King of the Hill events your players fight over
Players fight to hold a zone, a boss bar shows who is winning, and the winner gets the rewards you choose. Three ways to win (classic, pause, points), a schedule in your time zone, team play, stats, PlaceholderAPI and an API.
For: Minecraft server owners running Paper 1.21 (PvP, factions, SMP and minigame servers).
See it work: real output from the plugin
A 2-minute points event on "Summit", three players
Recorded by the plugin's own DemoTest on a MockBukkit server: players move on and off the hill, Knollwren scores one point per second held alone, and the boss bar text below is exactly what players saw. Two players on the hill at once score nothing (contested).
| Time | On the hill | Ava | Ben | Cy | Boss bar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0:20 | Ava | 20 | 0 | 0 | Summit · leader Ava 20 pts · 1:40 [17%] |
| 0:30 | Ava, Ben | 20 | 0 | 0 | Summit · leader Ava 20 pts · 1:30 [17%] |
| 0:55 | Ben | 20 | 25 | 0 | Summit · leader Ben 25 pts · 1:05 [21%] |
| 1:10 | Cy | 20 | 25 | 15 | Summit · leader Ben 25 pts · 0:50 [21%] |
| 1:25 | Ava | 35 | 25 | 15 | Summit · leader Ava 35 pts · 0:35 [29%] |
| 1:40 | Ben, Cy | 35 | 25 | 15 | Summit · leader Ava 35 pts · 0:20 [29%] |
| 2:00 | Ben | (event over) |
Rewards run when time is up (winner, second and third, each from your config):
give Ben netherite_ingot 1give Ava diamond 5give Cy diamond 2
A classic capture of "Old Tower" (45 seconds to win)
Leaving or being contested resets the timer; Ava wins on the second try.
| Time | On the hill | Boss bar |
|---|---|---|
| 0:30 | Ava | Old Tower · Ava 30/45s · 4:30 [67%] |
| 0:35 | Ava + Ben | Old Tower · contested · 4:25 [0%] |
| 0:45 | Ben | Old Tower · Ben 10/45s · 4:15 [22%] |
| 0:50 | nobody | Old Tower · free · 4:10 [0%] |
| 1:34 | Ava | Old Tower · Ava 44/45s · 3:26 [98%] |
| 1:35 | Ava | (captured) |
Chat, as players saw it:
- [KotH] King of the Hill has started at Old Tower (classic)! Hold it to win.
- [KotH] Ava is capturing Old Tower.
- [KotH] Ben is capturing Old Tower.
- [KotH] Ava is capturing Old Tower.
- [KotH] Ava captured Old Tower!
What's inside
| Three capture modes | classic (hold alone, reset on leave/contest), pause (timer pauses), points (most seconds held; ties go to who got there first; optional target) |
| Any number of hills | create in game with /koth pos1, pos2, create; several can run at once |
| Schedule | DAILY 20:00, SAT,SUN 18:30, WEEKDAYS 19:00, EVERY 3h, in your time zone; fixed or random hill; minimum players |
| Rewards | winner, second and third (points); any console command, private messages and broadcasts (MiniMessage) |
| Teams | scoreboard teams hold the hill together, every online member is paid; clan plugins plug in through the API |
| Boss bar | holder, progress, contested, time left; everyone, the hill's world, or off |
| Stats | wins, seconds held, events joined; /koth top and /koth stats |
| PlaceholderAPI | %knollwren_capper%, %knollwren_time_left%, %knollwren_next%, %knollwren_wins% and more |
| API | KothStartEvent (cancellable), KothEndEvent, KnollwrenAPI start/stop/session/stats/setTeamResolver |
Tested like real software
32 automated tests (JUnit 6 + MockBukkit 4.116.3 against the Paper 1.21.11 API) cover every capture rule, schedules across time zones, rewards, teams, permissions, broken configs and shutdowns. They ship in the zip: cd source && mvn test.
| Suite | Passing | For example |
|---|---|---|
| Recorded demo | 1/1 | record demo |
| Plugin on a MockBukkit server | 13/13 | console creates a hill that is saved to hills yml |
| Capture rules (all modes) | 12/12 | duplicates and nulls are one side |
| Schedules and zones | 6/6 | bad schedules explain themselves |
Install in 2 minutes
- Drop
Knollwren-1.0.0.jarintoplugins/and restart. - Stand on one corner of your hill:
/koth pos1; the opposite corner:/koth pos2; then/koth create peak. /koth start peak. Rewards and the schedule are inconfig.yml;/koth reloadapplies changes and lists any problem by hill and field.
Compared with other KOTH plugins
List prices read on each plugin's own page. Some of them also support older Minecraft versions; Knollwren is Paper 1.21 only.
| Plugin | Price | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Knollwren | $8 | our price |
| UltimateKoth (voxel.shop) | $12.00 | 2026-10-11 |
| AxKoth (voxel.shop; also on BuiltByBit) | $10.99 | 2026-10-11 |
| zKoth - King of the Hill (voxel.shop) | $9.20 | 2026-10-11 |
| Ultimate Outpost, capture-point events (voxel.shop) | $11.00 | 2026-10-11 |
FAQ
Which servers does it run on?
Paper 1.21.x with Java 21 or newer. It is built against the Paper 1.21.11 API and tested on MockBukkit 4 (a simulated Paper server). Spigot and Folia are not supported.
Is it allowed under Minecraft's rules?
Yes. Knollwren hands out in-game rewards that players earn by playing. Running your server under Minecraft's EULA and Commercial Usage Guidelines is up to you: rewards earned in play are fine; don't sell gameplay advantages for real money.
Why not a $10.99-$12 KOTH plugin?
Those are established plugins with more versions supported. Knollwren is $8, Paper-native, ships its full source with 32 automated tests, and has all three capture modes plus points-mode prizes for second and third.
Does it need other plugins?
No. PlaceholderAPI is optional; rewards can call any plugin's console command (economy, crates, ranks).
Can I use it on several servers?
Yes: every server of your network. You can't resell or share the plugin or its source.
Is CyberMax affiliated with Mojang or PaperMC?
No. Minecraft is a trademark of Mojang Synergies AB, named only to describe compatibility.