Peaks & Talons Core
- By
Mountain eagles to hunt or bond with and ride, socketed necklaces, a whale that grows a two-floor Create ship, and Orduk the Cave Troll in his coastal tavern hall. The story core of the Peaks & Talons modpack.
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Description
> **⚠ Built for the Peaks & Talons modpack.** This mod is the story and content core of the **Peaks & Talons** modpack. Its recipes, quest hooks, structure decoration and world generation were tuned around the mods in that pack. You *can* install it on its own (only Curios API is strictly required), but that is not a supported setup. **For the intended experience, install the Peaks & Talons modpack.**
# Peaks & Talons Core
High above the tree line, the Mountain Eagles rule the sky. Far below, in a sea cave on the coast, a very large and very drunk troll named **Orduk** keeps a tavern that nobody leaves on their own terms. Peaks & Talons Core adds both, plus the long road between them.
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## 🦅 Mountain Eagles: Hunt or Bond
* **Mountain Eagles** nest in the high peaks.
* **Hunt:** challenge a wild eagle, survive the Vengeance Eagles that answer its call, and claim your Eye of the Eagle, talons and feathers.
* **Bond:** lower your weapon, win an eagle's trust with salmon, and stay mounted through the struggle until the bond forms.
* **Golden Eagle Harness:** fly your tamed eagle the same way Dragon Mounts dragons fly. Press Jump to take off, steer with the camera, look up or down to climb or dive, hold Sneak to descend, and double-tap Sneak to dismount. Sneak-interact while on foot to open its nine-slot pack.
* **Windburst:** a flight-only dash that gives a short burst of speed where you're looking (default key **R**, 5-second cooldown).
* Both routes lead to the same relics, so friends can pick different paths and still travel together.
## 💎 Relics of the Summit
The Eye of the Eagle starts a relic chain: **Storm Crystal → Ancient Talon → Eye of the Summit**. Along the way, eagle talons become materials:
* **Eagle Talon → Crushed Talon → Talon Dust**, using Create millstones and crushing wheels.
* **Eagle Talon Chunks**, from the Mekanism Crusher.
* **Explorer's Compass** from Talon Dust and an Eagle Feather. It is your guide to Orduk's Hollow.
## ⚔️ Talon Gear
* **Talon Blade**, **Talonspire** and **Talonteer**: weapons forged from eagle talons.
* **Last Call**: a heavy battle axe built on a powered 5×5 Mechanical Crafter array. It is *soulbound* and returns to you after death.
## 📿 Socketed Necklaces (Curios)
Choose an **Iron, Gold or Netherite chain** and set one of seven sockets. That makes 21 necklaces in all:
| Socket | Effect |
|---|---|
| Diamond | Silk Touch |
| Emerald | Fortune |
| Redstone | Haste |
| Magma Cream | Fire Resistance |
| Prismarine | Water Breathing |
| Eye of the Eagle | Flight |
| Dragon Egg | Dragon Fire (right-click a block) |
## 🍺 Orduk's Hollow: One Per World
A hand-built coastal cavern that generates **once per world**, reached by a lit path from the bay:
* **The Marina:** a roofed wooden dock where your voyage ends.
* **The Tavern:** tables, barrels, braziers and a lot of spilled ale.
* **The Arena Hall:** a two-level gallery watched by **guardian eagles** on their perches. They dive at anyone who steps past the archway, then return to their perches when you retreat.
* **The Offering Podium:** clear the guardians, then offer your Explorer's Compass on the raised dais to summon Orduk.
The Hollow is protected during world generation, so trees, giant mushrooms and other features can't grow through the build.
## 👹 Boss: Orduk, the Cave Troll
A 5½-block-tall troll with a beer gut, tribal tattoos, a bone necklace and a grudge. He fights in a readable cycle, so you can learn his timing:
1. **Dash Plow:** a charging rush. Hitting a wall stuns him.
2. **Beer Mug Smash:** he leaps and slams the ground, damaging everything within **5 blocks**.
3. **Stank Breath:** a poison cloud that **grows wider the further it travels**.
Every third cycle he breathes **twice** to catch you out. He climbs stairs and hops obstacles, and a storm rolls in at half health. In multiplayer, every player who contributes earns their own **Heart of Orduk**. Late arrivals can make their own offering at the podium to claim theirs.
## 🐋 Whaleborne × Create: The Two-Floor Whale *(optional)*
With **Whaleborne** and **Create** installed, a befriended hullback with a finished hull grows a second floor:
* **Floor 2** is Whaleborne's ship deck, lifted one level, with the same spots for sails, masts, the helm and cannons. The tail keeps its mast spot.
* **Floor 1** is a flat plank deck that starts empty. Put your own Create machines, a bed, chests and barrels there. You can build on it while the whale swims.
* **Four water-wheel mounts**, two on each side. Each water wheel adds 10% swim speed.
* **Drop anchor** and the lower deck is set down as real blocks, so Create machines run and the water wheels power them. Raise anchor and everything packs back up.
* Ladders on the outside of each corner post lead up to floor 2.
## 🧙 RPG Class Abilities *(optional)*
When **Player Abilities** and **Pufferfish's Skills** are both installed, Peaks & Talons adds class abilities: Berserk, Briar Guard, Dash, Double Jump, Featherfall, Frost Wave, Ignite Strike and Venom Coating.
## 🎵 Soundtrack Support
Peaks & Talons replaces vanilla music. The ambient track plays on the title screen and in menus, ambient music plays while you explore, and a boss score plays during Orduk and eagle fights. The music itself ships in the **Peaks & Talons modpack**, by [Sonic Atlas](https://www.youtube.com/@sonicatlas-dugal) and used with permission. Any resource pack that provides `pat_music` sounds is switched on automatically. Music volume starts at 30% on first launch.
## 🎞 Menu Backgrounds
Loading, saving and other menus that used the vanilla rotating room now show slow-panning scenes from Orduk's Hollow. Press **F8** in-game to capture your own 360° background. Orduk and players are hidden from the shot automatically.
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## Dependencies
**Required**
* Minecraft **1.21.1**, NeoForge **21.1.251+** (Java 21)
* [Curios API](https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/curios)
**Built around (included in the Peaks & Talons modpack):** without these, some recipes, decorations and progression steps will be missing.
* Create, Mekanism (talon processing and the Last Call axe)
* Explorer's Compass (locating Orduk's Hollow)
* FTB Quests (the story chapters ship with the modpack)
* Macaw's Fences and Walls, Macaw's Furniture, Macaw's Roofs (Hollow and marina build)
* Supplementaries, Farmer's Delight, [Let's Do] Farm & Charm and Brewery, Aquaculture 2 (tavern and marina decor)
* Whaleborne, Waystones
* Tectonic, Lithostitched, Cristel Lib (terrain and structure placement the Hollow was designed for)
**Optional integrations**
* Player Abilities, Pufferfish's Skills, More RPG Classes – Skill Tree (class-ability bridge)
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## FAQ
**Can I use this without the modpack?** You can launch with only Curios installed, but this setup isn't tested or supported. Please use the modpack.
**Multiplayer?** Yes. Boss rewards, podium claims and eagle progression are tracked per player.
**Forge / Fabric / other versions?** NeoForge 1.21.1 only.
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*Peaks & Talons is a fan-made mod and is not affiliated with Mojang or Microsoft.*
The Peaks & Talons Core Team
