Base Defense and Spawn-Proofing

Base Defense and Spawn-Proofing covers how a player keeps a base safe in Fear Nightfall. The pack's horror comes from several sources that reach a base in different ways: scheduled undead waves from The Hordes, the Graveyard Hordes from The Graveyard, the hounds, Krampus and other mobs from Born in Chaos, and the infection that undead spread. A defence that stops one of them does not stop the others, so a base usually needs several layers.

The defences fall into two groups. Spawn-proofing tools change where and when hostile mobs can appear near the base: light levels, a lit Sage Burning Plate, and the spawn rules of individual mobs. Active defences stop mobs that are already on their way: walls, Traps and Webs, Bamboo Spikes and golems. This page summarises both groups and links to the page for each mechanic.

Threats and their timing

Scheduled waves

Horde Nights is the largest scheduled threat. Each player has an independent horde day, starting on day 10 and recurring every 10 in-game days. A horde event lasts 6000 ticks and sends ten waves toward the player, not toward the base. Each wave is placed about 75 blocks from the player and paths directly to them, so hiding a base does not hide the player. Horde mobs are tuned to reach the player from far away.

Beds stop working on a player's own horde night, and an active horde on any online player blocks sleep for everyone. A player who expects a horde night should be inside a finished shelter before it starts, not in the open.

Night hordes

Graveyard Hordes appear at night, with a check every 21 minutes of server time and a 1-in-5 roll on each check at night. A horde spawns 34 to 66 blocks from a random online player, can contain up to 40 undead or illager members, and walks as a group. Each member needs a dark spot to spawn in, so lit ground around a base limits how large a horde can form nearby. The page describes a horde as rarely a threat to a lit, enclosed base.

Infection

Zombie Infection is the slowest threat but the hardest to undo. Zombies, husks, drowned, zombie horses, zombified piglins and zoglins can each infect a player on a hit, with a chance set by the attacker and the victim's resistance. The effect runs for four stages, about 19 minutes in total, and then kills the infected entity. A player who dies while infected returns as a zombie player. Keeping undead out of the base's interior is the main protection. A golden apple cures the infection, and an enchanted golden apple grants Immunity for 150 seconds.

Spawn-proofing

Light

Several threats use light levels as a spawn condition. The numbers below are the spawn rules, and the pages linked for each mob give the full rules.

The Horde Nights wave placement has no light requirement, so lighting a base does not keep its waves away. Lighting does reduce the chance that a mob spawns inside or beside the base at all.

Sage Burning Plate

A lit Sage Burning Plate vetoes natural spawns of hostile monsters within 48 blocks of the plate. The range is set by spawn_disable_range, and 0 turns the effect off. A plate holds one Dried Sage Bundle, which burns for one hour, so a plate needs refuelling about hourly to keep the veto running. The veto covers natural spawns only. It does not stop mobs placed by spawners or commands, and it does not change how mobs from other mods are placed.

Structures near the base

Fear Nightfall places horror structures closer together than vanilla. Horror and Spooky Content and Changes to Vanilla list the changes. Witch huts, covens and Hexerei witch huts are common in forests and swamps, and Witch Huts and Covens are the other witch-themed structures to check for. Born in Chaos mobs make up a smaller share of natural spawns after the pack halved their spawn weights. A base should be checked for nearby structures before it is built, using the Finding Structures and Biomes guide.

Active defences

Traps

The Hound Trap is the only trap in its group that damages entities. Undead and animals take 25 damage and Bone Fracture, a non-player mob takes 20, and a player takes 10. The trap also applies Slowness VI. Bloody Gadfly and Corpse Fly ignore it. The trap breaks if the block beneath it stops being solid.

Bamboo Spikes from Supplementaries hurt and slow anything that walks into them. A spike tipped with a lingering potion applies its effect on contact. Spikes are cheap and suit paths that mobs follow into a base.

Golems

Golem Overhaul adds golems that help defend a base, and it changes how golems interact with vanilla mobs. Iron golems and snow golems cannot target any Golem Overhaul golem, and hostile mobs can attack them. Golem Overhaul golems attack hostile mobs, but not creepers. They never attack other golems, iron golems or snow golems.

• Slime Golem: hostile, spawns in the Overworld monster pool, and splits into smaller golems on death.
• Netherite Golem: large, with 320 health. It is built from ancient debris (see Golem Construction), can be ridden, and summons Coal Golems when charged.
• Barrel Golem and Hay Golem: passive, and not a defence.

Walls and enclosure

The pack adds no wall-specific rules. A base works best with a closed perimeter and a lit interior. Sealing the base matters most against infection, because each hit from an undead mob carries a chance of infection.

Pack changes that affect defence

• Zombies and skeletons in The Hordes' waves burn in daylight in Fear Nightfall, the reverse of the mod's default. See Horde Nights.
• The Naughtiness and Krampus mechanic is switched off. Krampus can still spawn naturally, but its punishment spawns do not happen.
• Illagers hunt infection-capable undead within 10 blocks, and zombie horses and zombified piglins are aggressive, so undead near a village can draw other mobs into a fight. See Zombie Infection.
• Born in Chaos spawn weights are halved, and its horror structures are placed about 30% closer together.

Tips

• Keep the interior of the base lit and close the perimeter before the first horde night at day 10.
• Put a lit Sage Burning Plate near the base and refuel it with a fresh Dried Sage Bundle before the hour runs out.
• Place Hound Traps and spikes away from the doorway you use. Traps hurt players as well, and a player who walks into one takes 10 damage from the Hound Trap.
• Bring food and a cure. A golden apple cures infection, and an enchanted one gives Immunity for 150 seconds.
• Check the pack's gamerules, such as dreadHoundSpawn and krampusSpawn, before planning a base around a mob's spawn rules. See Gamerules and Commands.