Skillcloaks | RuneScape-Style Ability Capes Mod

Skillcloaks brings the iconic skill capes from RuneScape straight into Minecraft, and it does it with a clever twist. Instead of grinding skills to max, you earn these ability capes by trading with villagers, then equip them in a Curios back slot to gain a powerful passive effect while you wear them. Twenty-two capes are included, and every single one is inspired by a RuneScape skill, from agility and mining to magic and prayer.

How to Earn Skill Cloaks From Villagers

You do not craft these capes. Instead, you buy sealed sacks from master-tier villagers, and the color of the sack decides which capes you can pull out of it.

• The Brown Sack is sold by the Fletcher and the Toolsmith
• The Green Sack is sold by the Farmer and the Fisherman
• The Red Sack is sold by the Armorer and the Weaponsmith
• The Blue Sack is sold by the Librarian and the Cleric
• The Black Sack is given to you when you right-click a Nitwit villager while holding a stack of emeralds

Each sack hands you a random cloak from a themed pool, so a few trades can set you up with a full collection.

• Brown Sack: Agility Cloak, Cooking Cloak, Smithing Cloak
• Green Sack: Farming Cloak, Fishing Cloak, Hunter Cloak
• Red Sack: Attack Cloak, Defence Cloak, Ranging Cloak
• Blue Sack: Construction Cloak, Firemaking Cloak, Thieving Cloak
• Black Sack: Max Cloak

Every Skill Cloak and What It Does

All 22 capes tie directly to a RuneScape skill, and the abilities map cleanly onto everyday Minecraft tasks. A few stand out as genuinely useful for survival, exploration, and combat.

Agility Cloak

You become exhausted much slower while wearing it, which means you burn through far less food as you sprint and jump around the world.

Crafting Cloak

Press the cloak ability key and a full 3x3 crafting grid opens on the spot. No crafting table required, which is a lifesaver deep underground or on long expeditions.

Farming Cloak

Bone meal covers a much larger area when this cloak is equipped, letting you grow crops in bulk with a fraction of the usual effort.

Firemaking Cloak

Drop sticks on the ground and they turn into torches, giving you an endless light source from a cheap material. If you also run Lucent, the cloak emits a light that follows you around.

Defence Cloak

This one acts like a Totem of Undying. It prevents a lethal blow once per full Minecraft day, then needs time to recharge before it can save you again.

The remaining capes cover the rest of the skill roster. Attack Cloak gives your armor a chance to ignore durability loss, Mining Cloak grants a fortune effect while you dig, Woodcutting Cloak lets you fell a whole tree by breaking one block, Magic Cloak transfers enchantments and curses off items onto books, and Max Cloak bundles every single ability into one ultimate cape that you can toggle between modes by crouching and pressing the ability key. You also get capes for cooking, smithing, fishing, fletching, herblore, hitpoints, hunter, prayer, runecraft, slayer, strength, thieving, ranging, and construction.

Installing Skillcloaks and Its Dependencies

This is a Forge and NeoForge mod, so you will need a matching mod loader set up before you drop the jar in your mods folder. If you have not set one up yet, our Minecraft Forge guide walks through the install from scratch.

Skillcloaks relies on two library mods to run. Curios API is required because every cape lives in a Curios back slot, and from version 1.2.0 onward the mod also needs ShadowizardLib, a shared code library from the same author. Grab both, place their jars alongside the Skillcloaks jar, and you are good to go.

Two more mods are fully optional. Caelus API unlocks the elytra-style flight slot the capes use, and Lucent makes the Firemaking Cloak emit a follow light. Neither is mandatory, but together they round out the experience. For a broader overview of getting mods running on any loader, see our how to install Minecraft mods walkthrough.

Skill Cloaks Frequently Asked Questions

How many skill cloaks are in the mod?

There are 22 capes in total. Twenty-one map to individual RuneScape skills, and the Max Cloak combines all of them into a single endgame item earned from the Black Sack.

Do I need Curios API to use Skillcloaks?

Yes. Curios is a hard requirement because the capes occupy a Curios back slot. ShadowizardLib is also required from version 1.2.0 onward. Without both installed, the game will not load the mod.

Can I make the capes cosmetic only?

Yes. The config files expose a range of options, including the ability to disable effects and turn every cloak into a pure cosmetic item. Modpack makers can tune ability ranges and behavior from the same files.

Is Skillcloaks still maintained?

The latest release shipped in June 2026, so the project stays active and receives updates alongside current Minecraft builds. Check the project page for the newest files if you want the most recent fixes.

Is Skillcloaks similar to other RPG-style Minecraft mods?

It shares DNA with mods that layer progression and abilities onto vanilla, like the Passive Skill Tree mod. Where those mods add skill systems, Skillcloaks keeps things item-based, tying each ability to a wearable cape you earn through trading.