no real finale. I can't really blame the devs, as I know they have a lot of work just keeping the mod ported to new Minecraft versions, not to mention the difficulty of designing an appropriate ending to the epic journey of this mod.

a wooden attic lined with armor stands, trophies and item displays

Here's my trophy room. I still need to rematch some bosses to fully fill it out, which I might do; for now, though, this is the end of my Twilight Forest journey! It was a fun ride.

This isn't the end of the playthrough, of course. There are many strange and wonderous realms still to travel...

Day 558

I took a break from my world for a while, and when I came back, spent a few ingame days puttering around my base, tending to my crops, bees and pets, and making some trips to my local Millenaire villages. I can trade resources with them to help their expansion, and as I gain a reputation, learn some of their cultural knowledge.

But eventually, I decided it was time for a new adventure.

a glowstone portal with a watery center sits along a grassy path

The Aether mod is one of the oldest and most venerable dimension mods, though I've only played a little myself. I'm excited to check it out!

Day 560

gray a lightly forested area of gray dirt and minty green grass, where cloud-covered sheeps graze, in the distance is a tiny floating island

If you're not familiar with the Aether, it's a dimension of floating islands shrouded in puffy Aerclouds, grazing Sheepuffs, and flying pigs. Danger lurks as well in this "hostile paradise", including several bosses for me to defeat. For now, though, I'll start with building a home in the clouds.

Day 566

a gray stone house with a wooden roof, and a front porch

It's not much to look at, as the local materials aren't the most aesthetically pleasing, but it'll keep me safe from the roaming Swets and Zephyrs. The sun never sets here (for now...), which is good, because beds explode just like the Nether.

Day 568

in a dimly lit stone brick room, a large cube with an eye slides towards the player

Today I went out looking for the first of the Aether's dungeons, found in square tunnels cut into the cliffs. I fought Mimics and Stone Sentries, and eventually came upon the boss, Slider. This cuboidal foe slides along in straight lines, seeking to crush the player. Upon his defeat, he dropped a Bronze Key to a treasure chest full of loot. Among my trophies I got a Cloud Staff, which can summon minions to fight for me, and Lightning Knives, which call down thunderbolts when thrown.

Day 572

a baby dinosaur with a large sail sits in a grassy pen

My newest creature is Edaphosaurus, a sailed dinosaur. This one's also an herbivore, as I still don't have a good way of automatically feeding carnivores yet. I have an idea for a farm, but it needs a certain type of bee...

Day 578

a brown stone temple shrouded sits atop the clouds

Today I flew up into the sky to challenge the Aether's Silver Dungeon, a temple in the clouds. This is the home of the Valkyries, led by their mighty queen. In order to face her, I had to prove my worth by gathering Victory Medals from her subordinates. Upon presenting them to her, an epic battle commenced in her throne room.

She attacked me with her golden sword and threw balls of fire and lightning at me, but I proved victorious, and was rewarded with a Silver Key to a treasure trove of loot.

Day 579

on a stone path in front of a house, the player character rides a toothed bird

Among my rewards for that last dungeon were Moa eggs! These can be incubated into large, ridable birds. Moas come in different colors, with differing strengths. This White Moa can perform four mid-air jumps, making it useful for getting around the Aether's floating islands.

Day 582

a dimly lit throne room, though it is a third-person shot, no player is visible

I found another Silver dungeon, and in this one was just the item I was hoping to find. You may notice that the above screenshot is in third person. With the Invisibility Cloak, I can hide in plain sight! Equipping this item will keep me hidden from most mobs, a very useful ability to say the least.

Day 584

in the center of a red brick room floats a large, fiery being

Today I journeyed far across the Aether, searching for a circular island ringed with Golden Oak trees. This is the home of Aether's Gold dungeon, and the godlike Sun Spirit.

The Sun Spirit grew angry at my impudence at setting foot in its domain, and attacked with the fury of a thousand suns. It was beyond the ability of mortal arms to injure it, so I was forced into a perilous dance, dodging its fireballs and hitting icy projectiles back at it to freeze it momentarily. After an epic battle, it finally collapsed.

Defeating such a powerful being is not without consequence; without the Sun Spirit's influence, the sun finally sets on the Aether, with all the perils that darkness brings. However, the Sun Altar dropped by the boss lets me control the sun itself, at least in this realm.

Day 587

a floating island with a stone tower surrounded by crystal trees

The Aether: Lost Content adds one more dungeon to the dimension: the Platinum dungeon, home of the Aerwhale King.

I climbed the tower and challenged His Royal Highness. Projectiles had no effect on him, so I was forced to dodge his swooping blows and rush attacks in as he crashed into the tower. He had a great deal of health, but eventually fell to my axe, rewarding me with powerful treasure.

With this, I've completed all the dungeons of the Aether! There are more artifacts to be found if I choose to rematch bosses, but I've seen most of the content available now. Overall, I think the Aether shows its age somewhat, especially aesthetically, but there's still lots of neat ideas and unique concepts found in this mod! I enjoyed my time with it.

Day 593

a stone brick portal with a green swirling center, in front of which floats a magical staff

Onwards to the next adventure! The Erebus is a dimension of arthropods... which will be interesting since I'm terrified of bugs, lol.

a dark underground jungle, in the distance glowing red gems hang from the ceiling

I spawned in a vast underground jungle. There's no telling what horrors lurk here, so I'll need a safe base to call home before I head out exploring.

Day 596

a brown stone outcropping with a hole in it, covered in vines

It's little more than a hole in the wall, but I have a place to call home in this dimension. Being suspended off the ground should help to keep me safe from mobs, of which I've seen plenty already. Wasps and Botflies, Beetles and Mosquitos... Eww!

an underground dungeon, with jumping spiders around a monster spawner

I even found a Jumping Spider spawner underground. Useful, I guess, if I really need more spiders.

Day 598

Exploring the Erebus, I found a biome called the Subterranean Savannah. In it sat an enormous eucalyptus tree. The inside was hollow, and filled with tarantulas! At the top sat the biggest one of all, the Tarantula Brood Mother, first boss of the Erebus.

in a dark, cobwebbed room sits an enormous blue tarantula

The fight with her had two phases: first, she could only be hit with ranged attacks, and used her massive bulk to create AOE slam attacks. In the second phase, she turned orange and could only be hit by melee damage. She came at me furiously, and I had to attack quickly just to keep her at bay. At last, however, she flipped on her back, curled up, and let out her death throes, showering me in experience and rewarding me with trophies of her defeat!

Day 600

I may have a serious case of the creepy-crawlies, but I'm still having fun! Probably going to need to take a short break from the bug mod, though. In fact, I have a specific goal in mind for the next hundred days. More on that later...

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