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{{trope}}
{{quote|''"Your father's lightsaber. This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as random or as clumsy as a blaster, but [[Elegant Weapon for a More Civilized Age|an elegant weapon for a more civilized age]]."''
|'''[[The Obi-Wan|Obi-Wan Kenobi]]'''|''[[Star Wars]]''}}
The hero [[Unexpected Inheritance|receives a weapon that once was carried]] by his father or a more distant ancestor. Nine times out of ten this is either a sword or a gun, depending on the setting.
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If Magic, may flat out not work for someone not of the [[Heroic Lineage]].
May overlap with [[Older Is Better]] when the weapon is older and more powerful than modern weapons. When the weapon did not belong to a blood relative but to a predecessor, see [[Take Up My Sword]].
''Do not confuse with the gaming weapon class of the same name, which is more about how powerful or magical the weapon is and less about where it came from.''
{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==▼
*
▲== [[Anime]] ==
*
▲* The Revolver Knuckles of the Nakajima sisters in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]''. This is a rare case where the ancestor was their [[Action Mom|mother]].
**
▲* Negi Springfield of [[Mahou Sensei Negima]] uses his (famous and ''extremely'' powerful) father's staff as his primary weapon.
▲** At least until he gets a magic ring that allows him to cast spells emptyhanded (several other characters use a similar device), which fits his [[Kung Fu Wizard|fighting style]] much better. He still occasionally uses the staff, though.
*** Notably by turning it into a giant lightning halberd.
*
* Kouji Kabuto from ''[[Mazinger Z]]'' probably counts too, if you count his grandpa's ''giant robot'' as an ancestral weapon.
** And {{spoiler|''[[Great Mazinger|his dad's]]''}} ''giant robot''.
*
** Not only are they inherited from their Father...they are MADE from their father. He ripped two of his own fangs out (Inu-No-Taisho is GIGANTIC in his true form) and forged them into the twin swords.
*
* In ''[[Romeo X Juliet]]'', Juliet fights with her father's sword.
* Both Raijin and Fujin Swords in ''[[Yaiba]]'', together with many others, are really old weapons from the past.
*
** Sailor Neptune's and Uranus's Talismans may also count, although its a strange situation since, although they are certainly ancient, they belonged to their own selves before being reincarnated, which may dispute them being actually ancestral (can you be your own ancestor?). Sailor Pluto's Talisman avoids this completely since due to time shennanigans she has always existed owning her own Talisman.
* In the movie continuity (but not the main continuity) of ''[[Lyrical Nanoha]]'', Chrono's magical staff Durandal was previously his father's weapon, and was given to Chrono by his mother.
== [[Fan
* The sword originally wielded by an ancestor of Kyon's ({{spoiler|1=Usui Sadamitsu/Taira no Tadamichi}} to be precise) in ''[[Kyon: Big Damn Hero]]''. While the sword itself isn't usable anymore, he still uses the hilt for his [[Laser Blade]].
* One of the main characters of ''[[In the Service]]'' received his Intelligent Device from his grandfather. Being an [[Empathic Weapon]] with something of a mind of its own, and coming from more than seventy years ago, Steelheart is [[Blood Knight|very different in behavior]] from more modern Devices.
== [[Film]] ==
* As the quote above notes, Luke's first lightsaber in ''[[Star Wars]]'' once belonged to Darth Vader. He later makes one for himself.
** In the [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]], he recovers the one Anakin used, and [[The Thrawn Trilogy|gives it to Mara Jade]]. Given some of Zahn's opinions on the matter, it seems this was meant to be sort of like giving her a ring that costs two months' salary. Turns out it was about ten years early.
*** Apparently it's a family heirloom now; Ben's holding it on the cover for ''[[Fate of the Jedi|Backlash]]'', and the ''Legacy Era Campaign Guide'' says it was passed down through the line, though where it is by 137 ABY is unknown.
* ''[[True Grit]]'', a 1969 western. Mattie, a 14-year old daughter of a killed [[Rancher]] seeking revenge, carries her father's revolver with her. She actually gets to shoot the murderer with it (though he survives it).
* In ''[[The Three Musketeers (1993 film)|The Three Musketeers 1993]]'', Musketeer-wannabe D'Artagnan bears a sword carried by his father, a Musketeer killed years earlier by [[The Dragon|Rochefort]]. After D'Artagnan is captured, Rochefort takes the sword. D'Artagnan later gets it back {{spoiler|and uses it to avenge his father}}.
* In the movie ''[[Puma Man]]'', Tony receives a very gaudy-looking belt, which once belonged to his father, and gives him the powers of the Pumaman. He never does much with them of any consequence, though.
* In ''[[Avatar (film)|Avatar]]'', the dying {{spoiler|Eytukan}} gives his daughter his bow and charges her with protecting their clan. {{spoiler|She kills Quaritch with it.}}
== [[Literature]] ==
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** Also, Raistlin Majere passed down a powerful magical artifact he was given, the Staff of Magius, to his nephew Palin Majere.
* Power-forged heron-mark blades in ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'' all date back more than three thousand years (back to the time when Aes Sedai were still allowed to make weapons), and have been passed from one blademaster to the next the entire time.
* Arguably ''deconstructed'' in the ''[[Discworld]]'' book ''[[
** It's based on a philosophical paradox called the Ship of Theseus. [[The Other Wiki]] has an article on it [[wikipedia:Ship of Theseus|here]].
** Come to think of it, Carrot's sword. The dwarves that raised him found the sword in the same cart where they found him after a bandit attack. It turns out to be {{spoiler|the Sword of the Kings of Ankh}}. But he's keeping that quiet.
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* In P.C. Hodgell's ''[[Chronicles of the Kencyrath]]'', Jame carries her father's broken sword, Kinslayer, to return to her brother; it is reforged, but in a subversion, by the enemy. Jame comes across it within the Master's House and retrieves it, and discovers that its legendary ability to cut its way through enemies like butter remains, along with its fearful joy in slaying; the name is hardly auspicious in that regard, either...
* In the ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' series, Valyrian steel swords (the knowledge of making it has been lost) are passed down through the lines of noble houses. These heirlooms are so important that even the most impoverished noble houses will not sell them.
* In [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]]'s ''[[John Carter of Mars|Gods of Mars]]'', a young man who John Carter meets recounts setting out with his father's sword.
* The sword of Grand Master Mandulis in the ''[[Warhammer
* Riva Iron-Grip's sword in the ''[[Belgariad]]'': forged at the instruction of Riva's father-in-law, with a built-in clamp on the pommel for the Orb of Aldur (which makes the thing light enough to wield - it's portrayed as being roughly the same size as the [[Berserk|Dragonslayer]]), it collects dust for a few centuries until Garion finally shows up to collect it.
* The Spear of Telesto from the ''[[Warhammer
* In ''[[Empire in Black And Gold]]'', {{spoiler|Tynisa}} is given an old Mantis sword by {{spoiler|her}} father, Tisamon; he rarely used it, but it has special significance for the Weaponmasters, making this a combination of
* The Sword of Martin the Warrior from ''[[Redwall]]'', held in Redwall Abbey and given to its champion.
* The [[Vorkosigan Saga|Vorkosigan]] Seal dagger willed from Count Piotr to Miles. While mostly used for mundane purposes throughout the series, it is used in a rather disconcerting way during the Tau Verde campaign. It also comes in very handy during an academy training exercise. (Both in ''The Warrior's Apprentice''.) It also plays a significant role in Miles' apology letter to Ekatarin in ''A Civil Campaign''. That fact that it is a rare antique and [[It Belongs in a Museum|belongs in a museum]] gets lampshaded:
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* The Scourge of Rkard from ''[[The Prism Pentad]]'' is this for the main character. In a variation, it's later revealed that it was used by the [[Big Bad]] when he was [[One-Winged Angel|still in human form.]]
* The Sword of Leah in the ''Shannarra'' series has been passed down by kings and princes of Leah for generations. Due to the enchantment put on it by Allanon in ''Wishsong'', it avoids the Ship of Theseus question because while the scabbard and hilt occasionally need replacing, the blade itself remains the same (Save for the time it was broken and had to be magically remade). The titular Sword of Shannarra does not count, as while it is used by various members of the same bloodline as generations go by, it tends to be left in storage for centuries at a stretch between uses.
*In [[Kim]] there is a gun parked by the museum at Lahore that according to legend would always be held by whichever ruler ruled over the area. It had in the past been owned by several Rajahs, and now was owned by the Queen. It's [[Real Life]] inspiration, by the way, is owned by the Indian government and is a tourist attraction. [[So, Yeah]].
== [[Live
* D'Argo's Qualta Blade in ''[[Farscape]]''.
* The [[Mirror Universe]] episode of ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'' "In a Mirror Darkly" featured Mirror Commander Archer having and treasuring the shotgun used by Mirror Zefram Cochrane to kill the Vulcans who made [[Star Trek: First Contact|first contact]] with them.
* In ''[[Blue Bloods]]'', Police Commissioner Frank Reagan carries a .38 Special revolver because it's the weapon his father and his grandfather carried.
* Fat Neil's D&D character in ''[[Community]]'', named
== [[Oral Tradition]], [[Folklore]], [[Myth and Legend]] ==
* This is at least [[Older Than Feudalism]]: In [[Greek Mythology]], Theseus received his father's sword from his mother Aethra, and his father Aegeus recognized him because of this sword.
* In the [[Norse Mythology|Old Norse]] ''[[The Saga of the Volsungs|Volsunga Saga]]'' (as well as in [[Richard Wagner]]'s 19th-century [[The Ring of the Nibelung|operas]] based (in part) on them), the hero Sigurd (Siegfried) receives the fragments of his father's sword, which he must then reforge.
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== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* A large amount of fabled wargear passed down through the ranks of the Space Marines in ''[[Warhammer
** The Adaptus Mechanicus are constantly on the search for technology from the 'Dark age of Technology' (as if the current age of constant war with several Alien races, Demons, and Traitor humans ''wasn't'' a Dark Age).
** This is [[Planet of Hats|the hat]] of the Vostroyan Firstborns who, instead of having weapons issued to them which are expected to be returned to the Munitorium at the end of service like every other regiment, instead each weapon is property of the family that has it. Where possible, weapons are brought back to the homeworld and returned to the families to which they belong, who then pass the weapon down to the next firstborn. Their weapons are all considered priceless family heirlooms, especially the older ones.
* ''[[BattleTech]]'' frequently has ancestral [[Humongous Mecha]]; House Kurita is most explicit about this sort of thing, 'Mechs being passed down from one warrior to another much like swords were passed from father to son in a line of samurai, but many 'Mechs have histories that can be traced back decades or even centuries. In one scenario from an early gamebook, a pair of Mackies from the original production run, the first BattleMechs ever designed and over ''two and a half centuries'' old, are powered up to fight the Black Widow Company. They usually acquit themselves with great distinction.
** In ''[[BattleTech]]'' it was justified by the fact battlemechs are expensive and somewhat hard to build especially in the succession wars era were there were only a couple of battlemech factories still working after century's of war as well has the older star league era mechs being better than the new mechs coming out in said era.
* ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'' has a good few, perhaps most notably the Hammer of
* ''[[Legend of the Five Rings]]'' is all over this trope. A samurai's sword is traditionally passed on to their grandchild. Virtually all magical weapons are passed down in the same manner, most notably the "[[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|Ancestral Swords]]" of each clan, and the Ancestral Sword of the Hantei (Rokugan's equivalent to Kusanagi).
* ''[[Rifts]]'' has the Ascended Glitter Boy character class, which is a [[Powered Armor|Gitter Boy]] pilot whose power armor suit has been handed down generation after generation since the [[Earth-That-Was|Time of Man]].
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** In the first 3 games, the Fire Emblem is an Ancestral Shield.
* The protagonist of ''[[Tsukihime]]'', Tohno Shiki, uses a knife that was the property of the his {{spoiler|(original)}} family. Unnamed originally, but extremely durable.
* The Valstork and Valhawk in ''[[Super Robot Wars]] W'' have been handed down through the Ardygun family for about two or three generations, which in their world is about as far back as one could have a Spaceship and [[Transforming Mecha]], respectively, without raising too many eyebrows.
* ''[[Dragon Quest I]]'' requires you to seek out your ancestor Erdrick/Loto's sword in order to face off against the Dragonlord.
* It isn't revealed until the very end of the game, but the Onyx Blade in ''[[Soul Nomad and The World Eaters]]'' is {{spoiler|the
* The Hakurei Yin-Yang Orbs are [[Touhou|Reimu Hakurei's]] Ancestral Weapons. She is currently the only ''known'' character capable of using them.
** One of Youmu Konpaku's two swords, Hakurouken, is apparently the Konpaku family's ancestral sword.
* In ''[[Prince of Persia|Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame]]'', after losing his sword and and using a broken one in one part of the game, the hero finds a sword, which, as it is revealed, once belonged to his father {{spoiler|as well as the entire ruins he is adventuring in at the time}}.
* In ''[[Mass Effect]]'', where Wrex's personal sidequest is to find and retrieve a suit of armor worn by his family's ancestors centuries ago. Upon recovering it, Wrex's only outward response is to comment that "My ancestors wore this piece of crap? At least its back in the right hands." After he says this, though, there's a note that mentions Wrex [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|stopping to stare at the armor with a meaningful but unreadable expression.]] Later in the game, {{spoiler|when Wrex confronts Shepard on Virmire, recovering the armor results in Wrex backing down, mentioning that Shepard has done more for him than his family ever did.}}
* In the flavor text for ''[[Knights of the Old Republic (video game)|Knights of the Old Republic]]'', it's mentioned that Carth's blaster is an heirloom. In the second game, it's possible to obtain one like it.
* [[Sly Cooper]]'s [[Hooks and Crooks|hook cane]].
* Both Dante and Vergil´s blades in the ''[[Devil May Cry]]'' series are keepsakes from their demonic father Sparda. Subverted in Dante's case: Force Edge/Sparda is tossed aside at the end of the (chronologically second) first game, and he uses his own weapon, Rebellion, in every game since. Played straight with Vergil, who uses Yamato whenever he appears (either as himself or {{spoiler|Nelo Angelo}}).
* ''[[Ninja Gaiden]]'': The [[Katanas Are Just Better|Dragon Sword]] wielded by [[Highly-Visible Ninja|Ryu Hayabusa]] is an ancient sword handed down by generations in the Dragon Lineage and the Hayabusa Clan. It is also mentioned in both the NES and the [[Xbox]] series that Ryu got the blade directly from his father.
* ''[[Red Dead Redemption]]'': {{spoiler|Jack Marston taking up his father's guns after he's killed by Ross' goons}}
** And before that, in ''[[Red Dead Revolver]]'', {{spoiler|Red eventually gets back his father's Scorpion Revolver}}
* [[Fallout: New Vegas]]: If you finish Arcade Gannon's quest, {{spoiler|he'll take out his father's old Enclave Tesla Armor. Depending on what you convince him to do, he'll either pass it on to you or he'll put it on himself for the final battle.}}
* In ''[[Odin Sphere]]'' Cornelius' Psypher sword was originally wielded by his father Edmund. Edmund defeated the Demon Beast Darkova {{spoiler|aka his own father King Gallon}} with it...and then cast it away into the netherworld {{spoiler|unable to bear the guilt of patricide, however justified.}}
* In ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'', the first weapons Ezio gains are his father's sword and his Hidden Blade. He loses the sword very quickly, but he holds onto the Blade for the rest of his life. When Monterriggioni is taken by the Borgia at the start of ''[[Assassin's Creed:
* In ''[[Car Battler Joe]]'', the G-COM that weaponizes Joe's car was a gift from father.
* The Gran Centurio, which has been passed down the Fantasinian royal line which may or may not have started with the sword's creator, {{spoiler|Nessiah.}} Its most famous wielder was [[Yggdra Union|Princess Yggdra Yuril Artwaltz]], who obtained it after the death of her father [[Blaze Union|King Ordene]].
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* Roy Greenhilt's sword in ''[[The
* Gordito from ''[[The Adventures of Dr. McNinja]]'' uses his father's [[The Gunslinger|guns]].
* Possibly Torg's [[Empathic Weapon|talking sword]] Chaz from ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]''. Whether Torgamous (Chaz's previous owner) is Torg's ancestor, past life, or simply a random medieval warlord who looks ''exactly'' like Torg is the subject of fan speculation.
* Lily from ''[[Wayfarer's Moon]]'' refuses to give up the axe that belonged to her father. It's her most important weapon in fights.
* ''[[Homestuck]]'': Both Vriska and Eridan were able to find the [[Infinity+1 Sword|Infinty Plus One Weapons]] formerly belonging to their ancestors, the [[The Gambler|Fluorite Octet]] and [[Wave Motion Gun|Ahab's Crosshairs]] respectively; being that they found them long before the story began, they essentially acted as [[Disk One Nuke
* In ''[[Underling]]'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20120622113343/http://underlingcomic.com/page-one-hundred-fifty-five/ Caleb uses this to justify] [[Grave Robbing]].
* In ''[[Rusty and Co.|Rusty and Co]]'', [http://rustyandco.com/comic/1/ the proposed beginning to their adventures.]
* In ''[[Doodze]]'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20120108080957/http://seguemediagroup.com/doodze/?p=919 they weren't always sh'leep herders]
* In ''[[American Barbarian]]'', [http://www.ambarb.com/?p=31 the Star Sword].
* In ''[[The Specialists]]'', [http://thespecialistscomic.com/page-57/ Balmung, the sword of Siegfried is -- just a sword.] [http://thespecialistscomic.com/page-58/ Hitler still likes it as a precious relic of their Aryan ancestors.]
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== [[Web Original]] ==
* [[Cool Sword|Belramus]] from ''[[Open Blue]]'''s [[Backstory]]. Not surprising, given it's named after Balmung.
*
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* Eon Kid in ''[[Eon Kid]]'' has the Iron Fist that will only work for people of his family
* In
* On ''[[Adventure Time]]'', Marceline's bass guitar is actually her family's axe.
** In one episode, Finn and Jake's dad, Joshua, challenged them to traverse a dungeon to find their family sword, [[Cool Sword|which is made out of demon blood]]. It is currently Finn's default weapon.
== [[Real Life]] ==
*
*
**
*
**
*
*
* ICBMs might count as a collective version as some have surely been around for generations without being replaced. Come to think of it, some of them may not even go off when they are told to anymore.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Dark Age Europe]]
[[Category:Older Is Better]]
[[Category:Weapons and Wielding Tropes]]
[[Category:Older Than Feudalism]]
[[Category:
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