Common Patterns

Named recipes for common RPG mechanics built from the RPGCORE ability/stat primitives. One-line setup — for fuller examples see the Cookbook.

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Fireball

Projectile that explodes on impact.

projectile{speed=1.5, gravity=0.05} explode{radius=3.0, damage_multiplier=1.2}
particles{type=EXPLOSION_LARGE, count=1}

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Poison on hit (item or mob)

Apply a status effect whenever the attack lands.

Item ability trigger:

apply_status{id=poison, duration=100, level=1} ~onHit

Mob ability trigger:

apply_status{id=poison, duration=100, level=1} ~onHit

The same DSL works on both. duration is in ticks (100 = 5 seconds). Requires a poison effect defined in plugins/rpg-core/status-effects/.

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Life steal

Deal damage, then heal the caster for a percentage.

damage{amount=50} heal{target=caster, amount=15}

Or via stat: add lifesteal: 10 on the item (10 = 10% of damage dealt returned as HP). The stat approach applies to all attacks automatically; the ability approach applies only when the ability is cast.

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AoE slam

Ground pound that hits everything in a radius with particles.

ground_slam:
  AbilitySequence:
    - aoe{radius=5.0, damage_multiplier=1.0}
    - particles{type=EXPLOSION_NORMAL, count=12, spread=1.0}
    - sound{sound=ENTITY_GENERIC_EXPLODE, volume=0.8, pitch=0.8}
  Cooldown: 60
  ManaCost: 30

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Blink / dash

Teleport the caster forward along their eye line.

phase_step:
  AbilitySequence:
    - teleport{distance=8, mode=eyeline}
    - particles{type=PORTAL, count=20, spread=0.5}
  Cooldown: 200
  ManaCost: 20

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Beam (melee range pierce)

Fire a short beam that hits all entities in the line.

lance_strike:
  AbilitySequence:
    - beam{range=6.0, damage_multiplier=1.5, particle=crit}
  Cooldown: 40

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Summon minions

Spawn supporting mobs around the caster.

call_wolves:
  AbilitySequence:
    - summon{mob=tamed_wolf, count=3, lifetime=600}
    - particles{type=HEART, count=6, spread=1.0}
  Cooldown: 400
  ManaCost: 50

Requires tamed_wolf defined in plugins/rpg-core/mobs/.

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Delayed combo

Two effects with a tick gap between them (e.g., charge-up then burst).

charged_strike:
  AbilitySequence:
    - particles{type=FLAME, count=20, spread=0.3}
    - delay{ticks=20}                              # 1 second pause
    - explode{radius=4.0, damage_multiplier=2.0}
  Cooldown: 120

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Boss phase change (planned — not yet wired)

Trigger a new ability sequence when the mob drops below a health threshold. The ~onHurt trigger fires on every damage event; filtering by health percentage requires the health_threshold condition, which is on the ability effects roadmap. Design for it now but expect a code update before it works.

# Intended design (not yet functional):
phase_two_rage:
  AbilitySequence:
    - aoe{radius=8.0, damage_multiplier=1.5}
    - apply_status{id=enraged, duration=600, level=1, target=caster}

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Per-pattern stat reference

Pattern	Key stats / effects used	Notes
Fireball	projectile, explode	Adjust radius for splash vs pinpoint
Poison on hit	apply_status + status YAML	Define the status effect first
Life steal	heal{target=caster} or lifesteal stat	Stat scales with all damage; ability only on cast
AoE slam	aoe, particles, sound	Stack damage_multiplier carefully — hits everything
Blink	teleport{mode=eyeline}	distance in blocks; clips to solid block if obstructed
Beam	beam{range=N}	particle param controls trail visual
Summon	summon{mob=id, lifetime=N}	Mob must exist in registry
Delayed combo	delay{ticks=N}	Subsequent effects fire on the server thread after N ticks

See also: Abilities reference, Status effects, Cookbook