BoneSkeleton
by jingqi_ohhh
BoneSkeleton changes how skeletons fight, turning their melee into a core part of their attack and leaving bows to a limited set of cases.
What it does
Most skeletons in BoneSkeleton drop the bow and switch to close combat. Four skeletons fight in melee only, and four vanilla skeletons rush the player instead of keeping their distance. Melee damage is set to 2.0, one heart on Normal difficulty. Bows are removed from the loot tables, and the skeleton drops themed arrows in their place, including fish-shaped bones and poisoned arrows that the mod adds. Wither skeletons are not affected by these changes.
The mod is server-side only, so players join without installing it, and only the server runs it. It requires Fabric API and is released under the MIT License as open source. Files cover 26.2 and the earlier release versions 1.21.1, 1.21.11, 26.1, 26.1.1 and 26.1.2, with 1.2.0+26.2 as the latest Fabric file for 26.2, published on 2026-08-18.
Key features
Melee-focused skeletons
Skeletons rely on close combat, so a player cannot be picked off from a dark corner with a bow.
Limited bow use
Four skeletons fight in melee only, and bows that are given through commands never fire.
Themed arrow drops
Skeletons drop themed arrows, including poisoned arrows and fish-shaped bones, instead of bows.
Adjusted melee damage
Melee damage is set to 2.0, which is one heart on Normal difficulty.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Requirements
Dependencies declared by the latest file for each loader.
Required 1
Use cases
Survival servers
Server owners who want skeletons to rush players rather than snipe from range can run the mod alongside vanilla content.
Combat variety
Players who meet the same skeleton fights repeatedly can use the altered behavior to change how encounters play out.
Who it’s for: Server owners and players who want skeletons to fight at close range instead of shooting from a distance.
How it compares
Deadly Skeletons is server-side only, not open source, and published for 1.21.1 under the MIT License. Rewithered runs on client and server, is open source and covers 1.21 – 26.3 on Fabric and NeoForge. Wither Skeleton Propagation is server-side only and open source under CC0 1.0 Universal, with files for 1.20 – 1.20.1 on Fabric.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BoneSkeleton | Fabric | 1.21.1 – 26.2 | Server-side only | 2026-08-18 |
| Deadly Skeletons | Fabric | 1.21.1 | Server-side only | 2025-12-14 |
| Rewithered | Fabric and NeoForge | 1.21 – 26.3 | Client and server | 2026-09-28 |
| Wither Skeleton Propagation | Fabric | 1.20 – 1.20.1 | Server-side only | 2023-07-26 |
Questions
Does BoneSkeleton require Fabric API?
Do players need to install BoneSkeleton?
Are wither skeletons changed by the mod?
In the catalog
BoneSkeleton is one of 11,058 Mobs mods on ModsFinder, and one of 5,189 Mobs mods for Fabric. 13,894 mods support Minecraft 26.2.
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What the author says
Unofficial fan work, not affiliated with Mojang or Microsoft.
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/boneskeleton
- Owner
- jingqi_ohhh
- Published
- 2026-08-15
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-08-18
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15