Mystcraft Instability

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Instability represents the dangerous, destructive, or unpleasant qualities of an Age. In Myst lore the Art of writing was chiefly about avoiding contradictions that cause instability; Mystcraft turns that into a balance mechanic. Instability is generated by conflicting passages, by unsatisfied grammar (and the symbols it injects), by "clearing" dangling modifiers, and especially by an overabundance of rare resources or player advantages — dense ores, exposed diamond, easier mining via Bright Lighting, or faster farming via Accelerated all add instability through "greed." Conversely, symbols that make an Age more dangerous (Lightning, Scorched Surface, Spontaneous Explosions) add base stability, and duplicating an instability effect can reduce net instability.

Importantly, instability is recalculated as the world is explored (roughly every 100 chunks) based on the blocks actually present, so block-based instability is applied during play rather than baked in at world generation. Each effect can be individually disabled in the configuration.

Levels of severity:

Status effects — the mildest tier. The Age inflicts potion-style debuffs on players (or buffs on mobs). The weakest forms only apply on the surface (exposed to the sky); stronger forms apply underground too. Possible statuses include Blindness, Hunger, Mining Fatigue, Nausea, Poison, Slowness, Weakness and Wither, plus Regeneration and Resistance applied to all mobs except players. Effects can stack to stronger levels. Glass does not block "surface" exposure, but leaf blocks do.
Harmful environment — the middle tier. Random Explosions ignite blocks and damage or knock players off void/island worlds but generally cannot break stone. Scorched Surface sets exposed mobs and players on fire in roughly 5-second bursts. Charged causes random lightning strikes with all the usual effects (charged creepers, burning trees).
World destroying — the most severe tier. Meteors fall and carve out large sections of the world, potentially destroying everything over time (sometimes leaving ores around craters). Decay Blocks come in Black, Blue, Red, Purple and White varieties that spread through an Age; for example, Black Decay collapses the ground, can merge and force blocks above to fall, and can be destroyed with TNT. Crumble causes runaway erosion. Decay blocks only spread in Ages that qualify for them, so they can safely decorate creative builds elsewhere.