[Zen's] Arcanum - Create Your Own Magic!

Required Dependency: Arcanum uses Zima for asset patching. Zima must be installed for Arcanum to function correctly.

Programmable Magic

Arcanum is a programmable magic mod that lets you design and construct your own spells.

Inspired by The Irregular at Magic High School and Psi, Arcanum treats magic as computation rather than giving players a fixed list of predefined spells.

• Spells are programs.
• Nodes define logic, flow, targeting, delivery, and effects.
• Different nodes can be combined to produce unique spell behaviours.
• Spell power is constrained by energy cost, magical hardware, complexity, and counterplay rather than arbitrary limitations.

“Magic is not a miracle. Magic is engineering.”

Features

• Visual spell crafting through a node-based editor
• Programmable spell logic instead of predefined spell lists
• Effects, delivery methods, modifiers, selectors, and logic nodes
• Entity and world interaction
• Deterministic ECS-based spell execution
• Multiple CAD tiers with different hardware limitations
• Complexity, Potency, Projection, and Bandwidth constraints
• Reusable and shareable spell codes
• Support for delayed, conditional, area-based, projectile, and constructed spells

Arcanum is designed to reward experimentation.

Instead of simply unlocking stronger versions of the same spell, you construct magical programs and decide how they target, execute, branch, repeat, and apply their effects.

Documentation

New to Arcanum or unsure how its systems work?

Read the complete Arcanum Tutorial and Documentation.

The documentation covers:

• Creating your first spell
• Using the spell editor
• Connecting and configuring nodes
• Understanding CAD hardware limitations
• Managing spell energy costs
• Importing and exporting spell codes
• Understanding common spell errors
• Troubleshooting spell setups

Community and Feedback

Arcanum is still actively being developed, and player feedback is extremely valuable.

Join the Arcanum Discord to:

• Report bugs
• Ask for help with spell crafting
• Share your spell creations
• Suggest new nodes and features
• Discuss balance and progression
• Provide feedback on CAD tiers and spell costs
• Follow development updates

Feedback is especially useful for identifying confusing interactions, progression issues, balance problems, and systems that need better explanation.

Roadmap

Planned additions and improvements include:

• Additional CAD forms, including gauntlets, staffs, and talismans
• More robust spell sound effects
• More effects, modifiers, selectors, delivery methods, and logic nodes
• Improved user interface and onboarding
• Continued balancing of CAD tiers, energy growth, and spell costs
• More spellcasting progression and endgame content
• New encounters and boss fights
• Additional entity and world interactions
• Improved visual and audio feedback
• Expanded documentation and in-game explanations

The roadmap may change as Arcanum develops and feedback reveals which areas need the most attention.

Disclaimer

Arcanum is still in active development.

The current systems are playable, but they are not final. Progression, balance, spell behaviour, user-interface flow, and content may change significantly in future updates.

Changes to the spell compiler, node behaviour, CAD limitations, energy costs, or progression systems may require some existing spells and spell codes to be adjusted after an update.

Bugs, balance issues, confusing interactions, and other pain points should be reported through the Arcanum Discord.

Your feedback directly helps improve the mod.

Thank you for playing Arcanum and helping shape its development.