Quest Format

Quest format (datapack JSON)

NeroQuests is datapack-driven. Every quest and every chapter of the quest book is a JSON file, so modpacks and servers can add, change or remove content without touching code — and without NeroQuests shipping any content of its own yet.

Files live in a datapack (or inside another mod's data/ folder):

data/<namespace>/neroquests/quests/<path>.json     -> quest   <namespace>:<path>
data/<namespace>/neroquests/chapters/<path>.json   -> chapter <namespace>:<path>

The id comes from the file path, never from the file body. data/mypack/neroquests/quests/ chapter1/first_steps.json defines the quest mypack:chapter1/first_steps. Ship a file with an id that already exists and yours replaces it — that is how you override a quest.

Definitions are read from the server's datapacks and cached. Everything is server-authoritative: the client only ever displays what the server sends it.

Quest file

{
  "title": "quest.mypack.first_steps.title",
  "description": "quest.mypack.first_steps.desc",
  "icon": "minecraft:iron_pickaxe",
  "prerequisites": ["mypack:chapter1/wake_up"],
  "objectives": [
    { "type": "neroquests:quest_complete", "quest": "mypack:chapter1/wake_up" }
  ],
  "rewards": [
    { "type": "neroquests:xp", "amount": 50 }
  ],
  "scope": "player",
  "visible_gate": "nerolandcore:industrial_power"
}

Field	Type	Required	Default	Meaning
title	string	yes	—	Display name. A translation key (put the text in a lang file); a literal string also renders, but ships untranslated.
description	string	no	""	Longer text in the quest detail panel. Also a translation key.
icon	item id	no	minecraft:book	Item shown as the quest's node icon.
prerequisites	list of quest ids	no	[]	The quest stays locked until all of these are complete.
objectives	list of objectives	yes	—	Must contain at least one entry. All must be done to complete the quest.
rewards	list of rewards	no	[]	Granted once, on completion.
scope	player | server	no	player	player — everyone completes it for themselves. server — one shared completion for the whole world.
visible_gate	gate id	no	none	A Neroland Core progression gate. While it is closed the quest is hidden entirely.

Chapter file

A chapter is one page of the quest book: a title, an icon, and the quests placed on it.

{
  "title": "chapter.mypack.groundwork.title",
  "icon": "minecraft:crafting_table",
  "quests": [
    { "quest": "mypack:chapter1/wake_up",     "x": 0, "y": 0 },
    { "quest": "mypack:chapter1/first_steps", "x": 2, "y": 0 },
    { "quest": "mypack:chapter1/shelter",     "x": 2, "y": 2 }
  ]
}

Field	Type	Required	Default	Meaning
title	string	yes	—	Chapter tab name (translation key).
icon	item id	no	minecraft:written_book	Item shown on the chapter tab.
quests	list of entries	no	[]	The quests on this page, in listing order.

Each entry is { "quest": <quest id>, "x": <int>, "y": <int> }. x/y default to 0 and are abstract grid units, not pixels, so the book can scale the layout.

Dependency lines are not stored. The book draws them from each quest's prerequisites, so a chapter layout can never contradict the real progression graph. Position the nodes; the lines follow.

A quest should appear in one chapter only. If two chapters list the same quest, the alphabetically first chapter id keeps it and the duplicate entry is dropped with a warning.

Objective types

An objective is { "type": "<id>", ... }; the remaining fields depend on the type.

neroquests:quest_complete

Satisfied once another quest is complete for the same holder (the player, or the server for a server-scoped quest).

{ "type": "neroquests:quest_complete", "quest": "mypack:chapter1/wake_up" }

Field	Type	Required	Meaning
quest	quest id	yes	The quest that must be complete.

This is not the same as a prerequisite: a prerequisite decides whether a quest is available, while this objective is one of the boxes to tick inside an already-available quest.

More objective types are coming. Collecting and crafting items (by id or by tag), killing entities, reaching a dimension, and opening a Neroland Core progression gate all land with the objective engine in a later release. Their JSON follows the same type + fields shape, so chapters and quests written today keep working.

Reward types

A reward is { "type": "<id>", ... }; the remaining fields depend on the type.

neroquests:xp

Grants raw experience points on completion.

{ "type": "neroquests:xp", "amount": 50 }

Field	Type	Required	Meaning
amount	integer ≥ 1	yes	Experience points granted. 0 or negative is rejected.

More reward types are coming. Item stacks, opening a progression gate, currency and reputation payouts arrive with the reward engine. Rewards that need a sibling mod (currency, reputation) will degrade to a no-op with a log line when that mod is absent, never a crash.

What happens to a broken file

NeroQuests never crashes on bad content. Every problem is written to the server log at WARN level naming the offending resource id, and the smallest sensible thing is dropped:

Problem	What happens
Malformed JSON, or a field of the wrong type	That quest/chapter is dropped.
An objective or reward type that is not registered	The whole quest is dropped (it could never be completed, or would pay out something unintended).
objectives empty or missing	The quest is dropped.
prerequisites names a quest that does not exist	That prerequisite is ignored; the quest itself is kept.
Prerequisite cycle (A needs B needs A), including a quest requiring itself	Every quest in the cycle — and every quest behind it — is dropped, because none of them could ever unlock.
A chapter lists a quest that does not exist (or was dropped above)	That entry is dropped; the chapter is kept.
The same quest listed in two chapters	The first chapter by id order keeps it; the duplicate entry is dropped.

Log lines contain resource ids only — never player names, UUIDs or any other personal data (see ../PRIVACY.md).

Reloading

Definitions are read from the running server's datapacks and cached for that server, matching how Neroland Core loads its progression gates. A full reload path for /reload is wired up with the rest of the quest engine; until then, restarting the world always picks up changed files.

When definitions change, existing progress is kept as-is. Progress recorded against a quest that no longer exists is simply inert — it is not deleted, and it comes back if the quest returns.

See also

• Home
• Telemetry
• Privacy & data protection