Artifact of Doom: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

[[File:Eye-of-Sauron-port cropped 7055.jpg|link=The Lord of the Rings|frame|Oooh, shiny! <ref>[[Our Lawyers Advised This Trope|WARNING: Tampering with the One Ring]] [[Side Effects Include|may result in]] [[Invisibility]], [[Evil Feels Good|rushes of euphoria]], [[Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick|seeing the ghostly images of the]] [[Black Cloak|Nazgûl]], [[Hearing Voices|voices in your head that]] [[Sentient Phlebotinum|may or may not belong to the Ring]], [[Clingy MacGuffin|complete and utter]] [[Amulet of Dependency|dependence on the Ring]], [[This Is Your Brain on Evil|loss of clear thought]] [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity|and sanity]], [[Artifact of Death|and eventual death]]. [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|Do not swallow.]]</ref> <small>Illustration: [http://www.john-howe.com/portfolio/gallery/details.php?image_id=1885 John Howe]</small> ]]

 

 

 

This item has a palpable presence beyond merely being a device. Its threat is ever constant, whether [[Artifact of Death|destroying those it directly opposes]], or [[This Is Your Brain on Evil|consuming those who dare use it from within]] with [[Hearing Voices|dark whispers of power]]. Nonetheless, it is incapable of action on its own; its power lies in manipulating its user to act for it. Therein lies the irony: if people would just leave the thing alone, it would be harmless, but since [[Evil Feels Good]] some idiot will inevitably try it out and nearly doom us all.

 

 

Still think it's worth the risk? Think you can handle it? After all, once you realize how evil it is, all you have to do is get rid of it or destroy it...

 

 

Often has [[An Aesop]] on how [[The Dark Side|power corrupts]] and [[Ludd Was Right|over-reliance on technology/magic is a bad thing]].

 

{{examples}}

* ''[[Inuyasha]]'': The Jewel of Four Souls, which was formed when a powerful miko locked her own soul into an endless battle with a multitude of demons in order to contain them after her death. Initially regarded as a [[Dismantled MacGuffin]], a single shard of the Jewel gives demons [[Amplifier Artifact|enormous power]]. Even those with good intentions are [[This Is Your Brain on Evil|inevitably corrupted]] by shard use. {{spoiler|Then it's revealed to have a [[Sentient Phlebotinum|malevolent will]] of its own, making it not only the [[Man Behind the Man|Man Behind The]] [[Big Bad]] but, in fact, the [[Ultimate Evil]].}}

** In a subversion, [[Evil Weapon|Tokijin]] is so powerful it [[Demonic Possession|possesses]] its own creator, [[Artifact of Death|kills him]] simply due to the sheer force of its own power, and then ''[[Clingy MacGuffin|continues to animate the corpse afterwards]]'' until Inuyasha hacks off the corpse's wrist to separate the sword from the body. Not even the story's [[Ultimate Blacksmith]] is capable of approaching it, causing the protagonists to warn [[Aloof Big Brother|Sesshoumaru]] that he'll be consumed by the sword if he touches it. Cue their absolute astonishment at Sesshoumaru's effortless victory over the sword's evil via willpower alone in a [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|Did You Just Punch Out the Artifact of Doom?]] moment.

*** The only example of that shown in the manga was the Count, who had already made the sacrifice and doomed himself before. Assuming you have never made the deal, you should be fine.

** There's also Guts' Berserker Armor, which removes a human being's natural limits by nulling pain and allows the user to keep fighting by temporarily mending broken bones, stitching together wounds, etc. It's very dangerous for the obvious reasons that your body has limits for a reason and bypassing them is bound to hurt you, but it also has the effect of bringing out the wearer's "inner beast" (in the Skull Knight's case, his familiar skull motif, in Guts' case, "The Beast", his [[Hell Hound]] evil side), turning him into a raging monster incapable of distinguishing friend from foe. After using it just once, Guts got a patch of white hair, became partially colorblind, and lost some of his sense of taste. Constant use of it might have reduced the Skull Knight to his current ghastly state.

** And if you're [[Genre Savvy]] enough to not use it, it will just eat your life force instead.

** The Book of Darkness is an interesting case, in that the only reason it's an Artifact of Doom is that it's malfunctioning. As it originally was, it was a harmless book meant to store knowledge of magic from all over the universe.

** Fans also like to joke that [[Magitek|Raising]] [[Empathic Weapon|Heart]] is one of these. Especially in doujins, she and Nanoha are prone to unleashing big pink beams of <s> death and destruction</s> love and friendship anytime, anywhere, on anybody.

* The Mesoamerican stone mask from ''[[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure]]'' is the main cause for most events of the series, especially the bad ones, due to its ability to turn the wearer into a vampire when splashed with blood. Later, the Stand Arrows fill a similar role.

* ''[[Ann Cassandra]]'': the [[Mask of Power|Cassandra Mask]]. The mask's power lets its user warp the future to cause more disasters {{spoiler|in exchange for becoming the mask's puppet and eventually dying. The mask then compels the nearest person to pick it up and use it.}}

* The Dark Bring in ''[[Rave Master]]'', which grant the user different powers while slowly corrupting them. Special mention goes to the Sinclaire, which are especially corruptive.

* [[Neon Genesis Evangelion]] has the "Lance of Longinus", a long, pronged artifact which grants its wielder (who has to be absolutely GIGANTIC to use it, by the way) absolute godly power. It plays a crucial role in both the Second and Third Impacts. The Lance is interesting in that it is not sentient, nor is its wielder{{spoiler|, Adam,}} [[True Neutral|truly "evil"]], it is only an Artifact of Doom from a human perspective, being as it will destroy us all if it falls into the wrong hands.

** [[All There in the Manual|Classified Information]] suggests that the Lance actually ''is'' sentient, and comes in a set with {{spoiler|a Seed of Life (i.e. both Adam and Lilith had one, but Lilith lost hers)}}. It exists as the ultimate security device, but only does anything if {{spoiler|something goes ''horribly'' wrong (such as two Seeds landing on the same planet)}}.

* This is the entire point of [[C³|Cubex Cursedx Curious]], where the series revolves around the idea that a cursed item eventually becomes intelligent and [[Voluntary Shapeshifting|able to take human form]]. And being cursed is ''[[Dark Is Not Evil|just as]] [[Non-Malicious Monster|traumatic]] [[The Woobie|to them]]''.

 

** By the end of the story, history repeats itself when Nodwick bribes off the story's Gollum-equivalent with "this one rock". Yeah, it's just a rock. Cut to the [[Distant Finale]]...

** The print comic also features a straight example in the Gauntlet of Supremacy. It renders its wielder immune to harm, fires powerful energy blasts, and gives the wielder [[Charm Person|dominion over all living beings near them]]. Unfortunately, it was forged by a [[God of Evil]] and a God of War working together, and drives its wielder to conquer the world and kill anyone who opposes them. Only said [[God of Evil]] can control it.

* Any of the various [[Green Lantern]] Corps rings could become an Artifact of Doom under the right circumstances. The Orange Lantern ring curses its owner with ever-lasting greed and hunger. The Red Lantern ring causes heart stoppage and uncontrollable rage, and you can't take it off without it killing you. The Black Rings bring the dead back as undead Black Lanterns that crave hearts.

* The Star Brand from ''[[The New Universe]]'' is exactly like this. A limitless power only held back by one's imagination, it can only be used by living things. The first time someone tried to place it into a inanimate object to get rid of the power, it initiated the White Event, the world's biggest [[Superpower Lottery]]. The second time, it ''[[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|vaporized]] [[Pittsburgh]]!'' Even worse, even if you do get rid of it, you're keeping a portion of the power that will recharge itself back to full. It's so dangerous that, when the New Universe Earth was transported to the mainstream Marvel Universe, the Living Tribunal erected an impenetrable barrier so it won't contaminate the rest of the universe with its power.

 

== Fan Works ==

* Kyle in ''[[Becka Rangers Nemo Thunder|Becka Rangers: Nemo Thunder]]'' goes [[Ax Crazy]] the very second he touches the Jellyfish Staff. Even after they fix the staff so it won't make him completely evil, it ''still'' makes him a [[Sociopathic Hero]] [[Clothes Make the Maniac|when he's morphed]].

* ''[[Ponies Make War]]'' has the Sliver of Darkness, which was responsible for Princess Luna's transformation into Nightmare Moon, and more importantly to the story, Twilight Sparkle's transformation into [[Complete Monster|Nihilus]].

 

* The Loc-Nar in ''[[Heavy Metal (animation)|Heavy Metal]]''.

* The poisoned apple from [[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney film)|Snow White]] and the Seven Dwarves.

* Maleficent's spinning wheel from ''[[Sleeping Beauty (Disney film)|Sleeping Beauty]]''.

* The Black Cauldron from...''[[The Black Cauldron]]''.

* The One Ring from ''[[The Lord of the Rings (film)|The Lord of the Rings]]''.

* Sith Holocrons in the ''[[Star Wars]]'' [[Star Wars Expanded Universe|Expanded Universe]]. Not exactly in the movies, though, except as harmless fan-service atrezzo.

* The gun from ''Juice''. The moment Bishop uses it, he is unable to stop using it even on his friends.

* The "Key" with the blood of [[Jesus Christ]] in it from [[Demon Knight]].

* The cellar in ''[[The Cabin in the Woods]]'' {{spoiler|is filled with Artifacts of Doom with the intention of getting the victims to play with the objects and doom themselves.}}

 

== Literature ==

* In the John Silke series of ''Death Dealer'' books ( which are based on the painting by Frank Frazetta) the main character is given a helmet possessed by the god of death, which makes him a nigh-invincible warrior. on the flip side, it will put Gath (the name given to the death dealer) through slowly increasing discomfort, pain, and finally torture. the helmet can only be removed by an innocent young woman and final love interest named Robin Lakehair.

* The first two books in Lloyd Alexander's ''[[Chronicles of Prydain]]'' series had the Black Cauldron, based on a Welsh myth, used by [[Big Bad]] Arawn to create his army of the undead. (The Fates imply that the Cauldron once had other, more benign uses, but Arawn ruined the thing while he was "renting" it.) To destroy it, [[Someone Has to Die]], and it can apparently corrupt former good guys who covet its powers. The [[Disney Animated Canon]] made a very loose adaptation simply titled ''[[The Black Cauldron]]''.

* The Lifestone plays this role in ''[[The Riftwar Cycle]]''.

** Things like this also turn up in his [[Nightside]] novels, but in weirder forms (e.g. the Speaking Gun).

* In P.C. Hodgell's ''[[Chronicles of the Kencyrath]]'', the Ivory Knife and the Book Bound in Pale Leather are this and yet not, in that they're given to the Kencyr by their God, and will be used by the three avatars of God, the Tyr-ridan. The Ivory Knife is the "very tooth of death", a pinprick from which is fatal, which rots and kills anything it touches. Heroine Jame keeps it in her boot sheath for the longest time.

* The short story ''[[The Monkey's Paw]]'' by W.W. Jacobs. The monkey's paw grants the user's wishes, [[Be Careful What You Wish For|but at a tremendous price]]. "''It had a spell put on it by an old fakir, a very holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow.''" The thing was created purely to cause suffering. It's pure evil.

* ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'' has a ''city'' that acts like this. Shadar Logoth will quickly corrupt anyone who stays too long. This isn't much of a problem when you consider that people who enter will quickly get killed by Mashadar, an evil cloud that hangs over the city. {{spoiler|Mat Cauthon}} picks up a dagger on his stay there, and this acts the same way. He quickly succumbs to hating people, and is nearly killed by the taint of the dagger before he is finally separated and healed of the taint. However, Rand eventually finds a way to use the city against the [[Big Bad]] without being corrupted by it, namely by {{spoiler|making its power and the city's cancel each other out, albeit with the side effect of erasing the city and several kilometers of earth beneath it from existence.}}

* [[Stephen King]]'s ''[[The Dark Tower]]'' depicts two of a set of [[Numerological Motif|thirteen]] Artifacts Of Doom—the Wizard's Rainbow, a scattered set of color-coordinated [[Crystal Ball|crystal balls]] that inspire a covetous "''my precious...''" instinct. The pink one appears to cause addiction to [[Reality TV]]. But the ''Doomiest'' of them all, Black Thirteen, instead inspires a mixture of terror and murder-suicides, and is implied to act as a sort of [[Weirdness Magnet]] for disaster when Jake and Father Callahan unknowingly decide to stash it {{spoiler|in a subway locker beneath the World Trade Center in June 1999.}}

* May or may not be averted in [[C. S. Lewis|CS Lewis]]' ''[[The Magician's Nephew]]'', as the inscription over the enchanted bell only ''claims'' it'll drive you mad if you refrain from striking it. Even if it couldn't really cause insanity, ringing the bell awakened Jadis and introduced evil to [[Narnia]], which is "doom" in a way.

* That [[Tome of Eldritch Lore|tome of ineffable horrors]], the ''Necronomicon'' originating in the works of [[H.P. Lovecraft|HP Lovecraft]], though this is largely the result of being heavily [[Flanderized]]; a major percentage of the Lovecraft's protagonists read the book without becoming more than mildly neurotic. Breakdowns only tend to happen when what they've learned from the book seems to coincide with their recent experiences.

* The gauntlet in Karen Miller's ''[[Godspeaker Trilogy]]'' which is made from a [[Power Crystal]] and fashioned by Hekat for her son Zandakar. It [[Stuff Blowing Up|destroys buildings]] and [[Kill It with Fire|fries people where they stand]]. It also makes his hair turn blue. Zandakar later abandons it as he find it too destructive, his brother Dmmitak uses the gauntlet and never takes it off, even when he has sex. The knife which {{spoiler|Vortka gives Zandakar}} is also an example of this.

* Stormbringer, the black blade, in ''[[The Elric Saga]]'' novels, {{spoiler|forces Elric to kill everyone he loves}}, brings about [[The End of the World as We Know It]], and ultimately survives the destruction and re-creation of the universe to spread its evil anew.

* Crenshinibon, the Crystal Shard, in R.A. Salvatore's ''[[The Icewind Dale Trilogy|Icewind Dale Trilogy]]'', is considered by many readers to be an homage to One Ring (if not an outright ripoff).

* The Horcruxes in ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]]''. Like the One Ring they primarily function as [[Soul Jar]]s for Voldemort, but can exert a corrupting influence to defend themselves, never mind that the creation of them is an act of evil (and requires the wizard to commit murder as part of the ritual).

* Questing Stones are reputed to be this in ''[[Septimus Heap]]''. No Apprentice has ever retuned after having been dispatched with one of them {{spoiler|, until Septimus is given one and survives the Queste in ''Queste''}}.

* In [[Michael Flynn]]'s ''[[Spiral Arm|The January Dancer]]'', the Dancer, apparently. At one point two characters discuss whether one man who owned it had died when he disappeared—after all, all other owners have.

 

== Live-Action TV ==

* In ''[[Angel]]'', the {{spoiler|evil law firm}} that Angel is given at the end of season four (not technically an inanimate artifact, but hey). It's a powerful weapon that will do whatever he commands, but it's always working to corrupt his thinking so that he will give it the commands it wants. The dare-to-use-it/get-rid-of-it argument keeps cropping up, too.

** Also worth noting: {{spoiler|The law firm exists to do business with evil. If they just plain stop helping evil with it, and instead try to use it only as a weapon for good, the business will fail, and another law firm, beyond their control, will pop up to replace it.}}

** ''[[Power Rangers Dino Thunder]]'' also has the fifth Dino Gem. Thanks to Mesogog's meddling, it's more powerful than the others, but turns you into [[Jekyll and Hyde]], with the Hyde side eventually sticking. Eventually fixed, but once no longer evil, [[Good Is Dumb|the White Ranger is no stronger than the other Rangers]] that he'd been handily beating up until now.

** Way back in ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]'', Rita armed the [[Brainwashed and Crazy|mind-controlled]] Tommy with the Sword of Darkness. The sword itself was not a corrupting influence; rather, its power was used to sustain Rita's spell. The sword's ''[[Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger|Zyuranger]]'' counterpart, the Sword of Hellfreide, drove the wielder crazy. (Or, in Burai's case, crazi''er'')

* The Objects in ''[[The Lost Room]]'' have the potential to be these, but they ''can'' also been used for good. The worst ones, though, are ''very'' dangerous, such as the Deck of Cards, which [[Brown Note|subjects you to terrible visions]], and there's at least one combination of Objects with the ability to cause something unspeakably awful.

* The Book of Pure Evil from the Canadian series ''[[Todd and the Book of Pure Evil]]'' is a [[Tome of Eldritch Lore]] that also functions as an Artifact of Doom. The book, which seems to be sentient and actively malevolent, appears to whoever has some great desire they wish to be fulfilled. In turn, the book (which can seemingly change its contents at will) provides a collection of spells that will grant that desire, though typically [[Be Careful What You Wish For|twist it in some way]]. The main character, Todd, was the first to use the book and it [[Demonic Possession|possessed him]], causing him to nearly slaughter his entire school with [[The Power of Rock]].

 

== Music ==

* "Dissolve," by [[Jonathan Coulton]], seems to be about one of these, but the lyrics are a little vague.

 

* Andvari's ring in [[Norse Mythology]], from the tale of Otter's ransom, isn't really magical, except in so much as it kills anyone who has it and is told they have it (though this last part is rather inconsistently applied). The ring in the Edda ''does'' have one magical power, that of increasing gold. While not a clear-cut example of this trope, it inspired at least one more famous example.

* The Ring of Gyges, a metaphor for corruption in Plato's [[The Republic]]. This ring merely turns the bearer invisible, as the One Ring had in [[The Hobbit]], but Plato argued that the temptations the ring presents would ultimately corrupt anyone who chose to use it. Inevitably, theft, murder, and betrayal would follow, as these were the easiest and most obvious uses of the ring. Ultimately, the use of the ring proves so addictive that its bearer cannot part with it, and can thing of nothing else but his jealousy of keeping it.

* In a Polish fairy tale, the fern flower will grant any wish, as long as it's only for yourself and you never share the benefits with anyone. If you are charitable even once, everything you wished for is taken back, and the flower disappears.

* The Ark of the Covenant has shades of this, even outside [[Raiders of the Lost Ark|that one story.]] The instructions for its creation and care were very specific, and when one of its attendants touched it without proper precautions, it struck the man dead.

 

== Tabletop Games ==

** Blackstone fortresses qualify, but [[Up to Eleven|is it a surprise that the artifact in question is a spaceship?]]

* The Sword of Khaine (also an [[Evil Weapon]]) in ''Warhammer Fantasy'' was wielded by the Elven God of War Khaine. To drive back the first incursion of Chaos, the first Elven king picked up the sword, and after defeating the [[Big Bad]] but not destroying it, it gradually turned him evil causing a sundering between the elf factions (one being led by his illegitimate son) and a civil war that continues to this day. The Dark Elves led by his son are still trying to reclaim the sword where it lies on its altar, which would give them to defeat the High Elves and possibly any further Chaos Incursions - it's possibly the most powerful weapon in Warhammer.

** The Crown of Sorcery (more accurately called the Crown of Nagash) grants whoever puts it on tremendous magical powers, but also allows part of the spirit of Nagash the Supreme Necromancer to speak to them. It influenced the creation of at least one culture devoted to necromancy before it was locked away.

** Oh yeah, and both of the above artifacts ''will'' eventually result in you being absorbed into [[Evil Sorcerer|their original owner]].

** Evil-aligned artifacts in ''Dungeons & Dragons'' generally act like this; the ''Book of Vile Darkness'' [[Sourcebook]] lists some, and is named after a particular example.

** 4e has taken this to its logical extreme with the Heart of the Abyss; a shard of [[Made of Evil|pure evil]]. [[Satan|Asmodeus]] stole a ''sliver'' off the shard, crafted it into a rod, and used it to [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|kill the strongest of the gods]]. The [[Evil Versus Evil|Blood]] [[Forever War|War]] fought between the [[Lawful Evil|devils]] and [[Chaotic Evil|demons]] was spawned by this; Asmodeus wants the rest of the shard for himself, and the demons want the piece he stole back.

* Every artifact in [[Houses of the Blooded]]. It's written into the rules: they can give you great power, but once a season, the Narrator can cause you to automatically fail a roll by saying [[Doomy Dooms of Doom|"DOOOOOOOM!"]] A good Narrator will do this at the worst possible time.

* ''[[Kult]]'' has rules for possessed or otherwise evil items. One example is a maching gun that, when picked up, causes the wielder to go on a murdeous rampage, shooting everything in sight, friend or foe.

 

== Theatre ==

* The Ring of the Nibelungs from [[Richard Wagner]]'s [[The Ring of the Nibelung|eponymous operatic cycle]], cursed by its maker to destroy all who possess or covet it. The curse comes with a truly ominous [[Leitmotif]], which plays every time someone is killed because of it. Wagner, in loosely adapting the [[Norse Mythology]] example above, extended the symbolism of the lust for gold, relating it (in typical 19th c. fashion) to the „''Wille zur Macht''‟, the fundamental anti-social aspect of which he symbolized in the idea that the Ring could be made only by one who had renounced all natural affections.

 

== Theme Parks ==

* There are a few in the attractions at [[Disney Theme Parks]]. A notable one is in the ''[[Indiana Jones]]'' sequence of ''The Great Movie Ride'', where a real life Cast Member plays the role of the poor fool who tries to take it.

 

== Toys ==

* The Ignika in ''[[Bionicle]]''. On top of that, it was made exactly like the One Ring.

** The nui stone may also count as this.

 

== Video Games ==

* In ''[[Betrayal at Krondor]]'', the Lifestone plays this role.

* In ''[[Ultima IV]]'', one can acquire an item called the "Skull of Mondain" (the villain of the very first ''[[Ultima I|Ultima]]'') that can instantly destroy your enemies. However, it also destroys your [[Karma Meter]], to the point of making the game [[Unwinnable]]. Particularly sneaky, since the notion of a [[Karma Meter]] was new at the time.

* This is a recurring theme in ''[[Warcraft]] III''.

** In the Human campaign, the runesword [[Meaningful Name|Frostmourne]] (a clear <s>knockoff of</s> [[Homage]] to [[Elric]]'s Stormbringer) curses Arthas.

* The Terror Mask from the ''[[Splatterhouse]]'' series is a sentient, diabolic mask (roughly shaped like a grinning skull) that grants its wearer tremendous power. Its true goal is a [[Batman Gambit]] to ''take over Hell''.

* In the ''[[Chzo Mythos]]'' series of games, there are quite a few Artifacts of Doom, the most obvious being {{spoiler|the cursed idol that innocently sits in a bell jar in the first game until the jar gets broken}}.

** The Egg from ''[[SaGa Frontier 2]]''.

* The Silver Armlet from ''[[Beyond Oasis]]''

*** In [[The Elder Scrolls Novels]], Umbra is too much for even {{spoiler|Clavicus Vile, a ''Daedric Prince'', to handle. It steals a good chunk of his power before he manages to get rid of it.}}

** Speaking of corruption: There are a few more (mostly daedric) artifacts that could probably qualify for this rope. Such as the aptly named Skull of Corruption, which in Skyrim {{spoiler|steals dreams of people and gives them nightmares}} or Mehrunes Razor, though, admittedly, for most of the daedric artifacts it's actually only an 'air' of doom that is often also created by the way they are acquired, such as the Ring of Namira in Skyrim, for which {{spoiler|you have to lure a priest to a cave and eat him together with a coven of cannibals}}.

* The web-based MMORPG Mojo Ave had the ultimate example of an Artifact of Doom: "The Skull of Tony Teulan", a usable item which has the effect of turning off the game. Not the game of the user who used it, the ''entire game for everyone''. Since there was no way to reverse the effect, it only got used once.

* The {{spoiler|Fuyuki Holy Grail}} in ''[[Fate/stay night|Fate Stay Night]]'' and ''[[Fate/Zero]]'', after it became [[The Corruption|corrupted]] by {{spoiler|granting a wish to create the source of "All The World's Evil"}}.

* ''[[Fallout 3]]'' gives us the ominous, Lovecraftian obelisk in the Dunwich Building's Virulent Underchambers. Not the cause of any doom so far, but it did drive [[Apocalyptic Log|Jaime]] pretty insane, and you do hear those "dark whispers of power" mentioned in the article description when around it. ''Point Lookout'' added the Krivbeknih (Necronomicon knock-off) into the mix, which you can destroy by pressing it against the obelisk, which absorbs the book and grows in power.

* The excavated [[Humongus Mecha|ATAC]] Zulwarn in ''[[Vanguard Bandits]]'' has the power to possess its rider's enemies; according to the worst ending, it can also grant immortality. Unfortunately, it also has a tendency to overwhelm its rider's mind and make them into megalomaniacs. {{spoiler|This happens to Puck in the Ruin Path ending.}} It's not clear whether [[Big Bad|Faulkner]] was possessed or was evil enough for Zulwarn's approval.

* The Artifact from ''[[Doom]] 3''. It was created by the forces of Hell to counter the Soul Cube the martians created to fight them, and to act as a key many years later, when humanity has colonized Mars. It gives the wielder the powers of super speed, [[One-Hit Kill|one hit kill]], super strength and invulnerability but it has to be fueled by human souls and as long as it's on the living world, Hell'll always have a way into the world and the only way to make sure that Hell wouldn't conquer Earth is to destroy The Artifact in Hell for good ... which {{spoiler|Betruger}} will not tolerate.

* The Shabby Doll from ''[[Silent Hill 4]]'', which causes unremovable hauntings if you put it in the item chest.

{{quote|"Even dead gods can dream."}}

** {{spoiler|Any Reaper tech is this to some degree.}}

** It is arguable that Ragna isn't one to talk, though. Especially not considering the fact that his [[Red Right Hand]] is the titular Blaz Blue, an artifact of doom that, if he ever lost control over it, could spawn a monster with the potential to destroy what is left of the world.

* The Dark Star from ''[[Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story]]''.

* ''[[Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne]]'' has several. First and foremost, the Magatama - demonic parasites/symbiotes used as combination of armor and spellbook, capable of transforming humans into half-demons. This ability alone is enough to make them inscrutably dangeous, and considering the [[Satan|apparent]] [[Xanatos Gambit|maker]], this can't be a good thing. There are also several cursed items called Deathstones, slivers of misfortune and death, used in [[Fusion Dance|devil fusion]] to summon the Incarnations of Death as servants, and can only be found as you progress in the [[Hell|Labyrinth of Amala]].

* The [[Cthulhu Mythos|Nomicon]] of the [[Rance]] Series.

 

== Web Comics ==

* The "Holiday Spirit" serves as this in the webcomic ''[[Holiday Wars]]'' and is deeply coveted by the [[Easter Bunny]].

* The swords Grace and Éclat from ''[[The Adventures of Wiglaf and Mordred]]''.

* In ''[[Endstone]]'', the Banestone. The most powerful overstone, and it drives its rockers mad.

* In ''[[Consequences of Choice]]'' The Invisus is a powerful stone entrusted to the class of Necromancers by the demigods of death.

 

== Web Original ==

* ''[[Tech Infantry]]'' has the magical sword Kuar, which grants you invisibility and increasing magical power, then sucks out our soul. There is also The Orb, a mystical artifact of untold power which is sought by the Caal.

* The {{spoiler|gyroids}} in ''[[The Terrible Secret of Animal Crossing]].''

* The Heart of Darkness in ''[[The Gungan Council]]'' corrupts Phylis Alince into rallying [[The Alliance]] in attacking the Sith en masse and nearly converts her to the dark side.

* [[Atop the Fourth Wall|Linkara's]] {{spoiler|Magic Gun}} is a subversion of this. The cultists who created intended it to be a {{spoiler|a weapon powered by pure hate and agony, and used their own daughter to power it. But the weapon backfired, killed them, and the spirit inside the gun eventually became more benevolent and a partner of sorts to Linkara.}}

* In the webisode, "Curses!", [[The League of STEAM]] have a cursed artifact appraised, in a curio shop that apparently specializes in [[Artifacts of Doom]].

 

== Western Animation ==

* The Eye of Odin from ''[[Gargoyles]]'' isn't exactly ''evil'', but it is incredibly dangerous to use because it enhances the dominant trait of the users' personality into what often amounts to a [[Super-Powered Evil Side]]. [[Dark Action Girl|Fox]] became a werewolf, and [[The Hero|Goliath]] became a godlike [[Knight Templar]]. The only people who seem to be able to use the Eye safely are Odin himself and the Archmage, who was ''already'' a crazy [[Evil Sorcerer]].

** This stands in contrast to the Phoenix Gate, which is a subversion. Though many groups in the setting desire it as readily-accessible time travel, it only allows the creation of a [[Stable Time Loop]]. [[Wild Mass Guessing|Fans have inferred]] this to mean something else is controlling the gate and its users.

* Spoofed to epic levels on ''[[The Venture Brothers]]''. The ORB in is a small round device constructed by the greatest minds in history over hundreds of years, with the power to destroy the world. It is so feared that the Guild of Calamitous Intent, the OSI and the Venture Family each set up decades-spanning [[Batman Gambit]]s to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. After all that fuss, it turns out that over 100 years ago, someone had the good sense to just ''break'' the stupid thing to keep it from causing trouble. Thus the century-long conflict over the ORB was a complete waste of time.

* The ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'' episode "Armored and Dangerous" has the invincible armor of Kileem, a powerful warlord who was undefeated in battle generations ago. The Sultan, who puts on the armor in order to stop a minotaur threatening Agrabah, becomes invulnerable and immensely strong, but is possessed by the spirit of Kileem, who turns out to be an inflammable tyrant and warmonger, who not only plans to conquer the Seven Deserts and later the world but condemns Jasmine to death for resisting him. Aladdin stops him by tricking him into destroying the statue that is the source of Kileem's power, releasing the Sultan from his control and saving Jasmine.

* The second episode of ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' circles around an amulet with a bright green gem that causes the bearer to transform into the spirit of the Dragon of Aaragon when angry.

* The two-part episode of ''[[Adventure Time]]'' where Finn and Jake went through {{spoiler|Ice King's}} tapes revealed {{spoiler|his crown}} to be one. It gives the wearer immense magical power and immortality... while simultaneously slowly driving them to utter madness and amnesia, aware of their mental degeneration the entire time.

 

== Real Life ==

* Many people believe that nuclear weapons are the real life version of this trope, since knowledge of nuclear weapons and the logic of [[Cold War|Mutually Assured Destruction]] is self-perpetuating. In a classic [[Catch-22]], it would take a [[Apocalypse How|civilization-ending]] event to put the nuclear genie back in the bottle (or in the best case, terminal global economic decline) and then it would become [[Sealed Evil in a Can]].

* Two Manhattan Project physicists, [[wikipedia:Demon core|Henry K. Daghlian Jr. and Louis Slotin]], died from radiation poisoning in two separate criticality accidents in 1945 and 1946 involving the same plutonium bomb core assembly. Said device became known as the [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|"Demon Core"]].

 

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[[Category:These Are Things Man Was Not Meant to Know]]

[[Category:Plot Device]]

[[Category:Power At a Price]]

[[Category:Applied Phlebotinum]]

[[Category:MacGuffin]]

[[Category:This Index Is Cursed]]

[[Category:Villains]]

[[Category:Horror Tropes]]

[[Category:Magic Items Index]]