History Main / ArtifactDomination

*** Blackjammer's Cutlass attempts to turn the user into a black-hearted pirate always on the lookout for treasure who says "Arrgh, Matey" far too much.

*** Cassandra Cillian gets hold of it next and her LudicrousPrecision goes UpToEleven, forcing her to become a MadMathematician who tries to set off an EarthShatteringKaboom for '''fun'''.

* The Thinker technology in ''ComicBook/SuicideSquad'' is an interesting example in that it isn't sentient, but along with the intellect boost it gives to its users, it amplifies their more negative traits and induces a fairly strong psychosomatic addiction, making most users get hooked after the first use. It's possible to resist it after using it, but it takes quite a bit of HeroicWillpower and an equal amount of spite.

* ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'' features the Dark Spores. The good news: they make you faster and stronger, and provide genius intellect. The bad news: They turn you cold and sadistic. Worse news: their real purpose is to resurrect a [[SealedEvilInACan seriously nasty baddie]] once enough of them have collected enough energy from those they've corrupted. Even worse news: they're imperfect copies of the real thing, so if they're ''not'' harvested, you die.
** Don't play with the Beast Spirits in ''Anime/DigimonFrontier,'' either. You can learn to control yourself ''eventually'', but that's only after a considerable amount of wrecking everything in sight. If you're not one of {{The Chosen One}}s, using them at ''all'' may be hazardous to your sanity.
* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' has the Berserker Armor, which 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 HellHound evil side), turning him into a raging monster incapable of distinguishing friend from foe.

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' - specifically ''Stardust Crusaders'' - has Anubis, the series' first autonomous Stand which inhabits an ancient katana. Anyone who manages to unsheathe the sword - or grabs the hilt after it is - is possessed by Anubis and sent off to fulfill his objectives; kill the main cast members. Even if they've never held a weapon in their lives, Anubis' power ensures that it isn't an issue, as demonstrated when he grants the young man who first finds it master swordsmanship abilities through what's essentially a barrage of glorified Jedi mind-tricks. [[spoiler:And then ''Polnareff'' grabs it. Y'know, the guy whose Stand is a swordsman with a rapier so fast it can rival Star Platinum (or at least give its user pause for concern)?]]

* The demonic sword Soul Edge from the ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'' of fighting games. The sword invades the mind of its wielder and turns it into its host body, removing his/her self-consciousness and turning him/her into a bloodlusting machine whose only goal is to offer the souls of those he/she slays to the sword. The sword's influence can also affect the user's physical appearance in varying degrees, the most common effect being a demonic-looking deformed arm.
* The Gem of Might from the ''VideoGame/{{Record Of Agarest War}}'' series that does [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin precisely as its name says]], but at a '''VERY''' terrible price of the wearer slowly becoming an accursed [[BlackKnight Gurg]] and, at first, retains his/her identity/mind, but has become enslaved to the forces of darkness' cause of plunging the world into darkness once he/she is fully corrupted by the artifact, as per Summerill's orders to them. Over time, however, they eventually lose their entire sense of [[LossOfIdentity identity]] and [[DeathOfPersonality mind]], ending up a mere [[EmptyShell mindless puppet]] of horrific strength, existing only to destroy innocents and sow discord within various kingdoms, having them turn on one another for very selfish/cruel reasons, with no sense of remorse or guilt whatsoever, effectively becoming an unstoppable killing machine that, without the Oathsworn/Werdefahrt bloodline and their [[TrueCompanions comrades]] resisting them, would have laid absolute waste to Agarest, leaving it in complete ruin forevermore.

* In ''[[VideoGame/FatalFury Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture]]'' Laocorn Gaudeamus first touches the Armor of Mars and is transformed from a good, if a little meek, businessman into a power-mad megalomaniac bent on finding the rest of the pieces of the armor and possess the power of Mars, the God of War. With each new piece he grew more powerful and more insane until he'd united them all and [[spoiler: unwittingly summoned Mars himself to Earth]].

* Common in ''Series/Warehouse13'', the very first artifact Myka and Pete saw was an Aztec bloodstone that brainwashed a museum worker into trying to kill the president. Several more popped up through the series, some were complete mind control, others would gradually turn their user evil the more they were used.

* In Franchise/GreenLantern mythos, all of the colors of the spectrum [[note]]Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet[[/note]] represent emotions [[note]]Hatred, Greed, Fear, Willpower, Hope, Compassion, Love respectively[[/note]] and are wielded via power rings (well, the Indigo Tribe uses staves). The rings are actually sentient quantum-computers created by one of the most technologically advanced races in the universe. It's generally stated that the further away from the middle (Green) that a ring is, the more control it has over its user.

* The ''Series/SleepyHollow'' season 2 episode "[[Recap/SleepyHollowS2E03RootOfAllEvil Root of All Evil]]" centers around one of the ThirtyPiecesOfSilver given to Judas to betray Jesus. Whoever possess the coin is compelled to seek revenge for any transgressions, no matter how sleight. It forces a woman to shoot up the bank where she works after being passed over for promotion, another man kills his father whom he resents for pressuring him into the family business and it sends one of the protagonists on a mission to kill the person she believes is responsible for the death of her mother. Oh, and one of these coins was [[BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy responsible for Benedict Arnold's famous defection]].

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' book ''Discworld/MenAtArms'', there is The Gonne which compels most of the people who wields it to kill.

[[folder:Live-Action Television]]
* Common in ''Series/{{Warehouse 13}}'', the very first artifact Myka and Pete saw was an Aztec bloodstone that brainwashed a museum worker into trying to kill the president. Several more popped up through the series, some were complete mind control, others would gradually turn their user evil the more they were used.

** The next episode had The Apple of Discord, an item which turned whoever held it into the absolute worst version of themselves.
*** Jake Stone (an art historian) went into a museum and berated the staff for hanging paintings in the wrong place, threatening physical violence violence against the staff.
*** Cassandra Cillian gets hold of it next and her LudicrousPrecision goes UpToEleven forcing her to become a MadMathematician who tries to set off an EarthShatteringKaboom for '''fun'''.

*** Ezekiel Jones grabs it and...[[spoiler:is fully immune. As an unapologetic self-centered narcissistic thief; he's already the worst possible version of himself that he can be.]]
* In ''{{Series/Grimm}}'' the Coins of Zakynthos have the effect of causing the person who holds them to have delusions of grandeur and of great power, and also a murderous drive to keep them away from others who might try to take them. We see Sean Renard fall victim to them and have dreams of mass adoration from the public, and later old film reels reveal they had ties to Nazi Germany.
* ''{{Series/Supernatural}}'' is no stranger to cursed/haunted artifacts.

*** A gramophone which hypnotizes a child to try and kill his mother with a knife, but he's stopped by Sam

--->'''Dean:''' You know, I wonder how old porn kills you.
--->'''Sam:''' Pretty sure you don't want to know.
--->''Later:''
--->'''Dean:''' Hey, got the porn. Just in time, too.
--->'''Sam:''' What was he doing?
--->'''Dean:''' Uh, like you said; you don't wanna know.
** At the end of Season 9 Dean acquires The Mark of Cain and The First Blade. When given to a mortal the Mark and The Blade turn their owner increasingly violent and create a strong need to kill and will eventually turn them into a demon
* The ''Series/SleepyHollow'' season 2 episode "[[Recap/SleepyHollowS2E03RootOfAllEvil Root of All Evil]]" centers around one of the ThirtyPiecesOfSilver given to Judas to betray Jesus. Whoever possess the coin is compelled to seek revenge for any transgressions, no matter how sleight. It forces a woman to shoot up the bank where she works after being passed over for promotion, another man kills his father whom he resents for pressuring him into the family business and it sends one of the protagonists on a mission to kill the person she believes is responsible for the death of her mother. Oh, and one of these coins was [[BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy responsible for Benedict Arnold's famous defection]].
* In [[Series/StarTrekVoyager Star Trek: Voyager]]’s episode ''[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS6E14Memorial Memorial]]'', the ship’s vicinity to a memorial artifact placed on a planet causes the crew to re-enact an ancient military conflict.

* The Gem of Might from the ''VideoGame/{{Record Of Agarest War}}'' series that does [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin precisely as its name says]], but at a '''VERY''' terrible price of the wearer slowly becoming an accursed [[BlackKnight Gurg]] and, at first, retains his/her identity/mind, but has become enslaved to the forces of darkness' cause of plunging the world into darkness once he/she is fully corrupted by the artifact, as per Summerill's orders to them. Over time, however, they eventually lose their entire sense of [[LossOfIdentity identity]] and [[DeathOfPersonality mind]], ending up a mere [[EmptyShell mindless puppet]] of horrific strength, existing only to destroy innocents and sow discord with various kingdoms, having them turn on one another for very selfish/cruel reasons, with no sense of remorse or guilt whatsoever, effectively becoming an unstoppable killing machine that, without the Oathsworn/Werdefahrt bloodline and their [[TrueCompanions comrades]] resisting them, would have laid absolute waste to Agarest, leaving it in complete ruin forevermore.

* The Gem of Might from the ''VideoGame/{{Record Of Agarest War}}'' series that does [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin precisely as its name says]], but at a '''VERY''' terrible price of the wearer slowly becoming an accursed [[BlackKnight Gurg]] and, at first, retains his/her identity/mind, but has become enslaved to the forces of darkness' cause of plunging the world into darkness once he/she is fully corrupted by the artifact, as per Summerill's orders to them. Over time, however, they eventually lose their entire sense of [[LossOfIdentity identity]] and [[DeathOfPersonality mind]], ending up a mere [[EmptyShell mindless puppet]] of horrific strength, existing only to destroy innocents and sow discord with various kingdom, having them turn on one another for very selfish/cruel reasons, with no sense of remorse or guilt whatsoever, effectively becoming an unstoppable killing machine that, without the Oathsworn/Werdefahrt bloodline and their [[TrueCompanions comrades]] resisting them, would have laid absolute waste to Agarest, leaving it in complete ruin forevermore.

* The Gem of Might from the ''VideoGame/{{Record Of Agarest War}}'' series that does [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin precisely as its name says]], but at a '''VERY''' terrible price of the wearer slowly becoming an accursed [[BlackKnight Gurg]] and, at first, retains his/her identity/mind, but has become enslaved to the forces of darkness' cause of plunging the world into darkness once he/she is fully corrupted by the artifact, as per Summerill's orders to them. Over time, however, they eventually lose their entire sense of [[LossOfIdentity identity]] and [[DeathOfPersonality mind]], ending up a mere [[EmptyShell mindless puppet]] of horrific strength, existing only to destroy innocents and create mayhem with no sense of remorse or guilt whatsoever, effectively becoming an unstoppable killing machine that, without the Oathsworn/Werdefahrt bloodline and their [[TrueCompanions comrades]] resisting them, would have laid absolute waste to Agarest, leaving it in complete ruin forevermore.

[[folder:Literature]]
* The TropeCodifier is probably the One Ring from ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. Once the property of the ultimate evil Sauron, The One Ring was built to rule over nineteen other rings of power given to the kings of the other races of Middle Earth. In this, Sauron hoped to control and rule all of the peoples of Middle Earth. Sauron poured a great deal of his own power into the ring, and in doing so imbued it with a piece of his soul. As a result, anyone coming near the ring would be tempted to claim its power for themselves. It would also make anyone who was in contact with it for any length of time paranoid, cruel and greedy. It also makes them very selfish, especially when it comes to the ring. The One Ring is sentient, containing Sauron's soul. It wants to be returned to Mordor and used to resurrect its master. The ring can be used to grant invisibility and it lengthens the lifespan of its owner.
** Isildur first claimed the ring after he killed Sauron, and it compelled him not to destroy it. It was lost when Isildur was killed by orcs and fell into a river. It's been suggested the ring itself chose to abandon Isildur to his fate.
** It was found 2500 years later by the Stoor Hobbit Déagol while on a fishing trip with his cousin Sméagol. The two of them fought over the ring at its insistence until Sméagol murdered Déagol. Sméagol was changed by the Ring’s influence over several centuries into the creature known as Gollum. Gollum, after being exiled from his home, sought shelter far beneath the Misty Mountains. There he and it remained for nearly five hundred years, until the Ring abandoned him and fell off his finger. Later, when he discovered Frodo Baggins was in possession of the ring, he tracked Frodo down. Even after being captured and forced into service by the hobbit and his friend Samwise Gamgee, Gollum was driven by his desire to possess the ring once more. He enacted several plans to try and have Frodo and Sam killed so he could again possess it.
** Bilbo Baggins next possessed the ring and used its power of invisibility several times in his adventure to slay the dragon Smaug. While the ring didn't seem to try to compel or corrupt Bilbo as it did the other users, it did have a slight hold on him; even when told by his friend Gandalf of the ring's evil, he needed a great deal of persuasion in order to part with it.
** Frodo Baggins bore the ring to Mount Doom and was constantly tempted by its evil. As the journey wore on he began to grow paranoid, greedy and weary of its evil. He remarked several times about being able to feel Sauron's spirit and hear him calling to the ring. Even knowing he had to destroy it, he could not, [[spoiler: instead Gollum stole it and then fell into the fires of Mount Doom, thus destroying it.]]
** Though he never possessed the ring, Boromir felt its call and desired to possess it. He even tried to steal it from Frodo, threatening the hobbit with his sword until he realized he was under the influence of the ring's evil.
** Frodo offered the One Ring to the elf queen Galadriel who, though tempted by the power, refused the ring saying that she had, "passed this test."
* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'' Harry carries a Horcrux [[note]]a hiding place for a piece of Lord Voldemort's soul[[/note]] on a chain around his neck for safekeeping and starts to act like a dangerous Jerkass. Later, once the trio realize what's happening they take turns wearing it, only for a few hours at a time each so it won't corrupt them too much.
* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' book ''Discworld/MenAtArms'', there is The Gonne which compels most of the people who wields it to kill.
* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', just ''touching'' a [[ThirtyPiecesOfSilver Blackened Denarii coin]] is enough to invite the fallen angel bound to it into your mind, where they will toy with your perceptions, offer you power, and eventually turn you into their flesh puppet. If you're especially strong-willed, you might become the Fallen's partner, but you're still going to be evil.
* The Illearth Stone from the ''Literature/ChroniclesOfThomasCovenant'' is pure evil and extremely powerful. Even shards cut from it are potent magic items that can corrupt people. Additionally, if the Illearth Stone or a shard of it is in one place for long, its evil anti-nature aura will kill off all the plants in a large radius around it.
* Zig-zagged with ''Literature/RebelGenius'' in the second book. A genius's gem does not inherently dominate the user, but for Tulpas such as Zanobius or [[spoiler: Giaccomo]], its possible for the gem of their creators' geniuses to be used as a MindControlDevice.
[[/folder]]

* The Gem of Might from the ''VideoGame/{{Record Of Agarest War}}'' series that does [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin precisely as its name says]], but at a VERY terrible price of the wearer slowly becoming an accursed [[BlackKnight Gurg]] and, at first, retains his/her identity/mind, but has become enslaved to the forces of darkness' cause of plunging the world into darkness once he/she is fully corrupted by the artifact, as per Summerill's orders to them. Over time, however, they eventually lose their entire sense of [[LossOfIdentity identity]] and [[DeathOfPersonality mind]], ending up a mere [[EmptyShell mindless puppet]] of horrific strength, existing only to destroy innocents and create mayhem with no sense of remorse or guilt whatsoever, effectively becoming an unstoppable killing machine that, without the Oathsworn/Werdefahrt bloodline and their [[TrueCompanions comrades]] resisting them, would have laid absolute waste to Agarest, leaving it in complete ruin forevermore.

* The demonic sword Soul Edge from the ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'' of fighting games. The sword invades the mind of its wielder and turns it into its host body, removing his self-consciousness and turning him into a bloodlusting machine whose only goal is to offer the souls of those he slay to the sword. The sword's influence can also affect the user's physical appearance in varying degrees, the most common effect being a demonic-looking deformed arm.

SuperTrope of TheHatMakesTheMan and ClothesMakeTheManiac.

* The Gem of Might from the ''VideoGame/{{Record Of Agarest War}}'' series that does [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin precisely as its name says]], but at a VERY terrible price of the wearer slowly becoming an accursed [[BlackKnight Gurg]] and, at first, retains his/her identity/mind, but has become enslaved to the forces of darkness' cause of plunging the world into darkness once he/she is fully corrupted by the artifact, as per Summerill's orders to them. Over time, however, they eventually lose their entire sense of [[LossOfIdentity identity]] and [[DeathOfPersonality mind]], ending up a mere [[EmptyShell mindless puppet]] of horrific strength, existing only to destroy innocents and create mayhem with no sense of remorse or guilt whatsoever, effectively becoming an unstoppable killing machine that, without the Oathsworn/Werdefahrt bloodline and their friends resisting them, would have laid absolute waste to Agarest, leaving it in complete ruin forevermore.

* The demonic sword Soul Edge from the ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'' of fighting games. The sword invades the mind of its wielder and turns it into its host body, removing his self-consciousness and turning him into a bloodlusting machine whose only goal is to offer the souls of those he slay to the sword. The sword's influence can also affect the user's physical appearance in varying degrees, the most common effect being a demon-looking deformed arm.

* The Gem of Might from the ''VideoGame/{{Record Of Agarest War}}'' series that does [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin precisely as its name says]], but at a VERY terrible price of the wearer slowly becoming an accursed [[BlackKnight Gurg]] and, at first, retains his/her identity/mind, but has become enslaved to the forces of darkness' cause of plunging the world into darkness once he/she is fully corrupted by the artifact, as per Summerill's orders to them. Over time, however, they eventually lose their entire sense of [[LossOfIdentity identity]] and [[DeathOfPersonality mind]], ending up a mere [[EmptyShell mindless puppet]] of horrific strength, existing only to destroy innocents and create mayhem with no sense of remorse or guilt whatsoever, effectively becoming an unstoppable killing machine that, without the Oathsworn/Werdefahrt bloodline and their friends resisting them, would have laid absolute waste to Agarest with no hope of lasting peace.

* The Gem of Might from the ''VideoGame/{{Record Of Agarest War}}'' series that does [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin precisely as its name says]], but at a VERY terrible price of the wearer slowly becoming an accursed [[BlackKnight Gurg]] and, at first, retains his/her identity/mind, but has become enslaved to the forces of darkness' cause of purging the world into darkness once he/she is fully corrupted by the artifact, as per Summerill's orders to them. Over time, however, they eventually lose their entire sense of [[LossOfIdentity identity]] and [[DeathOfPersonality mind]], ending up a mere [[EmptyShell mindless puppet]] of horrific strength, existing only to destroy innocents and create mayhem with no sense of remorse or guilt whatsoever, effectively becoming an unstoppable killing machine that, without the Oathsworn/Werdefahrt bloodline and their friends resisting them, would have laid absolute waste to Agarest with no hope of lasting peace.

* The Gem of Might from the ''VideoGame/{{Record Of Agarest War}}'' series that does [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin precisely as its name says]], but at a VERY terrible price of the wearer slowly becoming an accursed [[BlackKnight Gurg]] and, at first, retains his/her identity/mind, but has become enslaved to the forces of darkness' cause of purging the world into darkness, as per Summerill's orders to them. Over time, however, they eventually lose their entire sense of [[LossOfIdentity identity]] and [[DeathOfPersonality mind]], ending up a mere [[EmptyShell mindless puppet]] of terrible strength, existing only to destroy innocents and create mayhem with no sense of remorse or guilt whatsoever, effectively becoming an unstoppable killing machine that, without the Oathsworn/Werdefahrt bloodline and their friends resisting them, would have laid absolute waste to Agarest with no hope of lasting peace.

* The Gem of Might from the ''VideoGame/{{Record Of Agarest War}}'' series that does [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin precisely as its name says]], but at a VERY terrible price of the wearer slowly becoming a mighty [[BlackKnight Gurg]] and, at first, retains his/her identity/mind, but has become enslaved to the forces of darkness' cause of purging the world into darkness, as per Summerill's orders to them. Over time, however, they eventually lose their entire sense of [[LossOfIdentity identity]] and [[DeathOfPersonality mind]], ending up a mere [[EmptyShell mindless puppet]] of terrible strength, existing only to destroy innocents and create mayhem with no sense of remorse or guilt whatsoever, effectively becoming an unstoppable killing machine that, without the Oathsworn/Werdefahrt bloodline and their friends resisting them, would have laid absolute waste to Agarest with no hope of lasting peace.

* The Gem of Might from the ''VideoGame/{{Record Of Agarest War}}'' series that does [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin precisely as its name says]], but at a VERY terrible price of slowly becoming a mighty [[BlackKnight Gurg]] that, at first, retains his/her identity/mind, but has become enslaved to the forces of darkness' cause of purging the world into darkness, as per Summerill's orders to them. Over time, however, they eventually lose their entire sense of [[LossOfIdentity identity]] and [[DeathOfPersonality mind]], being only a [[EmptyShell mindless puppet]] of terrible strength, existing only to destroy innocents and create mayhem with no sense of remorse or guilt whatsoever, effectively becoming an unstoppable killing machine that, without the Oathsworn/Werdefahrt bloodline and their friends resisting them, would have laid absolute waste to Agarest with no hope of lasting peace.