I have read that modern servers have np. Bots you can add so you can do dungeons and stuff. I haven’t tried myself. Would love to find a guide on how to set up a Linux host.

I would look into Tailscale based on your responses here. I don’t know what your use case is exactly but you set TS up on your server and then again on your phone/laptop and you can connect them through the vpn directly. No extra exposed ports or making a domain or whatnot.

If you want other people to access the server they will need to make a TS account and you can authorize them.