Nornforged — Fate at the Forge

Developed by RYN · Version 0.2.8 · Early access

Give every newly crafted weapon, tool and piece of equipment a permanent fate. Nornforged adds 201 perks, 19 crafting outcomes, independent perk strengths, rarity visuals and a detailed damage ledger. Use ordinary crafting stations and materials—no extra currency, reroll station or recipe is required.

This release fixes armor particle placement on the native player skeleton, successful-block perk triggers and Freyr's Garden stamina checks. Icon perk counts have no background and sit above the durability bar. Crafting balance and saved rolls remain unchanged. See the changelog and complete perk catalog.

Installation

Requires Valheim 1.0.15, BepInExPack Valheim 5.4.2350 and Jötunn 2.30.0 or newer; Jötunn 2.30.1 is supported.

1. Close the game and server before installing or updating.
2. Install the dependencies through your mod manager. For a manual installation, place both Nornforged DLLs in BepInEx/plugins/Nornforged/ inside the game or selected mod-manager profile.
3. Start the game through the mod manager or BepInEx-enabled launcher. Missing configuration files are created automatically.
4. Craft new equipment at an ordinary station. Equipment that existed before installation remains Unrated.

For multiplayer, install the exact same Nornforged version on the server and every client, with its dependencies. The host/server controls gameplay settings; clients receive those settings automatically. Visual and interface preferences remain local.

When updating, preserve your existing configuration and the entire BepInEx/config/Nornforged/authority/ directory. Do not replace customized configuration with the ZIP's defaults.

Crafting and permanent Fateprints

Each eligible new equipment output receives its own Fateprint. Positive ranks grant perks; negative ranks grant penalties. Even a Worthless item remains usable. Tools draw from work-related pools, while weapons, shields and worn equipment receive effects suited to their actions and stats.

Default equipment has no perks or changed native stats. It receives no rarity border, background or special reveal sound. Default is a completed, permanent result, just like every other outcome.

Upgrading, repairing, storing or trading equipment preserves its original Fateprint and rolled values. Percentage bonuses use the upgraded item's native baseline. There is no reroll mechanic or pity counter. Independently rolled equipment occupies individual inventory slots.

Default crafting chances

These are chances per eligible crafted item, not additional monster-loot drops. Server administrators can change future-roll settings.

Rank	Outcome	Chance
−6	Worthless	0.30%
−5	Ruined	0.70%
−4	Broken	1.50%
−3	Damaged	2.50%
−2	Worn	3.00%
−1	Inferior	4.00%
0	Default	35.00%
+1	Common	25.00%
+2	Uncommon	15.00%
+3	Rare	6.60%
+4	Very Rare	3.00%
+5	Exceptional	1.50%
+6	Epic	0.75%
+7	Heroic	0.40%
+8	Legendary	0.20%
+9	Mythic	0.18%
+10	Exalted	0.15%
+11	Divine	0.12%
+12	Transcendent	0.10%

The table totals 100%. Positive rank equals total perk count; negative rank magnitude equals penalty count. Transcendent has nine Standard and three Ultra perks. Its chance is 1 in 1,000 per craft, without a guaranteed result after any number of attempts.

Strength and Perk Quality Score

Every numerical parameter rolls independently of rarity and the other parameters. 80% of strength rolls fall in the bottom 10% of their range; the top 5% has a 0.02% chance. A lower-rarity item can roll an excellent value, and a high-rarity item can roll modest values.

Selected uncapped percentage bonuses have wider maximum ranges at +9, +10, +11 and +12: 1.5×, 2×, 2.5× and 3× their ordinary maximum. Chances, cooldowns and bounded effects retain their limits. Current execution caps still apply to saved values.

Tooltips show each perk's PQS—Perk Quality Score, the average of its saved parameter scores. Higher scores mean stronger benefits, including shorter cooldowns; for penalties, they mean greater severity. PQS is neither a percentile nor an estimate of the item's overall power.

Controls and presentation

• Hover equipment: a dedicated information panel separates native stats from compact perk cards. It stays inside the screen, uses smaller native fonts and scrolls with the mouse wheel while the pointer remains over the item. Twelve-perk items use two perk columns when space allows.
• F6 while hovering inventory equipment: inspect complete perk triggers, saved values, individual scores, ranges and caps. Close with F6, Escape or Close.
• F9: open the damage ledger and local display settings. The HUD shows rolling damage per second and total damage; the default window is five minutes and includes idle time.
• Drag window titles: move the guide, F6 details and damage ledger. Drag the HUD header while the cursor is available, such as with inventory or F9 open. Positions are saved locally.
• Damage numbers: normal numbers show three decimals. Colored perk contributions are already included in the hit total; they are not extra damage. Damage-over-time enters the ledger when its ticks land.
• Freyr's Garden: hold Left Shift while planting for a valid 3×3 group. All nine positions and seed costs must be available.

Non-Default icons have the same rarity-colored borders in the inventory and HUD hotbar. A small +8, for example, shows the actual perk count at the lower right, slightly raised above the durability bar and without a badge background; disable it with Interface → ShowPerkCount. Penalties use a minus sign. +6 through +8 add static icon backgrounds; +9 and above animate them. +12 adds an aurora, corner runes and orbiting sparks.

Beneficial perk names with 90% PQS or higher have a gentle color sheen in the hover panel, stronger from 99%. Text position and size stay fixed. Disable this with Interface → AnimatedPerkNames or Visuals → ReducedEffects. High-severity penalties do not receive this animation.

World effects now begin at +9 for weapons and armor. Fire perks create rising flames and embers; frost perks create icy mist and crystals. Lightning, poison and spirit have their own effects, and mixed elements remain visibly distinct. The saved PQS and actual percentage jointly control each element's intensity. Higher ranks add larger, richer effects through +12.

Particles follow native weapon models in the hand, on the back and on the ground, including skinned weapon deformation. Armor effects follow body bones, with a shared rhythm for full sets while retaining each piece's own elements and strength. The effects use unlit, depth-tested particles, so they work independently of outdoor lighting and stay occluded by walls. Native item textures are preserved. Reduced effects lower particle counts and motion; setting Particles off hides added world effects.

Configuration, backups and recovery

Edit gameplay settings in BepInEx/config/Nornforged/gameplay.json while the host/server is stopped, then restart. Invalid settings are rejected. Changes affect future rolls; completed Fateprints and already-prepared crafting transactions keep their original data. Exact untouched defaults from 0.1.0, 0.2.0 and 0.2.1 upgrade automatically with a backup; customized files are preserved.

Local presentation settings are in BepInEx/config/rinor.nornforged.cfg, including intensity, reduced effects, inventory/hotbar animation, perk-count badges, PQS name animation, sounds and damage displays.

Back up character saves, world saves and the complete authority directory together. The authority directory contains the signing key and transaction records needed to verify and recover equipment. Move it with a migrated server; never distribute its private key to clients. Items from a different authority retain their data but have inactive effects until returned to the issuing authority. These files are saved separately, so an interrupted save is not a substitute for coordinated backups.

A remote craft may briefly display Fateprint pending while its receipt arrives. For an item that remains pending, keep it on its original character and authority, then choose Recover pending items in the guide. Recovery reuses the original transaction and never rerolls a completed result. Missing original authority records cannot safely be recreated.

With Valheim's console enabled, nornforged welcome reopens the guide, nornforged recover requests recovery, and nornforged status shows diagnostics. Configuration and receipt errors are also recorded in BepInEx/LogOutput.log.

Compatibility and removal

Nornforged is in early access. Mods that replace crafting, inventory, equipment or combat behavior may require specific compatibility support. Some mod-added equipment may not be eligible, and custom models or interfaces can affect presentation. Keep backups before changing an established modded world.

To uninstall, close the game/server and remove BepInEx/plugins/Nornforged/. Equipment uses its ordinary native behavior while the mod is absent. Retain configuration and authority backups for a future reinstall; other mods or save editors may discard custom item data. All clients and the server must update their mod sets together.

Nornforged and its original artwork are distributed under the included MIT license. Valheim and the required dependencies retain their respective licenses.