History Main / ArtifactOfDoom

** Two of the three Deathly Hallows are this. The Elder Wand [[spoiler:prior to coming into the possession of Dumbledore and later Harry]] ''the'' most powerful wand ever created, so its users typically become DrunkWithPower and knifed when they're sleeping. Additionally it's more of an EmpathicWeapon than other wands and actively desires to be wielded by the strongest wizards, [[AmbitionIsEvil inevitably attracting people like Voldemort willing to kill to have it]]. There's also the Resurrection Stone, which allowed people to see their loved ones again at the cost of them having CameBackWrong. The one subversion was Harry's Cloak of Invisibility, which was just a normal invisibility cloak with the added bonus of never fading with age.

** The Elder Wand [[spoiler:prior to coming into the possession of Dumbledore and later Harry]] would also qualify. It is ''the'' most powerful wand ever created so its users typically become DrunkWithPower and knifed when they're sleeping.

There will be a conflict among the heroes, between those who say they should dare to [[AmplifierArtifact use its power]] and resist or purify the corrupting effects; and those feel it should be destroyed/sealed. The artifact will often make this conflict escalate to a HatePlague with deadly consequences. This may be explicitly stated as one of its powers in the case of the ArtifactOfAttraction.

{{Sub Trope}}s include the TomeOfEldritchLore, EvilWeapon, EvilMask, and the SummoningArtifact. Occasionally doubles as an ArtifactOfDeath. More often, it is an AmuletOfDependency. Often overlaps with HappyFunBall when the artifact appears to be something harmless or mundane. The SoulJar of an evil character almost always doubles as one of these. May also be the can of SealedEvilInACan. Contrast its equal/opposite ArtifactOfHope. See also SentientPhlebotinum and HolyIsNotSafe when the artifact was made by the good guys but still dangerous.

* ''Manga/AnnCassandra'': The [[MaskOfPower 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.]]

** There are small magical items called Behelits. They look like eggs with human facial features scattered around them at random. When their possessor [[DespairEventHorizon hits an emotional nadir]], the features rearrange into a screaming face, and the four members of the Godhand appear to [[DealWithTheDevil offer the Behelit's owner the chance to become a demon]]... by sacrificing those close to them. And then there is the ''Crimson'' Behelit, owned by Griffith, which [[spoiler: transforms its bearer into [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils a member of the nigh-invincible, demonic Godhand]].]] Curiously, the Behelits are mentioned to be completely harmless most of the time. It is only at ''one specific moment'' when held by ''one specific person'' that they become dangerous, and unfortunately it's almost impossible to tell when or who those are beforehand.

[[caption-width-right:298:Oooh, shiny! [[note]]WARNING: Tampering with the One Ring may result in invisibility, longevity, rushes of euphoria, seeing the ghostly images of the Nazgûl, voices in your head that may or may not belong to the Ring, complete and utter dependence on the Ring, loss of clear thought and sanity, and eventual undeath. Do not swallow.[[/note]]\\

* In ''Fanfic/AtlantisRising'', the Orichalcos comes back with a vengeance.[[spoiler: The villain uses it to power his magic and his ultimate goal is to raise the Heartstone, the source of the Orichalcos' power, which has been quietly growing in the sunken city of Atlantis for millennia. A small piece of Orichalcum in Mariks unwilling possession also reawakens Yami Marik.]]
* Rachel's blue-feather earring in ''Fanfic/AWEArcadiaBayRogueDemon'' is an altered item that causes anyone who touches it to become possessed by the Hiss.
* ''Fanfic/BaumannRevenge'': The All Stars Staff is the one responsible for giving Mr. Baumann the desire to get rid of Ben Tennyson. Turns out that it didn't follow Baumann's desires, and it has UndyingLoyalty to its one true master, DX-4. It has NighInvulnerability. When Verdona used her magic to damage it, it wasn't damaged. Black Hole was not able to damage it, because it was made from an unbreakable material despite his power. In the end, the only way to destroy it was to trick it into turning into its OneWingedAngel form and destroying the dragon inside it.
* Kyle in ''Fanfic/BeckaRangersNemoThunder'' goes AxCrazy 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 SociopathicHero [[ClothesMakeTheManiac when he's morphed]].
* ''Fanfic/TheBodyReflectsTheHeartTheShadowReflectsTheSoul'': Vanes of Order are golden feathers soon revealed to be shards of [[spoiler:Yaldabaoth, the final boss of VideoGame/Persona5]]. If handled with care by a Persona-user, they're harmless, and the Persona-user can use them as supernatural [[RealityWarper reality-warping]] batteries. If consumed by a Shadow, it instantly grows more robust. If wielded by a regular person, it serves as a conduit to help them unleash their Persona but acts as a [[TheCorrupter Corrupter]] to them. And for someone with a darker heart, it can release darker impulses and eventually a Corporeal Shadow (SuperpoweredEvilSide that possesses the host). At worst, [[spoiler:it can corrupt the Personal Shadow itself and force it to go berserk even if its owner accepts it]].
* The [[TomeOfEldritchLore Black Book]] from ''Fanfic/FalloutEquestria'' is the Zebra equivalent of the [[Franchise/EvilDead Necronomicon]]. It also [[TheCorrupter corrupts everypony around it]], and its misuse [[spoiler: by Rarity and Princess Celestia]] was responsible for the downfall of Equestria.
* Subverted in ''Fanfic/CheshireMiraculousLadybug''. Everyone within the Order and even the other Kwami ''think'' the Cat Miraculous — and Plagg by association — is this after centuries of villainous individuals wielding his destructive power. They logically assume that Plagg is purposefully choosing evil people or is actively corrupting his users to villainy. In reality, the ring is just a SlipperyMacGuffin and Plagg is just really unlucky. Once Marinette ends up on the Order's radar, he's deeply frustrated that the first heroic charge he's had in literal millennia is being hunted down like a criminal by his fellow gods.

* In ''Fanfic/ClashOfTheElements'' [[spoiler: [[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory The Dark Star]]]] turns out to be one of these, and it was [[spoiler:cloned by Fawful for Cacklets ta to use in her plans.]]
* ''Fanfic/TheConversionBureauTheOtherSideOfTheSpectrum'' has [[spoiler: the Bag of Tirek, which contains the soul of its maker, the same evil centaur from the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyRescueAtMidnightCastle'' who wants to [[DisproportionateRetribution get revenge]] against ''the entire human race'' for Megan stopping them over a thousand years ago and enslave every living being under his will. Besides corrupting TCB!Celestia into an [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen insane tyrant]], it's also heavily hinted to have corrupted both universe's versions of Luna into Nightmare Moon]].
* In ''Fanfic/TheElementsOfFriendship'', The Alicorn Amulet, as in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E5MagicDuel canon]], [[spoiler:with the added bonus of ripping its wearer's soul in two. And it seems that Trixie was not the first victim of its horrors.]]
%% * The Dark Prognosticus from ''Fanfic/TheEndOfEnds''.
* ''Fanfic/EquestriaGirlsAFairlyOddFriendship'':

* The ''Fanfic/FacingTheFutureSeries'' story ''Royal Occupation'' has the Scepter of Fay, which makes anyone who possesses an Amulet of Aragon [[RealityWarper all powerful]].
* ''Fanfic/FallenKing'' has the Millennium Eye and Ring, but the Millennium Puzzle is the one most touched upon. Being near its ''pieces'' lets those in proximity summon monsters, and Pegasus plans to use it to rewrite reality.
* ''[[Fanfic/AFutureOfFriendshipAHistoryOfHate A Future of Friendship, A History of Hate]]'' has the Tear of Covet, the gem that [[TheEeyore Miserain]] gives Scootaloo to enable her wish to [[PlotRelevantAgeUp become an adult]]. While it does as advertised, it turns out [[spoiler: it was feeding off the despair she felt when her wishes blew up in her face to power a creature called a woebeghoul contained within it, and when she enters a HeroicBSOD, the ghoul breaks free and absorbs her before attacking Ponyville]].
* ''Fanfic/GuardiansWizardsAndKungFuFighters'' has the Sword of the Berserker, also called the Sword of Thanatos, forged from the remains of the demon Abaddon. It can OneHitKill anything, but it also [[TheCorruption corrupts]] the user, turning them into a mindless [[TheBerserker Berserker]].

* ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls'': Both Kyril's saw cleaver and journal are said to have an own will, that anybody who makes contact with it risk gaining Insight, which makes them susceptible from [[GoMadFromTheRevelation the madness within the nightmarish horrors of Yharnam]]. Hicks, Celestine and Olga almost learn it the hard way. If you are wondering why the owner, [[AntiHero Kyril]], is not affected, the reason may have something to do with [[spoiler:his [[EldritchAbomination eldritch nature]].]]
* The Book of Shadows from ''Fanfic/OjamajoDoremiRiseOfTheShadows'' is a subversion. Even though it has everything the BigBad needs to complete her plans with (in addition to telling the history of the Shadows), it can also be used to defeat the Shadows once and for all.
* A handful of then have been making their way into ''Roleplay/DemigodPower''.
** The first BigBad uses one to summon an army of Keres, wraith-like death spirits, which he uses to attack camp.
** Two are involved in the subsequent Ronin War, and they [[spoiler: almost destroy the gods.]]
** [[spoiler: As of the Rise of the Hierophant arc, whatever the Breath of Hyperion is, it will most likely turn out to be this.]]
* In the ''Fanfic/PonyPOVSeries'':

* ''[[Fanfic/ThePrincessAndTheDragon The Princess and the Dragon]]'':
** The Shadow Items [[note]] Millennium Items in canon, and still referred to as such individually[[/note]] can be used to invoke Shadow Magic, which among other things, can turn people into "shadows", corrupted, insane beings.
** {{Orichalcum}}, which can enhance a sorcerer's magic and refine their control, but will corrupt their soul the moment they touch it.
* ''Fanfic/RainbowDoubleDashsLunaverse:'' As in ''Friendship is Magic'', Equestria seems to have no shortage of these lying around, including a few not in the show.
** The Alicorn Amulet, which first shows up in a side-story where Twilight Sparkle tries to use it to make duplicate Elements of Harmony, and one of her candidates uses it to try and become a god. It reappears several months later in the hands of Spike... [[spoiler:who proves resistant enough to its power to throw it in some lava.]]
** The Guitar of the Sirens, a magic cursed guitar which can brainwash anyone who listens to it... unless the person using it is a talentless hack, or the pony they're using it on can recognize their talentlessness.
** The Rainbow of Darkness, once belonging to Tirek himself. [[spoiler:Later stolen by a dragon who manages to swallow it, making it part of himself.]]
* ''Fanfic/RingMaker'': Annatar considers [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings the One Ring]] to be this, and initially [[TheDreaded doesn't even consider forging it]], to the point of doing a VerbalBackspace when explaining the Rings of Power to Director Piggot to avoid the expectation of forging the One Ring.
* In ''Fanfic/RomanceAndTheFateOfEquestria'', Trixie comes to Twilight asking for information on the Ears of the Beast, a magical artifact she's found. They turn out to be the actual fossilized ears of a chopped-up EldritchAbomination. The artifact is wielded by cutting off one's own ears and replacing them with those of the Beast, granting immortality and immense magical power but an obsession with putting the Beast back together. Later on, the story's TerribleTrio are revealed to be wielding other pieces of the Beast.
* ''Fanfic/ShadowsAwakening'': The Dark Treasures, formerly the [[PublicDomainArtifact Imperial Regalia of Japan]] -- were corrupted into this by the Dark Champion of the Shadowkhan long ago. In addition to the fact that combined they can open the Forge of Shadows (the place where the Shadowkhan were originally created), they also have [[TheCorruption corrupting]] influences of their own:
** The Kusanagi sword can [[DemonicPossession possess]] the person using it and turn them into a BloodKnight berserker.
** The Mirror of Despair puts [[spoiler: Tohru]] in a coma when he looks into it, trapping him in a vision of a BadFuture until Uncle is able to wake him up.
** The Jewel can bring a person's self-doubts and darkest thoughts to life as shadow doppelgangers to torment them. They can't cause physical harm, but the emotional torment is a useful tool in battle.
* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'' fanfic "Fanfic/SorryAboutTheMess" has [[spoiler: The Mirror, an ancient object created specifically to corrupt those who use it]].
* In ''Fanfic/SunsetOfTime'', the Dark Regalia are ancient relics that amplify a pony's powers, and when all three are worn together it turns them into an alicorn. The catch is they corrupt the user's mind, driving them insane and evil, and are powered by dark magic. And the transformation into an alicorn as one assembles the set is pure BodyHorror.

* The One Ring from ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' is the TropeCodifier and this page's image. It contains the bulk of Sauron's power and will corrupt whoever not named Sauron wears it. See Literature for more detail.
* The Lament Configuration (the puzzle box) in ''Franchise/{{Hellraiser}}'' films, a key to open a portal to the hellish realm of the Cenobites.
* The gun from ''Film/{{Juice}}''. The moment Bishop uses it, he is unable to stop using it even on his friends.
* The eponymous ship in ''Film/EventHorizon'', which was [[SapientShip brought to life]] by its trip into [[HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace another dimension that's basically Hell]], and now drives anyone onboard to madness and death.

* The Coke Bottle, from ''Film/TheGodsMustBeCrazy''. Although it's just a normal, ordinary soda bottle, its effect on a tribe of bushmen due to its usefulness and its rarity causes so much trouble (culminating in one of their number using it as a weapon to hurt another) that they decide it's an evil thing, which must be thrown off the edge of the Earth.
%%* The button in ''Film/DragMeToHell''.
* The "Key" with the blood of [[UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} Jesus Christ]] in it from ''Film/DemonKnight''. Part of a set of seven, if the demons get ahold of it alongside the six they already have, it will allow them to regain total control over the entire universe.
* The cellar in ''Film/TheCabinInTheWoods'' [[spoiler:is filled with Artifacts of Doom with the intention of getting the victims to play with the objects and doom themselves.]]
* In ''Film/TheBrassTeapot'' the titular artifact's power latches unto the slightest trace of evil in a person's soul and amplifies it until the person is utterly corrupted by greed. It has left a trail of death and destruction across the entire world in the two millennia of its existence.
* ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'': The Infinity Gauntlet, a {{Tricked Out Glove|s}} holding 6 {{Power Crystal}}s that can destroy entire worlds on their own. Together, they can unmake the Universe.
** Not that the Infinity Stones themselves are exactly safe either. The Aether scared the [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Asgardians]] so much their plan for dealing with it was to put it in a box and forget about it, because it drains the life out of anyone who absorbs it (and seems to ''want'' to destroy everything, everywhere). The Power Stone kills anyone who touches it, causing them to burn up. The Eye of Agamotto is held by an order of mystics who freak out when Stephen Strange borrows it for a few minutes, on account of the fact misuse can irrevocably damage space and time (or just erase the user from existence). And while the Mind Stone and the Tesseract are less dangerous, it's implied they're sentient in some shape or form, and actively nudging folk around them for their own reason (also, the last person to touch the Tesseract hasn't been seen since). [[spoiler:Though it later turns out they were transported to another planet and became the Guardian of the Soul stone, which itself requires the sacrifice of a loved one to obtain it.]]

* In the game world of ''Film/OfDiceAndMen,'' the ''Libris Mortis'' or Book of All Souls is this. It will cause, as Tara puts it, "massive, world-ending zombie badness" if not destroyed.
* ''Film/ReturnToHouseOnHauntedHill'': The cursed statue of Baphomet, which is the reason why Dr. Vannacutt's mental asylum is haunted by its previous inhabitants.

* The titular boardgame from ''Film/{{Jumanji}}'' will draw players in with its JungleDrums and those who do start playing quickly learn that the game runs on EverythingTryingToKillYou.

%%* The [[spoiler:eponymous ship]] in ''Film/EventHorizon''.
%%* The [[PublicDomainArtifact Spear/Lance]] in ''Film/Constantine2005''.

* The "Key" with the blood of [[UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} Jesus Christ]] in it from ''Film/DemonKnight''.

** ''WesternAnimation/The13GhostsOfScoobyDoo'' has the [[SealedEvilInACan Chest of Demons]], which contains [[ThirteenIsUnlucky thirteen]] of the world's most terrifying ghosts. The premise of the series has Scooby and Scrappy Doo, Shaggy, Daphne and the newest member of Mystery Inc., Flim Flam, being tricked into opening it, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero releasing the ghosts upon the face of the earth]], and it's their job to [[GottaCatchThemAll find them all and return them to the chest]]. [[spoiler:Although the show coincidentally [[LeftHanging lasted for only thirteen episodes and we didn't see them finish this job during its run]], over 30 years after the show aired, ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndTheCurseOfThe13thGhost'' served as the series' belated conclusion.]]

* The ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' franchise has two examples of SealedEvilInACan:
** ''WesternAnimation/The13GhostsOfScoobyDoo'' has the Chest of Demons, which contains thirteen of the world's most terrifying ghosts. The premise of the series has Scooby and Scrappy Doo, Shaggy, Daphne and the newest member of Mystery Inc., Flim Flam, being tricked into opening it, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero releasing the ghosts upon the face of the earth]], and it's their job to [[GottaCatchThemAll find them all and return them to the chest]]. [[spoiler:Although the show coincidentally [[LeftHanging lasted for only thirteen episodes and we didn't see them finish this job during its run]], over 30 years after the show aired, ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndTheCurseOfThe13thGhost'' served as the series' belated conclusion.]]

** ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'' has the cursed Treasure of Crystal Cove and the equally cursed Planespheric Disk that reveals its location.

--->'''Vincent VanGhoul:''' This is a warning to all living mortals, that whosoever opens this Chest of Demons will release 13 of the most terrifying ghosts upon the face of the Earth!\\

'''Vincent VanGhoul:''' Only ''you'' can return the demons to the chest!\\

'''Vincent VanGhoul:''' Because ''you'' let them out!

* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'' has the cursed Treasure of Crystal Cove (which holds a SealedEvilInACan) and the equally cursed Planespheric Disk that reveals its location.

* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': The broken tilt Theo found in a LooseFloorboardHidingSpot under Waldreg's barn, is a HungryWeapon that feeds on blood to regrow itself and has the power to mentally influence its owner. By the end of Season 1, Waldreg uses the tilt to unlock an ancient mechanism that triggers the destruction of a series of dams, which sends a vast torrent of water streaming down deep into Mount Orodruin itself, provoking the creating of Mount Doom.

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

** Speaking of Kyril's journal, [[spoiler:the fact that it has a mind of its own means that anyone but Kyril would only see scrambled pieces of content instead of a coherent story written like a normal book, should they attempt to peruse the journal's contents. [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow Of course, this is only the tip of the iceberg]].]]

* Collecting and containing these is the whole point of the fictional ''Wiki/SCPFoundation''. The SCP Foundation has dozens of these, given the classification "keter" from the Hebrew word "crown", which is used in Qabalah to describe the highest principle of the universe. The methods used to contain these things are... intricate. The "euclid" and "safe" ones are easier to contain but most of them are still incredibly dangerous.

* In ''Series/WhatWeDoInTheShadows'' there is a hat made of witch skin which is extremely cursed and supposedly caused the Irish Potato Famine. The vampires Laszlo and Simon the Devious both desperately desire it because they think it's fashionable. It tends to be easy to take but hard to keep, as whoever currently has possession of it is afflicted with hideous misfortune. It doesn't act like an ArtifactOfAttraction for anyone else, they're just idiots.

** [[ComicBook/TheInfinityGauntlet The Infinity Gems]] ''probably'' aren't inherently evil, but they are definitely trouble. The entire universe has been threatened more than once by a madman wielding the Gems.

* The infamous videotape in ''Film/TheRing'' will kill whoever watches it.

%%* The [[PublicDomainArtifact Spear/Lance]] in ''Film/{{Constantine}}''

** The [[BizarreAlienBiology alien costumes/symbiotes]] of ''Franchise/SpiderMan'', with an added BodyHorror bonus. Years later, Flash Thompson, the fourth user of the ComicBook/{{Venom}} symbiote, learned that this wasn't ''originally'' the case at all!
** The axe used by ComicBook/{{Thor}} villain Skurge the Executioner, known as the Bloodaxe. It was infected by Skurge's bloodlust and evil and those who picked it up found themselves infected by the same drive. ComicBook/{{Thunderstrike}} was killed freeing himself from this terrible curse.

* Lampshaded in ''Literature/BrokenAngels'' where the MacGuffin is a Martian spaceship. [[spoiler:Turns out the local revolutionary group had already found the vessel, which they were planning to use a bargaining chip to achieve independence from the UN Protectorate. However the spaceship turns out to be a warship; on realising they had a WeaponOfMassDestruction they could use to crush the Protectorate, the archaeologist who's helping them is horrified to see them become DrunkWithPower like they were being influenced by this trope, so she decides to KillEmAll to avert this.]]

*** The Rur crystal from the first couple of arcs. Long ago, a renegade Jedi calling himself Eternal Rur used the crystal as part of an experiment to gain eternal life. All he succeeded in doing was creating a copy of his mind within the crystal which quickly went insane, convincing itself it was the real Rur and that the actual Rur was an evil spirit who'd stolen its body. It proceeded to use its Force-based {{Technopathy}} abilities to kill Rur, and absolutely anyone it's encountered ever since.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* [[spoiler:The Apple, aka one of the [[LostTechnology Pieces of Eden]]]] from the ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' series. As observed by [[spoiler:Altaïr]] in the [[spoiler:Codex]], where he states [[spoiler:"I freed myself. But now I wonder... Did I really? For here I sit - desperate to understand that which I swore to destroy."]].
** Also reportedly observed by Ezio at the beginning of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood'', who ends up in a similar situation.
** Other Pieces are even worse. The Shroud tries to get people to use it to heal themselves or others with a CompellingVoice, but it is either actively malevolent or just very, very broken. The results range from BodyHorror to CameBackWrong. Occasionally, it will actually heal someone.
** Subverted since the true purpose of the Pieces of Eden (at least seen in the games) [[spoiler:is to avert global destruction in the near future.]]
** Interestingly, in "The Tyranny of King Washington" DLC, it appears that this is the effect of the Apple that was given to UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington, who then goes on to turn the new United States into a dictatorship bent on world domination. However, it was all a warning by the Apple as a vision. Seeing the vision horrified Washington into rejecting the idea of a monarchy out of hand and he chews out the next person who suggests it [[spoiler:who is really a hallucination embodying his lingering ambitions]].
* ''VideoGame/EXTRAPOWERGiantFist'': The mysterious bracelet unearthed at the start of the game. It drives animals into rampage, grotesquely transforms human bodies until they die if worn, and has a mild psychic domination effect on Miku. It's also meant to be a ring worn by the ancient Latour warrior race, and transforms its sole living member into a demonic giant. [[spoiler: It's even possessed by an ancient spirit called Noah, who seeks to manipulate those around the bracelet towards an unknown objective]].
* 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.
** In ''VideoGame/SoulCalibur IV'', some of the characters' story paths imply that [[spoiler:Soul Calibur, the "good" counterpart of Soul Edge, may be evil as well. In one ending, it "covers the world with crystals in an eternal utopia"; essentially trapping the world in stasis forever.]]
*** [[spoiler:LightIsNotGood. Considering that [=SoulCalibur=] was created from a piece of Soul Edge, we probably should've seen this one coming...]]
*** Confirmed in ''[=SoulCalibur=] V'': [[spoiler: Soul Calibur has an avatar named Elysium living within it (just as Soul Edge has Inferno) who seeks this "eternal utopia", and [[AFormYouAreComfortableWith takes the form of Sophitia]] to trick Patroklos into doing its bidding]].
* ''VideoGame/CrashFever'' has the QUEENS' Accelerators, dormant versions of the QUEENS which, when fed large amounts of the data of ALICE itself, awaken into a much more powerful form. They also have a bit of an EmotionBomb property. Subverted with Azathoth, who wasn't so much evil as she was childish, but she was a WalkingWasteland, so instead of trying to fix her, as that would mutate the workers who did so, the researchers stopped the project and sealed Aza inside an enormous egg.
* In ''VideoGame/BetrayalAtKrondor'', the Lifestone plays this role.
* In ''VideoGame/UltimaIV'', one can acquire an item called the "Skull of Mondain" (the villain of the very first ''[[VideoGame/UltimaI Ultima]]'') that can instantly destroy your enemies. However, it also destroys your KarmaMeter to the point that some people claim it makes the game {{Unwinnable}} (it doesn't, but each use brings you a quarter of the way from IncorruptiblePurePureness to evil in every virtue). Particularly sneaky, since the notion of a KarmaMeter was new at the time.
** ''VideoGame/UltimaVII'' brings us the Black Blade, a sword forged to devour souls and slay the unslayable, a demon bound within and cursed to never leave the Avatar's hand. [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot Except when it does in the next two games, and then the sword never returns.]]
* This is a recurring theme in ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} III''.
** In the Human campaign, the runesword [[MeaningfulName Frostmourne]] (a clear [[strike:knockoff of]] {{Homage}} to Literature/TheElricSaga's Stormbringer) curses Arthas.
** In the Orc campaign, the blood of the Pit Lord Mannoroth corrupts Grom Hellscream and his band, turning them into Chaos Orcs.
** In the night elf campaign, the Skull of Gul'Dan (a powerful warlock) turns Illidan Stormrage into a mighty demon, and after using his new powers to defeat the Dreadlord Tichondrius (a major threat to the night elves), he's exiled by his brother for being tainted with evil. In the expansion pack, he ''does'' end up becoming evil, so maybe his brother was on to something. (Although Illidan's problems go far beyond the artifact he absorbed, and it's not been directly confirmed that the Skull sent him over the edge.)
*** He also acquires the Eye of Sargeras (the actual eye of a corrupted titan who became pure evil, ironically created the Burning Legion which possessed the Skull of Gul'dan and which Tichondrious was a lieutenant in) in the expansion, which is to be one of those too, having the power to kill people on the other side of the world (shattering the world in the process).
** The novels bring us the Demon Soul, probably the worst of them all. Created by one of the Dragon Aspects under the influence of {{eldritch abomination}}s, it's immensely powerful (among other things, it can control all dragons except its creator and affects its user much like the One Ring does). Even the {{eldritch abomination}}s end up underestimating that attraction, and their scheme fails as a result. It's almost certainly an homage to the One Ring, as it appears to be a plain, unmarked gold disc (as the ring is a "simple gold ring"). This one is also the reason there's now a flaming god-dragon kept together by metal plates flying around destroying the world in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''. He didn't use to look like that.
*** [[spoiler:The uncorrupted Dragon Soul returns via TimeTravel, and is used to destroy its own creator in the final battle of ''Cataclysm'']].
** The Orb of Domination in ''Warlords of Draenor'' is used by the Shadow Council to corrupt and control the minds of unwilling converts. The player steals it to free Garona [[spoiler:only for the Warden tasked with destroying it to be corrupted herself]].
* The ObviouslyEvil and [[PowerGlows ominously glowing]] Red Lyrium Idol from ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII''. Found in a [[EldritchLocation Primeval Thaig]] located in one of the furthest depths of the Deep Roads, [[spoiler: it drives anyone who handles it for an extended period [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity stark raving mad]]]].
** Red Lyrium returns in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'', having fallen into the hands of the "Red Templars", who apparently are using it as a substitute for the regular [[GreenRocks Lyrium]] they are [[FantasticDrug addicted]] too. The [[BodyHorror results]] aren't exactly pretty. It's also revealed just what makes Red Lyrium different from Blue Lyrium: [[spoiler:Red Lyrium is infected by the Blight.]]
** To a lesser degree, the Eluvian, although it was originally a perfectly "normal" MagicMirror before the Darkspawn got to it. Merrill believes that repairing it (even if it takes dealing with demons) could restore some lost elven heritage, while her mentor doesn't think it's worth the risk. [[spoiler: In the end, we never find out what it would have done.]] According to her mentor, the real problem wasn't the Eluvian itself [[spoiler:but rather the Pride demon (the same one Merrill dealt with to repair the Eluvian) that was waiting on the other side.]]
** [[InfinityPlusOneSword Vigilance]], the sword forged by Wade for the Warden-Commander from the bones of an Ancient Dragon. The epilogue of ''Awakening'' claims it was later stolen by the Antivan Crows and rumours abound that it's changing hands rapidly, steadily growing in power and possesses [[EmpathicWeapon a will of its own]].
* The Frozen Flame, from ''VideoGame/ChronoCross''. It's one of the most desirable "treasure" of El Nido and almost everyone wants to get it and have a life of fortune. In reality however it's a fragment of Lavos, and if you aren't the Arbiter [[spoiler:(Serge, the 17 year old boy that lives in Arni Village)]], having contact with it results in death. Oh, and it's also the source of power of [[spoiler: Chronopolis and it can't be accessed because the arbiter is now someone else.]] In a nutshell the thing is wanted by every single Big Bad of the game.
* ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMana'' has the Mirrors of Esina. [[spoiler: "Esina" is actually [[TheAntiGod "Anise"]] spelled backwards, making them the Mirrors of Anise with the real mirror hiding in the Sea of Chaos right where the [[FinalBoss Goddess]] [[OneWingedAngel of Doom]] is standing]].
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** The titular mask in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask''. To put it in perspective; everything wrong in Termina when you get there? All of it was done either directly or indirectly by the Skull Kid wearing the Mask. And on top of ruining everyone's lives, he's planning to drop the [[ColonyDrop frickin']] ''moon'', destroying the entire land of Termina. And he ''can do it''. Oh, and it's not just a power-up artifact of doom: [[spoiler:the mask is intelligent, and is possessing the Skull Kid. And when Majora decides he's outlived his usefulness, the mask discards the kid like an old pair of socks.]]
*** The Fierce Deity Mask from the same game is noted in its description to potentially be every bit as bad as Majora's, and going by how it turns the final fight against [[spoiler: Majora itself]] into a CurbstompBattle, it may be a great deal ''more'' powerful.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'':
*** The Fused Shadows, which are hyped up to be an Artifact of Doom by the Light Spirits that Link rescues throughout the game. However, they all agree that, despite the potential for evil the Shadows hold, Link needs to collect them in order to have a chance of challenging [[BigBad Zant's]] power. Their power is proven when a single fragment can turn a Deku Baba into a vast two-headed monster, or an ordinary Goron into a low-budget Balrog that causes Death Mountain to constantly erupt. [[spoiler: And it's later revealed that the three fragments only make up ''half'' of the Fused Shadows. The other half is the strange helmet thing that Midna wears, and with them, she pops Zant like a balloon, using only a 'fraction' of their power - though Ganondorf isn't so remotely fazed]]. They don't corrupt Link or Midna - though the risk to Link is graphically illustrated by Lanayru in a horrifying DreamSequence. It's suggested that like most Twilight magic they're [[DarkIsNotEvil not inherently evil]], just incredibly dangerous, and Link's Triforce and Midna's powers ([[spoiler: plus the fact that she's the rightful owner]]) insulate them. Instead, the main corruption is implied to come from the temptation of power itself.
*** Just one shard of the Mirror of Twilight from the same game turns demure, unassuming Yeta into the crazy ice-monster Blizzeta. Afterwards, Midna comments on this (as well as regretting that they had to hurt Yeta to free her), saying that they could be assembling something terrible which they might end up having to destroy [[spoiler: (as Queen of the Twili, she later decides to do exactly that, to prevent another Ganondorf or Zant wreaking havoc on their respective worlds)]]. Ironically, once intact it's actually faar less dangerous. In pieces, the influence it has is... questionable.
---->'''''"NOT TAKE MIRROR!"'''''
* ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'':
** The Chaos Heart, which BigBad Count Bleck creates by forcing the marriage of Bowser and Peach and uses to set in motion the end of the universe.
** The prequel ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' was built around an Artifact of Doom: Simply opening the damn door could doom the entire universe, and had already blown Rogueport sky high once.
%%* The Franchise/SuperMarioBros fangame ''VideoGame/MarioTheMusicBox'' has... well, take a guess.
* [=DarkChips=], in the ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' series.
** The [=OOParts=] in ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'' aren't explicitly evil, but they do want to rebuild the tribe they are from, starting by taking over whoever possesses them.
** In the [[AlternateContinuity other continuity]], ''VideoGame/MegaManZX'' gives us the original Biometal, Model W, [[spoiler:which is what remained of Dr. Weil of the VideoGame/MegaManZero series.]]
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' had the Black Materia whose only purpose (that was explained to the player at least) would bring a cataclysmic force against the planet and destroy it. On fear that Sephiroth would get through all of the traps and bosses and gain it for himself, the party of heroes decide to head in and retrieve it for themselves to keep it safe. [[spoiler:At that point, the [[BrainwashedAndCrazy indoctrination]] kicks in and [[MacGuffinDeliveryService Cloud delivers the goods]].]]
* ''VideoGame/FatalFrame'' has Kunihiko Asou as the inventor of several of them in his lifetime. Mostly in the form of various Camera Obscurae, which allow the user to see ghosts. But it also has the threat of potentially leading to insanity and being DrivenToSuicide from overexposure of his artifacts.
* The first Arc of ''VideoGame/GranblueFantasy'' features the Dark Essence – Crystals used by the high-ranking officials of the Erste Empire to drastically increase their combat abilities, and to corrupt Primal Beasts into their more violent Malice forms.
* Most if not all of the twenty-seven True Runes in the ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' series are Artifacts of Doom. They give their host a supernatural ability and make them TheAgeless. However, each True Rune has a [[EvilWeapon will of its own]]. What a rue Rune wants is more often then not horrifically mentally scaring or deathly to the human that is in possession of it. Examples of this include:
** The ''True Rune of Punishment'' from ''VideoGame/SuikodenIV'' By the time characters figure out what it is, the rune has killed ''everyone'' who is seen using it. In an optional scene, the main character can overhear a discussion where other characters discuss who's going to get the rune next ''after it kills the main character!''
** The Sun Rune of ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'' grants nearly God-like power, but at the cost of [[CastFromSanity their sanity]].
** The Soul Eater Rune from the original ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden|I}}'' ''will'' eventually kill the user's dearest friends and family to become more powerful.
** The Bright Shield and Black Sword runes are fine in and of themselves, but only two people that are close to one another (friends, family, etc) can use them, and they will be forced by the runes to fight each other.
** The True Elemental Runes (Fire, Water, Lightning, Wind and Earth) are trying to gain dominance over each other by forcing their hosts to over-use their powers.
** The Moon Rune turns one into a vampire.
*** Sealing them away won't work , since even if one is able to do so they will die once the last of the True Runes magic leaves their body. However there are ways of mastering the power of a True Rune, Often times this will involve the bearer of a True Rune gathering the 108 Stars of Destiny. In the case of the True Rune of Punishment [[spoiler: this requires forgiving Snowe, whose cowardice and mistakes in the beginning of the game led to the main character's exile and disgrace in the first place]]. The Rune of Punishment governs atonement ''and'' forgiveness, so this act shifts it into the "forgiveness" phase. Some other True Runes require other means for example, The mind altering effects of the Sun Rune can be dealt with by two control runes branded on each hands to use properly.
* The Terror Mask from the ''VideoGame/{{Splatterhouse}}'' series is a sentient, diabolic mask (roughly shaped like a grinning skull) that grants its wearer tremendous power. Its true goal is a BatmanGambit to ''take over Hell''.
* In the ''VideoGame/ChzoMythos'' 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 Rings in ''VideoGame/SagaFrontier''.
%%** The Egg from ''VideoGame/SaGaFrontier2''.
%%* The Silver Armlet from ''VideoGame/BeyondOasis''
* In the game based on the manga of the same name, the Anubis Stand from ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' is the Stand of a sword, rather than a living being. In a similar way to the above Soul Edge, the Anubis Stand possesses whoever removes it from its scabbard and turns them homicidally insane. Three characters in the game (all from the manga) use the sword while being controlled by the Anubis Stand. The Anubis Stand is still capable of controlling others even when the sword had been broken into pieces by Jotaro (although its attempts to make a child throw a large piece of the sword at Jotaro's back leads to the stand's defeat as it ends up at the bottom of the River Nile).
* In ''VideoGame/ReturnOfTheObraDinn'' the shells, which are responsible directly and indirectly for almost every death in the game. [[spoiler: There are three separate mutinies trying to steal the shells, a group of mermaids attack trying to get the shells and then get captured, and then a bunch of spider crab riding monsters and later a kraken attack the ship to save them. The monster attacks only stop when the third mate gives the last surviving mermaid the shells and frees her, but by that point almost everyone is already dead.]]
* Phazon from the ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeTrilogy''. The Space Pirates (and, in the third game, [[spoiler:TheFederation]]) seem to think it's just a nifty AppliedPhlebotinum that gives them lots of power. It is, however, strongly implied that Phazon has its own sentience and desires to spread and corrupt everything.
** [[spoiler:TheFederation]] knows about the corrupting effects of Phazon. [[spoiler:That's why they hire Samus to help them get rid of it all]]. They just like the extra power it gives in the short term.
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series is positively rife with them. Each game seems to feature at least one as part of its main quest, with others showing up in the side quests or deep backstory. To note:
** Throughout the series, the LegendaryWeapon sword, Umbra. In ''Literature/TheElderScrolls'' novels, it was too much for even [[spoiler:Clavicus Vile, a ''[[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Prince]]'', to handle. It steals a good chunk of his power before he manages to get rid of it]]. The sword [[YourSoulIsMine absorbs the souls]] of the people it kills and corrupts the wielder -- one to the point that the sword supplanted her identity, and she was known by its name as a remorseless killer. Though it has [[GameplayAndStorySegregation no apparent effects in gameplay]], it always has a new wielder by the next game...
** A number of artifacts associated with the [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Princes]], especially the more [[JerkassGods malevolent ones]], qualify throughout the series. Most don't have an 'air' of "doom" on their own, but the means to acquire them often gives them one. For example, a person carrying Mehrunes Razor or the Mace of Molag Bal had to do ''something'' for the Daedric Prince of [[OmnicidalManiac Destruction]] or the Daedric Prince of [[GodOfEvil Domination and Corruption]] (respectively) to make that person worthy of receiving the artifact.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsArena Arena]]'' features the Staff of Chaos. The Imperial Battlemage Jagar Tharn used it to imprison the emperor and usurp his throne. He then broke it into pieces which the [[PlayerCharacter Eternal Champion]] has to recover.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'' has the Numidium, a HumongousMecha of Dwemer craftsmanship which may have been responsible for the [[OurDwarvesAreDifferent Dwemer]] vanishing utterly. It was used to forge Tiber Septim's empire and each of the main parties wants the Mantella (Numidum's control rod, powered by the soul of the Underking, a possible [[GodInHumanForm Shezarrine]]) for themselves. [[spoiler: [[MultipleEndings Which one gets it is up to the player.]]]]
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'' has the Heart of Lorkhan, which crosses over with being a CosmicKeystone. The literal heart of the [[GodIsDead "dead" creator god]]. The Dwemer tapped into it using the "tools of Kagrenac" (Wraithguard, Keening, and Sunder), causing them to disappear. [[BigBad Dagoth Ur]] and [[PhysicalGod the Tribunal]] then used the tools and the heart to achieve divinity. [[spoiler: [[PlayerCharacter The Nerevarine]] will need to gather the tools and unbind the heart in order to defeat Dagoth Ur.]] The ash statues, which [[spoiler: connect people to Dagoth Ur and slowly infect them with corprus]], are another.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' also has several. The [[TomeOfEldritchLore Mysterium Xarxes]] plays a part in the game's main quest.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'':
*** Several Daedric artifacts are acquired by doing some extremely unsavory and "doomy" things. One can [[spoiler:kill their companion, a [[SaintlyChurch Priest of Mara]]]], to acquire the Skull of Corruption, an artifact MagicStaff associated with Vaermina, which gains power by stealing the dreams of people and giving them nightmares instead. Likewise, the Ring of Namira is acquired by [[spoiler:luring a Priest of Arkay to a cave, murdering him, and ''[[ImAHumanitarian eating him]]'' along with a coven of cannibals]]. The ring then allows you to gain health by consuming the flesh of the dead.
*** The Eye of Magnus, an ancient artifact associated with Magnus, the god who served as the architect for Mundus, the mortal plane, but abandoned it part way through creation. While it's unclear exactly ''what'' it does, it clearly possesses enough raw magical power to potentially destroy the entire world. [[spoiler:Which is exactly what the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Thalmor]] ambassador to the College of Winterhold tries to do with it]]. Indirectly, the Eye of Magnus doomed the ancient Falmer civilization. Due to both the Ancient Nords and the Falmer vying for control of the Eye, it led to a war in which both Saarthal and the Eye were lost. The Ancient Nords drove the Falmer underground into the arms of the Dwemer, who betrayed, enslaved, and twisted them into the blind, bestial [[{{Morlocks}} Morlock]]-like creatures they are today.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline Online]]'' has, in the ''Summerset'' expansion, players tasked by the Psijic Order to find and recover the eight fragments of the Staff of Towers. The Staff is an ancient relic that is tied to/duplicates (there's not much difference in the setting) the eight Towers of the world that "[[RealityWarper define reality]]" around them. What happens when you create ''one'' immensely powerful magical artifact with ''eight'' conflicting "rules"? ''[[TimeCrash Bad things]]''.
* The Mani Mani from ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'' is very desirable, and emits an aura that causes anyone who gets near it to be consumed with greed. These factors allow it to play a prominent role in the BigBad's rise to power.
* 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 Geneforges and canisters in the ''VideoGame/{{Geneforge}}'' series. You ''will'' become violent and crazy if you use the Geneforge or too many canisters. [[EvilFeelsGood By the time you realize that, you won't care.]]
* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
** The Keyblades shattered the world from one large one into millions of small isolated world-shards, due to a war between good Keyblade wielders and evil ones (the shards were saved from ''total'' destruction by the hearts of children, although the good keyblade wielders may have helped). It's not for nothing that the general reaction of people who recognize the Keyblades for what they are goes something along the lines of "oh god, get away from my world-shard NOW".
** The real Artifact Of Doom in the ''Kingdom Hearts'' franchise is the χ-blade, the legendary blade that is believed to grant control of Kingdom Hearts to anyone who wields it. The Keyblade War that shattered the world into its current state was fought over this thing, and the Keyblades themselves are artificial (and not anywhere near as powerful) imitations of it. [[spoiler:The original χ-blade was shattered at the conclusion of the Keyblade War, and the BigBad's ultimate, series-spanning goal is to recreate it.]]
* The Marker from ''VideoGame/DeadSpace''. [[spoiler:Subverted. It's actually a government-manufactured copy of the real one. Doubly subverted in that it's not that the Marker itself is the Artifact of Doom. The Marker is, in fact, a sentient containment device for the BigBad that spawns the Necromorphs.]] It's also what creates the titular [[TitleDrop "dead space"]] -- [[spoiler:an energy field that repels the Necromorphs.]]Even if it does [[spoiler: create the dead space that suppresses the Necromorphs]], the Marker still makes people slowly go crazy, see their dead relatives, write strange messages on the wall in their own blood, and kill themselves. In ''VideoGame/DeadSpace2'', [[spoiler: Isaac inadvertently creates another Marker that does all the same things minus the suppression, that almost starts something called a convergence event.]]''VideoGame/DeadSpace3'' reveals the Markers' true purpose, and it is ghastly. [[spoiler:They are the tools an incomplete post-convergence Necromorph is using to gather the [[HumanResources raw material]] it needs to make itself whole.]]
* The Artifacts from ''VideoGame/UnrealIITheAwakening''. [[spoiler:Your boss sends you off to gather the bits under the guise of beating the corporations/etc. to the punch, but he's really gone mad with power. When he finally gets all the bits together and assembles it, it turns the previously innocent alien chef/janitor/etc. folk into giant monstrous things with ''hands that shoot singularities'' that will kill ''anything'' in a single hit. Even themselves. After killing one, you get to use one of their hands as a weapon... and with who knows how many of them crawling over the ship. Let's just say you'll need it.]]
* The Celestial Stone in ''VideoGame/{{Bomberman}} 64: The Second Attack'' is a priceless gem that's said to contain limitless power, but much of its story is forgotten by time, so it's only natural that when a space pirate finally locates the stone, his body is possessed by an [[SealedEvilInACan ancient demon god of chaos]].
* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'':
** The Star Forge in the first game. Described as "an artifact of TheDarkSide", it's a piece of {{Magitek}} that feeds off the evil impulses of those who use it and was used by the AbusivePrecursors known as the Rakata to enslave the galaxy. According to the sequel, only a strong-willed individual can use it with anything approaching safety.
** In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'', the PlayerCharacter can claim the mask of EldritchAbomination [[BigBad Darth Nihilus]], which increases their ManaMeter simply from having it in their possession but can't actually be worn. In ''TabletopGame/StarWarsD20'', it's established that if someone ''did'' wear it they'd be gradually consumed by the DarkSide and eventually reduced to an EmptyShell like its original owner.
* In one installment of ''Literature/TouhouKourindouCuriositiesOfLotusAsia'' (a series of [[AllThereInTheManual side stories]] to ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' written by the creator), [[TheOneGuy Rinnosuke Morichika]] finds a gray box made of inorganic material, and his {{Namedar}} power tells him that it can control people, force them to fight, cause wars, and potentially even end the world ([[SuperpowerLottery but it doesn't say ]] ''[[SuperpowerLottery how]]'' [[SuperpowerLottery the device is used)]]. He spends most of the story agonizing about it falling into the wrong hands, especially those of local RealityWarper Yukari Yakumo. When he finally decides to destroy it, Yukari simply snatches it away using her gaps; the next day, Marisa shows up with a message from Yukari, clarifying that the device is [[spoiler:a handheld game machine]][[note]]It's all but explicitly stated to be a first-generation UsefulNotes/GameBoy, with Yukari talking about how old it is and mentioning that the most popular one at the moment [[UsefulNotes/NintendoDS has two screens]][[/note]].
* The Demon Crown in ''VideoGame/CaveStory''. The ultimate irony is that Misery, who is enthralled by the Crown's curse, was the one who had it made in the first place, most likely in a bid for power.
* ''VideoGame/{{Vangers}}'' allow you access to several powerful artifacts, which are hidden on cursed worlds. One of them is particularly standing out - the Mechanical Messiah, a CreepyDoll that looks like ClockPunk African idol. It allows you to use its functions with destructive powers, such as burning everyone around with fireballs, robbing their cargo holds or forcibly taking their weapons, or even [[spoiler:destroying the Spobs escave with [[LostTechnology Parapheen]] by causing a cave-in and turning the whole escave into soil]] under certain circumstances. No wonder the Messiah is considered to be cursed and no one wants to see you in their escaves carrying this menace. One of the functions, though, is called [[SchmuckBait Lucky]], and activating it grants you [[spoiler:NoFairCheating NonStandardGameOver, where TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou]].
* ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' 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 [[ApocalypticLog 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.
* In ''VideoGame/VanguardBandits'', the excavated [[HumongousMecha ATAC]] Zulwarn 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 [[BigBad Faulkner]] was possessed or was evil enough for Zulwarn's approval. Zulwarn is so evil that merely activating it requires mass human sacrifice since it's powered by ''blood''. [[spoiler:Though Puck finds a way to reduce the requirement down to a few drops.]]
* ''VideoGame/MortalKombatDeception'' introduced the Datusha Kris, Ashrah's weapon of choice. Originally said to purify its user with each evil slain, ''MK:Armageddon'' revealed it was a sentient-sword that manipulates (or even ''forces'') its user into becoming a BloodKnight, apparently so it can use itself on slaughtering the Vampire race, of which the kris is its only "natural" enemy.
** ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' has Shinnok's prized amulet. Various groups seek to use the amulet's power for themselves, but after Shinnok is released from his amulet by Quan Chi, which he then uses it to conquer Earthrealm. [[spoiler:TheStinger of ''MKX'' reveals that after Shinnok was reduced to a mere head, a corrupted Raiden dons it on his chest as a battle trophy.]]
* ''VideoGame/OdinSphere'' has The Cauldron, which not only helpfully [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver pulses with evil red light]], but serves as a catalyst for the wars that consume the world, and [[spoiler: drains the very life out of the universe via its creation of psyphers]]. King Valentine also boasts in Armageddon that these wars were AllForNothing, as he has cursed the Cauldron to [[spoiler: turn anyone but him who tries to use it into a pooka]].
* PandorasBox fits this Trope in most settings, but in ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'', it was probably more responsible than Kratos was for what happened. When [[VillainProtagonist Kratos]] opened the box to fight Ares, instead of drawing in the powers of Chaos that embody Kratos' personality, he somehow accidentally ''[[BeyondTheImpossible repelled]]'' them. They infested the gods instead, feeding on their flaws and driving them insane with extremism, ambition, and paranoia. Zeus himself fell prey to Fear, addling his mind with paranoia and driving him to antagonize Kratos for something he hadn't done yet, and used the other gods as meatshields to fuel his ego. In the [[VideoGame/GodOfWarIII third game]], as Kratos slays each infected god, the chaotic forces of the Box are released upon the world, causing cataclysms that ruin what is left of Greece.
** The Blades of Chaos become empowered and cursed by Kratos' rampage. Every time Kratos tries to throw the blades away, his luck fails and something bad happens to him as the blades return to their owner. Eventually, Kratos uses their undying heat to fight off the cold sections of the Underworld.
* The Artifact from ''VideoGame/Doom3''. 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, OneHitKill, super strength and invulnerability but it has to be fuelled by human souls and as long as it's on the living world, Hell will always have a way there. The only way to make sure that Hell won't conquer Earth is to destroy The Artifact in Hell for good... which [[spoiler:Betruger]] will not tolerate.
** ''VideoGame/Doom2016'' has the Crucible.
* The Shabby Doll from ''VideoGame/SilentHill4'', which causes unremovable hauntings if you put it in the item chest.
* ''VideoGame/{{Nethack}}'' has some dangerous items, such as the Cursed Potion of Sickness and the Amulet of Strangulation.
* ''VideoGame/AncientDomainsOfMystery'' has a Ring of Doom, which, once worn, can only be removed by uncursing the ring in some manner (at which point it retains the dooming effects, but may be removed... but will curse itself again if worn again). Many other items in the game are also "autocursing", including some literal artifacts. Particularly nasty artifacts include [[spoiler:the Scythe of Corruption and the Medal of Chaos, both of which, in addition to autocursing, corrupt the player]].
* [[spoiler:The ARI]] from ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'', since [[spoiler:it's highly addictive, and can eventually kill Norman Jayden, the character using it. If it does, his CowboyCop partner Blake puts it on, and he sees a digital version of Jayden standing over him, with a scary smirk on his face]].
* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', there's a [[EldritchAbomination Rea]][[SapientShip per]] which died 37 million years ago. It still indoctrinates people.
-->"Even dead gods can dream."
** In the mission [[spoiler:Arrival]], a science team discovers [[spoiler:Object Rho, a Reaper artifact]] which [[spoiler:indoctrinated the scientists to make them lure Shepard into a trap]].
** Any Reaper tech can act like this. Even the seemingly disposable Dragon's Teeth can brainwash nearby people into impaling themselves on the spikes, thus transforming into Husks.
* The Nox Nyctores from the ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' series have fairly nasty side effects. Tsubaki's Izayoi [[spoiler: which eventually robs its user of sight]] is so nasty that Ragna's arcade win quote consists of him recognizing it and warning Tsubaki that she should get rid of it as soon as possible.
** It is arguable that Ragna isn't one to talk, though. Especially not considering the fact that his RedRightHand is the 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 ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory''.
* All four of the Ancients' essences from ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'' -- the Heart(s) of Mantorok, the Claw of Chattur'gha, the Sigil of Xel'lotath, and the Veil of Ulyaoth.
* ''VideoGame/WarioWorld's '' BigBad is a [[RealityWarper reality-warping]] black jewel.
* ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken'' has Pandora, a box-shaped artifact from space that reacts to conflict from around the world, greatly augmenting the fighting abilities and physical prowess of those that are affected by it, but at the cost of potentially corrupting their souls.
* The Skull Heart from ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}''. Supposedly, a woman (it doesn't work for males) who makes a wish on the Heart will have it granted, but only if her intentions are pure enough. If there's even the least taint of corruption within her, the Heart will mutate her into a demonic, supernaturally powerful being, one of the Skullgirls. Fourteen years prior to the events of the game, Squigly's mother was in possession of one from Double, when Dahila and her goons busted in and killed everyone in the party including Squigly herself, she wished for her family to return, but in sense of desperation at the loss of her family, she became the Skullgirl, and her family her servants. Seven years later, the game world is recovering from the aftermath of a long war that screeched to a halt when a powerful queen got hold of the Skull Heart and wished for peace; she got her wish, but in a twisted fashion -- she was turned into the most dangerous Skullgirl of all time, and the quarreling nations ''had'' to stop the war in order to concentrate on the task of killing her before she could destroy them all. [[spoiler:Even worse, one of the characters' endings reveals that the Skull Heart is ''sentient'', and [[JackassGenie actually ''wants'' to create more Skullgirls.]]]]
* The [[BonusStageCollectables Chaos Emeralds]] from the ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' series become this in the wrong hands; for instance, in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' they've been revealed to be the power source for an [[{{BFG}} enormous cannon]] held within a space station, and said cannon can end the world when at full power.
* Spoofed in the second ''VideoGame/FantasyQuest'' game with the Golden Cufflink of Fire. You never learn precisely what it does, and the villain who possesses it is a bit of a joke.
* ''Department 42: The Mystery of the Nine'' involves the recovery of nine cursed artifacts with a limited intelligence that enabled them to escape the safekeeping of the eponymous agency and do various funky things to their unlucky possessors.
* ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' 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 dangerous, and considering the [[{{Satan}} apparent maker]], this can't be a good thing. There are also several cursed items called Deathstones, slivers of misfortune and death, used in [[FusionDance devil fusion]] to summon the Incarnations of Death as servants, and can only be found as you progress in the [[{{Hell}} Labyrinth of Amala]]. Finally, the Amala technology strewn around the Vortex World serves as the game's AkashicRecords, but peering too deeply into the knowledge the drums offer [[MySkullRunnethOver is a surefire way to irreversible insanity]].
* The Messiah Armor in ''VideoGame/DuelSaviorDestiny'' has been cursed by the failure of Messiah candidates who put it on before and the grudges that infested it. While it can turn someone into the Messiah, they'll go on a killing rampage and risk destroying the world [[spoiler:which is exactly what the Messiah is actually supposed to do, leaving it questionable what the curse on it truly does.]]
* The Relic of Moirai in ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}: Shattered Soldier'' is revealed to be [[spoiler: the mysterious force that the alien attackers were trying to recover, but it was taken and hidden by [[GovernmentConspiracy the Triumvirate]], as revealed by Lance Bean after you defeat him.]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Gyossait}}'', the eldritch organs of the titular Earth goddess can mutate mortals into horrifying gods.
* ''VideoGame/{{Runescape}}'' has several quests that involve artifacts of doom. The Stone of Jas is a artifact containing a nearly limitless amount of power, it is the original source of the runestones that are needed for casting spells in the game and touching it briefly during a quest causes your combat levels to temporarily increase to more than double the maximum level you can reach by training. Prolonged contact with it can turn a mortal into a god. However, it has a huge price for using. When somebody uses the stone of Jas, the Dragonkin, a race that is cursed with protecting the stone, become enraged to the point of turning into OmnicidalManiac until they calm down by committing acts of destruction. And every time somebody uses the stone their power increases, currently they have nearly become gods themselves.
** Though on the plus side it has no direct effect on the users sanity unlike many of the powerful Artifacts on this page, and there is at least one Dragonkin who has not yet gone insane and they wish to free themselves of the curse, so if someone managed to break the curse by working with the sane Dragonkin, they could use the stone without needing to worry about the Dragonkin as the Dragonkin would now most likely try to get revenge on Jas.
** It is possible that he was lying, but Sliske claims that the stone is addictive, citing that everyone who has had had contact with it has tried to obtain it again even while knowing how dangerous it is. Sliske deliberately tries to start a war between the gods by offering it as a prize to the winner of his game.
* The stone tablet in ''[[VideoGame/VampiresDawn Vampires Dawn II: Ancient Blood]]'' is considered to be this by most people. Even the heroes have doubts whether to use it or not.
* ''VideoGame/RadiantSilvergun'' and ''VideoGame/{{Ikaruga}}'' has the Stone-Like.
* The black block from ''VideoGame/{{Antichamber}}''. It floats around emitting darkness wherever it goes, and tends to show up right as you get to gun upgrade rooms. What it is, what it is doing, and why it tends to pass by the block guns is never touched upon at all. However, it's a prominent moving thing doing something, so it's worth investigating.
* The Master Crown in ''VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamLand'' gives off this vibe. On a closer observation, it appears to be controlling [[spoiler: Magolor]], as it has a tendency to squirm around shortly before he performs many of his attacks and it takes on an appearance reminiscent of a parasite while he's using it. [[spoiler: Magolor Soul]] is also described as being an EmptyShell that's been possessed by its power, which further implies that the thing has a will of its own.
* The aptly named Artefact from ''VideoGame/TheWhiteChamber'', a powerful device which appears to serve as [[spoiler:an execution machine for the guilty, and which Sarah murdered all her other crewmembers to get.]]
* [[spoiler:The Monado]] in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1''. It's not inherently evil, but it happens to double as the SoulJar of [[spoiler:Zanza]] who [[spoiler:gives Shulk "visions" to push him in his desired direction, all while whispering advice to [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope take out his vengeance on Egil and the Mechon]]]].
* In ''VideoGame/QueenAtArms'', certain dialogue trees may lead to the revelation that [[spoiler:the crown of Orthera is enchanted to make the wearer bloodthirsty, power-hungry, and deeply paranoid]].
* ''VideoGame/FallenLondon'':
** The Eyeless Skull. You need to find at least one to unlock the [[BonusDungeon Cave of the Nadir]], but holding on to one for too long will cause you to draw cards that substantially drain your stats when played. The kicker? You ''cannot discard these cards'' until you get rid of the skull.
** This is the true identity of [[spoiler:Jack-Of-Smiles: A large set of Polythremian knives that will possess their wielders with their shared consciousness, and get to murdering everything in sight. The forge that produces them qualifies as well]].
* Pontiff Sulyvahn in ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'' regularly used a few of these (the two Pontiff’s Eye Rings and the Dancer’s swords) as [[UriahGambit Uriah Gambits]] to the Outrider Knights, a position deliberately given to those he didn’t like. Wielding one will eventually cause the user to lose their mind until they become a crazed berserker, and if worn for even longer, will eat at their humanity until it transforms them into bestial abominations with their armor fused into their skin, with their only thoughts being his highest guards.
* The Eye from the ''VideoGame/{{Thief}}'' video game trilogy. To sum up its role in the first game, ''VideoGame/ThiefTheDarkProject'', Garett's main objective throughout the majority of the game is to locate a magic stone known as The Eye within a monster infested cathedral for an aristocrat named Constantine. The catch is that this artifact is likely responsible for the monsters in the first place. Oh, and it's sentient. [[spoiler: When you do overcome the ordeals surrounding The Eye and bring it back to Constantine, he reveals one last detail about the artifact. Namely that it's evil powers can only be restored by its organ namesake. And then he commands his aquaintence Viktoria to extract Garett's eye after they both reveal themselves to be demons. Yep, Garett just lost his eye. Ouch.]]
-->'''Constantine:''' Viktoria, are you prepared to give Mr. Garett his... COMPENSATION?
* The Crystals are revealed to be this in ''VideoGame/RaidenV''. [[spoiler: It's revealed they have the ability to [[YouWillBeAssimilated assimilate entire worlds and reshape it in their image]].]]
* The ''VideoGame/BlackMirrorVideoGames'' trilogy has the titular Black Mirror. [[spoiler: Hidden in a massive cave system under the castle of the same name, it transports the souls of anyone evil who dies near it to some kind of hellish dimension (if not ''the'' Hell), generates shadow versions of people that can torture said souls or kill the living, and literally radiates evil that only certain people can resist. It's heavily implied that the trilogy's BigBad Mordred was a heroic person until he was corrupted while studying it. No one knows why it exists or who made it, but one character claims there's proof that it's as old as the universe itself.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Planetside}}'': It's heavily implied that the [[{{Precursors}} Vanu]]'s LostTechnology has some memetic mind-altering effect on people and [[BrainwashedAndCrazy drives them to try to bring others into contact with the stuff to propagate the effect]]. The people in the Vanu Sovereignty do weirdly keep claiming to be "enlightened".
* ''VideoGame/RandalsMonday'': The ring is this incarnate. Those who touch it end up having their minds distorted and actions manipulated by the object's will, if the business bum is to be believed. Add in its incredible power, and it could potentially turn someone into a mad god.
* ''{{VideoGame/DLIRIUM}}'': The Casket at the beginning of the game apparently transforms the setting from a land of cute Ponies into an EldritchLocation crawling with demons, [[spoiler: and grants the protagonist a myriad of dark powers in the bad endings.]]
* Cursed Items in ''VideoGame/BlackGeyserCouriersOfDarkness'' have actual practical use in-game. You can use a Thiefs Pickpocket skill to plant these on enemies to debuff them or give them unique loot from another nearby NPC's inventory to start a fight. Justified since the entire kingdom is cursed with Greed so [[ShmuckBait putting on loot they inexplicably found in their inventory]] is in-character in this setting.
* ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry2LookingForLoveInSeveralWrongPlaces'': The onklunk. Once you get it, everyone wants you dead. Seriously.
* ''VideoGame/TravisStrikesAgainNoMoreHeroes'' has [[spoiler:the Death Drive Mk.II, the video game console you play over the course of the game, as well as the Death Drive AAA, a "master controller" machine contained within the CIA that is linked to the Mk.II. According to the faxes you receive from "K", the Death Drive consoles were to be used to create a CloneArmy, using biometric data gathered from the Mk.II's controllers to 3D-print an endless army of soldiers that could fight without being held back by physical exhaustion or moral dilemmas. He and the Mk.II's creator, Dr. Juvenile, filled the Mk.II with bugs to render it unusable, and your playing through and clearing the Mk.II's games would clear out the bugs and reactivate the AAA, allowing the CIA to use the Death Drives for their original sinister purpose. Thankfully, before you can become an UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom, you obtain a special Death Ball that allows you to raid the CIA HQ and prevent them from using the AAA.]]
* ''VideoGame/BabaIsYou'' has [[spoiler:the "Done" keyword found in the true final level, ''The End''. Assembing it with an object reference destroys the object completely (rather than turning it into nothingness like "Empty" would). And the goal of the level is to make "All is Done",]] leading to a SuddenDownerEnding in an otherwise quirky and colorful puzzle game.
* ''VideoGame/WhiteNoise2'': The supernatural creature is tied to your dimension by one of these. Learning the truth will expose it, so it can be destroyed, which will banish the creature.
* The Ankharan Sarcophagus from ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'', an ancient coffin believed to contain ''[[NothingIsScarier something]]'' unspeakably powerful that could destroy the world if opened. [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope It's actually just an empty coffin]]. Which has been [[MadeOfExplodium stuffed full of explosives]] that will blow anyone who opens it to pieces, all as part of a XanatosGambit by Jack and the Cabbie to upheave LA's vampire society and get rid of Prince [=LaCroix=].]]
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', dragon eyes can be this in the wrong hands, but this is most telling with the Eyes of Nidhogg. One eye is in possession of the Azure Dragoon Estenien and he spends the Level 30-50 Dragoon storyline slowly slipping away because of it. He regains himself soon after and the Eyes play a major role throughout the ''Heavensward'' storyline. [[spoiler:When Estenien and the Warrior of Light kill Nidhogg, they realize the eye the dragon had wasn't the same as Estenien's. Turns out that eye belonged to Hraesvelgr, Nidhogg's brother. The other eye was actually hidden in the casket of the First Azure Dragoon and used by Archbishop Thordan VII to become the primal King Thordan I. When the Archbishop is slain, the eyes are reunited and Nidhogg takes over Estenien's body, restoring his own. Once the Warrior of Light and Alphinaud save Estenien and toss the Eyes into an abyss, the Ascians retrieve them and give them to the maid Ala Mhigan Ilberd, who uses its power and his slain comrades' prayers to create the beast Shinryu. Thankfully, when Shinryu is slain, Estenien finds the fallen eyes and destroys them, ending their threats.]]
* In ''VideoGame/CryptOfTheNecrodancer'', nobody who messes with the Golden Lute comes out looking pretty. It corrupted the eponymous Necrodancer (formerly [[spoiler:the bard Octavian]]). Cadence's father sought it, [[spoiler:and became Dead Ringer]]. It's in the process of corrupting [[spoiler:Melody, who [[CameBackWrong it brought back from the dead]]]]. It tempts Nocturna [[spoiler:with the possibility of becoming human again]]. And then, in ''VideoGame/CadenceOfHyrule'', it adds Octavo and ''[[spoiler:[[HijackingCthulhu Ganondorf himself]]]]'' to the list of those enthralled by its power.
* The Raysphere of ''VideoGame/{{Infamous}}'' is an unusual example. It can't influence those who use it because it's not sentient, but its ability to grant superhuman powers at the cost of killing thousands of lives is incredibly tempting. The game considers ''intentionally'' using it an InUniverse MoralEventHorizon.
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'':
** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'':
*** The Golden Claws. Far worse in the original game, where it causes an enemy fight every step of the game. In subsequent versions of the game, this only happens while you are in the pyramid; exiting the pyramid breaks the curse. Also in the original, this was the only additional claw the martial artist could use other than the standard.
*** Anything that curses you when equipped. Unlike most ''Dragon Quest'' games, they don't have any uses as items either.
*** Bonus points, however, go to the Sword of Ruin, a cursed weapon that is second only to the Sword of Kings in terms of sheer damage, and has a much higher critical hit rate than comparable weapons, but carries the downside of preventing you from attacking about every 1 in 3 rounds. In the original NES version, this weapon is actually sold in a weapon shop in Rimuldar(!), despite the curse.
** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'': The Sceptre of Trodain, which is locked up in a vault in what was once the castle, chained to every single wall in the room, in the dead center of a Magic Circle. Or, it was, until Dhoulmagus stole it and unleashed Hell. Its original name was the Godbird Sceptre, and it was used to seal away Rhapthorne, Lord of Darkness.
** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestHeroesIITwinKingsAndTheProphecysEnd'':
*** The Sword of Discord grants its user tremendous power, but also drives them to homicidal madness and fury.
*** The Cup of Kings, originally a benevolent artifact, becomes this thanks to Fractos' influence.
* ''VideoGame/MinecraftDungeons'': The Orb of Dominance, which gave the Arch-Illager his powers.
* The ''VideoGame/EchoNight'' series has a reoccurring one in the form of the Soul Stone. Taking the form of a knife with a small red sphere embedded in the hilt in the first two games and a cylindrical mineral with one sharp point in the third, the Soul Stone has three traits that remained consistent throughout the entire series. First, the Stone can grant the desires of the wielder[[note]]The BigBad of the first game used it to become rich and his ancestor became the ruler of a kingdom, the BigBad of the second game wanted to save the woman he loved by sacrificing her twin sister, and its owner in the third game used it to (among other things) provide oxygen for his moon base and [[spoiler: try to see his wife again]][[/note]]. Second, the Stone requires human sacrifices to fuel its powers, and each of its owners go on massive killing sprees trying to achieve their goals. Finally, WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity.
* ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'': The Biochip, an Arasaka 'artifact' containing an A.I. clone of a real person's mind, and effectively the secret to immortality. The catch? Whoever is unlucky enough to 'die' while plugging it in will be [[DeathOfPersonality mentally replaced by the original]] as the nanomachines slowly change the host's DNA and brain cells to that of the A.I.'s, starting from the fatal wounds. [[spoiler:The Artifact the player character steals at the beginning of the game contains a nuclear terrorist]].
* ''VideoGame/ManifoldGarden'': The dark cubes evoke this, though they actually help to ''remove'' darkness from the world.
* ''VideoGame/CardCityNights2'': One of Professional Angler's lines:
--> '''Professional Angler:''' Hey, should I tell the Navigator that I fished up an evil alien artifact that could doom us all? Best not, huh?
* ''VideoGame/TheStanleyParable'': In ''Ultra Deluxe'', in the New Content/Skip Button ending, the Narrator creates a Skip Button for the player which exponentially skips time, ultimately leading to the Narrator's own undoing. However, it is the cause of Stanley's freedom.
--> '''Narrator:''' Please, please. Please do not press the skip button.
[[/folder]]

{{Sub Trope}}s include the TomeOfEldritchLore, EvilWeapon, EvilMask, and the SummoningArtifact. Occasionally doubles as an ArtifactOfDeath. More often, it is an AmuletOfDependency. Often overlaps with HappyFunBall when the artifact appears to be something harmless or mundane. The SoulJar of an evil character almost always doubles as one of these. May also be the can of SealedEvilInACan. Contrast its equal/opposite ArtifactofHope. See also SentientPhlebotinum and HolyIsNotSafe when the artifact was made by the good guys but still dangerous.

* Sith Holocrons in the ''[[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse StarWars]]'' [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]]. Not exactly in the movies, though, except as harmless fan-service atrezzo.

* The Star Forge in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic''. Described as "an artifact of TheDarkSide", it's a piece of {{Magitek}} that feeds off the evil impulses of those who use it. According to the sequel, [[spoiler:only a strong-willed individual can use it with anything approaching safety.]]

{{Sub Trope}}s include the TomeOfEldritchLore, EvilWeapon, EvilMask, and the SummoningArtifact. Occasionally doubles as an ArtifactOfDeath. More often, it is an AmuletOfDependency. Often overlaps with HappyFunBall when the artifact appears to be something harmless or mundane. The SoulJar of an evil character almost always doubles as one of these. May also be the can of SealedEvilInACan. See also SentientPhlebotinum and HolyIsNotSafe when the artifact was made by the good guys but still dangerous.