DynamicNPCs

Adds free combat companions, a farmer who checks crops, and an optional Fuling visitor.

Companions: Place and claim a Mercenary Banner to recruit a Warrior, Archer, and Healer. Their gear and food scale with your progression. Fallen companions return to the banner.
Chopping and mining: Order companions to chop trees or mine exposed rocks. Their tools follow your progression, and drops stay on the ground for you to collect.
Guides: Have a companion lead you to your tombstone, boss markers, nearby resources, or dungeons.
Conversation: Ask about enemies, crafting, biomes, and recorded player activity. Uses built-in text replies—no AI service or API key.
Runa the Grower: Place her from Hammer → Misc. She checks crops and beehives within 12 meters and explains problems. She does not harvest or replant.
Snikk the Gossip: A visiting Fuling who shares gossip based on recorded player activity. Disabled by default.

Controls

Tap G while aiming at an enemy or resource to order an attack or assign work. Hold G for 1.5 seconds to open the command menu.

Press E on a companion to switch between following and holding position. Hold E for 2 seconds to send them back to the banner.

Known Issues

Mercenaries may not work properly in the Ashlands. Live multiplayer behavior with Jotunn 2.30.0 has not been fully verified.

Installation and updates

For Valheim 1.0.7, install BepInExPack_Valheim 5.4.2333 and ModCore 0.5.0, plus official Jotunn 2.30.0 or newer. Install DynamicNPCs 0.5.1 on the dedicated server and every connecting client, using the same mod version. Import the complete ZIP through a mod manager, or put its plugin contents in a dedicated folder under BepInEx/plugins. Exit the game/server before updating, replace the previous DLL, and keep your configuration and saves.

Version 0.5.1 no longer requires JotunnCompatibilityPatch. Update Jotunn and this mod on every peer while stopped. Remove the compatibility add-on through your mod manager once no installed mod requires it; keep existing configuration and saves.

Settings, compatibility and support

Dialogue.AgentName defaults to Valheim Agent for private ! replies. Newly generated or missing settings use this name; existing Dialogue settings and imported legacy names are retained.

Settings: BepInEx/config/jg224.DynamicNPCs.cfg. G issues orders; hold it for 1.5 seconds for the menu. E toggles follow/hold; hold it for 2 seconds to return companions. Snikk is disabled by default. The server owns companies and progression. Ashlands behavior and live multiplayer recovery still need validation. Back up saves and dismiss/remove mod-owned companions, banners and farmers before uninstalling from all peers.

For support, include game/mod/dependency versions, relevant settings, reproduction steps and the first relevant BepInEx/LogOutput.log error. Automated checks do not replace in-game and multiplayer validation.