Feathered Friend

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Feathered Friend is a roleplay-focused communication overhaul that replaces boring vanilla chat with something far more flavorful: trained ravens, wax-sealed scrolls, and unique personal sigils.

What is Feathered Friend?

Instead of typing into vanilla chat, you communicate by writing scrolls, sealing them with wax and your personal sigil, and sending them off via your trained raven.
By default, vanilla chat is disabled (server-side config can re-enable it if desired, check keybinds for config menu). I'd strongly recommend to pair this mod with either Simple Voice Chat and/or Localized Chat.

The goal is to provide a simple, immersive, and meaningful way to talk to other players that fits perfectly into medieval / fantasy / roleplay worlds.

How it works – from wild raven to trusted courier

Find a Raven
Explore the world and locate a wild raven. They’re cautious and clever, so don’t expect them to be instantly friendly.
Tame the Raven
Ravens love Golden Nuggets, but they’re not all the same.
Each raven has its own personality – some tame easily, others are stubborn.
Listen to its cawing to figure out how much it wants from you.
Craft your Seal Stamp & forge your Sigil
Craft your Seal Stamp, then carve a completely unique sigil into it.
Your sigil is generated from a secret passphrase and stored securely using SHA-256.
No other player can legitimately reproduce your sigil.
Write and seal your Scroll
Craft a scroll (2x paper vertically) and write your message on it. You can also attach items by clicking the Ender Eye on the scroll. When you’re done, use wax and your Seal Stamp to create a Sealed Scroll that bears your personal sigil.
Summon your Raven
Whistle for your raven to come to you (will be done automatically by default, when holding a Sealed Scroll).
Send your message
Right-click your Raven while holding the Sealed Scroll.
The Raven takes off and delivers the message to the target player – even if the sender and/or recipient are offline, in which case the "job" will be "pending" and the moment that player logs on, your Raven will immediately teleport and deliver your scroll.
The delivery system is handled entirely server-side and stored in world data.

Sigils, Seal Stamps & Identity

Your sigil is your in-world identity. It can’t be copied, forged, or reliably brute-forced by other players:

Sigils are derived from a secret passphrase → turned into a SHA-256 key → turned into a seed for generation.
Sigils are composed from Seed, Style, and Etchings, giving you endless combinations.
The result: practical in-world “signatures” that are visually unique and cryptographically safe to use on scrolls.

Some example sigils:

Scrolls & Writing Interface

To send a message, you’ll first craft and write your scroll:

Crafting: 2x Paper placed vertically in a crafting grid → basic scroll.
Writing: Open the scroll UI and write your message exactly as you want it delivered.
Items: click the Ender Eye to attach items.
Sealing: Apply wax + your Seal Stamp to bind the contents and imprint your sigil.

Custom Date & Calendar System

Feathered Friend also ships with a fully customizable in-game date system.
By default, your world starts on:

Day 1 of Dawnroot, 1 A.N.
(Year 1 After Notch 😉)

Day / month / year names are configurable.
Perfect for lore-rich servers that want their own in-world calendar.
Pairs naturally with written correspondence and long-lasting roleplay campaigns.

Raven AI & Behavior

Ravens aren’t just re-skinned parrots – they’re built to feel smart, cautious, and a little bit supernatural:

Custom A* Pathfinding
Ravens use a custom A* implementation tuned to keep them from getting stuck on terrain.
If a raven does get into trouble, it will gracefully teleport nearby or further along its path rather than hanging in place forever.
Hard to Kill
Ravens have a 75% chance to dodge incoming damage.
When they’re hurt or feel threatened, they will teleport away to safety and try to avoid further contact.
Eyes and Ears Everywhere
Ravens are extremely perceptive. They “see” and “hear” players around them and will flee as soon as they detect danger.
They hear and see everything. 😉

Delivery System & Multiplayer Support

Server-side Delivery
Raven deliveries are fully independent of any specific player or entity.
A central delivery system runs on the server and is stored in world data.
Works with Offline Players
You can send scrolls to both online and offline players.
Once someone has logged in at least once, they are remembered as a known player and can receive ravens whenever they pop back online.
Player Cache
Known players are cached so you can keep sending messages without needing them online every time.
Configurable Vanilla Chat
By default, vanilla chat is turned off to encourage raven-based communication.
Server admins can re-enable vanilla chat in the config if needed.

Planned & Ongoing Work

Todo / Roadmap

General bug fixing (please report any issues you find!)
More polish for UI, particles, sounds, and raven behavior
Additional sigil Styles and variations
Batch jobs and GUI to view progress, cancel jobs, etc.
Small in-game Raven status GUI
More / better sound effects for ravens, seals, and scroll handling
After a period of stabilization and polishing:
- Port to all NeoForge 1.21.x versions
- Port to Forge 1.20.1

Licensing & Credits

Code: MIT License

You are free to read, modify, and build on the code under the terms of the MIT license.
However, any changes to or redistribution of the assets outside this mod is not allowed under any circumstances.

3D Modeling is done by @Jonny324 (portfolio), UI design by @FOOG, and sound effects were generated using ElevenLabs; ownership/usage rights for all commissioned and generated assets are retained by me, and all such assets are All Rights Reserved.

Third-party assets: The whistle sound effect and custom font are not mine. Where applicable, they are used in a limited manner believed to be consistent with copyright exceptions (including U.S. fair use, evaluated case-by-case). If you are the rights holder and have concerns, please contact me.

Distribution & Modpacks

You may include Feathered Friend in modpacks and on servers as long as:

The mod’s JAR and assets remain unmodified inside the pack.
You do not extract or reuse the art / audio assets outside of this mod.

If you enjoy the mod, a link back to this page is always appreciated. 🖋️🕊️

Compatibility

Minecraft: Java Edition

Platforms

Supported environments

Links

Creators

Details