Runic Character Vault

Runic Character Vault keeps the authoritative copy of each player's character on your dedicated server. When a player joins, the server securely sends that character to the client; while playing and when leaving, validated saves return to the vault.

Install

Install this package on the dedicated server and every connecting client. Do not combine it with ServerCharacters, Landoria CharacterVault, or another server-character mod.

Select your existing character when joining. With AllowExistingCharacters = true (the default), a character without a vault copy enrolls using its current inventory, skills, appearance, and progress. No starter items are granted to imported characters. The first save is uploaded after spawning, validated, and stored without rewriting its bytes. Wait for the save confirmation before leaving.

Once the vault has a copy, later joins use that authoritative copy. Enrollment cannot replace it. By default, only one character name is allowed per platform account. Initial enrollment trusts the character supplied by that authenticated account; it does not prove where its items or skills originated. Set AllowExistingCharacters = false if your server intentionally requires fresh characters.

Server data is stored under:

BepInEx/config/RunicCharacterVault/characters

Automatic server backups are stored in the backups folder. The first enrolled save is retained separately in enrollment-backups and is not removed by rolling retention. A verified local safety copy is made before sending an existing character's enrollment request or replacing the selected profile. A failed local backup stops that operation.

Configuration

Edit BepInEx/config/chazman.RunicCharacterVault.cfg on the server, then restart it.

• AllowExistingCharacters: allow first enrollment of previously played characters. Default: true. Disable after migration if subsequent new players must start fresh. This never overrides an existing vault character.
• AllowMultipleCharacters: permit more than one character name per platform account. Default: false.
• StartingItems: optional comma-separated prefab and quantity pairs, such as Hammer:1,Torch:1, granted only to genuinely new characters.

The legacy command-line switches --charactervault-allow-multiple-characters and --charactervault-starting-items remain supported and override the configuration file.

Runic Character Vault supports normal saves, world checkpoints, logout, voluntary disconnect, kicks, and graceful dedicated-server shutdown handshakes. The server rejects malformed, oversized, mismatched, or unverified character transfers.

First-release safety note

Keep normal world and BepInEx backups. Test with a nonessential character before opening a production server. Never manually edit vault files while the server is running.

Attribution

This mod is derived from the MIT-licensed Landoria CharacterVault project. See NOTICE.md and LICENSE.

Changelog

1.0.2 - 2026-09-10

• Added AllowExistingCharacters (default true) so existing players can enroll without creating replacement characters.
• Existing-character enrollment grants no starter items and still enforces the account's character limit.
• First enrollment preserves the complete validated profile bytes in the vault and a permanent enrollment backup; it cannot overwrite an existing vault profile.
• Concurrent enrollment for the same account is serialized, including when multiple character names are allowed.
• Existing-character joins create and verify a local safety backup. Backup failure now stops profile replacement.
• Added regressions covering existing accounts, duplicate enrollment, starter-item exclusion, and a real character file's byte-for-byte transfer and storage.

1.0.1 - 2026-09-10

• Reused Valheim's live minimap text template for the character-save status display, preventing Unity 6 from assigning the removed LiberationSans default font while the label is created.
• The status display now fails closed when the live Valheim font template is unavailable instead of creating an unreadable label.

1.0.0

• Added server-authoritative character download and upload for Valheim 1.0.
• Added admission gating, identity validation, transfer hashing, size limits, and chunk validation.
• Added durable server commits plus rolling recent and daily backups.
• Added client safety backups before authoritative profile replacement.
• Added protected saves for checkpoints, logout, disconnect, kick, and graceful shutdown.
• Added Steam and crossplay transport diagnostics.
• Added server configuration for single- or multi-character enrollment and optional starting items.