Set up Villager Recruits on Minecraft

Villager Recruits lets players hire villagers as soldiers with emeralds, command them in groups, and join factions that claim chunks and besiege each other. This guide sets it up on a Forge 1.20.1 server and covers the settings an owner is most likely to change.

Checked against Villager Recruits 1.15.2 on Forge 1.20.1, October 2026.

What you need

• Forge on Minecraft 1.20.1. The mod file asks for Forge 47 or newer, and Modrinth lists 1.15.2 for Forge 1.20.1 only. There is no Fabric or NeoForge build.
• No other mods. Modrinth lists no required dependencies for it.
• The mod on every player's computer too. Modrinth marks it required on both the client and the server.

Switch the server to Forge 1.20.1

1. Open JAR Manager, under More in the left rail.
2. Set Server software to Forge and Minecraft version to 1.20.1, then press Apply change.
3. Leave Take a backup first ticked, press and hold Confirm & reinstall, and wait for the console to finish.

Your world is kept, but configuration files may be reset. Change your Minecraft version or mod loader has the detail.

Install it

1. Open the Mods tab under Content, with the Modrinth source chip selected.
2. Search for Villager Recruits and press Install on the one by talhanation. Village Expansion and the other add-ons with similar names are separate mods.
3. Go to Console, press Start, and accept the EULA prompt the first time.

How players get recruits

The author's wiki describes three ways:

• Wild recruits. Every village spawns some, and players hire them. Some roam in patrols of 5 to 10.
• The Noble Villager. He can appear in a village with more than 7 inhabitants. He recruits nearby villagers into a profession, and each level he gains raises his trade limit and unlocks more professions.
• Recruiting tables. These are optional. Since 1.14.0 they are switched on in the mod's config, and they then appear as trades on level 2 weaponsmith, armorer, fletcher, butcher and cartographer villagers.

Players give orders from the command screen: Follow me, Hold my position, Wander freely, Neutral, Aggressive, Raid, Upkeep and the rest. Only a faction leader can claim chunks, and claiming costs emeralds.

Server settings

The mod writes its server options to recruits-server.toml, inside serverconfig in your world folder (world by default). Once the server has started, open it in the File Manager with Edit, change a value, press Save and restart. Many entries are marked "takes effect after restart". These are worth knowing:

• MaxRecruitsForPlayer caps how many recruits a normal player can have. Faction leaders have a separate limit.
• RecruitCurrency and RecruitCost set what hiring costs. RecruitsPayment turns on paying recruits at an interval.
• AllowClaiming switches the claiming feature on or off. ClaimingCost and MaxClaimChunks price and size claims.
• SiegeClaimsRecruitsAmount and SiegeClaimsConquerTime set the siege rules. The wiki describes a siege as 10 units held inside a claim for 10 minutes. SiegeRequiresOwnerOnline stops sieges while the claim owner is offline.
• OverrideIronGolemSpawn decides whether recruits spawn in villages instead of iron golems.

Common problems

• The server stops at start. Look in the Installed view of the Mods tab for a Failed to load badge, then read the console log. Check that the server is on Forge 1.20.1 and not another version.
• A player cannot join. They need Forge 1.20.1 and the same mod. See Join a modded server from your launcher.
• Players cannot find anyone to hire. Villages spawn wild recruits, and the Noble Villager only appears in villages with more than 7 inhabitants. Hiring costs emeralds unless RecruitCurrency was changed.