Thread SMP — Design Doc & Install Guide

A fully working Bedrock add-on: 12 Threads, 12 Legendary Knots, death/PvP Thread stealing, and a full crafting chain. Built with the Script API (@minecraft/server 2.1.0+, @minecraft/server-ui 2.1.0+) — no Java-only mechanics.

Install

1. Double-click ThreadSMP.mcaddon (or on mobile/console, share it to Minecraft / open it from Files). This imports both the behavior pack and resource pack.
2. Create a new world (or edit an existing one) → Behavior Packs → activate Thread SMP → Resource Packs → activate Thread SMP.
3. No experimental toggles needed — everything here uses stable Script API.
4. If Minecraft complains the pack needs a newer game version: update Minecraft. If it complains about an unrecognized module version, open BP/manifest.json and RP/manifest.json and lower the min_engine_version / @minecraft/server / @minecraft/server-ui version numbers slightly — Mojang ships new script module versions with almost every release, so exact numbers drift. Current values were accurate as of mid-2026.

How it plays

• Every new player spawns with 1 random Thread (of 12) — a passive + active ability — as a real, physical item, already equipped.
• Threads and Knots are physical items. Right-click one you own to equip it (only one Thread and one Knot active at a time). It sits in your hotbar like any item — no crafting a "Weaver" tool, no menu.
• Crouch (sneak) activates your equipped Thread's active ability, modified by your equipped Knot. One crouch press = one activation attempt; an action bar message shows the ability name or remaining cooldown.
• Getting a new Thread, or crafting a new Knot, pops up a title on screen telling you what you got and how to use it.
• Threads and Knots can't be dropped — this uses Bedrock's real, native item flags (minecraft:item_lock mode lock_in_inventory, plus minecraft:keep_on_death), applied via ItemStack.lockMode / ItemStack.keepOnDeath in script whenever one is created. The engine enforces it directly — no drop-and-catch workaround. They also survive death (mob kills, fall damage, lava, anything) — except whichever Thread and whichever Knot you have equipped at the moment another player kills you (that specific item is removed directly from your inventory by script, which bypasses the lock same as /replaceitem does). Die to a mob or the environment and you keep everything.
• Knot Weaver is back — as a weapon, not a menu tool. +7 attack damage, and landing a hit with it on a player who has any Knot equipped applies Weakness I for 6s. It's a dedicated anti-Knot counter you craft specifically to fight Knot users. Recipe unchanged: Totem of Undying, Heavy Core, Netherite Ingot, 2 String — shapeless, and open to everyone (it doesn't require owning a Thread, since it's not Knot-management infrastructure anymore).
• Kill another player → gain a random Thread you don't already own (never their exact one). Already own all 12? You get Thread Essence instead. The victim's equipped Thread and Knot (if any) are gone for good — the Thread returns to the pool for someone else to eventually find, and the Knot must be crafted again from scratch.
• Every hour of playtime, same Thread/Essence reward as a kill.
• Legendary Knots modify your Thread (bonus damage, cooldown reduction, extra passives, etc.) — craft one in a crafting table and it's yours permanently (until lost the way described above): right-click to equip, crouch to use it just like a Thread.

Note on that death rule: your original brief only ever mentioned Threads being lost on death. Your newest message said "threads and knots" should follow the same "not lost unless equipped and killed by a player" rule, so I extended the loss condition to equipped Knots too — that's a real rebalance (crafting a Knot is no longer a zero-risk, permanent investment). If you actually only meant for Knots to be undroppable-but-never-lost (and wanted the death-loss to stay Thread-only, like before), say so and I'll flip it back — it's a one-line change in events.js's handlePlayerDeath.

The 12 Threads

The 12 Legendary Knots

Every Knot is crafted alongside 1 hidden Thread Sigil (only present if you own ≥1 Thread) + 1 Thread Essence (only obtainable once you own all 12 Threads) + the ingredients above. All recipes are shapeless — combine the ingredients in a crafting table in any arrangement. There's no Thread recipe — Threads are only ever granted by the game, never crafted.

Knot Weaver (weapon, not a Knot itself — see below): Totem of Undying, Heavy Core, Netherite Ingot, 2 String.

Knot bonus abilities

Each Knot now has a second ability on top of its original modifier effect (the table above) — activated by its own gesture, since crouch is already Thread ability, and shares its power level with Threads. Spider and World Tree are on-hit rather than gesture-triggered: they fire off a melee hit landed while sneaking, same cooldown gate as the rest.