Changelog

0.2.0

Companion inventory — each recruited Dvergr now carries its own pack.

Own 4×2 inventory, opened with Y while hovering your companion — a chest-style panel (your inventory + crafting + weight readout) that also carries a rename field and a live HP readout.
Picks up loot it already carries (empty pack = nothing); combat takes priority over gathering.
Eats food one at a time for a temporary max-HP boost (with a fed icon), drinks a health mead when hurt (below 35% HP, until 90%), and drinks poison/fire/frost resist meads for the matching resistance (shown as an icon above it).
150 weight cap — over it the companion stops picking up and won't attack (but still moves), with an encumbered icon.
Drops its whole pack on death, and its pack rides along when sealed into a Communion Totem (restored on summon).
Wood portals won't send you if a following companion is carrying a non-teleportable item (with a message naming the ally + item).
ComfyQuickSlots compatible — the pack panel no longer hides the extra inventory row.

Initial release.

Ally recruitment via the Communion Rite — subdue a Dvergr and press the Communion key (G) to free and recruit it. Rogue, Fire Mage, Ice Mage, and Support Mage castes, auto-detected. Recruit state persists across relogs and server restarts.
Ally leveling — companions earn biome-/toughness-scaled kill XP from 1 to 10 on a rising curve, gaining health and damage plus per-caste bonuses. Gold ★N level badge and a hover readout.
Commands — feed/heal with a health mead (G, any player), cycle Follow/Guard/Standby stance (E), rename (Y), and private per-player minimap pins.
Chores — assign allies by caste to vanilla stations (H): Fire Mage smelting, Ice Mage refining, Support Mage cooking/brewing/farming/animal care, Rogue hauling. Persists across relogs and keeps working while you're away.
Dvergr duels — non-lethal, multiplayer-only companion-vs-companion sparring (J) for bonus XP, with PvP immunity and auto stand-down.
Communion Totems — seal Follow-stance companions into carriable totems at an Incinerator using Wisps, and summon them back with level/XP/name intact.
Travel — Follow-stance allies board ships and teleport through portals with their owner.
Ownership & threat — the recruiting player owns the companion; commands are owner-only (feeding is shared). Guard treats non-owners as threats; attacking a companion draws retaliation; a butcher-knife strike turns it feral.

Vanilla assets only — no custom models, textures, sounds, or asset bundles.

Story and an in-game Companion Handbook are delivered through the optional companion mod Valheim ServerGuide.