Board Thread:Suggestions forum/@comment-33185350-20171114194742

“He gathered the huge pine-cones from the branches of the tree. Then he set one alight with a bright blue fire, and threw it whizzing down among the circle of the wolves. It struck one on the back, and immediately his shaggy coat caught fire, and he was leaping to and fro yelping horribly. Then another came and another, one in blue flames, one in red, another in green. They burst upon the ground in the middle of the circle and went off in colored sparks and smoke. A specially large one hit the chief wolf on the nose, and he leaped in the air ten feet, and then rushed round and round the circle biting and snapping even at the other wolves in his anger and fright.” - The Hobbit

Main Suggestion
I propose that pinecones be added as a block and item. The purpose would be realism, roleplay, and decoration. It would just simply be fun. They are mentioned in lore, and we already have pine trees, so it is a logical addition.

Specifics
Pinecones would be a unique item with a variety of uses. There would be a block and an item. Pine cones will from now on occasionally drop as an item from pine trees like conkers, perhaps a little more frequently. In addition to this a very small block, smaller than skulls, would be added. The pinecone blocks would generate on forest floors underneath pine trees when the world is first loaded - they would not continue to build up over time. Players can place pinecone items as blocks, and break blocks to obtain the item.

Block Mechanics
When placed, the block is slightly off center from the block it is on top of and can be rotated any direction.

The block would appear solid, but it would not feel solid to the player. Players walking across a pinecone would feel like they were walking across flat ground. That is, they wouldn’t have to jump or move upwards at all when crossing it.

Pinecone blocks when stepped on will emit a jarring crunch sound. This crunch can be heard from significant distances, say up to 30 blocks away. Additionally hostile NPCs will be able to see you from greater distances for ten seconds after stepping on a pinecone - they have been alerted to your presence by the noise. Stepping on a pinecone will negate the effects of Galadhrim Cloaks for ten seconds.

Rangers will avoid pinecone blocks if possible. If they accidentally step on one, or are pushed onto one when they are in their ghostly form, they will lose that form immediately and become unable to hide again for ten seconds. Other NPCs will not bother to avoid pinecones, and they can be seen by enemies from further away if they step on them in the same manner as players.

Stepping on a pinecone will also deal 1/4 HP of damage. This is a one-time thing like a stalagmite. It would be best if it only had a small chance of dealing damage, and usually did not.

Item Mechanics
Pinecone items can be thrown like conkers. They would only do 1/4 HP of damage, and small knockback, making them much less dangerous. It would be cool if they could be shot out of the air with arrows or hit out of the air with melee weapons on a direct hit. Damage from pinecones is affected by armour, unlike conkers. However, there is a way to make them more useful: fire.

Right-clicking a block of fire will set the pinecone on fire. This can be fire on a hearth block, lava, or a beacon of Gondor. If you right-click the pinecone with flames from Khamûl's Fire it will catch a blue flame.

Once lit on fire the pinecone will disappear from the player’s inventory in five seconds unless thrown. If the player attempts to put in in a chest or other block’s inventory such as a dispenser, it will disappear immediately.

The flaming pinecone can then be thrown at enemies. On a direct hit it will set the enemy on fire (Only a direct hit, so as not to replace fire-pots). The fire will only do damage, making it less deadly than fire-pots (unless it is lit from Khamûl’s fire, in which case it will do  damage). Thrown pinecones are recoverable, but thrown burning pinecones are not.

Unfortunately it is not always a good idea to play with fire. Upon lighting the pinecone the player will receive damage, and another  damage one second later. One second after that the player will catch on fire and keep burning until the pinecone disappears or is thrown away.

Additional Embellishment
Pine tree leaf blocks will now have a new texture. It will look exactly the same except appear to have several pinecones, similar to a berry bush. Most pine tree leaf blocks will be free of pinecones, but depending on coordinates (like coral) a few leaf blocks in every tree will appear to have pinecones. All leaf blocks will have the exact same chance to drop a pinecone when broken. Collecting both types of leaves will yield the same block, but when placed they will have a chance of displaying pinecones or not.

Please let me know if you think this would be a fun addition or not, and if you have any other ideas for pinecones. Kudos and constructive criticism are both appreciated.

 