History Main / AmuletOfDependency

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'' episode that introduced Hogatha the witch, Hogatha was dependent upon a magical locket that granted her powers, and that without it her powers would be reduced to nothing. She spends much of the episode trying to get it back from both Smurfette (who inadvertently uses it to grant her wishes for her fellow Smurfs) and Gargamel (who later comes into contact with the amulet once Smurfette disposes of it). However, by the end of the episode, the Smurfs get a hold of the amulet and end up destroying it, which in turn destroys Hogatha... until she shows up again resurrected in "The Fake Smurf".

* In the ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeTrilogy'', Phazon is a toxic substance that mutates and corrupts those it touches while giving them great power. It brings on many weaknesses such as draining life force and the possibility of a terminal corruption. The bad guys created many unstable freaks and mutants in their attempts to utilize Phazon as a weapon.
** The PED suit in the third game, ''[[VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption Corruption]]'', allows the user (Samus) to use Phazon to her advantage without suffering immediate harm. However, if you stay in the SuperMode that makes use of it for too long (approximately ten seconds of not using any attacks, the risk growing the longer it is turned on), you get a non-standard game over where Samus turns into a [[EvilTwin Dark Samus]] (or a copy thereof). You can be forced into it involuntarily (if you're hit by a phazon based weapon or have the PED Suit hacked). Also, you use up health to use it (though the game is kind enough to return a percentage of your health used to start Hypermode if you manually disengage before it berserks).

* Poor [[WesternAnimation/AdventureTime Simon Petrikov]]'s cursed crown ruined his mind and left him a broken husk of a man.. but he will die he is without it or it is somehow depowered for too long. Others who have worn the crown, such as the first Gunther and "Ice Finn", have also shown dependence and some degree of madness and physical change from it.

* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': Agatha's trilobite amulet, though it started out as something entirely different, has become the only thing holding the Other's possession of her at bay allowing her to maintain her own consciousness.

** Dracula was forced to sleep in contact with his native soil.
** Carmilla had to sleep in a coffin filled with the blood of her victims.
** The brothers Ténèbre revived from repeated deaths by regenerating from within their tombs.

* The vampires of 19th century fiction are commonly tied to something of significance to them. Dracula was forced to sleep in contact with his native soil, Carmilla had to sleep in a coffin filled with the blood of her victims, and the brothers Ténèbre revived from repeated deaths by regenerating from within their tombs.

* In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', [[RingOfPower The One Ring]] is both an ArtifactOfDoom and a SoulJar, but it deserves special mention here because it confers such powers on the user it is very tempting to use it to try to defeat BigBad [[EvilOverlord Sauron]]. Many of those tempted to use it don't understand that the Ring itself can never be used to defeat Sauron, as the Ring and the Dark Lord are one and the same. Plus, anybody with enough power to wield the Ring to even a fraction of its full potential will inevitably be corrupted by it. Sauron would still use other people's lust for the Ring (like Saruman's) to his own advantage. And he ''did'' play a deep game with the ''other'' Rings of power--giving great power to the elves and dwarves, but thereby making them vulnerable to his control through the Ruling Ring.

* In Irish folklore Merrow are forced to wear a red-feathered hat called a ''cohuleen druith'' or else lose their water-breathing and shapeshifting powers. Similarly, Selkies are able to transform between human and seal using magical sealskins.

*** A variation of the story is that the maiden never finds the sealskin and grows into an old woman, and it is her granddaughter who finds it. As the grandmother would die of old age if she put on the skin (as seals don't live as long as humans), she lets her granddaughter keep the skin and become a selkie herself.

** The decision to build the Death Star actually made TheEmpire ''easier'' to defeat.

* In ''Franchise/StarWars'', many fans believe the decision to build the Death Star actually made TheEmpire ''easier'' to defeat.

* Lampshaded in ''Film/TheMatrix'': The rebel humans are dependent on (presumably nonsentient) machines that power their life support and equipment; if their enemies were to find the rebel humans' vehicles and bases, or gain control of them, they could defeat the rebellion quickly. The humans could just turn off the machines, but they would probably die if they did.
** The ExpandedUniverse makes it clear that the rebels are actually ''a part of the machines' system'', serving as a sort of dumping ground for malcontents that might otherwise disturb the network.

* Dream/Morpheus in ''Comicbook/TheSandman'' and his ruby (or Materioptikon, as Doctor Destiny calls it), which he used as a tool to help him control his power, but placed so much in it that he was weakened and its loss helped guarantee his imprisonment. Decades later, its destruction by its wielder, Doctor Destiny, restored Dream to his full power when it was supposed to finish him.

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

[[folder: Fan Works ]]

[[folder: Film ]]

[[folder: Folklore ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV ]]

[[folder: Tabletop RPG ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Visual Novels ]]

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* The Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse gave Film/IronMan one of these in the form of a removable and compact Arc Reactor, which he uses in this continuity to power both his heart magnet and his armor. The comic versions of the character previously used more integrated power sources like sunlight, kinetic energy and mains current, though Tony's Bleeding Edge era designs have adopted the Reactor as well.

* Most magical items on ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' tend to default to this, with items like [[Discworld/MenAtArms the Gonne]], [[Discworld/SoulMusic Imp Y Celen's guitar]], and [[Discworld/{{Sourcery}} Coin's Metal Staff]] proving that anyone who uses them for power and wealth will soon be used by them in turn.

* In the Literature/{{Worm}} x Videogame/{{Dishonored}} crossover fanfic, ''FanFic/AChangeOfPace'', the Bone Charms and Runes give Taylor expanded powers, so much so that she refuses to part with the one that gives her limited [[ForeseeingMyDeath foresight to prevent her death]] even if it would risk her burgeoning friendship with Glory Girl.
* In FanFic/RainbowDoubleDashsLunaverse, the jinn of Naquah each have a bound item, a material focus that holds their essence together. Unfortunately, not only will destroying it kill them, whoever has it can use it to command them.

* In the CreepyPasta "The Cell Phone Game", the titular game dooms anyone who enters it to be DraggedOffToHell. There are two ways to avoid this fate. The first is to find a protective item within two weeks. Said item will protect you as long as you wear it, but it will cause you to suffer. That's this trope. The second is to pass on the cell phone message to someone else, bringing them into the game. This offers a temporary reprieve that is halved with each successive victim. The protagonist's girlfriend Stephanie becomes increasingly desperate to avoid her fate [[spoiler:dooming ten other students in the process]] and steals the resident school Neo-Nazi's own protective item, a cilice that makes him bleed, at gunpoint. [[spoiler:It doesn't work because the cilice wasn't actually his protective item. His red Nazi Swastika armband was.]]

* Creator/RogerZelazny's ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfAmber'' brings this trope up a number of times, especially in the second half as it can then be tied into the concept of using raw power to cover for sloppiness and lack of forethought as habit-forming. Here using these stays is a viable if deprecated option.

* In ''{{Mistborn}}'', the [[GodEmperor Lord Ruler's]] [[spoiler: bracers]] which are the source of his immortality, but by the same token [[spoiler: if they're ever separated from him, he'll revert to his natural age- of about ''one thousand'']]. Needless to say, keeping a hold of the things is pretty important to him, and he wears a lot of other metal (despite it being impractical in a setting where people who can telekinetically control metal aren't uncommon) largely to distract attention from them.

* In ''TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu'', CthulhuMythos spells and magic items grant the user great power, but inevitably lead to complete insanity and probable death.

* Poor [[AdventureTime Simon Petrikov]]'s cursed crown ruined his mind and left him a broken husk of a man.. but he will die he is without it or it is somehow depowered for too long. Others who have worn the crown, such as the first Gunther and "Ice Finn", have also shown dependence and some degree of madness and physical change from it.

* The MarvelCinematicUniverse gave Film/IronMan one of these in the form of a removable and compact Arc Reactor, which he uses in this continuity to power both his heart magnet and his armor. The comic versions of the character previously used more integrated power sources like sunlight, kinetic energy and mains current, though Tony's Bleeding Edge era designs have adopted the Reactor as well.

* ''Webcomic/CinemaBums'' features an evil Halloween wig in [[http://www.cinemabums.com/?p=164 these]] [[http://www.cinemabums.com/?p=166 strips]], which Doug continues to wear after the holiday is over. Fortunately, he's GenreSavvy enough to remove it before it completely takes over.