Natural 20

Natural 20 is an RPG mod for Hytale that combines D&D-style quests and dialogue with ARPG-style loot and progression. Multi-phase quests with d20 skill checks are the core gameplay loop. Leveling, loot, and tiered encounters scale to support questing.

Installation

Download the file from this listing and extract it at your server root. mods/ and earlyplugins/ populate automatically. On servers, add --accept-early-plugins to your start command (or Custom JVM Args on BisectHosting). Singleplayer users extract somewhere temporary and copy the two inner jars into UserData/Mods/ and UserData/EarlyPlugins/. Full instructions: install guide.

Quests

Quests use a D&D-style RPG layer with dice-rolled skill checks and a per-NPC disposition system that affects both dialogue tone and check outcomes.

Phases and rewards

Quests are split into one or more phases, each with its own objective, XP reward, and item reward. A three-phase quest pays three separate rewards rather than one at the end. Item rewards reroll per accepter, so two party members never receive duplicate drops. NPCs offering a quest show a gold "!" and switch to a blue "?" when a turn-in is waiting.

XP rewards multiply by difficulty: Easy 0.5×, Medium 1.0×, Hard 2.0×.

Objective types

Six objective types:

Collect Resources. Gather a target count of a specific item from anywhere in the world. Exempt from the 80-block party-proximity check at phase completion.
Kill Mobs. Defeat a target count of a specific mob type. Only champion mobs at the quest's hostile POI count toward the counter.
Kill Boss. Defeat a single named boss at a fixed location.
Fetch Item. Retrieve a specific item and keep it in inventory until turn-in.
Peaceful Fetch. Variant of Fetch Item where the target sits in a chest inside a settlement instead of being guarded by hostile mobs.
Talk to NPC. Finish a designated conversation with the target NPC.

Dialogue and skill checks

Dialogue options labeled with a skill ([Persuasion], [Intimidation], [Insight]) trigger a d20 roll. The total is d20 + stat modifier + proficiency bonus (if trained), compared against a Difficulty Class. DCs run from Trivial (5) to Nearly Impossible (30) in six tiers, played out in an on-screen dice animation. A natural 20 on the kept die auto-passes; a natural 1 auto-fails.

Stat modifier is the relevant ability score divided by three, rounded down (range +0 to +10). Proficiency bonus is +2 at level 1 and scales to +6 at level 33+. Some checks have an authored DC; checks without one roll a tier procedurally based on the NPC's zone level. Skill checks are always optional response choices, and declining one carries no disposition penalty.

Skill checks fire during quest offers, turn-ins, and free-roam dialogue with non-quest NPCs.

Disposition

Each NPC tracks disposition with each player separately on a 0–100 scale. The blacksmith's opinion of you and another player are independent values, persisted across sessions.

Disposition moves on quest actions: +3 for accepting, +5 per phase turn-in, +10 for completing, +3 for passing a check, -2 for failing one. Individual dialogue choices can also shift it.

Disposition has two effects:

Dialogue tone. Nine brackets (Hostile, Scornful, Unfriendly, Wary, Neutral, Cordial, Friendly, Trusted, Loyal) draw from different dialogue pools. Cosmetic only; does not gate mechanics by itself.
Roll mode for skill checks. 0–24 rolls at disadvantage (2d20, keep lowest). 25–74 rolls normally (1d20). 75–100 rolls at advantage (2d20, keep highest).

Ability scores and skills

Six ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma) range from 0 to 30. One curve drives every system: modifier = floor(score / 3), capped at +10.

Each stat except Constitution carries dialogue skills: Persuasion, Stealth, Insight, and a dozen others, used as labelled response options in conversations. Trained skills add a proficiency bonus on top of the modifier, scaling +2 to +6 by level. New characters pick a background preset that distributes starting ability scores and provides a starter kit. Players open their Character Sheet with /sheet to view stats, quests, party, and NPC dispositions.

Leveling and XP

Players level from 1 to 40. Every level grants an ability point to spend on a stat and a permanent HP increase. XP requirements grow 12% per level.

XP comes from kills, quest turn-ins, and successful d20 skill checks. Weights:

Champion kill: 2.5× regular kill
Boss kill: 5×
Quest phase turn-in: 7×
Skill check pass: 5×

Vanilla mobs pay minimal XP. Nat20's tiered packs and quest turn-ins are the primary sources.

Loot and gear affixes

ARPG-style itemization. Items roll in five rarity tiers (Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary), each with a coloured tooltip outline. Item level (iLvl) sets the affix tier and value range. Drops scale with the killing mob's level and biome.

Affixes group into eight families plus stat bonuses:

Offensive (12): Crit Chance, Crit Damage, Attack Speed, Deep Wounds, Crushing Blow, Backstab, Precision, Life Leech, Mana Leech, Vicious Mockery, Hex, Rally.
Defense (6): Absorption, Evasion, Resilience, Thorns, Block Proficiency, Gallant.
Ability (9): Indestructible, Fortified, Haste, Telekinesis, and the five mutually exclusive tool block shapes: Quake (3×3 flat), Delve (1×5 line), Rend (vertical strip), Fissure (horizontal strip), Resonance (vein miner).
Utility (3): Focused Mind, Water Breathing, Lightweight.
Elemental Damage (4): Fire, Frost, Poison, Void flat damage on hit.
Elemental DoT (4): Ignite, Cold, Infect, Corrupt.
Resistances (4): Fire, Frost, Poison, Void resistance on armor and shields.
Weakness (4): Fire, Frost, Poison, Void debuffs that amplify same-element damage.

Six stat affixes (+STR, +DEX, +CON, +INT, +WIS, +CHA) add flat ability-score points that feed every stat-scaled system, including dialogue skill checks.

Champions, bosses, and difficulty tiers

Every Nat20 encounter is a group: 1 boss with 3–7 champions sharing a role and tier. Four tiers tint the pack by colour (Uncommon green, Rare blue, Epic purple, Legendary gold) and add an mlvl bonus to the zone level. Champions roll 1–3 affixes (Uncommon to Epic), bosses 2–5 (Uncommon to Legendary); champions never reach Legendary.

Mob affixes pull from the same pool as gear.

Bosses carry Diablo-style compound names: prefix plus suffix, with an appellation chance that climbs by tier. Examples: Gloomtouch, Bloodwound the Hunter, Soulrend the Mauler, Wyrmbite the Slayer.

Champions drop loot roughly one in six kills. Bosses always drop, with tier-stacked bonus rolls so a Legendary often gives three or more pieces. Groups spawn at fixed quest sites in the world (anchored on first arrival) and as ambient surface encounters during travel.

Party and monster scaling

Every player is in a party: solo is a party of one, with no upper size cap. Whoever is in the party when a quest is accepted is locked in as the accepter list; later joiners never see the quest. At phase completion the game checks which accepters are within 80 blocks of the player who finished the objective: those in range earn the phase's reward; those outside see a Quest Missed banner, lose only that phase's reward, and stay on the quest for later phases.

Mob groups scale on the triggering player's nearby online party members at spawn: each adds +1 monster level, capped at +6. The bump locks in at spawn and survives chunk reloads.

Worldgen

Settlements and underground hostile structures are placed during world generation, and only appear in chunks generated after the mod is installed; already-explored chunks won't retroactively gain them. The stat, dialogue, NPC, and quest systems all work on existing worlds.