Trope Workshop:Exclusive Armaments

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Zanpukuto, Spirit Weapons, Fullbrings and more!

Exclusive Armaments are artifacts, weaponry, or equipment that are known for being specific to a particular group (which often has special requirements for membership), and may even be emblematic of that group, uniquely identifying its members. Despite the trope name, such items need not be weapons at all. Some can be accessories that grant their power by wearing them, and some can have no inherent function beyond identifying the bearer's group affiliation and concomitant privileges. Individual examples may have unique titles or names that describe what they are or can do.

Exclusive Armaments can have many origins. Depending on the setting, they may be magical items or advanced technology (or both), but they can also be perfectly mundane in origin and function. Ownership of such items can be restricted by law or custom, but when the setting permits, it's not uncommon for such devices to choose the person who wields them; alternately, they can be unique manifestations of supernatural power by their "owners". In the latter cases, they are unlikely to be counterfeited (although someone figuring out how to do so can be a powerful plot hook for a story).

When they actually take the form of weapons, Exclusive Armaments are usually their owner's Weapon of Choice. Whether they become so because of their owner's existing skills and inclinations or they grant the required skill to use them depends on the setting.

Examples of Exclusive Armaments include:

Anime and Manga

• Zanpukuto are the main weapons of Soul Reapers in the series Bleach. They are used to combat Hollows and can send souls to the Soul Society. Each Zanpakuto is a unique reflection of a Soul Reaper's soul and powers while also being sentient. The abilities of each are based on their soul and a Soul Reaper's relationship with each other, which can help grow in strength. Once a Zanpakuto reveals their name to their Soul Reaper, they may access greater power through Shikai and Bankai forms, each with its own forms and powers.
  • Spirit Weapons are armaments Quincies can make using the Reishi in the atmosphere. They manifest them by using their Quincy Cross charm as a conduit. These weapons, similar to Zanpakuto, are intended to destroy Hollows. However, instead of purifying Hollows, they completely eliminate them down to their soul. The standard form for Spirit Weapons is Heilig Bogen, which is a bow that can fire off arrows made of Reishi. The Sternritter's Spirit Weapons come into different forms while also acting as extensions for their Schrifts, abilities given by Yhwach to high-ranking members of the Wandenreich.
  • Dolls are the representation of a Bount's power that are similar to Soul Reapers' Zanpakuto. These living weapons can come in the form of a weapon or a living being, depending on their Bount. Each has unique appearances and abilities dependent on their wielder, and powerful Bounts can merge with their Doll. They have a tenuous master-servant relationship if the Doll disagrees with their Bount, such as being injured in battle or not having enough power.
  • Bakkoto are parasitic weapons that absorb a user's Reiatsu to power themselves, and evolve as they consume more of it. They can only be wielded by a person with Reishi and have organic parts that becomes a part of their user. These weapons can eat their host as they grow stronger, and thus are considered forbidden to use due.
  • Fullbrings used by Fullbringers are objects that carry significant meaning for them and can bring their soul out as a unique power. The Fullbring cannot change their abilities nor stop them from growing. They can only bring them to their fullest potential by achieving a final form.
• ÄRMs from MÄR are an assortment of mystical objects within the land of MÄR-Heaven with different purposes. The weaker ÄRM can be used by anyone. They are also used as weapons and were the leading force in the first Marchen War. An ÄRM can have different abilities and can be 'upgraded' by installing a magic stone. The power of an ÄRM is related to a user's mental, physical, and magical skills. Magic power is the most crucial, and one can either be born with it or gain it through training. Synchronization with an ÄRM is also needed to bring out its power, which increases as it gets higher.
• The Killer Yoyos wielded by the various heroines (all codenamed "Saki Asamiya") of the long-running franchise Sukeban Deka are the signature weapons of their specialized undercover police group -- and also serve as their badges and symbols of their authority, having a hidden emblem that can be displayed at a dramatically appropriate moment. Unlike many of the other examples on this page they are completely mundane in origin and function -- they are simply incredibly rare, issued only by the Japanese government, and dependent upon the extraordinary skill of their users.
• In World Trigger, there are advanced pieces of technology from another dimension known as Triggers. These items can come in different forms and are powered by trion. Their abilities and forms are determined by their current customization and the wielder's trion levels.
  • One powerful type of Triggers is called Black Triggers, created by people with high levels of trion who sacrifice their lives. They reflect the personality of the person who created them and need a user compatible with the creator's personality.

Fan Works

• The Lenses from Undocumented Features were incorporated into this Mega Crossover setting from the Lensman books of E. E. "Doc" Smith (see Literature, below) and served to identify and empower the elite agents of the IPO, a galactic-scale NGO Superpower dedicated to peace-keeping and law enforcement. UF‍'‍s Lenses had all the same defenses against counterfeiting and impersonation as the originals from the source material did, but their origin was divine (instead of being Imported Alien Phlebotinum) and their empowerment was not limited to Psychic Powers -- in one particular case, a Lens tapped into and vastly magnified its owner's native magical talent.

Literature

• The Honorblades from The Stormlight Archive are ten swords bound by their wielder, known as a Herald. Honorblades grant wielders Surgebinding in the form of two Surges. Surges are 10 fundamental forces: Adhesion, Gravitation, Division, Abrasion, Progression, Illumination, Transformation, Transportation, Cohesion, and Tension.
• The Lenses from E. E. "Doc" Smith's classic Golden Age science fiction series Lensman. These devices were Imported Alien Phlebotinum paired permanently with their wielders, the titular Lensmen, who acted as a kind of Galactic police force. The Lenses not only granted their owners impressive Psychic Powers, they also acted as an unimpeachable identification of their owners; because of their origins and their permanent bonds with their owners, the Lenses could not be forged and anyone trying to impersonate a Lensman by wearing his Lens would be instantly killed.

Oral Tradition, Folklore, Myths and Legends

• Astra from Hinduism are supernatural weapons that specific deities preside over and are imbued with supernatural powers. They can be summoned through an incantation or invocation. The deity invoked would give the weapon supernatural power, which is impossible to counter through normal means.

Video Games

• ARMS from Wild ARMs series are the weaponry under different acronyms in each entry.
  • The first game's ARMs (Advanced Relic Machine) are pieces of lost technology; they can be firearms or special weapons that a handful of people use.
  • Wild ARMs 3‍'‍s ARMs (Artifacts from Ruins: Memories) are machines activated by willpower along with the technology used to create them.
  • Wild Arms 4: ARMs (Ambient Reorganization Materials) are nanomachines that can only be used by Gene Drivers, people either born or artificially given the ability to wield them. It looks like silver sand when deactivated and forms a weapon when activated.

Web Comics

• Tools from Paranatural are supernatural items that Spectrals use the power of the Spirits that inhabit it. Each tool has its own form and superpower, some of which may complement each other. A tool is created when a Spirit is on its last leg and resides in an item to recover strength. Recovery is quicker than a Spectral with the right spectral energy color. The spirit can subconsciously draw a spectral to him and create a symbiotic relationship. As the spirit absorbs spectral energy, they heal while the spectral gains access to their powers.

Web Original

• Critical Role: Vestiges of Divergence are ancient but powerful artifacts from The Calamity during the Age of Arcanum. Though some are sealed, hidden, or destroyed, they are scattered worldwide. These Vestiges have their own powers they can grant their user. They can grow with their wielder and awaken sealed powers with determination, time, and personal growth.
• The mechashift weapons possessed by Huntsmen and Huntresses in the world of Remnant from RWBY are unique to their wielders (and often are designed and built by them), and are unlike the more ordinary static weapons carried by members of the four Kingdoms' police and military. If someone possesses a mechashift weapon, they are all but guaranteed to be a licensed Huntsman/Huntress or studying to be one.

Western Animation

• Shen Gong Wu from Xiaolin Showdown are magical objects made by Grand Master Dashi to combat Heylin villains. They each have a unique power that can be activated by calling out their name and are undetectable unless activated. If 2 or more people are touching a Shen Gong Wu while holding their own, they can call the titular showdown while wagering their own Shen Gong Wu.

Real Life

• Badges and identification cards for police and members of law enforcement/espionage agencies, to the point that in most if not all jurisdictions it is a criminal offense for a civilian to possess a realistic duplicate that cannot be told from the real thing.