Fear of Anything

Customize Mob AI to make any mob fear any item, block, or player. The ultimate tool for mob control, automated farms, and creative base defense. Server-side, lightweight, and fully configurable.

Total Control Over Mob AI. You Decide What They Fear.

Are you tired of predictable mob behavior? Do you want to build a truly unique base defense or design a complex, automated mob farm? From the creator of Fear of Fire, Fear of Anything evolves the concept into a powerful, universal tool that puts you in complete control of mob AI.

This server-side mod allows you to create fear-based rules for any mob in the game, including those from other mods. Make Creepers flee from flowers, make Zombies run from players holding a golden sword, or even make a powerful modded boss retreat from a simple block of wool. With support for NBT data, block states, and now stage-based trauma and breeding via datapacks, the possibilities for creative mob control, automation, and gameplay design are truly limitless.

Example datapacks (including trauma and breeding rules) are available here:
https://github.com/Sylsatra/firefearmod/tree/3.0.0-1.20.1/datapacks

Key Features

• 🧠 Customizable Mob AI: The core of the mod. Gain precise control over mob behavior by defining what scares them. A must-have for modpack creators and technical players.
• 🎯 Target Any Mob (with NBT Support): Add any mob from vanilla or mods to a fear group. Target all zombies, or only those with a specific name or wearing specific armor.
• 🗡️ Fear of Items (with NBT Support): Make mobs flee from players holding an item, or from an item on the ground. This includes modded items and specific NBT data, allowing for unique tools like a "Creeper-Repelling-Stick."
• 🧱 Fear of Blocks (with Block State Support): Designate any block as a source of fear. The system is smart enough to check for specific block states, like a lever being powered:true or a fence being waterlogged:true.
• 📜 Two Ways to Configure: TOML & Datapacks:
  Use the classic firefearmod-common.toml for simple, global fear rules, or enable the new intergenerational trauma system to drive everything from JSON datapacks (perfect for packs and servers).
• 🚀 Server-Side & Lightweight: The mod runs entirely on the server, so players don't need to install it. The AI checks are highly optimized for minimal performance impact, ensuring a smooth experience on any server.
• 🕵️ Optional Sound Attract Integration: If the Sound Attract mod is installed, Fear of Anything will automatically use its FOV and stealth checks, so fear behavior respects stealthy movement and custom vision cones.

New in v3.0.0 – Intergenerational Trauma & Breeding

🧬 Stage-Based Intergenerational Trauma (Datapack Driven)

Flip on:

• INTERGENERATIONAL_TRAUMA_ENABLED (default: false)

…and you unlock a stage-based fear system controlled by datapacks:

• Mobs now have trauma stages per group. Early stages are simple, later stages can be conditional.
• Example: a cow fears fire-based blocks as stage 0. After being hit by a player, that cow – and any nearby cows – can unlock stage 1, where they now fear players.
• Trauma can also spread and be inherited:
  • Experience: being hurt by certain sources.
  • Witnessing: seeing bad things happen nearby.
  • Inheritance: babies can inherit trauma stages from their parents.
• The maximum stage per group is capped by:
  • MAX_TRAUMA_STAGES_PER_GROUP (default: 3)

All of this is defined in JSON trauma groups inside datapacks, so pack makers can ship complex behavior without touching the core config.

👁️ Smarter Visibility Modes for Fears

The datapack system adds per-entity visibility modes:

{ "type": "entity", "id": "minecraft:ocelot", "fear_override": true, "visibility_mode": "ALWAYS" }

• visibility_mode: "ALWAYS"
  The mob will fear the target whenever it sees it. In the example above, the mob will flee from ocelots on sight, and with "fear_override": true it will refuse to aggro that ocelot even if it is normally hostile.
• Default (when visibility_mode is omitted)
  The mob only fears the target when both can see each other (mutual line of sight). This is great for more “duel-like” or social encounters.

This lets you tune whether a fear is more like “prey vs predator on sight” or “panic only when we’re really staring each other down.”

🍼 Natural and Forced Breeding Systems (Datapack Driven)

Using datapacks, you can now define natural and forced breeding rules per mob:

• Natural breeding:
  Mobs of the same type within range can automatically produce offspring over time, capped by nearby child count and per-rule cooldowns.
• Forced breeding (item-gated):
  Breeding can also require one of the parents to hold a specific item.

Example:

{
  "enabled": true,
  "mob": "minecraft:skeleton",
  "child": "minecraft:skeleton",
  "partner_radius": 8.0,
  "cooldown_ticks": 3000,
  "max_nearby_children": 8,
  "consume_item": true,
  "require_held_item": "minecraft:bone"
}

In this example, if two skeletons are within 8 blocks and at least one is holding a bone, they can breed. Since there is no baby skeleton in vanilla, an adult skeleton will be born. Other mobs (including modded ones) can be configured the same way via datapacks.

You can find ready-to-use example datapacks (hostile mobs, villagers, and more) here:
https://github.com/Sylsatra/firefearmod/tree/3.0.0-1.20.1/datapacks

What Will You Create?

This is a sandbox for your creativity. Here are just a few ideas:

• Ultimate Creeper-Proofing: Make Creepers terrified of minecraft:poppy blocks. Finally, you can build with whatever you want, knowing your beautiful flower garden is also your best defense.
• Automated Mob Farms & Herding: Design advanced mob farms by creating pathways and sorting systems using fear. Use a specific item as a "herding wand" to guide mobs exactly where you want them to go for efficient farming.
• Immersive Base Defense: Create a thematic defense that fits your world. Make Pillagers fear minecraft:emerald_block, protecting your villager trading hall without a single wall.
• Adventure Map & Quest Design: Build complex quests and puzzles. Create a "Holy Amulet" that forces a powerful boss to flee, allowing players to access a new area. The narrative potential is huge.
• Instant Safe Zones: For a simpler survival experience, make all hostile mobs fear the minecraft:crafting_table, giving you a guaranteed safe bubble wherever you go.
• Generational Stories: Let mobs “remember” traumatic events across generations. A village that survived a raid might raise children who are permanently wary of raiders and players.

FAQ

Q: How do I configure the mobs and their fears?
A: For classic behavior, you edit the config file: firefearmod-common.toml in your config folder. For the new trauma and breeding systems, you use JSON datapacks. Example datapacks are available here:
https://github.com/Sylsatra/firefearmod/tree/3.0.0-1.20.1/datapacks

Q: Does this work with mobs and items from other mods?
A: Yes, 100%. You can target any registered mob, item, or block using its ID (e.g., thermal:blizz, ars_nouveau:source_gem). The NBT and block state support ensures deep compatibility.

Q: Is this for Forge or Fabric?
A: This mod is currently available for Forge.

Q: Will this lag my server?
A: No. The mod was built with performance as a top priority. The AI scanning is efficient and lightweight, making it safe for servers of all sizes.