Creating a Custom Power

This guide walks through building a power from scratch. We'll create a power that sets undead mobs on fire when hit — a "Holy Fire" ability.

Prerequisites

Finish Creating a Custom Origin first so you have an origin to attach your power to.

Step 1 — Pick a Power Type

A power's behavior is determined by its type. For "do something to the entity I just hit", the right choice is origins:target_action_on_hit.

Create the file and start with the skeleton:

data/example/origins/power/holy_fire.json

{
  "type": "origins:target_action_on_hit",
  "name": "Holy Fire",
  "description": "Your strikes set the undead ablaze.",
  "cooldown": 1,
  "entity_action": {}
}

Field	Why
type	Tells Origins which power logic to use
name / description	Shown in the origin GUI (optional — uses translation keys if omitted)
cooldown	(Power specific) Minimum ticks between activations (1 = every hit)
entity_action	(Power specific) The effect applied to the target

Step 2 — Define the Entity Action

An entity_action is itself a typed object. We want origins:set_on_fire:

data/example/origins/power/holy_fire.json

{
  //...
  "entity_action": {
    "type": "origins:set_on_fire",
    "duration": 4
  }
}

This works, but it burns everything you hit — not just undead.

Step 3 — Add a Target Condition

Filter the target with target_condition, an Entity Condition:

data/example/origins/power/holy_fire.json

{
  //...
  "entity_action": {
    "type": "origins:set_on_fire",
    "duration": 4
  },
  "target_condition": {
    "type": "origins:entity_type",
    "entity_type": "minecraft:zombie"
  }
}

Now only zombies burn. To cover all undead, switch to an or condition with multiple entity_type checks, or use an entity type tag:

"target_condition": {
  "type": "origins:in_tag",
  "tag": "minecraft:skeletons"
}

Step 4 — Attach to Your Origin

Add the power ID to corresponding origin's powers List or tag:

data/example/tags/origins/power/supermorph.json

{
  "replace": false,
  "values": [
    "example:holy_fire"
  ]
}

Run /reload and test it in-game.

Step 5 — Polish

Add badges, refine the condition, or make the power toggleable. Here is the final version with badges:

data/example/origins/power/holy_fire.json

{
  "type": "origins:target_action_on_hit",
  "name": "Holy Fire",
  "description": "Your strikes set the undead ablaze.",
  "badges": ["origins:active"],
  "cooldown": 20,
  "entity_action": {
    "type": "origins:set_on_fire",
    "duration": 6
  },
  "target_condition": {
    "type": "origins:in_tag",
    "tag": "minecraft:undead"
  }
}

---

How the Pipeline Works

Every Origins JSON type follows the same pattern:

{
  "type": "origins:<category>/<name>",
  // ...fields specific to that type
}

1. Power types are at the top level of a power file.
2. Entity actions are nested inside powers (in entity_action, rising_action, etc.).
3. Entity conditions filter when powers or actions apply.
4. Block / item / damage / biome conditions appear wherever relevant fields accept them.

The type reference is your map:

Reference	Location
All power types	Power Types
All entity actions	Entity Action Types
All entity conditions	Entity Condition Types

Browse them to get a feel for what's possible.