For some reason or another, you can't get to the McGuffin because it produces a forcefield or has a forcefield surrounding it. Possibly due to it being a LoyalPhlebotinum or EmpathicWeapon. Maybe there is an enchantment upon it that causes it to repel a certain type of being, such as demons, or maybe it's a curse that will let you touch the object but causes adverse side effects, such as death. Having proper PhlebotinumHandlingEquipment may help.
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!!Examples
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[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'': The sword Tessaiga has a barrier around it that prevents demons from touching it. Humans and half-demons can touch it without pain, however, but only a human was capable of removing it from its initial resting place in Inu-no-tashio's grave.
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[[folder:Film]]
* ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'': When the Wicked Witch of the West tries to take the Ruby Slippers from Dorothy's feet, they generate an electric shock field that prevents their removal. In the original book ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'', the Silver Shoes don't have this property, and the Witch is able to steal one.
* ''Film/ColossusTheForbinProject'': The titular MasterComputer's main defense is that it was built inside its own radioactivity spewing nuclear reactor.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'': The Cave of Wonders, where Aladdin first found both the flying carpet and Genie, would only allow one who was worthy, [[ArcWords "The Diamond in the Rough"]], to enter. Even then it would not permit Aladdin to touch any of the treasure except for the lamp. Anyone who breaks the rules is swallowed by the Cave.
* ''Film/DoctorStrangeInTheMultiverseOfMadness'': The Darkhold is actually fairly easy to destroy, with a single stab from a knife able to cause it to burn into nothing. However the sorceror who does this also demonstrates why this wasn't done previously, as she is incinerated along with the book.
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[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium'':
** ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'': The Silmarils burned any evil creature touching them, such as Morgoth, while sparing the good-aligned heroes such as Eärendil. It becomes a plot point late in the book, when two remaining sons of Fëanor (Simarils' creator) finally get their hands on their "heirloom"--only to find that the Simarils reject and burn them, [[HeWhoFightsMonsters after all they have done to get them back]].
** ''Literature/BerenAndLuthien'': Beren, one of the main heroes, suffers no harm whatsoever when he grabs a Silmaril. Shortly later, Morgoth's giant guardian wolf Carcharoth bites Beren's hand off, swallows the Silmaril down, and begins burning from the inside out.
* ''Literature/TheKingkillerChronicle'': Certified Arcanists of [[WizardingSchool the University]] carry a token of rank that's {{sympathetic|Magic}}ally attuned to them. If anyone else tries to handle it, it slowly numbs their body until they let go.
* In ''{{Literature/Lensman}}'', the titular Lens will kill anyone but its owner if it's not being worn, to prevent anyone from impersonating the Lensmen. Boskone found this out scientifically in the prequel, by forcing enough workers to hold onto the thing and die until they were satisfied it wasn't coincidental.
* In ''Literature/TheQuestOfTheUnaligned'', any aligned mage who touches the Prince's Crown will be burnt to ash unless they are "buffered" by the intervention of one of the rare unaligned mages.
* Thanks to poor Broderick Bode, we learn in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'' that touching a prophecy in the aptly-named Hall of Prophecies at the Ministry of Magic has ''very'' bad consequences for you unless you're the subject of the prophecy. The protective enchantments placed around the prophecies make Voldemort's attempts just to listen to the complete prophecy about TheChosenOne last an entire school year.
* ''Literature/TheBelgariad'': The [[CosmicKeystone Orb of Aldur]] can choose its bearers, having nigh-unlimited power and a sense of its own purpose. The legend that OnlyThePureOfHeart can touch it and survive was [[ILied invented wholesale]] by Belgarath the Sorcerer, but given that it [[WoundThatWillNotHeal permanently mutilated]] a god who abused its abilities, people don't handle it unless they're sure it approves of them.
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[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* Series/{{Charmed|1998}} Ones see and possess a lot these.
** [[SpellBook Book of Shadows]] won't let you touch it if you happen to be evil.
** There were also various amulets and charms which protected against evils including crystals that when placed in a circle formed a cage of energy that one couldn't cross, whether to get in or out.
** Once when Piper pulled {{Excalibur}} from the stone, the sword would let no one else [[EmpathicWeapon but]] [[LoyalPhlebotinum her]] touch it, though a demon used a spell to amass a bunch of power and take it from her.
** In season 7 PandorasBox protects itself by teleporting to its next guardian when its current protector dies.
** The [[TomeOfEldritchLore Grimoire,]] the EvilCounterpart to the Halliwell's Book of Shadows would not let any good being come in contact with it.
* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. In "Dreadnought", B'Elanna Torres has to deactivate a sentient WeaponOfMassDestruction that she once programmed to defeat any attempt to stop it. Unfortunately one of those contingencies was the possibility that she might be captured and forced to disarm it.
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[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' adventure C2 ''The Ghost Tower of Inverness'': the Soul Gem is surrounded by an invisible force sphere which must be broken by the {{PC}}s if they want to retrieve it.
* ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'': A mage may {{invoke|dTrope}} this trope in ItemCrafting, adding enchantments that trigger when a non-designated owner handles the item. One option delivers a potent electric shock; another simply teleports the item away.
* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': One Imperial raid on a Tau base featured a human trying to take control of a battlesuit and use its guns against the Tau. The suit's AI didn't recognize his DNA and promptly fried him.
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[[folder:Video Games]]
* In ''VideoGame/NetHack'', artifacts may blast you for some damage if you try to touch them if you fail certain conditions: wrong alignment, negative alignment record, or polymorphed into (or naturally) something it specifically attacks.[[labelnote:Exception]]While Sting and Orcrist are chaotic-aligned, they'll never blast non-orcs.[[/labelnote]] Intelligent artifacts are more forceful in this regard: they'll always blast users they don't like, have more powerful blasts, and those tied to a certain [[CharacterClassSystem role]] can also blast characters of the wrong role, or even evade their grasp [[note]]Specifically, if the character's the wrong role and also fails an aforementioned condition[[/note]].
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[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob,'' the Nemesite device used for creating a [[MechanicalAbomination ButterflyOfIron]] was sitting right out in the open, protected by a supposedly unbeatable computer firewall. [[TVGenius Galatea]] hacked her way through it in moments.
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[[folder:Web Original]]
* Rosaphir stone in ''Series/{{Noob}}''. If you want to pick it up, you'd better be ready for a MirrorMatch.
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[[folder:Western Animation]]
* WesternAnimation/FelixTheCat's [[WesternAnimation/FelixTheCatJoeOriolo Magic Bag of Tricks]] is more than capable of defending itself from The Professor should it fall into his hands. It has been known to violently attack or backfire on Professor whenever he tries to exploit its abilities, like turning into a giant balloon in [[Recap/JoeOrioloFelixTheCat1x04FelixOutWest "Felix Out West"]] or chasing Professor around like an angry dog in [[Recap/JoeOrioloFelixTheCat1x11FelixInEgypt "Felix In Egypt".]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "The Jihad", the Soul of the Skorr is protected by a force field.
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': In "City of Thieves," the King of Thieves' tower has a barrier around it that repels all thieves.
* The Omnitrix from ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'' generates a small field around itself when someone who is not the person who it is currently attached to tries to touch it. You can get around this by just killing the current user, of course...
* Puppy's locket in ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'', which is said to contain "the key to all magic", shocks everyone who tries to open it with a lightning bolt [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield except for Baby Smurf]].
* On ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGummiBears'', a Gummi medallion cannot be taken from a Gummi Bear by force. Zummi's shocks anyone who tries to do so. (However, there's no rule against blackmailing the Gummi Bear into taking it off and giving it to you...)
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