HearthGuard - Mobs Fear Campfires
by Drahlek
HearthGuard makes hostile mobs flee lit campfires, so a fire placed in the right spot can keep them away from a player's base.
What it does
Hostile mobs that see a lit campfire enter a panic state and run away from it instead of attacking. The fear shows on the mob: it freezes, jumps and visibly flees, and panicking mobs can drop loot. The effect needs an actual line of sight to the fire, so a campfire behind a wall does not scare anything on the other side.
The behavior is changed in the mob code rather than through artificial rules, and it works with the vanilla campfire as well as with modded mobs. A campfire upgrade from CinderStride lets hearths increase the fear range. Settings are available through Mod Menu with Fabric Cloth Config. Files are published for Fabric and NeoForge, covering 1.21.1 and 26.1.2 with 5 release versions in total, including 1.21.11, 26.1 and 26.1.1. Every player and the server need a copy of the mod. Both sides need the same build, and the mod is open source under the MIT License.
Key features
Campfires repel hostile mobs
A lit campfire makes hostile mobs in sight panic and flee rather than attack the player.
Visible panic behavior
Frozen, jumping and fleeing mobs show the fear, so players can see when a campfire is working.
Line of sight required
The fear only applies when a mob has a clear line of sight to a lit campfire.
Loot from panicking mobs
Mobs that panic drop loot, so fleeing mobs still reward a player.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Use cases
Protecting a camp
A player can place lit campfires around a camp to keep hostile mobs from approaching during the night.
Upgraded fear range
With the CinderStride campfire upgrade, hearths extend the distance at which mobs are frightened.
Who it’s for: Survival players who want fire to act as a defense, and server owners who want a fear-based protection mechanic. Players on servers need the mod installed too.
How it compares
Photophobic Mobs is a Fabric and Quilt mod for 1.19.4 – 26.3, with all rights reserved and server-side use only with an optional client. Campfire GUI is open source under the CC0 1.0 Universal license, client and server, for Fabric only across 1.21 – 26.2. HearthGuard instead covers Fabric and NeoForge and runs on both sides with an MIT open source license.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HearthGuard - Mobs Fear Campfires | Fabric and NeoForge | 1.21.1 – 26.1.2 | Client and server | 2026-05-06 |
| Photophobic Mobs (Fabric & Sinytra) | Fabric and Quilt | 1.19.4 – 26.3 | Server required, client optional | 2026-09-24 |
| Campfire GUI | Fabric | 1.21 – 26.2 | Client and server | 2026-07-20 |
Questions
Does HearthGuard need to be installed on both sides?
Which loaders does HearthGuard support?
Does a campfire block mobs that are behind a wall?
In the catalog
HearthGuard - Mobs Fear Campfires is one of 11,058 Mobs mods on ModsFinder, and one of 5,189 Mobs mods for Fabric. 15,189 mods support Minecraft 26.1.2.
More from Drahlek
Similar mods
What the author says
Works with CinderStride Upgrade campfires into Hearthfires that increase the fear range. UI via Mod Menu (Fabric) and Cloth Config.
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/hearthguard
- Owner
- Drahlek
- Published
- 2026-03-11
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-05-06
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15