Decapitation: Collect Player Heads and Earn Rewards in Minecraft
Vanilla Minecraft only grants you the heads of a handful of mobs, like creepers or wither skeletons. What if you could turn every fallen opponent into a trophy, a tradeable asset, or even a currency? The Decapitation: Collect Player Heads and Earn Rewards in Minecraft mod transforms the way you think about player death, PvP encounters, and server economies. Instead of leaving behind just experience orbs and gear, every defeated player now has a chance to drop their own head — a unique, named item that can be collected, displayed, and even exchanged for in-game money through an integrated bounty system.
This add-on is built for survival servers, roleplay communities, and hardcore challenge arenas. It introduces a fresh layer of risk and reward: every duel becomes a potential heist, and every death becomes a possible loss of personal property. Whether you want to build a grim hall of skulls or run a full-fledged hunter's guild, Decapitation gives you the mechanical foundation to do it.
Core Mechanics: How Head Drops Work
Once you install the mod, the death of any player can leave behind their head. The drop chance is not a fixed value — it is fully configurable through the mod's settings file. You can define separate probabilities for two distinct scenarios: death at the hands of another player (PvP) and any other kind of death, such as falling, drowning, lava, or mob attacks.
Each probability is set as a decimal between 0 and 1, where 1 equals a guaranteed 100% drop. For example, if you want heads to appear only in PvP combat, you would set killedByPlayer: 1 and allDeaths: 0. This level of control allows server admins to tailor the experience precisely to their ruleset.
Inventory Placement and Item Integrity
There is also an option called placeInKillerInv. When enabled, the head of a slain player is placed directly into the killer's inventory instead of being dropped onto the ground. This prevents valuable trophies from being lost in the chaos of a fight or accidentally picked up by a bystander. The head itself retains the exact username of the player it belonged to, and right-clicking it will display the owner's name. Even if the head is dropped, picked up, or otherwise "broken," it keeps its correct label, making every single trophy genuinely unique.
Administrative Commands for Head Management
The mod includes a set of straightforward commands that give both players and admins fine-grained control over head items. These commands are essential for event planning, server moderation, and general quality-of-life improvements.
/setname [username]— Assigns the specified player name to the head you are currently holding in your hand. Note that the command is case-sensitive./clearname— Removes any custom name from the head in your hand, reverting it to a generic skull item./spawnhead [username] <amount>— Spawns a specified number of heads, each labeled with the given player name. This is particularly useful for server administrators organizing events or distributing rewards.
These commands remain active even if you disable the natural head drop system entirely. This means you can use Decapitation purely as a utility tool for creating custom items, independent of the loot mechanics.
The Bounty System: Turning Skulls into Currency
The standout feature of Decapitation is its built-in bounty system. It effectively turns your server into a hunting ground where players can place monetary rewards on each other's heads. This mechanic requires a compatible economy plugin connected through Vault, and optionally a MySQL database for persistent data storage across restarts.
How a Bounty Hunt Unfolds
Imagine you want to put a price on another player's head. You type /bounty place mbaxter 100, which sets a reward of 100 coins for the player named mbaxter. If a tax rate of 5% is configured, your account is debited 105 coins instead of 100. The extra 5 coins go to the system as a fee.
Another player, say diego96, checks the list of active contracts using /bounty list. Seeing the reward on mbaxter, diego96 hunts down the target, kills them, and picks up their head. Holding the skull in hand, diego96 types /bounty claim. The head is then transferred to the issuer (you) or stored for later pickup via /bounty redeem, and the hunter receives the 100-coin reward. The entire transaction is automated, transparent, and fair.
Full Bounty Command Reference
/bounty search [username]— Look up whether a specific player has a bounty on their head./bounty list <page>— Browse all active bounties on the server./bounty place [username] [price]— Place a new bounty or increase an existing one./bounty claim— Exchange a held head for the corresponding reward./bounty remove [username]— Cancel your own bounty offer./bounty listown— View bounties you have placed that have not yet been claimed./bounty redeem— Retrieve heads that were transferred to you but did not fit in your inventory.
When activating the bounty system, it is highly recommended to set the PvP head drop chance to 100% (killedByPlayer: 1). Otherwise, hunters may spend hours chasing targets without ever receiving a trophy. You can also enable huntedDropOnly: true, which restricts head drops exclusively to players who currently have an active bounty on them. This adds a layer of realism and ensures that innocent bystanders are not randomly losing their heads. Additionally, the canClaimOwn: false option prevents players from submitting their own heads for a reward, which is a vital safeguard against exploiters.
Configuration File Breakdown
All settings are consolidated into a single configuration file, making it easy to manage. The main sections are as follows:
dropSkulls— Controls the drop probabilities (allDeaths,killedByPlayer) and theplaceInKillerInvoption.bounty— Toggles the bounty system on or off, sets the tax percentage, enableshuntedDropOnlyandcanClaimOwn, and selects the data storage method (yaml or mysql).database— Contains MySQL connection settings (url, username, password). This section is ignored if the yaml storage method is selected.
Probabilities are expressed as decimals: 0.1 equals a 10% chance. If both drop options are set to 0, heads will never drop naturally, but the /setname and /spawnhead commands will still function normally.
Permissions and Access Control
Decapitation integrates with standard permission systems, allowing server admins to finely tune who can do what. The key permission nodes are:
decapitation.setname— Grants access to the/setnamecommand.decapitation.clearname— Grants access to the/clearnamecommand.decapitation.spawnhead— Grants access to/spawnhead(also includessetname).decapitation.dropheads— Allows the player to drop their head upon death (default: true).decapitation.collectheads— Allows the player to collect heads from slain enemies (default: true).decapitation.info— Allows viewing the owner name of a head.decapitation.bounty— Base access to the bounty system, which includes child permissions forsearch,list,place,claim,remove,listown, andviewissuer.
This granularity lets you, for example, allow regular players to collect and view heads, while reserving bounty creation and administrative commands for trusted staff or high-ranking members.
Supported Versions and Installation
Decapitation is designed for the Forge mod loader and supports a range of Minecraft versions, typically spanning from 1.16 to 1.20, depending on the specific build you choose. To get started, you will need to download the mod file and place it into your mods folder. For server-side use, ensure that the same version of the mod is installed on both the client and the dedicated server.
If you prefer a streamlined approach, you can use a launcher that supports modpack management. Many players choose to download Decapitation: Collect Player Heads and Earn Rewards in Minecraft through such a launcher, where you simply select the desired modpack from a menu and all required files are fetched and installed automatically, saving you from manual searching and copying.
Why Decapitation Deserves a Spot on Your Server
Decapitation adds a deep trophy mechanic to Minecraft that goes far beyond simple cosmetics. Heads become a form of currency, a catalyst for PvP events, and an integral part of server economy. The flexible configuration options and seamless Vault integration make this mod a versatile tool for any server administrator. The simple command syntax ensures that even newcomers can quickly grasp the basics, while the advanced bounty system offers hours of strategic gameplay for veteran players.
Whether your goal is to construct a dark collection of skulls from your most formidable rivals or to launch an entire guild dedicated to hunting down high-value targets, this mod provides the necessary mechanics to make it happen. It breathes new life into the multiplayer experience, turning every encounter into a potential transaction and every death into a tangible loss. For anyone looking to add a layer of consequence, competition, and commerce to their Minecraft world, Decapitation is a compelling and well-crafted addition.
In conclusion, the mod's blend of loot mechanics, administrative tools, and a fully functional bounty economy makes it a standout choice for PvP-focused servers. It is easy to install, highly customizable, and rewarding to play with. If you are ready to give your players a reason to look over their shoulders, this is the mod to add.