🔥 HearthGuard

Turn campfires into protection.
Hostile mobs fear the fire — they panic, turn, and flee from lit campfires.

Built for vanilla+ gameplay — no new blocks, no clutter, just smarter mobs.

Works with CinderStride — upgrade campfires into powerful Hearthfires that repel mobs even more effectively.

🌿 Why it feels vanilla

Mobs run away instead of being blocked or burned
Behavior-driven — no artificial rules or spawn prevention
Creates a more natural, immersive survival experience

Designed to feel like a missing Minecraft mechanic.

🎯 Why use HearthGuard?

Vanilla Minecraft treats fire as damage — not something mobs fear.

HearthGuard changes that:

Campfires become a real defensive tool
Nights feel less binary and more tactical
Mobs behave in a way that feels alive and reactive

It doesn't make the game easier — it makes it smarter.

🛡️ Features

🔥 Core Behavior

🔥 Campfires become a true defensive mechanic
Hostile mobs flee from nearby lit campfires
💡 Mobs panic faster the closer they are to the fire
Requires line of sight — no fleeing through walls

🎲 Immersion Details

Optional fear drop (panic reaction, once per mob)
Mobs react naturally, not through artificial blocking
🎭 Multi-stage reactions (notice → panic → flee)

⚙️ Control & Compatibility

Per-mob allowlist / blocklist
🧾 Command system for runtime configuration
Optional UI via Mod Menu + Cloth Config
✔️ Lightweight & server-safe
✔️ Fabric & NeoForge (1.21.1, 1.21.11, 26.x)

🔥 Hearthfire (CinderStride Integration)

Upgrade campfires into Hearthfires using CinderStride
+50% fear radius

🚧 Planned Features

🧠 Adaptive fear system (mobs can become resistant over time)
🎭 Advanced panic behaviors
🧾 Expanded command system for runtime configuration and debugging

📸 Behavior in action

Mobs don't just stop — they react.

Startled

Jumping
Jumping

Fleeing
Fleeing

⚙️ Configuration

Config file: config/hearthguard/config.json

Also accessible via in-game UI (Mod Menu + Cloth Config).

Settings

Range — Campfire detection distance (blocks)
Flee Fast Speed — Speed when close to the fire
Flee Slow Speed — Speed when farther away
Mode — Whitelist or Blacklist
Mobs — Affected entity IDs
Drop Item Chance — % chance (0–100) to drop one item on first fear response

Notes

Drop Item Chance = 0 disables fear drops
Each mob can only drop once (persisted across saves)
Only applies in the Overworld (by design)

⚠️ Known Issues

Datapack-defined mobs that reuse vanilla entity IDs cannot be selected independently
Slimes and magma cubes are not affected

📝 Changelog

1.1.1

Slimes now fear campfires
Loot drop chance is random item instead of first in list

1.1.0

Added integration with CinderStride Hearthfires now increase mob fear radius by 50%.

1.0.3

Added Command system for runtime configuration
Support for Minecraft v26.1.2
Fixed: Config changes now correctly apply to previously spawned mobs

1.0.2

Support for Minecraft v26.1.1

🔒 License

See LICENSE.

You are allowed to:

Use this mod in modpacks
Use in videos and content

❤️ Support

If you enjoy the mod, consider leaving a comment or adding it to your modpack!