I'm not trying to talk you into using mods if that's not what you want to do, but I can say that I use mods. It's actually much simpler than it might seem at first. There's really only one mod that you need to literally be able to use nearly every mod out there. That is BepInEx and I hope I'm allowed to say that here. It's very stable and the modder keeps it updated. There might be one other that a LOT of mods are dependent on, but it's very stable as well. Also you do NOT have to use a mod manager! I refuse to use them myself. I just download them manually (for free) and install them manually which is as simple as dropping a .dll into the Plugins folder.

With all this said, it is worth deciding before you ever start using mods, whether you're okay with the mods possibly breaking or not working for awhile after any update to the Valheim game. Just the cloud update not long ago forced us to wait for updates to some of our favorite mods. Some of the stuff we'd built using them was a bit messed up (or gone completely). It's a risk if you choose to use mods.

I'll also take this moment to say... If you are going to use mods (and heck, even if you aren't), you should regularly backup your game files. I keep 3 backups at all times, and backup every 3 days (I just overwrite the oldest backup).

Either way, I hope you find ways to keep you entertained! I absolutely love this game (with or without mods).