Iron’s Spells & Spellbooks – COMPLETE Beginner Guide

How to find structures, unlock spells, craft spellbooks, upgrade your gear, and defeat every boss.

If you’re starting out with Iron’s Spells & Spellbooks, this guide covers world generation, structures, spell crafting, ink creation, gear progression, boss fights, and everything you need to know to beat the mod from start to finish.

Prefer a video Explanation? Click here -

✅ World Generation & Structures – What to Find First

The first thing you’ll notice when exploring a world with Iron’s Spells & Spellbooks installed is a variety of new magical structures. These are critical for early-game spell scrolls, ink, arcane essence, and spell-casting gear.

1. Pyromancer Tower (MOST IMPORTANT Structure)

The Pyromancer Tower is the most valuable early structure. Inside you will find:

• Spell scrolls in barrels (e.g., Firebolt Scroll)
• Arcane essence
• Ink
• Decorative items
• A friendly Pyromancer NPC

On the top floors, expect light loot.

In the basement, you’ll meet the Pyromancer who trades:

• Blazestorm Scroll
• Magma Bomb Scroll
• Heat Surge Scroll
• Ale and basic spell items

He also sells epic-tier spells like Heat Surge, which has:

• Armor reduction effect
• Area of effect radius
• Mana cost & cooldown
• Cast time

Loot all chests—you’ll often find:

• Common / Uncommon ink
• Arcane essence
• Extra scrolls
• Rare magical accessories

You may also find an Inscription Table in these towers.

🔎 Finding Pyromancer Towers Quickly

If your modpack includes Explorer’s Compass, search:

@iron

and teleport or locate the nearest structure.

2. Mountain Towers

Common in snowy biomes.

Contain light loot and occasionally scrolls or arcane essence.

3. Mangrove Hut (Swamp)

These huts contain:

• A hostile Pigman-like mob
• An Apothecarist NPC that trades Nature-based spells and potion components

4. Evoker Fort

A fortified structure filled with Illagers.

Expect:

• Combat
• High value loot
• Occasional scrolls

5. Catacombs (Underground Dungeon)

A huge, sprawling dungeon found deep underground. Inside you’ll find:

• Tons of loot
• Scrolls and rare inks
• Arcane essence
• The Dead King boss

You can locate them easily using the Wayward Compass, a built-in item from the mod.

6. Mithril Ore

When mining, look for Mithril Ore, used to craft:

• Mithril Ingots
• Mithril-based equipment later in progression

Mithril is essential for mid- to late-game gear.

✅ How to Start Casting Spells

Once you've looted some scrolls, it’s time to create your first spellbook and start casting.

Step 1: Craft an Inscription Table

Use this to inscribe scrolls into your spellbook.

Step 2: Make a Flimsy Journal

Your first spellbook.

• Holds 5 spells
• Cheap to craft

Insert it into the inscription table.

Step 3: Add Spells

Place a scroll (e.g., Firebolt) in the bottom slot → press the button → it’s added to your journal.

Step 4: Equip Your Spellbook

If Curios is installed (it usually is), equip it in the Spellbook Slot.

How to Cast Spells

• Press R = Spell Wheel (shown above for example).
• Select a spell
• Press V = Cast

The spell will now:

• Consume mana
• Trigger cooldown
• Show cast time

You can remove spells at any time using the Inscription Table.

✅ Best Early-Game Gear (Mana, Damage, Cooldown Reduction)

1. Wandering Magician Set

• Easy to craft
• +25 maximum mana per piece

Great early option.

2. Scarecrow Set

• Uses Arcane Cloth
• More expensive
• +75 maximum mana

A solid mid-game upgrade.

3. Wizard Set

• Very strong
• +125 maximum mana
• +Damage to your spells

⭐ Spellbooks to Aim For

Higher tier spellbooks increase:

• Mana
• Cooldown reduction
• Spell slots

Examples:

• Ironbound Tome – 6 slots
• Ancient Codex – 12 slots, +20% cooldown reduction
• Element-Focused Manuals (Fire, Ice, Ender, etc.)

🔥 Using Staves Instead of Spellbooks

If you prefer right-click casting:

• Craft the Artificer’s Cane
• Gives cast time reduction, cooldown reduction, and spell power

It's one of the best early staves.

💍 Best Early Rings & Accessories

Crafted using Mithril Scraps:

• Ring of Recovery → Cooldown reduction
• Ring of Expediency → Cast time reduction
• Fire Ward Ring → Fire resistance
• Stone Plate Ring → Extra XP

And more—check JEI for full lists.

✨ Crafting Your Own Spells

To make custom spells, you'll need:

1. Scroll Forge

Place:

• Ink
• Paper
• The elemental catalyst item (Blaze Rod, Frozen Bone, Rotten Flesh, etc.)

Each element corresponds to one spell school:

• Fire
• Ice
• Lightning
• Nature
• Ender
• Eldritch
• Holy
• Evocation
• Blood

Higher-tier ink = higher-level spell scroll.

🧪 Inks – How to Make Common → Legendary Ink

Use the Alchemist Cauldron:

Make sure to put a campfire or other heat source below then fill with water.

As you can see below - the scrolls ive put in are transformed into rare ink, which can be taken out with a glass bottle.

Get Base Ink

Right-click scrolls into the cauldron.

• 50% chance to convert the scroll → common ink units

Upgrade Ink

Add:

• Copper → turns common → uncommon
• Iron → uncommon → rare
• Gold → rare → epic
• Amethyst → epic → legendary

Bottle the Ink

Right-click with a glass bottle → gets 1 unit of ink.

⚒ Upgrading Spells and Gear (Orbs & Runes)

Upgrade Orbs (The runes you need, will drop from a boss called the dead king, which we cover later in this guide).

Craft Empty Upgrade Orbs, then combine with:

• Fire Runes
• Ice Runes
• Holy Runes
• Ender Runes

Each orb grants:

• +5% spell power for the related school

How to Get Runes

• Found in loot
• Crafted using Blank Runestones
• Blank Runestones come from: The Dead King boss

Arcane Anvil

Use this to:

• Add upgrade orbs to spellbooks, armor, and staves
• Remove upgrades via the Shriving Stone

🩸 Blood, Potion Elixirs & Special Items

• Jump into a water-filled Alchemist Cauldron to fill it with blood
• Used for blood magic spells

Other special drops:

• Ice Fangs (from Ice Spiders)
• Permafrost Shards (Impaled Icebreaker Shipwrecks)
• Pyrium Ingots (Citadel Vaults)
• Dragon Skin (Ender Dragon)

🧟 Boss Fights & Late-Game Progression

Boss 1: The Dead King

Found in the Catacombs throne room.

Drops:

• 28–45 Arcane Essence
• Blank Runestones
• Blood Staff
• Necronomicon (unique spellbook)

Boss 2: Tiros the Flamebreaker

Located in the Hellfire Citadel.

How to Summon:

Use a Cindrous Soul Core on the altar.

Drops:

• Divine Soul Shard
• Decrepit Scythe
• Cinder Essence
• Signet of the Betrayer
• Arcane Essence
• Decrepit Key

What the Decrepit Key Does:

Unlocks the Citadel Vault, which dispenses:

• Legendary Ink
• Pyrium Ingots
• Blank Scrolls
• Blank Runestones
• Rare magical items

This is the final progression stage of the mod.

🎉 Conclusion

If you’ve beaten Tiros and opened the Citadel Vaults, you’ve reached the end of Iron’s Spells & Spellbooks progression.