Deathrattle (Valheim mod)

When any player dies, every player on the server hears the Wilhelm scream with a gong underneath, at the same volume anywhere on the map, and sees a center-screen message describing how they died (for example "Username was slain by a Lox"). If the cause is unknown, it shows "Username had fallen". A beam of red light shoots into the sky from where they died and fades out over 12 seconds, with small, subtle twinkling sparkles around the spot.

Build (one person does this once)

• [ ] A. Install the .NET SDK (8 or newer) from dotnet.microsoft.com.
• [ ] B. Install "BepInExPack for Valheim" (by denikson, on Thunderstore) into your Valheim folder and launch the game once.
• [ ] C. If Valheim is not in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Valheim, edit ValheimDir in Deathrattle.csproj.
• [ ] D. Open a terminal in this folder and run: dotnet build -c Release
• [ ] E. The mod is at bin\Release\net48\Deathrattle.dll.

Install (every player)

• [ ] A. Install BepInExPack for Valheim.
• [ ] B. Create the folder Valheim\BepInEx\plugins\Deathrattle\.
• [ ] C. Put Deathrattle.dll in that folder.
• [ ] D. The Wilhelm scream is built into the DLL. To use a different sound, put a .wav or .ogg in the plugins folder and set SoundFile.
• [ ] E. Launch Valheim and join the server.

Dedicated server

• [ ] A. Install BepInEx and the same Deathrattle folder on the server too (recommended for consistency).

Config

After first launch, edit BepInEx\config\com.server.deathrattle.cfg:

• PlayGong: true or false (default true), a gong layered under the scream
• Sound levels are set by the audio files themselves; the mod has no volume settings.
• SoundFile: file name in the plugin folder (default wilhelm.wav; if no such file exists, the built-in scream plays)
• ShowMessage: true or false (default true)
• ShowCauseOfDeath: true or false (default true)
• [Beam] section: ShowBeam (default true), Duration in seconds (default 12), Width in meters (default 0.6), Height in meters (default 3000), ShowParticles (default true), ParticlesPerSecond (default 8), ParticleRadius in meters (default 1.2), Color as a hex code (default #FF2020 red)
• [Messages] section: one line per cause of death. {0} is the player's name, {1} is the killer's name (creature, boss, or player messages only).
• creature_messages.txt (created in the plugin folder on first launch): one line per enemy, PrefabName = message. Enemies not listed use KilledByCreature or KilledByBoss. The log prints the prefab name of whatever killed you, so you can add missing ones.
• The message comes from the config of the player who died, so give everyone the same .cfg and creature_messages.txt if you change the wording.

Troubleshooting

• [ ] A. Check BepInEx\LogOutput.log for lines starting with [Deathrattle].
• [ ] B. "Sound file not found" means the audio file name or folder is wrong.
• [ ] C. If only some players hear it, someone is missing the mod or the audio file.