Wardbound is currently in BETA. Bugs are expected and the mod is actively being developed.

Wardbound changes loot containers found in structures into ward encounters.

A warded container may require you to complete a minigame before you can open it. The type and difficulty of the ward, the value of the chest, previous ward results, cards, relics and other systems can all affect what happens.

The mod is mainly built around its minigames and card system, with more systems opening up as you play.

Wardbound dynamically evaluates loot containers and estimates how valuable their contents are.

Chest value can influence:

• Whether a Ward appears
• Encounter difficulty
• Reward scaling
• Failure consequences
• Guardian strength
• Other Wardbound systems

Modded items are evaluated automatically, while manual value overrides are available for unusual progression items.

Wardbound includes a large collection of minigames instead of using the same lock for every container.

They range between:

• Timing and reaction games
• Memory games
• Rhythm-based games
• Logic and deduction puzzles
• Spatial puzzles
• Route and planning puzzles
• Multi-step and mixed-mechanic games

Minigames can also gain advanced variants and other modifiers later on.

Early encounters use a more controlled pool.

As progression develops, harder variants and more complex mechanics can begin appearing.

Wardbound keeps track of your performance and mastery with individual minigames. There is also repetition protection to stop the same few games from constantly appearing.

Some encounters can use altered, corrupted or hybrid versions of existing mechanics.

Failing a Ward does not always mean simply trying again.

Depending on configuration (you can change it the way you like) and progression, failure can:

• Alter loot
• Keep the chest sealed
• Consume an attempt
• Trigger penalties
• Summon a Guardian
• Interact with cards or persistent effects

Different dimensions can also use different failure rules.

Wardbound has a large card system with hundreds of cards.

Cards are not limited to simple stat bonuses. Depending on the card, they can affect:

• Combat
• Attributes
• Exploration
• Loot
• Future ward encounters
• Other card hands
• Objectives
• Temporary rules
• Persistent effects
• Risk/reward choices

Cards belong to different mechanical families and roles.

Some focus on combat.

Some manipulate Wards.

Some affect loot or attributes.

Others are built around risk, progression or future card choices.

Many cards are designed to interact with one another.

One card may improve something another card depends on, create a drawback that another effect can exploit, or modify how future cards are offered.

Wardbound is therefore less about:

"Which card has the largest number?"

and more about:

"What does this do with everything I already have?"

Card selection itself can change as progression develops.

Systems and cards can influence things such as:

• Number of offered cards
• Removing an unwanted option
• Future hand composition
• Rarity
• Offer manipulation
• The next chosen card
• Unique reward pools

Recent offers are also tracked to reduce excessive repetition.

Some choices go much further.

The Death Hand  can impose persistent Death Laws.

These are not ordinary temporary debuffs.

They can alter fundamental gameplay rules, including effects such as:

• Sealing sneaking
• Sealing the offhand
• Disabling natural regeneration
• Sacrificing maximum health
• Changing how certain Ward failures are judged
• Other persistent restrictions

A Death Law can remain active long after the original card hand disappears.

Death Laws are not necessarily permanent.

Wardbound contains a dedicated Absolution system for removing them.

Absolution is treated as its own ritual mechanic rather than simply clearing an effect from a menu.

Structure loot is given a value based on what the container can contain.

Wardbound can automatically evaluate vanilla and modded items, so modpack authors do not need to manually assign a value to every item.

Chest value can affect things such as:

• Whether a ward appears
• Ward difficulty
• Minigame parameters
• Reward scaling
• Failure consequences

Successful runs can also build streaks, while the quality of a minigame completion can affect the final result.

There are additional items and relics that interact with wards, loot and other Wardbound systems.

The Witness Ledger acts as Wardbound's in-game record.

It keeps track of things such as:

• Minigame statistics
• Minigame mastery
• Active card effects
• Card-related information
• Objectives
• Rules
• Relics
• Discoveries
• Progress
• Lore entries

The Ledger fills out as you play instead of documenting everything from the beginning.

Some content is intentionally left undocumented outside the game.

Wardbound has its own advancement tree.

Advancements cover the main systems of the mod, including ward milestones, minigame mastery, cards, relics and other discoveries.

Some advancements are hidden until their requirements are met so that later content is not spoiled by opening the Advancements screen.

# Configuration #

Wardbound is heavily configurable.

The main configuration can be accessed from:

**Mods → Wardbound → Config**

or edited through:

`config/wardbound.json`

Available settings include, among others:

• Ward frequency
• Minimum chest value
• Loot scaling
• Failure penalties
• Minigame timers
• Input forgiveness
• Advanced variants
• Card settings
• Progression thresholds
• Guardian pools
• Item value overrides
• Dimension-specific rules
• Individual minigame settings
• The mod can therefore be tuned for both standalone play and large modpacks.

## Per-dimension settings ##

Dimensions can have their own Wardbound rules.

For each dimension you can configure:

• Difficulty
• Number of lives
• Loot multiplier
• Minigame
• Minigame pool
• Random minigame selection
• Failure behavior

Modded dimensions can be added by dimension ID.

This makes it possible for modpacks to give different dimensions completely different ward behavior.

## Guardian settings ##

Guardian spawning can also be configured.

Server/modpack authors can define:

• Dimension-specific spawn pools
• Entity blacklists
• Allowed guardian lists
• Progression restrictions

Vanilla and modded entity IDs can be used.

## Item value overrides ##

Wardbound automatically calculates values for items, including modded items.

If the automatic value is not suitable for a particular item, it can be manually overridden in the config.

This is mainly intended for modpacks with unusual loot or progression.

# Accessibility #

Wardbound includes several accessibility and presentation options:

• Reduce motion
• Reduce flashing
• High contrast mode
• Larger markers
• Feedback that does not depend only on color
• Disable screen shake
• GUI animation intensity
• Minigame SFX volume

Individual minigame timing and input windows can also be adjusted through the config.

# Modpack use #

Wardbound is designed to work with modded loot and dimensions without requiring a large compatibility file for every mod.

Modded items are automatically evaluated unless manually overridden, and custom dimensions can be added directly to the Wardbound config.

Administrative/debug commands are permission-restricted where applicable.

Because Wardbound is still in beta, large modpacks are more likely to expose compatibility issues. Please report reproducible problems instead of assuming that every mod interaction is already covered.

#### Requirements ####

Wardbound currently requires:

• **Minecraft 1.20.1**
• **Forge 47.4.20**
• **Java 17**
• GeckoLib 4.8+
• **Lodestone**
• AttributeFix 21.x
• **Placebo 8.6.x**
  **Apothic Attributes / attributeslib 1.3.7+**

OPTIONAL COMPATIBILITY

Wardbound also contains native compatibility for several mods. None of these are required to play Wardbound.

• Curios API supported Wardbound items can use dedicated Curios slots.
• Lootr Ward state is handled per-player so Lootr's individual loot containers remain compatible with Ward encounters.
• BrassAmber BattleTowers Wardbound respects BattleTowers' native chest locking/progression and evaluates tower loot after it becomes available.
• Runic Skills 2.x enables additional resonance for Wardbound's Runic card family and integration with Runic skill levels.
• Apotheosis 7.x adds deeper compatibility with affixed loot, sockets and Apotheosis item rarity while keeping the full Apotheosis mod optional.
• Epic Fight selected Wardbound weapons include Epic Fight weapon capability data when Epic Fight is present.
• Better Combat selected Wardbound weapons include Better Combat weapon capability data when Better Combat is present.

Wardbound is designed so these integrations fail safely when the corresponding mod is not installed.

# Bug reports #

Wardbound is a beta mod. Bug reports are useful.

When reporting an issue, please include:

• Wardbound version
• Forge version
• Relevant dependency versions
• Steps to reproduce the problem
• `latest.log` when relevant
• Crash report if the game crashed

Please use the GitHub Issues page for reproducible bugs.

Development is ongoing, including bug fixes, new content, custom music and sound design, balance changes, visual improvements, and compatibility work.

You may run into bugs, balance problems, broken interactions, visual issues or mod compatibility problems.

Back up important worlds before updating Wardbound. If you find a reproducible issue, please report it on GitHub and include a log or crash report when possible.

## Development & AI Disclosure

Wardbound is made with extensive AI assistance, especially for coding, debugging and iteration.

The mod's design, gameplay direction, systems, feature decisions, testing and final integration are handled by me.

## Music

I’m a musician, and Wardbound’s original music will be composed and produced by me.

# Source #

Wardbound's source code is available on GitHub.

The repository is source-available under the project's All Rights Reserved license. See the repository's `LICENSE` file for details.

⟦̷͝ T̷H̸E̴ H̵O̷U̸S̶E̷ R̵E̴M̷E̸M̵B̶E̴R̷S ̷͝⟧

“Every choice is yours.
The debt is mine.”

⟦ ̶͟D̷E̶A̸L̵ A̴G̷A̶I̵N̸? ̶͟⟧