Bonded Pairs (Vanilla Tales)

Binds two mobs from the same spawn group into a pair that shares damage and avenges each other.

Kill one, and its partner gets faster, ignores your shield, and drops double loot if it dies too.

Versions: 1.20.1, 1.21.1, 1.21.8

Loader: Fabric, Forge (1.20.1); Fabric, NeoForge (1.21.1, 1.21.8)

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Requirements

• On Fabric you need Fabric API. On Forge or NeoForge you do not.
• Server-side: install it on the server (or in singleplayer). Players do not need it, and vanilla clients can join without it.
• Languages: English and German. German shows for players who have the mod installed (for example in singleplayer); vanilla clients without the mod see English.

What it does

• About one in twenty natural spawn groups bonds two mobs of the same kind into a pair, if that mob type is allowed to bond.
• Bonded partners share a name and a particle thread connects them while they are close.
• Combat damage to one partner also hits the other for a share of it; falling, drowning, fire and other environmental damage only ever hit the mob it happened to.
• When one partner dies, the survivor gets faster, ignores shields, and drops double loot if it is killed while that lasts.

Advancements

Four advancements in the Adventure tab, depending on how a bonded pair dies:

• Friendly Fire: a partner kills the other partner.
• Heartbreaker: the same player kills both partners of a pair.
• Two Birds, One Sword: one hit kills both partners at once.
• Cold Revenge: a player kills a partner that is already avenging its bonded mob.

Configuration

File: bonded_pairs.json.

A config file with a syntax error is left untouched: the mod logs the problem and keeps the last working settings instead of overwriting the file with defaults.

The tag bonded_pairs:can_bond lists which mobs can be bonded (vanilla hostile mobs by default) and can be extended to include mobs from other mods.

Commands

Needs operator permission.

Good to know

• Bonded pairs despawn like any other mob.
• A vanilla client can join a server running this mod without installing it.

Part of VanillaTales

Bonded Pairs is part of VanillaTales, a collection of small, independent mods that add little stories to vanilla content. Each mod works on its own; install only the ones you want.

• Zombie Sieges: turns a vanilla zombie siege into a real event, with a ringing bell, a boss bar and two waves of zombies.
• Sherd Stories: gives every decorated pot a title and the story of where its sherds were found.
• Ghost Crews: gives every shipwreck a name and a crew of drowned that guard it until it is looted clean.
• Illager Scouts: a pillager scout watches your village and warns you two days before a patrol arrives.
• Occupied Villages: some new villages spawn already occupied by an illager garrison you can liberate.
• Golem Patrol: gives iron golems a daily patrol, a night watch and an escort for villagers.
• Raid Aftermath: villagers repair the damage a raid or an explosion left in the village.
• Wayfarer’s Landmarks: shows a title and helpful icons when you enter a structure.

More mods by LithiumPlus

• DataDrivenVillagers: create and change villager professions from JSON files or an in-game editor.
• VillagersPlus: new villager types, trades and beautiful workstations. Forge version: VillagersPlus (Forge).
• VillagerTradingPlus: add, replace or delete the trades of any villager, change the currency and gate trades behind conditions, all from a datapack.
• Nyctophobia: dark, foggy and unsettling biomes for the Overworld. Forge version: Nyctophobia (Forge).
• The Graveyard (Fabric) and The Graveyard (Forge/NeoForge): structures, mobs, bosses and blocks with a graveyard theme.