History Main / SelfGuardingPhlebotinum

* ''Literature/TheBelgariad'''s Orb of Aldur does this to some extent, being an artifact with 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|OfEvil}} who abused its abilities, people tend not to keep away from it unless they're sure they're on its good side.

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* ''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.
** Averted in the original book ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz''. The Silver Shoes can come off like any other shoe, and at one point the Witch uses an invisible iron bar to trip up Dorothy, causing one Silver Shoe to fall off and allow the Witch to grab the shoe for herself.
* ''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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* In ''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.

* The eponymous Silmarils from ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' burned any evil creature touching them, such as Morgoth and Carcharoth, while sparing the good-aligned heroes such as Beren and 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]].

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* ''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.

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* 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]].

* [[WesternAnimation/FelixTheCat Felix the Cat's]] [[WesternAnimation/JoeOrioloFelixTheCat 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".]]

* The Omnitrix from ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' 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...

** 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.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40K'': 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.

* ''Disney/{{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.

* Series/{{Charmed}} Ones see and possess a lot these.

** In season 7 Pandora's Box protects itself by teleporting to its next guardian when its current protector dies.