sentient Sentience is the ability to experience feelings and sensations. It may not necessarily imply higher cognitive functions such as awareness, reasoning, or complex thought processes. Some writers define sentience exclusively as the capacity for ''v ...

weapon is a common plot device in many works of

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

, and

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

, and is related to the classic motif of the magic sword. Sentient weapons may be human,

robot A robot is a machine—especially one Computer program, programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions Automation, automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the robot control, co ...

ic, or

magic Magic or magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces ** ''Magick'' (with ''-ck'') can specifically refer to ceremonial magic * Magic (illusion), also known as sta ...

al (as is the case with any non-technological weapons, such as a sword), but not all magic weapons are sentient. A sentient weapon may experience a

moral A moral (from Latin ''morālis'') is a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim. ...

conflict from its specific nature as a weapon, or may function as the

villain A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...

, which, through its intelligence, is able to gain power. Another possibility is that it assists the wielder, or is merely

neutral Neutral or neutrality may refer to: Mathematics and natural science Biology * Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity Chemistry and physics * Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...

In fantasy and mythology

* Kullervo's Sword from the ''

Kalevala The ''Kalevala'' () is a 19th-century compilation of epic poetry, compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling a story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and retaliatory ...

'' * Anglachel – ''

The Silmarillion ''The Silmarillion'' () is a book consisting of a collection of myths and stories in varying styles by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was edited, partly written, and published posthumously by his son Christopher in 1977, assisted by G ...

'' * Stormbringer – The Elric Saga * Nightblood – '' Warbreaker'' (a.k.a. Sword Nimi – ''

The Stormlight Archive ''The Stormlight Archive'' is a high fantasy novel series written by American author Brandon Sanderson, planned to consist of ten novels. As of 2024, the series comprises five published novels and two novellas, set within his broader Cosmere un ...

'') * Kazid'hea – '' The Legend of Drizzt'' * Need – '' The Oathbound'' and subsequent novels * Sword of Summer – '' Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard''

In film and television

* Skynet and Terminators – '' Terminator'' * Byakkoshinken (Saba) – ''

Gosei Sentai Dairanger is a Japanese ''tokusatsu'' television series. It was the seventeenth production in the long-running Super Sentai metaseries of television tokusatsu dramas produced by Toei Company, following ''Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger''. It was originally bro ...

'' (''

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ''Mighty Power Rangers'' (''MMPR'') is an American superhero television series that premiered on August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids programming block. It is the first entry of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, and became a 1990s popular culture, ...

'')

In video games

* Grimoire Weiss – ''

Nier ''Nier'' is an action role-playing video game developed by Cavia and published in 2010 by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. In Japan, the game was released as for the PlayStation 3 with a younger main character, while an alterna ...

'' * Aigis – ''

Persona 3 is a 2006 role-playing video game developed by Atlus that is the fourth main installment in the ''Persona (series), Persona'' series, which is part of the larger ''Megami Tensei'' franchise. It was originally released for the PlayStation 2 in ...

'' *

Master Sword The is a fictional divine magic sword in Nintendo's ''The Legend of Zelda'' series. At times, it is referred to in-universe as the "blade of evil's bane" or the "sword that seals the darkness". It was introduced in the 1991 action-adventure vid ...

– ''

The Legend of Zelda is a media franchise, video game series created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo; some portable installments and re-releases have been outsourced to Flags ...

'' * Eyelander – ''

Team Fortress 2 ''Team Fortress 2'' (''TF2'') is a Multiplayer video game, multiplayer first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation in 2007. It is the sequel to the 1996 ''Team Fortress'' Mod (video gaming), mod for ''Quake (video g ...

'' * Transistor – ''

Transistor A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch electrical signals and electric power, power. It is one of the basic building blocks of modern electronics. It is composed of semicondu ...

'' * Soul Edge and Soul Calibur – ''

Soulcalibur is a fighting game franchise developed by Bandai Namco Studios and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. There are a total of seven main installments and various media spin-offs, including music albums and a series of manga books in the ...

'' series * Umbra – ''

Elder Scrolls ''The Elder Scrolls'' is a series of action role-playing games, action role-playing video games primarily developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The series focuses on Nonlinear gameplay, free-form gameplay in an ...

'' series * Lilarcor – '' Baldur's Gate II'' * The weapons in '' Boyfriend Dungeon'' * Modwyr – '' Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire'' * Caliburn – ''Sonic and the Black Knight'' * Blades - '' Xenoblade'' * Finnean, The Talking Weapon - '' Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous''

In anime and manga

* Senketsu – ''

Kill la Kill is a Japanese anime television series created and produced by Trigger. The series follows vagrant schoolgirl Ryuko Matoi on her search for her father's killer, which brings her into violent conflict with Satsuki Kiryuin, the iron-willed st ...

'' * Several characters in the ''

Soul Eater is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Atsushi Ohkubo. Set at the "Death Weapon Meister Academy", the series revolves around three teams, each consisting of a weapon meister and at least one human that can transform into a w ...

'' series * Derflinger – ''

The Familiar of Zero is a Japanese fantasy light novel series written by Noboru Yamaguchi, with illustrations by Eiji Usatsuka. Media Factory published 20 volumes between June 2004 and February 2011. The series was left unfinished due to the author's ...

'' * Shushus in ''

Wakfu ''Wakfu'' is a tactical turn-based MMORPG developed by Ankama, Ankama Games and released for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux on 29 February 2012. The game takes place 1,000 years after Ankama's previous game, ''Dofus''. A spin-off game, ''I ...

'' series * Ashgan – '' The Witch and the Beast''

In music

* Sword and Gun – '' Paris Texas double EP ; ''They Left Me With The Sword'' and ''They Left Me With A Gun''

In fantasy and mythology

In film and television

In video games

In anime and manga

In music

See also