Sworn Protectors

Summon up to 15 brave warriors, sworn to defend you until death.

They kneel before you. They rise when you arm them. They march in formation at your command. Whether you're storming the Plains with a diamond escort or filming an epic cinematic with a royal parade at your back, Sworn Protectors turns you into the commander you were always meant to be.

The Summoning Ritual

Press H to open your command panel. Choose how many warriors you need (1 to 15), select male or female, and hit Summon.

Your protectors materialize in a military parade grid ahead of you, kneeling, heads bowed, awaiting your command. They are nothing without you. Choose their armor, their weapons, their capes, and hit Apply. Watch them rise to their feet, draw into formation, and fall in behind you. They are yours now.

They even speak. When summoned, they cry out: "My lord!", "Where... where am I?", "Do we get dental?" Over 100 unique medieval one-liners, staggered so they don't all talk at once. Arm them and the tone shifts. "I am UNSTOPPABLE!", "They shall write SAGAS about us!", "No creature born or unborn shall touch you!" Another 100 hyped-up loyalty pledges that'll make you feel like a king.

6 Battle Formations

Switch formations from the command panel. Your squad repositions instantly:

• Diamond: Point man ahead, flankers at your sides, rear guard watching your back. The classic VIP escort. Walk through the Black Forest like you own it.
• Line: Single file behind you. Perfect for narrow mountain paths, bridges, and tight dungeon corridors.
• Wedge: V-shape trailing behind you. Aggressive. Cinematic. The "we're marching to war" formation.
• Shield Wall: Shoulder-to-shoulder line IN FRONT of you. Your protectors become a living barricade between you and whatever's trying to kill you.
• Circle: Evenly spaced ring surrounding you. Full 360-degree perimeter defense. Nothing gets through.
• Parade: Military parade formation. Protectors march to position, snap to attention, and hold. Perfect for cinematic shots, base entrances, and throne room scenes.

Arm Your Warriors

Equip your protectors with any item in the game. Every helmet, every chestpiece, every cape, every weapon, every shield. Modded items work too.

• Browse items per equipment slot with a scrollable list
• Cape color variants (10 colors for Linen Cape, 3 for Lox Cape)
• Apply gear to all protectors at once with a single click
• Save up to 3 outfit presets so you can swap your entire squad's look in seconds

Default loadout: Flametal armor set, red Linen Cape, Splitnir, and Flametal Shield. Your protectors arrive ready for war.

They Move Like Warriors, Not Robots

Every protector moves differently. No two are the same:

• Unique drift: subtle, organic sway using Perlin noise so your squad looks alive, not like a grid of chess pieces
• Reaction delay: the point man reacts to your turns instantly while flankers follow with a natural half-second delay, like real soldiers reading the leader's movement
• No fidgeting: once they reach their spot, they hold it clean. No micro-adjustments, no twitching
• They go around you: protectors steer around the player model instead of clipping through you like ghosts

Weapon Sync

Your protectors mirror your weapon state in real time.

Press R to sheathe your weapons and every protector sheathes theirs. Swords on backs, shields slung, ready for the road. Draw your weapon and they draw theirs, blades out, ready for blood.

No commands needed. It just works. Perfect for cinematic transitions, walking peacefully through a village then drawing steel the moment trouble appears.

Cinematic Keybinds

Silent keybinds designed for filmmaking. No GUI popups, just a brief HUD flash:

Point your crosshair at an enemy and press F9, your entire squad charges. Point at the ground and press F9, they march to that position. Press F10 and they calmly return to formation, weapons away. Press F11 and they lock in place like statues. Total control.

Auto-Defend

Toggle it on in the command panel and your protectors will automatically engage any hostile creature that gets within 12 meters. Trolls, fulings, deathsquitos, anything that threatens you gets met with steel.

Disabled during Parade formation. Soldiers at attention don't break ranks.

Minimap Tracking

Every protector gets a minimap pin (P1, P2, P3...) so you always know where your warriors are, even across the map.

Smart Teleporting

If a protector falls more than 40 meters behind (fell off a cliff, got stuck on terrain, couldn't keep up) they warp back to you instantly. Cape physics reset on arrival so nothing clips or glitches. Your squad stays together no matter what.

Installation

1. Install BepInExPack for Valheim via Thunderstore or r2modman.
2. Install Sworn Protectors via Thunderstore or r2modman (or manually drop SwornProtectors.dll into BepInEx/plugins/SwornProtectors/).
3. Launch Valheim. Press H in-game. Your army awaits.

Configuration

All settings live in BepInEx/config/com.mitch.swornprotectors.cfg:

Commands (GUI Panel)

Open with H:

• Summon: Call forth 1-15 protectors (male or female)
• Formation: Diamond, Line, Wedge, Shield Wall, Circle, Parade
• Equipment: Browse and equip any item per slot, apply to all
• Outfits: Save, load, and delete up to 3 outfit presets
• Attack/Move To: Send your warriors to a target
• Follow & Sheathe: Return to formation, weapons away
• Hold Position: Freeze in place
• Auto-Defend: Toggle automatic enemy engagement
• Dismiss Last / Dismiss All: Stand down

Known Limitations

• Back-mounted weapon display may vary in some situations (VisEquipment sync with NPC Humanoids is tricky)
• Protectors are session-based, they despawn when you log out or change worlds
• 15 protectors at once is glorious but demanding. 3-5 recommended for smooth gameplay on most hardware

Credits

Created by Mitch for cinematic Valheim filmmaking and roleplay.

Built with BepInEx and HarmonyX.