Credit for the Challenge goes to Cthulhu725's Post where they came up with the idea and check out Lilariel's Post where they revised, clarified and in general made a more in-depth version of the rules/guidelines.
About This Post
I've stumbled upon the old Tree Spirit Challenge very recently and it looked like fun. I decided to re-write/re-phrase the challenge for my Purposes. Definitely check out Lilariel's Post and Cthulhu725's Post for their versions of the challenge.
for future context, this post was written in Early 2025 and with the 1.21.4 Java version of Minecraft in Mind
Challenge Goal/Lore
You are a Dryad Tree Spirit, you are connected/one with your Spirit/Mother Tree. You Need to Survive and Thrive in this world and overcome the challenges that come with being chained to your Tree. and Ultimately Grow your Spirit Tree into a World Tree. Making it Huge and Dominating over the Land.
Start a New world and Pick a Tree, Chop it Down and leave the bottom Log. That Log block is now the Heart of your Future World Tree. if It's destroyed/breaks the Challenge is Failed. also You Can't gather materials/do anything prior to picking a tree and binding yourself to it.
[Heart Log easy to lose amongst other Logs?]
(You can Optionally choose to replace the Heart Log with another Block that has similar or worse blast resistance than a Log for easier identification of the Heart Log)
[Did you choose a 2x2 Tree?]
(also if your chosen tree started as a 2x2 Tree then just pick 1 of the 4 bottom logs to become your Heart log)
[Didn't get enough saplings?]
(If for whatever reason you don't get enough saplings from your Spirit Tree at the start. Than you can throw away one Spirit Log and one other item that is currently your most valued item and convert a non Spirit sapling of the same type of tree into a Spirit Sapling)(or come up with your own method that feels fair to you)
You are now bound to your chosen Spirit Tree and can not be more than one block away from a Log or Leaf that is connected to the Heart log of your Spirit Tree. The Logs and Leaves have to come from the off spring of your Spirit Tree.
You can consider all the Logs and leaves that come from your Spirit Tree/offspring as Spirit Logs and Spirit Leaves.
<-- The White area around the Spirit Logs are safe to be in,
but you can't go further than 1 block away from your Spirit logs/leaves.
Imagine needing to be no further than an arms reach away from your Spirit Log.
You can collect wood from Trees that aren't from your Spirit Tree, but you must consider it Dead Wood. if it's the same type of log as your spirit tree then immediately convert it into planks so you don't confuse it with your Spirit Logs. only use the Dead Wood as Fuel, in Crafting or as Building Decor, but remember it won't count as an extension of your Spirit Tree.
<-- An example of how you can grow your Spirit Roots/Branches.
- Swimming/Boats: Must be within 3 Blocks of a Spirit Log/Leaf
- Mounted Animal: Must be within 1 Block of a Spirit Log/Leaf
- Minecarts/Rails: Rails must be built on Spirit Logs/Leaves. Player in Minecart can be in the air but must take off from and Land back on a Spirit Log/Leaf (and remember all Spirit logs/leaves must be connected back to the Heart Log in some way)
- Airborne Travel: Must take off from and Land back on within one Block of a Spirit Log/Leaf (and remember all Spirit logs/leaves must be connected back to the Heart Log in some way)
Airborne Travel includes Ender Pearls, Elytra, Wind Charges, Jumping, Tridents, Explosions and the Levitation effect
- Nether portal: Your Spirt Log/leaf must connect/touch the Nether Portal in the overworld. The Spirit Logs/Leaves can be extended in the other dimension from the portal, but must be connected back to that Portal that has a connection to your Spirit Tree in the Overworld
- End portal: same as Nether portal. The naturally generating Obsidian platform in the End will be considered part of your Spirit Tree as long as the End portal in the Overworld is connected to your Spirit Tree.
- Slime & Honey Blocks: Honey Sliding is fine as long as all the Honey blocks are connected/touching a Spirit Log/Leaf.
Slime Blocks can push/launch you, but you must Land back on within one Block of a Spirit Log/Leaf. The slime block that's moving you must be no more than 1 block away from a Spirit Log/Leaf.
- Flying Machines: You're Not Allowed to Travel/Move via Flying Machine. you can still make them for use in farms/contraptions, you just can't ride them.
- Scaffolding: You're Not Allowed to Travel/Move through the world using Scaffolding. you can still use it for Fuel, Crafting and Building/Decor just like any other block.
- End Gateways: you can use them, but you must connect them to your Spirit Tree using Spirit Logs/Leaves. and to keep traveling on the other side of them you must of course continue your Spirit Logs/Leaves from them.
(if when you go through it and it throws you on the ground that's okay, just really quickly build back up to it using your Spirit Logs/leaves to connect them)
(also remember that the Naturally generating Obsidian platform at the Main Island is considered a part of/connected to your Spirit Tree as long has the End portal in the Overworld is Connected to your Spirit Tree)
If you can connect the Obsidian Platform you spawn on in the End with the Bedrock Fountain at the center of the Main Island Using your Spirit Logs/leaves then only during the Dragon fight can you temporarily move freely around the main island.
This helps make the Dragon fight more possible. You still have to make sure the connection between the Fountain and the Obsidian Platform don't break or you will be considered disconnected from your Spirit tree. I suggest making these Roots/Connections extra thick and making multiple of them that connect to the fountain.
after defeating the dragon you will get a grace period to collect all the XP and to get the Dragon Egg, but you can't do anything else during that grace period. after you have collected the XP and/or the Dragon Egg you must return to a Spirit Log/Leaf that is connected to your Spirit Tree and go back to the Normal travel/moving restrictions.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Getting Disconnected from your Spirit Tree
if you get Disconnected from your Spirit Tree (except when briefly picking up items). like from a Root/Branch getting disconnected from an explosion, or you get launch too far from your a Spirit Log/Leaf, etc...
Then you must drop all your items where you are and then go find some way to die. If you have access to the /kill command from being op, through a plugin, etc... then your free to use that to kill yourself. but only in this circumstance of using it as a consequence of getting disconnected from your Spirit Tree.
if you want to get your items back then you will just have to regrow/grow your Spirit Roots/Branches out to where your items are so you can get them back.
you can choose to go and die while still holding your items, but then try and avoid dying closer to the direction you'd be coming from after you respawn.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Keep your Spirit Tree Resembling a Tree
As you grow your Tree make sure to keep The Tree looking like a tree where the Heart Log is. you don't need to be an expert tree builder. I'm just asking to avoid your Spirit/World Tree from looking like a Wooden building and that it still resembles a Tree.
You can have Structures/Building looking things that are apart of your tree, in your tree, and/or overlapped in some way especially when you've made your spirit tree a decent size. it should be like "woah that Tree has a building in it/coming out of it" and not " woah that building has a sprout/little tree coming out of it".
you can make buildings/structures outside of your Spirit/World Tree, but they should never dwarf over your Spirit Tree. Your Spirit tree needs to remain the Biggest/Dominant thing that you build. you are growing a World Tree after all.
Don't worry about your Roots/Branches looking really good/neat. it's okay if a lot of them are purely functional, they will still end up creating a cool/interesting look as you grow out the Roots of your Spirit tree in every which way.
Also there is no specific height/goal for how big to make your Spirit/World Tree. make it how ever big you want, while still following what I wrote above
And no worries if your tree is in like mid construction so it might not look like a tree at the moment, as long has you don't leave it like that permanently)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Exceptions
- A - Can Be One Block above Spirit Log/Leaf. The be within 1 block of a Spirit Log/leaf rule has an exception that you can put a block on top of a spirit log/leaf and stand on that, but you can go no further away than that. and jumping from that spot is fine too as long as you land back 1 block within a Spirit Log/Leaf.
<-- Safe (standing on top)
<-- Safe (standing on top)
<-- Not Safe (standing on top)
- B - Item Pick up Exception. You can temporarily leave your Spirit Logs/Leaves only to briefly pick up dropped items from things you mined/killed, but still don't stray too far from your Spirit Logs/Leaves. When breaking/mining a block/object you still have to follow the within 1 block of your Spirit Logs/leaves rule.
- C - Respawned away from your Tree?. You get a Grace period if after you Die you Respawn away from your Tree or any Spirit Logs/Leaves then you can of course walk/get back to your tree or the nearest Spirit Root/Branch. During this Grace Period you're not allowed to gather/collect anything or change your world in any way that isn't to better help you get back to your Tree.
-D - Barked Logs are Logs You can use Barked Logs as spirit logs if crafted using your spirit logs. it's the Block with the Bark texture on all sides.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Keep Yourself honest
This is a given, but you are the only one that can keep yourself accountable with these rules since they are self enforced.
But what is also important is that you have fun and play how you want to play. If you don't like a rule then don't follow it or just modify it.
no shame in changing the challenge to fit how you want to play it, having fun is the most important thing at the end of the day.
also if you are trying to strictly stick to the rules, don't be afraid to cut yourself some slack every now and then if you make a genuine minor mistake.
- Fire Spread On: Keep Fire Spread turned on, if you want the challenge of dealing with your Heart Log and your main building material going up in flames.
( I usually keep Fire Spread off when playing Minecraft, and I plan on keeping it off when playing through the Challenge myself )
[Recommended]
- Swapping the Heart Log: You can Optionally choose to replace the Heart Log with another Block that has similar or worse blast resistance than a Log for easier identification of the Heart Log. Once you start growing your Roots/Branches your Heart Log can get easy to lose, and it is important to be able to keep track of it.
- Hardcore Mode: If you want the even harder challenge of only having one life, than turn on hard mode.
- Spirt Wood is The Only Wood: Become an Extra Picky Dryad and exclusively only use Wood that came from your Spirit Tree for anything Wood Related. So Fuel, Crafting and any Building/Decor using wood must be using wood from your Spirit tree. What was considered Dead Wood before is now truly dead to you and unusable, throw away any Dead Wood you accidently get.
- Better Range: If you want a slightly easier time with the distance you have to be from your Spirit Logs/Leaves than just double the range. So now you can be within 2 blocks of a Spirit Log/Leaf
- Bed locked: Keep your Bed near your Heart Log, and no using Respawn Anchors.
- A True World Tree: Make it a goal to Grow your Spirit Tree all the way to build height limit and to make some of it's Roots reach Bedrock. But you can't have the tree trunk be lanky when it's as tall as the world height because than the proportion would look weird and not feel as impressive.
So the Trunk must have a minimum radius of 3 blocks not counting the center block
. .. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . .. . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .
(Examples of what a 3 Block radius could look like)
In the first couple of weeks I might end up tweaking/modifying this post. but it will likely stay mostly unchanged.
thanks for reading, and I hope you give this challenge a try!
Oh, someone else was doing this a while back but then it went dormant. I started reading this and went "wait, this looks familiar..."
The idea sounds interesting to me, but I wouldn't have the time to devote to it without taking away from other things, so reading it was fun. It sounds like it would be hard to stick to a world like this and would better for a short term one maybe.
Credits
Credit for the Challenge goes to Cthulhu725's Post where they came up with the idea and check out Lilariel's Post where they revised, clarified and in general made a more in-depth version of the rules/guidelines.
I've stumbled upon the old Tree Spirit Challenge very recently and it looked like fun. I decided to re-write/re-phrase the challenge for my Purposes. Definitely check out Lilariel's Post and Cthulhu725's Post for their versions of the challenge.
for future context, this post was written in Early 2025 and with the 1.21.4 Java version of Minecraft in Mind
You are a Dryad Tree Spirit, you are connected/one with your Spirit/Mother Tree. You Need to Survive and Thrive in this world and overcome the challenges that come with being chained to your Tree. and Ultimately Grow your Spirit Tree into a World Tree. Making it Huge and Dominating over the Land.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Choose your Spirit Tree.
Start a New world and Pick a Tree, Chop it Down and leave the bottom Log. That Log block is now the Heart of your Future World Tree. if It's destroyed/breaks the Challenge is Failed. also You Can't gather materials/do anything prior to picking a tree and binding yourself to it.
[Heart Log easy to lose amongst other Logs?]
(You can Optionally choose to replace the Heart Log with another Block that has similar or worse blast resistance than a Log for easier identification of the Heart Log)
[Did you choose a 2x2 Tree?]
(also if your chosen tree started as a 2x2 Tree then just pick 1 of the 4 bottom logs to become your Heart log)
[Didn't get enough saplings?]
(If for whatever reason you don't get enough saplings from your Spirit Tree at the start. Than you can throw away one Spirit Log and one other item that is currently your most valued item and convert a non Spirit sapling of the same type of tree into a Spirit Sapling)(or come up with your own method that feels fair to you)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Bound to Your Tree & rules for Dead Wood
You are now bound to your chosen Spirit Tree and can not be more than one block away from a Log or Leaf that is connected to the Heart log of your Spirit Tree. The Logs and Leaves have to come from the off spring of your Spirit Tree.
You can consider all the Logs and leaves that come from your Spirit Tree/offspring as Spirit Logs and Spirit Leaves.
You can collect wood from Trees that aren't from your Spirit Tree, but you must consider it Dead Wood. if it's the same type of log as your spirit tree then immediately convert it into planks so you don't confuse it with your Spirit Logs. only use the Dead Wood as Fuel, in Crafting or as Building Decor, but remember it won't count as an extension of your Spirit Tree.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Non walking/Running Transportation rules.
- Swimming/Boats: Must be within 3 Blocks of a Spirit Log/Leaf
- Mounted Animal: Must be within 1 Block of a Spirit Log/Leaf
- Minecarts/Rails: Rails must be built on Spirit Logs/Leaves. Player in Minecart can be in the air but must take off from and Land back on a Spirit Log/Leaf (and remember all Spirit logs/leaves must be connected back to the Heart Log in some way)
- Airborne Travel: Must take off from and Land back on within one Block of a Spirit Log/Leaf (and remember all Spirit logs/leaves must be connected back to the Heart Log in some way)
Airborne Travel includes Ender Pearls, Elytra, Wind Charges, Jumping, Tridents, Explosions and the Levitation effect
- Nether portal: Your Spirt Log/leaf must connect/touch the Nether Portal in the overworld. The Spirit Logs/Leaves can be extended in the other dimension from the portal, but must be connected back to that Portal that has a connection to your Spirit Tree in the Overworld
- End portal: same as Nether portal. The naturally generating Obsidian platform in the End will be considered part of your Spirit Tree as long as the End portal in the Overworld is connected to your Spirit Tree.
- Slime & Honey Blocks: Honey Sliding is fine as long as all the Honey blocks are connected/touching a Spirit Log/Leaf.
Slime Blocks can push/launch you, but you must Land back on within one Block of a Spirit Log/Leaf. The slime block that's moving you must be no more than 1 block away from a Spirit Log/Leaf.
- Flying Machines: You're Not Allowed to Travel/Move via Flying Machine. you can still make them for use in farms/contraptions, you just can't ride them.
- Scaffolding: You're Not Allowed to Travel/Move through the world using Scaffolding. you can still use it for Fuel, Crafting and Building/Decor just like any other block.
- End Gateways: you can use them, but you must connect them to your Spirit Tree using Spirit Logs/Leaves. and to keep traveling on the other side of them you must of course continue your Spirit Logs/Leaves from them.
(if when you go through it and it throws you on the ground that's okay, just really quickly build back up to it using your Spirit Logs/leaves to connect them)
(also remember that the Naturally generating Obsidian platform at the Main Island is considered a part of/connected to your Spirit Tree as long has the End portal in the Overworld is Connected to your Spirit Tree)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. No Peaceful mode
Peaceful mode get's rid of some of the challenge. Play in Easy, Normal or Hard difficulty
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Dragon Fight
If you can connect the Obsidian Platform you spawn on in the End with the Bedrock Fountain at the center of the Main Island Using your Spirit Logs/leaves then only during the Dragon fight can you temporarily move freely around the main island.
This helps make the Dragon fight more possible. You still have to make sure the connection between the Fountain and the Obsidian Platform don't break or you will be considered disconnected from your Spirit tree. I suggest making these Roots/Connections extra thick and making multiple of them that connect to the fountain.
after defeating the dragon you will get a grace period to collect all the XP and to get the Dragon Egg, but you can't do anything else during that grace period. after you have collected the XP and/or the Dragon Egg you must return to a Spirit Log/Leaf that is connected to your Spirit Tree and go back to the Normal travel/moving restrictions.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Getting Disconnected from your Spirit Tree
if you get Disconnected from your Spirit Tree (except when briefly picking up items). like from a Root/Branch getting disconnected from an explosion, or you get launch too far from your a Spirit Log/Leaf, etc...
Then you must drop all your items where you are and then go find some way to die. If you have access to the /kill command from being op, through a plugin, etc... then your free to use that to kill yourself. but only in this circumstance of using it as a consequence of getting disconnected from your Spirit Tree.
if you want to get your items back then you will just have to regrow/grow your Spirit Roots/Branches out to where your items are so you can get them back.
you can choose to go and die while still holding your items, but then try and avoid dying closer to the direction you'd be coming from after you respawn.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Keep your Spirit Tree Resembling a Tree
As you grow your Tree make sure to keep The Tree looking like a tree where the Heart Log is. you don't need to be an expert tree builder. I'm just asking to avoid your Spirit/World Tree from looking like a Wooden building and that it still resembles a Tree.
You can have Structures/Building looking things that are apart of your tree, in your tree, and/or overlapped in some way especially when you've made your spirit tree a decent size. it should be like "woah that Tree has a building in it/coming out of it" and not " woah that building has a sprout/little tree coming out of it".
you can make buildings/structures outside of your Spirit/World Tree, but they should never dwarf over your Spirit Tree. Your Spirit tree needs to remain the Biggest/Dominant thing that you build. you are growing a World Tree after all.
Don't worry about your Roots/Branches looking really good/neat. it's okay if a lot of them are purely functional, they will still end up creating a cool/interesting look as you grow out the Roots of your Spirit tree in every which way.
Also there is no specific height/goal for how big to make your Spirit/World Tree. make it how ever big you want, while still following what I wrote above
And no worries if your tree is in like mid construction so it might not look like a tree at the moment, as long has you don't leave it like that permanently)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Exceptions
- A - Can Be One Block above Spirit Log/Leaf. The be within 1 block of a Spirit Log/leaf rule has an exception that you can put a block on top of a spirit log/leaf and stand on that, but you can go no further away than that. and jumping from that spot is fine too as long as you land back 1 block within a Spirit Log/Leaf.
- B - Item Pick up Exception. You can temporarily leave your Spirit Logs/Leaves only to briefly pick up dropped items from things you mined/killed, but still don't stray too far from your Spirit Logs/Leaves. When breaking/mining a block/object you still have to follow the within 1 block of your Spirit Logs/leaves rule.
- C - Respawned away from your Tree?. You get a Grace period if after you Die you Respawn away from your Tree or any Spirit Logs/Leaves then you can of course walk/get back to your tree or the nearest Spirit Root/Branch. During this Grace Period you're not allowed to gather/collect anything or change your world in any way that isn't to better help you get back to your Tree.
- D - Barked Logs are Logs
You can use Barked Logs as spirit logs if crafted using your spirit logs. it's the Block with the Bark texture on all sides.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Keep Yourself honest
This is a given, but you are the only one that can keep yourself accountable with these rules since they are self enforced.
But what is also important is that you have fun and play how you want to play. If you don't like a rule then don't follow it or just modify it.
no shame in changing the challenge to fit how you want to play it, having fun is the most important thing at the end of the day.
also if you are trying to strictly stick to the rules, don't be afraid to cut yourself some slack every now and then if you make a genuine minor mistake.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Optional Choices/Challenges
- Fire Spread On: Keep Fire Spread turned on, if you want the challenge of dealing with your Heart Log and your main building material going up in flames.
( I usually keep Fire Spread off when playing Minecraft, and I plan on keeping it off when playing through the Challenge myself )
- Swapping the Heart Log: You can Optionally choose to replace the Heart Log with another Block that has similar or worse blast resistance than a Log for easier identification of the Heart Log. Once you start growing your Roots/Branches your Heart Log can get easy to lose, and it is important to be able to keep track of it.
- Hardcore Mode: If you want the even harder challenge of only having one life, than turn on hard mode.
- Spirt Wood is The Only Wood: Become an Extra Picky Dryad and exclusively only use Wood that came from your Spirit Tree for anything Wood Related. So Fuel, Crafting and any Building/Decor using wood must be using wood from your Spirit tree. What was considered Dead Wood before is now truly dead to you and unusable, throw away any Dead Wood you accidently get.
- Better Range: If you want a slightly easier time with the distance you have to be from your Spirit Logs/Leaves than just double the range. So now you can be within 2 blocks of a Spirit Log/Leaf
- Bed locked: Keep your Bed near your Heart Log, and no using Respawn Anchors.
- A True World Tree: Make it a goal to Grow your Spirit Tree all the way to build height limit and to make some of it's Roots reach Bedrock. But you can't have the tree trunk be lanky when it's as tall as the world height because than the proportion would look weird and not feel as impressive.
So the Trunk must have a minimum radius of 3 blocks not counting the center block
(Examples of what a 3 Block radius could look like)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the first couple of weeks I might end up tweaking/modifying this post. but it will likely stay mostly unchanged.
thanks for reading, and I hope you give this challenge a try!
Oh, someone else was doing this a while back but then it went dormant. I started reading this and went "wait, this looks familiar..."
The idea sounds interesting to me, but I wouldn't have the time to devote to it without taking away from other things, so reading it was fun. It sounds like it would be hard to stick to a world like this and would better for a short term one maybe.