TaCZ Armed Mobs 2.10.0

The biggest update so far. Since 2.6.0, the mod has grown from "mobs with guns" into a full Faction Wars system with events, caravans, reputation and mercenaries, and it now ships with an in-game guidebook.

Faction Wars is off by default. Set [faction_wars] enabled = true in config/taczarmedmobs/common.toml to switch it on. Everything from 2.6.0 keeps working as before when it stays off.

New: Guidebook

• Armed Mobs Field Manual (needs Patchouli, optional): 8 chapters covering armed mobs, factions, events, caravans, diplomacy, mercenaries and admin commands.
• Every player gets it on first join ([guide] give_on_first_join). Lost it? Craft a book + gunpowder.

New: Faction Wars

Factions

• 15 factions in 5 families: Villagers, Illagers, Undead, Piglins, Wither, each with two sub-factions (Brass Guild, Iron Watch, Woodland Covenant, Raven Clan, Gilded Syndicate, Bastion Legion, Grave Legion, Plague Choir, Ashen Order, Black Forge).
• Relations: same family = allies, enemies and neutrals between families, plus special alliances, grudges and arch enemies.
• Faction mobs also fight each other outside of events (configurable).
• Everything is defined in config/taczarmedmobs/factions.json. Old files are updated automatically, your own changes are kept.

Natural events around players (never inside bases)

• Battles: two hostile factions fight it out. You're a spectator until you attack one side.
• Hunts: a hunting party tracks you down.
• Ambushes: a small group attacks out of sight.
• Sieges (off by default): a faction attacks your base in waves (scouts, main force, leader). Keep your commander alive. Engineers dig, build ladders and blow their way in. Reward chest for the winner.
• Bases: /base set, or FTB Chunks claims (optional).
• Adaptive strength: a Gear Score (armor, enchantments, health, weapon) is shown in the inventory and scales event size and difficulty. When players are grouped, the strongest one counts.
• Sub-factions take part in every event, picked by family so main factions don't become rare.

Caravans

• Traders with guards and pack animals travel past players, with a separate caravan for each faction and sub-faction. Undead and some sub-factions travel only at night as smugglers.
• Escort them for a reward chest and reputation, or raid them.
• Raids come in waves. Before each one, pick a side in the chat: defend, raid or stay out.
• Trading: a TaCZ pistol, a matching extended magazine, a stack of ammo, a faction specialty and (at Friendly) a mercenary contract. Stock refills after each beaten wave. Prices are in caravan_trades.json.
• If the trader dies, the pack animals drop their cargo.

New: Diplomacy

• Reputation per player and faction (-1000 to 1000): Hated, Hostile, Neutral, Friendly, Allied. Shown above the Gear Score in the inventory, with all 15 factions in the tooltip.
• Kills, escorts, trades, robbed caravans and won sieges change it. It never fades on its own.
• Effects:
  • Hostile/Hated factions always attack you in events, won't trade, and hunt you more often.
  • Friendly/Allied gives caravan discounts and access to mercenaries.
  • Allied factions send help in the last siege wave.
• White flag in events: hold a white banner or wool to surrender. It costs something every time: you get robbed, your base gets plundered, you lose reputation, or you simply step aside in a battle.
• Wanted poster (paper + black dye): calls a fixer who buys your reputation back up to -200, paid in the faction's currency.

New: Mercenaries

• Mercenary contracts:
  • rare reward for escorting a caravan or winning a siege
  • bought from caravans at Friendly reputation (these name the exact soldier)
  • need Friendly reputation to use
• Up to 15 per player. They serve until they die and stay loyal even if the faction later turns against you. Death is final.
• Window (right-click): armor, weapon, off hand, an 18-slot pouch, health, ammo, rename, dismiss, or "make villager".
• Orders:
  • Follow: teleports to you and follows through portals.
  • Wait here.
  • Guard area: 32 blocks.
  • Work.
• Combat: defends you and himself, joins your fights, attacks monsters and event mobs hostile to you. With a gun up to 68 blocks away. Never hits you or your other mercenaries.
• Work:
  • Farming: harvests and replants crops, plants empty farmland.
  • Animals: breeds up to a target number per kind, slaughters the surplus, and never touches named, leashed or tamed animals.
  • Crafting: up to 9 recipes with a stock target each. Works at crafting tables (any mod recipe of that type, with an optional exact 3x3 pattern) and TaCZ gunsmith tables (respecting each table's tabs and filter).
  • Up to 5 linked barrels per mercenary for supplies and results.
• Schedule for guard and work (always, day only, night only). Off duty he sleeps in a free bed nearby.
• Waiting, guarding and working mercenaries fetch ammo from chests nearby.

Other changes

• Smart fire: mobs fire in realistic bursts and rhythms instead of emptying the magazine instantly.
• Endermen dodge bullets, so armed mobs don't waste ammo on them (configurable).
• Many new settings under [faction_wars] and [diplomacy]. New ones are added to your existing config automatically.
• New admin commands: event, war, rep, merc (all under /taczarmedmobs). See the guidebook for the full list.

Compatibility

• NeoForge 1.21.1
• Requires: TaCZ (NeoForge port), Guard Villagers
• Optional: Patchouli (guidebook), FTB Chunks (claims count as bases)
• Guard Villagers TACZ Support is not needed and should not run together with this mod's AI.

Known limitations

• Mercenaries craft only at crafting tables and TaCZ gunsmith tables, not at machines from other mods (Create mixers, presses …).
• Events need difficulty Easy or higher. On Peaceful, hostile event mobs can't spawn.