Valheim Farmer NPC

Autonomous farming NPCs for Valheim. Place a Farmer Homestead, mark your cultivated field with Boundary Posts, assign chests, and let goblin farmers plant, harvest, and store crops while you stay nearby.

Version	1.0.13
Author	Pjanky
Thunderstore	Pjanky-ValheimFarmerNPC
License	MIT
Requires	BepInExPack Valheim + Jötunn
Install on	Dedicated server and all clients (same version)

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How it works

• The Homestead piece stores all persistent farm data (crop slots, chests, pause state, crop settings) on its network object (ZDO).
• Farmer NPCs are temporary workers that exist while a player keeps the farm zone loaded. They are not permanent world creatures.
• AI runs on the peer that owns the farmer’s network view (IsOwner()), which keeps multiplayer safe without forcing dedicated-server ownership of every NPC.
• If you leave the area and farmers disappear, that is expected. Homestead data and the field remain. Come back, open the Homestead, and use Add Farmer / unpause again.

Talking to a farmer toggles pause/resume for that homestead’s work.

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Installation

With r2modman / Thunderstore Mod Manager

1. Install BepInExPack Valheim and Jötunn.
2. Install Valheim Farmer NPC (Pjanky-ValheimFarmerNPC).
3. Use the same profile/mod list on the dedicated server and every client.

Manual

1. Install BepInEx for Valheim and Jötunn.
2. Copy ValheimFarmerNPC.dll into BepInEx/plugins/ValheimFarmerNPC/ (server and clients).
3. Launch once so the config file is created under BepInEx/config/.

Custom hammer pieces: Farmer Homestead, Farm Boundary Post.

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Complete setup walkthrough

Default config only allows admins to place Homestead/Boundary pieces and open the Homestead panel. Set AdminOnlyPlacement / AdminOnlyAccess to false if you want any player to manage farms.

1. Cultivate and plant a starter field (optional but recommended)

Till soil and plant at least some crops yourself (or leave empty cultivated plots). A scan discovers existing plants and empty plantable spots inside the boundary.

2. Place the Farmer Homestead

1. Open the hammer and find Farmer Homestead.
2. Place it near your farm (facing the field is fine; exact facing is not critical).
3. Interact with the Homestead to open the Farmer Homestead panel.

Status at the top shows pause state, farmer count, crop slot count, chest count, and whether a boundary is set.

3. Place Boundary Posts

1. Place two Farm Boundary Posts at opposite corners of the rectangle that should cover your farm.
2. The posts define an axis-aligned box on the ground (XZ). Keep each half-width within MaxFarmRadius (default 64 m), or scanning will fail.

Tip: Place posts just outside the cultivated plots so every plantable tile is inside the box.

4. Assign Boundary Posts

On the Homestead panel → Field section:

1. Click Assign Boundary Posts.
2. The mod finds nearby boundary posts and binds them to this homestead.
3. Status should show Boundary: set.

If assignment fails, move closer, ensure both posts exist, and try again.

5. Scan the field

1. Click Scan Field.
2. The homestead inventories plants and empty cultivated slots inside the boundary.
3. Status Crops count should rise above zero.

Use Clear Field only when you want to wipe the homestead’s remembered slot list (for a full rescan after big layout changes). It does not destroy plants in the world by itself—re-scan after clearing if you still want farmers to work that field.

6. Assign chests (storage)

Farmers need containers for seeds/harvests.

1. Place normal Valheim chests (or compatible containers) near the homestead.
2. Click Add chest — assigns the nearest free chest within ChestAssignRange (default 20 m).
3. Repeat Add chest until you have enough storage.
4. Clear chests unassigns all chests from this homestead (items in the chests are not deleted).
5. Chest inventory opens a page listing aggregated contents of assigned chests.

7. Configure crop settings

Open Crop settings.

• The page shows the homestead’s biome (top right).
• Only crops that can grow in that biome appear.
• Unavailable crops are zeroed for planting automatically.

Weights (left column)
Relative planting ratios. Higher weight → planted more often when filling empty slots. Set a crop to 0 to skip planting it (harvest of existing plants can still happen).

Reserves (right column)
Minimum stock kept in the farmer’s bag. For Carrot/Turnip/Onion this is seeds; for Barley, Flax, Jotun Puffs, and Magecap it is the crop item itself (planted like vanilla). When stock falls below the reserve, farmers prioritize growing seed-crops (or restocking) until the reserve recovers.

Click Back when done.

Biome → plantable crops

Biome	Crops shown / plantable
Meadows, Black Forest, Ocean	Carrot, Turnip, Onion
Swamp	Turnip
Plains	Carrot, Turnip, Onion, Barley, Flax
Mistlands	Jotun Puffs, Magecap
Mountains, Deep North, Ashlands	None

Homestead position decides the biome. Fields that straddle biome borders may need the homestead on the side you intend to farm.

8. Add farmers and start work

1. Stay near the homestead so the zone stays loaded. Placing a Homestead already spawns one farmer.
2. Use Add Farmer for more workers, or if the worker went missing after you left the area.
3. Ensure status is Working (not Paused). Use Toggle Pause if needed.
4. Farmers will harvest mature crops, plant empty slots according to weights/reserves, fetch materials from chests, and deposit overflow.

Remove Farmer despawns one farmer at this homestead (useful if you added too many). Global cap: MaxFarmers (default 16 across the whole world).

Deposit all forces farmers to empty carried goods into assigned chests when possible.

9. Day-to-day use

• Keep a player near the farm while you want work done.
• Interact with the Homestead anytime to check status, inventories, or crop settings.
• Talk to a farmer to pause/resume.
• After long absences: open Homestead → Add Farmer if none are present → ensure not paused → optionally Scan Field if you changed the field by hand.

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Homestead UI pages

Main — Farmer Homestead

Overview and all primary actions.

Control	Purpose
Status text	Paused/Working, farmer count, crop slots, chests, boundary set/missing
Toggle Pause	Pause or resume farming for this homestead
Add Farmer	Spawn another farmer, or recover one missing after leaving the area
Remove Farmer	Remove one farmer from this homestead
Deposit all	Push carried items into assigned chests
Farmer inventory	Open live bags page
Scan Field	Discover/update crop slots inside the boundary
Clear Field	Clear remembered slot data (re-scan afterward)
Assign Boundary Posts	Bind the two nearby boundary posts
Add chest	Assign nearest free chest in range
Clear chests	Unassign all chests from this homestead
Chest inventory	Browse assigned chest contents
Crop settings	Weights, reserves, biome-filtered crops
Close	Close the panel

Crop settings

Two columns for biome-legal food crops only.

Section	Purpose
Biome label	Which biome rules apply at the homestead
Weights	Planting ratios (0 = do not plant)
Reserves	Minimum seed/crop stock farmers try to keep
Back	Return to main

Empty biomes show a message that no crops grow there.

Farmer inventory

Live view of items in farmer bags near this homestead (aggregated).

Control	Purpose
Status	Farmer count and item-type count
List	Icons + stacks
Total items	Sum of stacks (footer)
Refresh	Reload from current farmers
Back	Return to main

Chest inventory

Aggregated contents of all chests assigned to this homestead.

Control	Purpose
Status	Chest count and item-type count
List	Icons + stacks
Total items	Sum of stacks (footer)
Refresh	Reload from assigned chests
Back	Return to main

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Configuration

After first launch, edit:

BepInEx/config/com.farmerjohn.valheimfarmernpc.cfg

On dedicated servers, treat these as server-authoritative for gameplay limits. Restart (or reconnect) after changes as needed.

General

Setting	Default	Description
AdminOnlyPlacement	true	Only server admins may place or remove Farmer Homestead and Boundary Post pieces.
AdminOnlyAccess	true	Only admins can open the homestead panel and change settings. Set false to let any player manage farms.
MaxFarmers	16	Hard cap on active farmer NPCs across the whole world/server.

Farming

Setting	Default	Description
MaxFarmRadius	64	Max half-width (meters) of the farm boundary on X or Z. Larger fields fail to scan.
DefaultLayoutMode	Weighted	Planting mode for new homesteads: Weighted uses Crop settings ratios; Fixed replants each slot’s original crop when possible. Changing weights in the UI switches that homestead to Weighted.
ScanInterval	2	Seconds between background field refreshes while farmers work (growth / empty-slot detection).
ChestAssignRange	20	Max distance (meters) from the homestead when using Add chest.

Inventory

Setting	Default	Description
InventoryCapacity	20	Max distinct item stacks a farmer can carry (not total item count).

Networking

Setting	Default	Description
ReservationTimeout	30	Seconds a harvest/plant slot reservation lasts before another farmer may take it (multiplayer).

AI

Setting	Default	Description
EnableFarmerSounds	true	Fuling/goblin vocal sounds. Set false to mute farmers.
ThinkInterval	0.5	Seconds between AI decision ticks. Lower = more responsive, more CPU.
MoveSpeed	2.5	Walking speed when moving between tasks.
WorkRange	2	Distance (meters) to harvest, plant, or use a chest.

Debug / UI

Setting	Default	Description
DebugLogging	false	Verbose AI logs. Can hurt FPS with the console open; leave off for normal play.
LogFeedbackToChat	true	Also write homestead feedback (scan, boundary, chests, farmers, …) to chat. Center-screen messages always show.

Per-homestead crop weights and reserves are not in this file — they are stored on each Homestead and edited in Crop settings.

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Multiplayer notes

• Install the same mod version on server and clients (EveryoneMustHaveMod).
• Homestead data persists in the world save via the piece ZDO.
• Multiple farmers on one homestead share the field; reservations avoid two NPCs claiming the same plant/slot.
• Farmers only work while someone keeps the zone loaded.

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Troubleshooting

Issue	What to try
Cannot place Homestead / posts	You are not admin and AdminOnlyPlacement is true.
Cannot open panel	AdminOnlyAccess is true and you are not admin.
Boundary missing / scan fails	Assign two posts; ensure field size ≤ MaxFarmRadius; posts must form a real rectangle.
No crops in Crop settings	Homestead biome has no farmable crops (e.g. Mountains), or scan never ran.
Farmers idle	Paused; no empty/mature work; no seeds/materials in bags/chests; zone unloaded.
Farmers vanished	Normal when you left the area — Add Farmer again while nearby.
Chests not assigned	Move chests closer than ChestAssignRange; use Add chest again.

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Development

Repository: github.com/nico8034/FarmerNPC

# Local Debug build → r2modman Default profile plugins
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File ValheimFarmerNPC/scripts/deploy-local.ps1

# Thunderstore zip → ValheimFarmerNPC/dist/
# (bump Plugin.PluginVersion first; update Package/CHANGELOG.md)
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File ValheimFarmerNPC/scripts/package-thunderstore.ps1

Also copy Environment.props.example → Environment.props and set VALHEIM_INSTALL for IDE/Jötunn post-build deploy.

Version source of truth: Plugin.PluginVersion in Plugin.cs (semantic versioning: Major.Minor.Patch).

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License

Licensed under the MIT License. Valheim is © Iron Gate AB — this mod requires a legitimate copy of the game.