TheHeadlessWanderer

The Headless Wanderer

A seasonal Halloween mini-boss, summoning altar, wild roaming encounter, and helmet transmog mod for Valheim.

When darkness falls and the chilling mist rolls across the lands, the terrifying Headless Wanderer stalks the wilderness wielding the molten cleaver Hálsskera. Challenge the restless spirit through an intentional sacrificial ritual at the Altar of the Wanderer, encounter him roaming high-tier biomes under cover of night and fog, or repel his chilling base raids. Defeat the monster to claim his glowing Jack-o'-Lantern as a wearable helmet or transmog visual, alongside wicked weapons and sugary Halloween treats.

> Work in Progress: Please note that this mod is in active development and is not 100% finished. Additional features, balance adjustments, animations, and visual refinements are ongoing.

Features

• Altar of the Wanderer: Construct an ancient executioner's stump etched with glowing runes using your hammer. Place 3 Fuling Trophies into the executioner's bucket under cover of night to summon The Headless Wanderer with thunder, lightning, and rolling mist.
• Wild Roaming Encounters: The Headless Wanderer roams high-tier biomes (Plains, Mistlands, Ashlands) naturally. Wild spawns strictly require night-time and dense fog or mist, ensuring organic, atmospheric world exploration.
• Optional Base Raid Event: A seasonal mini-boss raid event targeting player settlements accompanied by dense eerie fog and ominous announcements. Can be customized or disabled entirely.
• The Headless Wanderer Mini-Boss: Towering spectral terror complete with a custom 3D model, dedicated boss health bar HUD, glowing Jack-o'-Lantern, and devastating moveset with fiery cleaves and shockwaves.
• The Wanderer's Jack-o'-Lantern & Transmog: Wearable carved pumpkin helmet with glowing eyes, jagged grin, and candle illumination. Includes a transmog hotkey to project the pumpkin visual over any equipped helmet without sacrificing endgame armor stats.
• Thematic Halloween Loot:
• Hálsskera: Brutal executioner's battleaxe forged from cursed iron and living embers.
• Spooky Candy: Halloween confection that grants the Sugar Rush buff (+20% movement speed, +50 max stamina, +50 max eitr, accelerated recovery).
• The Wanderer's Trophy: Sinister spectral trophy mountable on item stands.

Controls & Keybinds (if applicable)

| Action | Shortcut | Description | |---|---|---| | Toggle Pumpkin Transmog | F8 | Toggles the glowing pumpkin helmet transmog visual over your equipped helmet | | Offer Fuling Trophy | E | Deposits Fuling Trophies from your inventory into the Altar bucket | | Use Selected Trophy | 1-8 | Places a hotbar-selected Fuling Trophy directly into the Altar |

Configuration

The configuration file is generated automatically at BepInEx/config/com.jubaroo.theheadlesswanderer.cfg. All settings can be adjusted in-game via configuration managers (e.g. BepInEx Configuration Manager or ConfigForge) or edited directly:

| Setting | Default | Description | |---|---|---| | ServerConfigLocked | true | If true, only server admins can modify configuration settings | | EnableWildSpawn | true | Enables or disables natural wild roaming encounters | | WildSpawnBiomes | Plains,Mistlands,Ashlands | Comma-separated biomes where the Wanderer can roam | | WildSpawnChance | 15 | Percentage chance per spawn check interval to spawn | | WildSpawnInterval | 120 | Spawn check interval in seconds for wild roaming | | WildSpawnRequireFog | true | Whether wild spawns strictly require foggy or misty weather | | WildSpawnRequireNight | true | Whether wild spawns strictly require night-time | | EnableAltar | true | Enables the craftable Altar of the Wanderer hammer piece | | AltarRequireNight | true | Whether the altar can only be activated under cover of night | | AltarTrophyRequirement | 3 | Number of Fuling Trophies required to summon the Wanderer | | AltarWoodCost | 10 | Wood cost to construct the Altar | | AltarCoreWoodCost | 4 | Core Wood cost to construct the Altar | | AltarTurnipCost | 1 | Turnip cost to construct the Altar | | AltarBlackMetalCost | 2 | Black Metal ingot cost to construct the Altar (requires smelted ingots, not raw scrap) | | AltarTarCost | 2 | Tar cost to construct the Altar (requires Plains tar pits) | | AltarBoneCost | 4 | Bone Fragments cost to construct the Altar | | EnableRaid | true | Enables or disables the base raid event | | RaidDurationSeconds | 180 | Duration of the base raid event in seconds | | RaidRequiresBase | true | Whether the raid only targets player bases | | RaidBiomes | Meadows,BlackForest,Swamp,Plains,Mistlands,Ashlands | Biomes where the raid event can trigger | | BossHealth | 1800 | Maximum health points of the mini-boss | | BossDamageMultiplier | 1.0 | Multiplier for all damage dealt by the Wanderer | | TransmogToggleKey | F8 | Keyboard key to toggle pumpkin helmet transmog | | TransmogAlwaysActive | false | Automatically show pumpkin helmet over any equipped helmet | | PumpkinHelmetLight | true | Enables candle lantern illumination on the helmet |

Installation

Using a Mod Manager (Recommended)

Install via Thunderstore Mod Manager, r2modman, or Gale:

1. Search for TheHeadlessWanderer.
2. Click Download with Mod Manager.

Manual Installation

1. Ensure BepInExPack Valheim is installed.
2. Extract the mod package archive.
3. Place TheHeadlessWanderer.dll into your Valheim/BepInEx/plugins/ directory.
4. Launch the game!

Compatibility & Multiplayer