The Bodyguard mod adds a hireable NPC companion that follows you across your world and fights to keep you alive. Wherever you wander, this loyal guard stays at your side, attacking anything that threatens you and helping with the dirty work. It is a simple, focused take on the companion formula that slots neatly into survival playthroughs. You build the bodyguard yourself with blocks you already have, gear them up, and let them handle the threats while you focus on mining, building, or just staying alive.

Why You Want a Bodyguard at Your Side

A bodyguard fills the gap between a tamed wolf and a full adventure party. They automatically attack any mob you hit, defend you when monsters close in, and never wander off to chase a chicken. The mod is built for players who want a reliable escort during caving runs, long expeditions, or base defense without the micromanagement that vanilla taming demands.

How to Summon Your Bodyguard

To bring a bodyguard into the world, you do not need a crafted item. Place two wool blocks of any color stacked like a snow golem, then drop a carved pumpkin on top. The bodyguard spawns ready to follow you and takes your name so everyone knows who the boss is. Because the wool color carries over, you can theme your guards to match your base or your armor.

A freshly summoned bodyguard is loyal from the first tick. They will trail you through caves, across oceans, and into the Nether without prompting.

Once hired, the bodyguard will take your name to indicate that you are the boss now.

Commands and Behavior

Right-click a bodyguard to open their inventory and hand them gear. Right-click while crouching to toggle follow mode, which tells them to hold position instead of trailing you. They keep defending the area they are parked in, so you can leave one at a choke point while you mine behind it. Any mob you hit becomes their target, which makes them strong for crowd control during raids or nighttime caving.

Equipping and Healing Your Bodyguard

Keep your bodyguard in fighting shape by giving them a sword, armor, and a totem of undying. Gear them out and they hit harder, survive longer, and stay useful deep underground. When their health drops, feed them food or wool-based items to top them up. The mod also includes auto-healing, so a guard left out of combat for a while will recover on their own instead of dying off-screen.

Bodyguards as a Mining Companion

A bodyguard is not just a fighter. Their inventory doubles as storage, so you can stash ore, cobblestone, or spare tools while you keep mining. Take one underground and they fight off creepers while you branch-mine, then haul the loot back up with you. It is a quiet quality-of-life benefit that makes long sessions far less tedious.

Random Skins and Unique Abilities

Each bodyguard rolls a random skin when spawned, so no two guards look exactly alike. Some bodyguards also come with unique abilities, which means two guards built from the same blocks can behave a little differently. Try summoning a few and see which traits show up.

Installing the Bodyguard Mod

This mod runs on Forge and NeoForge, so pick the loader that matches the rest of your modpack. Install Minecraft Forge or set up NeoForge first, then drop the bodyguard jar into your mods folder and launch the game. For a full walk-through, see our how to install Minecraft mods guide. If you want a busier world, pair the mod with Critters and Companions for extra ambient life. No extra dependencies are required, so a clean Forge or NeoForge install is enough to run it.

Bodyguard Mod FAQ

Can I have more than one bodyguard? Yes. You can summon multiple bodyguards and they each follow you independently, so a small squad is doable.

Do bodyguards respawn if they die? No. A killed bodyguard is gone for good, which is why a totem of undying and solid armor matter. Build a new one with wool and a carved pumpkin.

Can I stop a bodyguard from following me? Yes. Right-click while crouching to toggle follow mode. The guard holds position and keeps defending that spot.

What do bodyguards eat to heal? Food restores their health, and the mod auto-heals them over time, so a wounded guard recovers if you keep them out of danger.

Do they attack creepers automatically? Bodyguards attack any mob you hit and defend you from hostile monsters. Park one at a base entrance and it will handle whatever walks in.