Runestone Base Protection
Link placeable runestones into protected fields that suppress ordinary creature spawns. Optional shared building range, rain protection, and hostile mob repulsion.
About this mod Author’s original text
Runestone Base Protection
Link placeable runestones into a field that prevents ordinary creature spawns, much like a workbench.
Install
Install BepInEx 5, Jotunn 2.30.0 or newer, and this mod on the server or host and every client. All players need the same mod version. Mod Manager or r2modman, install this package; the listed dependencies install automatically. Install the mod and dependencies on a dedicated server separately. or manual installation, extract the ZIP into Valheim's BepInEx folder, or install it in Vortex as a BepInEx Root Mod. The DLL should end up at BepInEx/plugins/LinkedRunestoneProtection/BaseProtection.dll.
Use
Runestones are in the hammer's Misc category. Each costs 10 Stone and requires a workbench to place.
| Control | Action |
| --- | --- |
| Use (E by default) | Select a stone or add it to your draft; make it your Ctrl-snap anchor. |
| Shift+Use | Finish the draft, adding an unlinked stone first if one is targeted. |
| Ctrl+Use | Unlink a stone. |
| Hold Ctrl while placing | Align to the anchor's 16 directions; corners use its linked field or the two latest placements. |
Two stones form a circle whose diameter is the distance between them; three to eight form a polygon. A gold draft has no field effect. Finishing it creates an active cyan boundary. Removing a stone reorders the survivors, or returns the field to a draft if the shape is no longer valid. By default, edges can be up to 200 m, a field can cover up to 40,000 m², and active fields cannot overlap. The boundary appears while holding a hammer unless you change your local visibility setting.
Only the player who placed a stone can link or unlink it. Its owner or a server admin can remove it. Other players can use its field benefits and select it as a Ctrl-snap anchor, but cannot link it. Stones need no fuel, resist weather, and are not deliberately targeted by ordinary enemies.
Field effects
| Spawn source | Default behavior inside an active field |
| --- | --- |
| Ordinary biome spawns, including passive wildlife | Blocked; individual creature overrides are available. |
| Raids | Enemies spawn outside the field and can run in, even with repulsion enabled. |
| Boss summons | Unaffected. |
| Fixed location spawn points | Follow workbench rules; configurable. |
| Physical spawner objects, such as Bone Piles | Unaffected; configurable. |
Creatures already present are not removed. Optional server settings, all off by default, can also:
- Give anyone standing inside building range for individually enabled stations: workbench, forge, stonecutter, artisan table, or black forge. This covers hammer placement, removal, and structure repair, but not item crafting or placing station upgrades.
- Prevent rain and water wear on structures inside the field.
- Make ordinary hostile creatures turn away at the boundary. Bosses, raid creatures, and creatures already inside are not repelled.
Settings
Gameplay settings come from the host or server; boundary visibility is each player's choice. BepInEx creates BepInEx/config/valheim.runestone.baseprotection.cfg after the first launch. For an optional in-game F1 panel, install BepInEx Configuration Manager for BepInEx 5 (Mono) on the clients that want it.
All mod settings appear in the F1 panel without enabling Advanced.
Install & use Install: BepInEx plugin
- The archive from playbuff is the mod itself — usually a BepInEx plugin (a .dll or a plugin folder once unzipped).
- Recommended: use a community mod manager (such as r2modman) — pick this game, import the mod, and the manager sets up BepInEx and its dependencies for you.
- Manual route: install the BepInEx loader in the game folder, then drop the unzipped .dll or plugin folder into BepInEx/plugins/.
- Launch the game — the BepInEx console logs every plugin it loads; seeing this mod in the log means it is installed.
Mods with listed dependencies need those installed too, or they will not load. Options are usually changed in-game or in the plugin's config file. In multiplayer, the host and every client need the same mods installed.
Install these first, or the mod will not work: