Beehive

Possibly one of the best damn weapon ideas out there. This one is essentially a Mine, only better. Doubly better.

Your worm places it just like a mine, running away afterwards giggling as usual. But this is no ordinary mine, it's a Bee Box. Rather than exploding when a passer-by passes by (as they do), it releases a swarm of angry bees, which proceed to attack the offending worm, causing a steady loss of health until the worm dies or leaves the area. The turn isn't lost in this attack.

But wait, that's not the whole story. The bees aren't just a threat to worms that stray too close, they could attack anyone. If their hive is disturbed by the explosion from a weapon, the swarm will attack the worm that used that weapon. The closer the explosion to the hive, the angrier the bees, the more ferocious the attack and the more health lost. Finally, if the hive is destroyed (the only way it can be removed from the game), the bees go mental, with a tremendous attack on the perpetrator (and heavy loss of health) before disappearing.

An alternative variation of this weapon goes along the same lines only that it is fired from a cannon, like a Sheep Launcher, rather than dropped as a Mine. In this instance, the hive would be shaped like a standard natural hive.

One thing that brings up a couple of issues is the first aspect of the weapon, the "passer-by" reaction. Since the object doesn't disappear after it has attacked like a mine does, it's hard to decide how the bees really should attack a worm that gets near. What if it isn't the worm's turn? He wouldn't be able to get away. Maybe a worm is trapped in the vicinity? He wouldn't be able to get away either. Should the bees keep attacking until the worm dies? One solution is to have them attack only when the worm moves.

Another issue is how the bees navigate the landscape. They shouldn't be treated as separate beings, as it would take up processing power to calculate the path for each bee. Instead, the swarm's movements should be represented by a single body, an "invisible pigeon" if you will. Each bee then swarms about this single body and moves with it. If the swarm cannot reach the victim, it will return to the hive after several seconds of trying.

Animating this weapon should be fairly simple. The swarm of bees need be no more than orange and black pixels. The beehive itself can remain static.

The Beehive makes the ultimate guarding weapon. With a standard mine, the enemy could activate it and then stand back, or shoot it out of the way, but with the Beehive it's a different story altogether. Virtually impenetrable, unless you're willing to lose health points. But wait, there is a solution to the problem: the Protective Suit.

The unlikely use of bees as a weapon gives it all the more reason to be included in the game, and the thought of a worm trying to swipe away bees as they try to sting him could provide some comical animation.