The Ultimate Malum Mod Guide for Minecraft 1.21

Malum is one of the most visually stunning magic mods available for Minecraft 1.21 (NeoForge). Drawing light inspiration from Thaumcraft while standing powerfully on its own, Malum introduces a deep system of spirit collection, soul infusion, runic crafting, totem magic, and dark pacts. This guide walks you through every core mechanic from your very first ore vein all the way to soul binding rituals — in the exact order you should tackle them.

Getting Started: World Generation and Starting Ores

When you first load into a world with Malum installed, two new ores will begin generating underground: Soul Stone Ore and Brilliant Stone. These are your gateway into the entire mod, so prioritise mining both as early as possible.

Brilliant Stone

Smelt Brilliant Stone to obtain Refined Brilliance. You can place Refined Brilliance into a bottle to craft a Bottle of Enchanting, or use it as an ingredient in Spirit Infusion recipes covered later in this guide.

Soul Stone Ore

Smelt Soul Stone Ore to produce Refined Soul Stone. This material is essential throughout the mod. With it you can craft:

The Encyclopedia Arcana — Malum’s in-game guidebook (requires Refined Soul Stone combined with a book)

A Crude Scythe (Refined Soul Stone + iron ingot + stick) — your primary mob-killing weapon

Blocks of Soul Stone for decoration and construction

A Gilded Belt that provides a small amount of armour (note: you will also need Hallowed Gold Ingots, which are obtained later)

The Encyclopedia Arcana

The Encyclopedia Arcana is Malum’s comprehensive in-game guidebook. Everything inside it is fully unlocked from the start, meaning you can pursue any system in any order you choose. It is beautifully illustrated and documents every recipe, ritual, and mechanic in the mod. Keep it in your hotbar — you will be referring to it constantly.

Runewood Trees and Arcane Resources

Scattered across the overworld you will find Runewood Trees — distinctive trees that provide several unique resources beyond ordinary planks and logs.

Arcane Charcoal

Look for the exposed, darker log sections on a Runewood Tree. Take your axe and right-click the exposed log to strip it into a Revealed Runewood Log. Break the revealed log to collect it, then smelt it in a furnace to obtain Arcane Charcoal.

Arcane Charcoal is a superior fuel source:

One piece of Arcane Charcoal smelts 16 items.

Craft it into a Block of Arcane Charcoal for bulk storage.

Break it down into Arcane Charcoal Fragments — each fragment smelts 2 items, making it a flexible low-waste fuel option.

Rune Sap

After stripping a Runewood Log into a Revealed Runewood Log, use an empty bottle on it (right-click) to collect Rune Sap. Rune Sap can be crafted into Rune Sap Bolts, which serve as a substitute for slime — for example, they can be used to craft sticky pistons or to make magma cream. Note: in the NeoForge 1.21 version of Malum covered in this guide, the drinkable version of Rune Sap is not available.

Collecting Spirits with the Scythe

The Crude Scythe is one of Malum’s most important tools. It is the only weapon that allows you to harvest spirits from mobs when you kill them. Spirits are the core currency and fuel of nearly every crafting system in Malum, so you will be farming them throughout your entire playthrough.

Types of Spirits and How to Obtain Them

Different mobs drop different spirit types. Here is a full breakdown:

Sacred Spirit (Innocent) — Dropped by passive or neutral mobs (e.g., chickens, cows, sheep)

Wicked / Malicious Spirit — Dropped by hostile, undead, or evil mobs (e.g., zombies, skeletons)

Arcane Spirit — Dropped by magical mobs such as witches, or mobs associated with magic

Eldritch Spirit (Esoteric) — Dropped by End mobs such as Endermen and Shulkers

Aerial Spirit (Swift) — Dropped by flying creatures or very fast mobs (e.g., chickens, phantoms)

Aqueous Spirit (Malleable) — Dropped by aquatic mobs such as fish and squids

Urban Spirit (Steady) — Dropped by mobs that roam the overworld

Infernal Spirit (Radiant) — Dropped by Nether mobs

For example, killing a chicken with your scythe yields both Aerial Spirit (because chickens can fly) and Sacred Spirit (because they are passive mobs). Always use the scythe — other weapons will not trigger spirit drops.

Scythe Enchantments

You can enhance your scythe with several enchantments found in the Encyclopedia Arcana under the Ciphers section. The available enchantments are:

Spirit Plunder — Increases the number of spirits dropped per kill

Haunted — Functions similarly to Knockback

Animated — Makes scythe swings faster and lighter

Rebound — Allows you to throw the scythe like a boomerang

Ascension — Launches you upward when used (cannot be combined with Rebound)

The Spirit Altar and Spirit Infusion

The Spirit Altar is Malum’s primary crafting station. Almost everything in the mod passes through it at some point. Craft it using:

Refined Soul Stone (smelted from the ore you mine underground)

Gold Ingots

Runewood Planks (from Runewood Trees)

Many recipes also require surrounding Runewood Item Pedestals placed within four blocks of the altar. Items placed on these pedestals are consumed as part of the ritual.

How to Perform a Spirit Infusion

To look up any recipe, open JEI and press U (Uses) on the Spirit Altar to browse all available infusions. Each recipe shows:

The item placed on the altar (indicated by the main icon)

The spirits required and their quantities

Any additional items to place on surrounding pedestals

The output item (shown with a small arrow)

As a practical example, here is how to make Hex Ash:

Place Gunpowder on the Spirit Altar (right-click it onto the altar).

Right-click one Arcane Spirit onto the altar.

Wait a few seconds — the gunpowder will be infused and Hex Ash will pop off the altar.

You can place a full stack of an item on the altar and it will process the entire stack at once.

Mob Drops: Esoteric Reaping Materials

Certain rare crafting materials in Malum are obtained exclusively by killing specific mobs with your scythe. These items are used in advanced infusion recipes. Here is what drops from what:

Rotting Essence — Kill zombies (and possibly Zombie Pigmen). Drop rate is low — expect to kill around 15 zombies per drop.

Grim Talc — Kill bony mobs such as skeletons and Zombie Pigmen.

Astral Weave — Kill Phantoms.

Warp Flux — Kill Endermen.

Wind Nucleus — Kill Breezes (a vanilla Minecraft mob found in Trial Chambers).

Be patient — these drops are not guaranteed on every kill. Keep grinding with your scythe and they will eventually appear.

What to Craft with These Materials

These esoteric materials open up a range of useful recipes, including:

Gluttonous Broach (from Rotting Essence) — Actively drains hunger but grants an extra belt slot

Potions crafted with various esoteric drops

Soul Woven Silk — Made from wool, string, and spirits via Spirit Infusion

Soul Woven Silk and Decorative Banners

Craft Soul Woven Silk in the Spirit Altar using wool, string, and spirits. Soul Woven Silk can then be used to make:

A Soul Woven Pouch that holds up to 512 items

Decorative Banners in four variants depending on which esoteric material you combine with the silk: Rotting Essence, Astral Weave, Warp Flux, or Grim Talc

Soul Hunter Gear and Soul Stained Steel

As you progress, you will want to craft dedicated armour and tools from Malum’s materials.

Soul Hunter Armour

Soul Hunter armour is crafted by placing leather or iron armour pieces on the Spirit Altar, supplying the required spirits, and placing supporting items on surrounding pedestals. It grants Magic Proficiency, which increases your magic damage output.

Soul Stained Steel

Craft Soul Stained Steel by infusing iron ingots with the appropriate spirits in the Spirit Altar. Soul Stained Steel can be used to craft:

An upgraded scythe

A full set of tools

Soul Stained Steel armour, which features a unique Soul Ward mechanic

Soul Ward Explained

Soul Ward is a damage-negation shield that surrounds you when wearing Soul Stained Steel armour. When enemies hit you, Soul Ward absorbs the damage instead of your health or armour durability. However, once disrupted it takes time to recharge. Wearing the full chest piece provides:

Standard armour and armour toughness values

Increased Soul Ward Capacity (how much damage the ward can absorb)

Increased Soul Ward Recovery Rate (how quickly the ward recharges)

The armour also requires Twisted Rock, which is made by infusing Deepslate via Spirit Infusion.

Accessories: Rings, Necklaces, and Belts

Malum uses the Curios mod to provide additional equipment slots for rings, necklaces, and belts. All accessories are crafted via Spirit Infusion and provide powerful passive bonuses. Here is a complete overview:

Explosion-Focused Accessories

Belt of the Prospector — Enchants your explosions with Fortune III and protects valuable item drops from being destroyed

Ring of the Demolitionist — Increases the size and power of your explosions

Ring of the Hoarder — Automatically collects all drops from explosions

Passive and Defensive Accessories

Necklace of Blissful Harmony — Reduces enemy aggression toward you (crafted from an Ornate Necklace)

Ornate Necklace — Grants +2 Armour Toughness

Ornate Ring — Grants Armour Toughness

Gilded Belt / Ring — Both provide armour bonuses

Reactive Spirit Collection Accessories

These accessories trigger a bonus effect every time you collect a spirit from a slain mob:

Ring of Curative Talent — Spirit collection restores health

Ring of Alchemical Mastery — Spirit collection extends active potion durations

Ring of Mana Weaving — Spirit collection replenishes Soul Ward

Ring of Arcane Prowess — Spirit collection generates experience points

Ring of Esoteric Spoils — Increases the number of spirits dropped by enemies

Necklace of the Mystic Mirror — Provides +100% Arcane Resonance, amplifying all spirit collection bonus effects listed above

Scythe-Focused Accessories

Belt of the Starved — Spirit collection triggers Gluttony, amplifying your magic damage but increasing hunger drain

Ring of Desperate Veracity — Eating rotten food extends the Gluttony effect

Necklace of the Narrow Edge — Grants +40% Scythe Proficiency and augments Rebound and Ascension enchants; however, it disables the scythe’s built-in Sweeping Edge

Ring of the Howling Maelstrom — The Rebound enchant creates a wind-borne maelstrom on impact (longer cooldown applies)

Rising Edges Ring — The Ascension enchant launches targets upward

Runes and Broaches

Runes and Broaches allow you to fine-tune your character with powerful passive bonuses — but every Broach comes with a trade-off.

Crafting the Runic Workbench

The Runic Workbench is crafted via Spirit Infusion at the Spirit Altar. You will use it to inscribe runes onto Tainted Rock. Tainted Rock is made by infusing Deepslate via Spirit Infusion.

The Four Broach Types

Broaches are worn in your Curios slot and each one provides rune or belt slots with a drawback:

Runic Broach — Grants 2 rune slots; costs 1 ring slot. Crafted at a crafting table using a Block of Hallowed Gold and leather.

Elaborate Broach — Grants 1 extra belt slot (allowing you to wear two belts simultaneously); costs 1 necklace slot

Gluttonous Broach — Grants 1 extra belt slot with no slot cost; actively drains hunger

Glass Broach — Grants 2 rune slots; reduces your maximum health by 25%

How to Craft Runes

To craft a rune, place a piece of Tainted Rock on the Runic Workbench, then right-click the required spirits onto it. For example, to craft a Rune of Vitality, you need 16 Sacred Spirits and Tainted Rock.

Available Runes

Rune of Vitality — +20% healing received

Rune of Culling — Scythe deals approximately 40% more damage to targets at or below half health

Rune of Scorching — Adds burning damage to your attacks

Rune of Dexterity — Grants movement speed, with additional speed at low health

Rune of Ailment Cleansing — Shortens the duration of negative status effects

Rune of Protection — +20% armour

Rune of Reinforcement — Significantly increases Soul Ward Capacity and Soul Ward Integrity (more hits negated)

Rune of Volatile Distortion — Grants a chance for critical strikes, potentially doubling attack damage

Equipping Runes via Curios

Open your inventory and click the small Curios button to open your accessory slots. Equip your chosen Broach into the Broach slot — this will immediately reveal the corresponding rune slots. Simply drag your runes into those slots to activate their effects.

Totem Magic

Totems are placeable structures that emit persistent area-of-effect buffs or curses. They are one of the most visually spectacular parts of the Malum mod.

Building a Totem

Craft a Runewood Totem Base via Spirit Infusion and place it on the ground.

Stack up to five Runewood Logs on top of the base.

Right-click the required spirits onto each log from bottom to top.

Right-click the base with an open hand to activate the totem.

Normal Rites vs. Corrupted Rites

Each totem type has two versions: a standard version (using Runewood Logs) and a Corrupted version (using Soul Wood Logs). Corrupted totems are not necessarily evil — they simply provide a different variant of the effect.

To obtain Soul Wood Logs, first activate a corrupted totem — this will transform nearby Runewood Logs into Soul Wood Logs. You can then harvest these for use in corrupted rite recipes.

Example Rites

Rite of Motion (Aerial — Normal) — Speeds up nearby friendly beings. Requires Arcane + Aerial + Aerial spirits.

Corrupted Aerial Rite — Lowers gravity and increases jump height for nearby beings.

Advanced Corrupted Aerial Rite — Offsets the effects of insomnia for nearby players. Requires Eldritch + Arcane + Aerial + Aerial spirits.

Rite Unchained (Corrupted) — Corrupts the surrounding land. Requires five Arcane Spirits. Use with caution.

Browse the Totem Magic section of the Encyclopedia Arcana to discover all available rites across Sacred, Wicked, Aerial, Aqueous, Infernal, and Urban categories.

Resetting a Totem

To clear a totem’s rite and start fresh, simply right-click the totem with your axe. This strips the inscribed spirits and reverts the logs to their plain state.

The Totemic Staff

Craft a Totemic Staff using two sticks and a Runewood Plank. Hold the staff near an active totem to visualise its exact area of effect as a glowing boundary.

The Spirit Crucible and Alchemical Transmutation

The Spirit Crucible is a machine that transmutes items into other items using spirits as fuel. Craft it via Spirit Infusion using a furnace and a few additional components.

How to Use the Spirit Crucible

Right-click an Alchemical Impetus onto the crucible (the impetus acts as a processing catalyst).

Right-click the required spirits onto the crucible to fuel the process.

The crucible will begin transmuting items automatically. As long as spirits remain, it will keep producing output.

For example: an Infernal Spirit with an Alchemical Impetus will produce Glowstone Dust. Other transmutation outputs include Amethyst Shards, Iron Nodes (which convert to ore), and Wind Charges (using a Zephyr Impetus). Alchemical Impetuses have durability and will degrade with use.

The Repair Pylon

Use the Repair Pylon to restore durability to damaged items, including your Alchemical Impetuses and any standard tools or weapons. For diamond items, the recipe requires:

2 Diamonds (right-clicked onto the pylon)

Urban Spirit

Arcane Spirit

Once the materials are loaded, place your damaged item on the pylon or a nearby pedestal. The energy will flow into the item and fully repair it. Remaining materials stay on the pylon so you can repair additional items without reloading the recipe.

Crucible Augments

You can install up to four augments simultaneously on a Spirit Crucible to modify its behaviour. Use a Tuning Fork (crafted via Spirit Infusion) to inspect the currently active augments and their combined stats. Available augments include:

Accelerating Augment — +100% focusing speed per augment installed

Blazing Diode — Reduces fuel consumption and also increases speed

Intricate Augment — Chance for Fortune on outputs, but adds instability and reduces speed

Prismatic Augment — Reduces instability, lowering the chance of bonus durability loss

Impurity Stabilizer — Reduces durability damage taken by the Alchemical Impetus

Mending Diffuser — Occasionally reverses durability loss, restoring the impetus

Chain-Focusing Augment — Provides a chance to double the output of a transmutation

Spirit Catalyzers

Place Spirit Catalyzers adjacent to your Spirit Crucible to further accelerate processing speed. Catalyzers are crafted via Spirit Infusion using Efhar (a decorative light-source block also made via Spirit Infusion). Fuel the catalyzer by right-clicking coal (or any furnace fuel) onto it.

Be aware: adding a catalyzer increases instability and fuel usage rate. In testing, one catalyzer raised instability from 20% to 30% while pushing focusing speed to 400%. Balance your augments and catalyzers carefully.

Spirit Storage and Altar Acceleration

As your spirit stockpiles grow, you will want efficient storage solutions and faster infusion.

Spirit Jars — Can hold an effectively unlimited quantity of a single spirit type. Beautifully decorative and planned for future integration directly with the Spirit Altar for automatic spirit supply.

Runewood Obelisks (Altar Acceleration) — Place these near your Spirit Altar to speed up infusion processing time.

Brilliant Obelisks — These function as enhanced bookshelves for enchanting. One Brilliant Obelisk provides the same enchanting power bonus as five standard bookshelves.

Soul Binding: Pacts with Dark Consequences

Soul Binding is Malum’s most dramatic system. It allows you to permanently bind magical pacts to your soul, granting powerful abilities at a meaningful cost.

Crafting the Soul Binding Brazier

Craft the Soul Binding Brazier using a straightforward recipe at a crafting table. Once placed, it will gain its own Curios slot on your character.

Performing a Soul Binding Ritual

As an example, here is how to bind the Pact of the Warlock:

Effect: Your initial strike against enemies blasts them with wicked arcana. Drawback: Enemies will aggro you from twice the normal distance.

Right-click 12 Refined Soul Stone onto the brazier as the ritual catalyst.

Right-click 4 Arcane Charcoal and 4 Hex Ash onto the brazier. The items will begin floating above it confirming the recipe is correct.

Right-click 16 Wicked Spirits and 16 Aqueous Spirits onto the brazier.

Light the brazier by right-clicking Efhar onto it.

Right-click the brazier to wound yourself — the ritual requires blood to complete.

Once complete, the Pact of the Warlock will appear in your Curios Soul Binding slot. It is now bound to your soul.

Removing a Soul Binding Pact

To remove a pact, perform the exact same ritual with the same ingredients and catalyst. The only change: instead of lighting the brazier with Efhar, use Parasichial Flame. Parasichial Flame is crafted by infusing Efhar via Spirit Infusion. Hurt yourself to complete the ritual and the pact will be permanently removed.

Future Features: Coming Soon to Malum

At the time of filming on NeoForge 1.21, several sections of the Encyclopedia Arcana are marked as not yet implemented. These planned systems include:

Grand Ritual Magic — Listed under Ritual Magic in the encyclopedia

Voodoo Magic — Will allow players to program and command small puppet creatures called Puppets

Mirror Magic — Planned to be a system centred around item transportation

If any of these features have been added in a later update, drop a comment below — a dedicated video will follow once they are fully implemented.

Summary and Final Thoughts

Malum is an extraordinarily well-crafted magic mod for Minecraft 1.21 on NeoForge. Here is a quick recap of everything covered in this guide:

Mine Soul Stone Ore and Brilliant Stone to get started

Harvest Runewood Trees for Arcane Charcoal and Rune Sap

Craft a Crude Scythe and begin farming Spirits from mobs

Build a Spirit Altar and learn the Spirit Infusion system

Farm esoteric mob drops for advanced recipes

Upgrade your gear with Soul Stained Steel and Soul Ward armour

Equip Accessories via Curios for passive spirit bonuses

Inscribe Runes and equip them via Broaches

Build and activate Totems using spirit rites

Set up a Spirit Crucible with augments and catalyzers for transmutation

Store spirits in Spirit Jars and accelerate altars with Obelisks

Bind and remove powerful Soul Pacts using the Soul Binding Brazier

With its stunning visuals, deep interconnected systems, and clearly passionate development, Malum is one of the best magic mods in the modern Minecraft modding landscape. Everything you need to craft is documented in the Encyclopedia Arcana, so keep it handy and experiment freely — every system rewards curiosity.

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