Claymores: Camouflaged Landmine Traps for Minecraft

What Is the Claymores Plugin for Minecraft?

Minecraft combat often revolves around swords, bows, and potions, but the Claymores plugin throws a clever wrench into the mix. It lets you place a custom block that transforms into a disguised explosive trap, waiting silently for an unsuspecting player to step over it. Once triggered, the claymore detonates with configurable force, adding a whole new layer of strategy and paranoia to your server. Whether you want to protect your base, set ambushes, or simply spice up PvP, this Bukkit plugin turns ordinary terrain into a minefield of surprises.

Key Features That Make Claymores Stand Out

• Disguised Traps: Claymores look like regular blocks—snow, by default—until activated, making them nearly invisible to the unwary.
• Color Selection: When you place a snow block, an inventory-like interface pops up, allowing you to pick a color for the claymore’s disguise.
• Configurable Explosions: Adjust the blast power, decide whether explosions destroy blocks, and even choose if a “starter block” drops when a claymore is broken.
• Permission Nodes: Control who can place claymores and who can toggle the placement mode with commands.
• Named Death Messages: In version 1.6 and above, death messages can include the victim’s name, so everyone knows who got caught.
• Automatic Update Checker: The plugin can notify you when a new version is available, keeping your traps up to date.

Installing the Claymores Plugin

Setting up Claymores requires a couple of extra dependencies because it runs on PythonPluginLoader. Start by downloading the PythonPluginLoader from the BukkitDev page and placing the PyPluginLoader-versionX.jar into your server’s plugins folder. Next, you’ll need Jython—grab the Jython.jar from its official site and drop it into your server’s lib folder (create that folder if it doesn’t exist). Finally, put the Claymores.pyp file into the plugins folder. Once you restart the server, the plugin will generate a Claymores folder containing the configuration and database files.

While these steps are straightforward, many players today prefer a more streamlined approach. For those who want to skip manual file juggling, the foxygame.net launcher provides a flexible, modern way to manage Minecraft mods. With its built-in mod menu, you can browse and install plugins like Claymores directly from the launcher interface, avoiding server folder navigation altogether.

Using Claymores in Your World

The plugin is refreshingly simple in-game. Place a snow block wherever you want a trap. Immediately, an inventory-style window appears, showing a palette of colors. Left-click a color to set the claymore’s disguise, and the window closes—your trap is now armed. Any player who steps on that block will trigger an explosion. To prevent accidental placement, you can toggle claymore mode on and off with the /claymores command, provided you have the appropriate permission or operator status.

Configuration Options

The settings.ini file inside the Claymores folder gives you fine-grained control. Here’s what you can tweak:

• ExplosionEffectBlocks: Set to True if you want explosions to destroy blocks, or False for a purely player-damaging blast.
• PlayerMessages: Toggle whether the plugin sends messages to players when they place or trigger a claymore.
• UsePermissions: Enable this to restrict placement and toggling to players with specific permission nodes.
• ExplosionPower: A decimal value (e.g., 4.0 for TNT strength) that sets the blast radius and damage.
• DropClaymore: When True, breaking a claymore drops the starter block; otherwise, it drops nothing.
• CustomBlock: Choose any block from the allowed list (in all caps) to act as the starter item—default is SNOW.
• NameDeathMessages: If True, death messages will include the victim’s name for extra clarity.
• UpdateChecker: Set to True to have the plugin automatically check for new versions on startup.

Remember: when upgrading to a version that introduces new options, delete the old configuration file first so the plugin can generate a fresh one with all the latest settings.

Permissions and Commands

If you enable UsePermissions in the config, you can assign the following nodes to players or groups:

• claymores.place – allows a player to place claymores.
• claymores.toggle – allows using the /claymores toggle command.

Without permissions, only operators can place traps and use the toggle command, which helps prevent griefing on public servers.

What’s New and What’s Coming

The plugin has steadily improved since its early days. Version 1.6 introduced named death messages, making it clear who fell victim to whose trap. Earlier updates added the update checker, configurable starter blocks, the toggle command, and Permissions support. Looking ahead, the developer plans to add an option that lets you decide whether your own claymores can kill you, along with even more detailed death messages that reveal the trap owner’s name.

Known Bugs and Quirks

While Claymores is robust, a few historical issues have been patched over time. The update checker once gave false positives, but that was fixed in v1.6. A rare non-claymore carpet bug and a first-placement glitch were resolved in v1.4. Earlier versions could sometimes deal little to no damage when a player stepped on a trap, but that’s been corrected. If you encounter anything unusual, filing a ticket with the developer is the fastest way to get help.

Why Claymores Deserves a Spot on Your Server

Claymores transforms the environment into a weapon, rewarding clever placement and situational awareness. It’s perfect for factions, survival games, or any server where you want to add an element of danger beyond simple sword fights. The disguise mechanic keeps players guessing, and the configuration options let you tailor the chaos to your liking. Whether you install it manually or use a launcher like foxygame.net to handle the heavy lifting, this plugin is a compact, exciting addition that will have your players watching every step they take.