History ButThouMust / RolePlayingGames

** In ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIIThroneOfBhaal,'' more or less the first person you meet will do this, the conversation going in a circle until you agree to do what they want. Especially jarring since the sole reason you are supposed to trust the person is that they ask for pity on starving people. However, if you ask about them and their knowledge of you, they give a [[MostDefinitelyNotAVillain completely unconvincing and uninformative answer]] that would arouse immediate suspicion in anyone, let alone the constantly-betrayed child of Bhaal. There is also nothing the character offers in return for your services.
** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d later in [=ToB=], where several dialogue options with a Solar about what they have to do because destiny give the player the choice of grumbling that they never get a choice in these sorts of matters.

* ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'' had a particularly annoying example. Shortly reaching the first town a man are greets you with a sound effect that clearly marks him as a lunatic, and then offers you help. There is no reason whatsoever why you would trust him, but if you keep refusing his assistance, the game just picks you up and warps you where he was trying to take you.

** ''VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn'' adds emotion-based replies, which effectively work the same way, but also plays with and parodies the principle a lot more: having the FemmeFatale villain ask [[DoubleEntendre if she's tempted you]] and [[EvilIsSexy not accept "no" answers]], or beginning a quest with this lovely dialogue:

* ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' was designed around avoiding this trope as much as possible, to the point where Obsidian Entertainment [[http://blip.tv/file/3491456/ put on a presentation at PAX]] specifically named after the ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' example and discuss why and how developers should make choices matter. They then proceeded to make a drinking game out of the word "choice" and drink like fish, but that is neither here nor there.

* In ''VideoGame/Fallout4'', in the beginning, you can say no to helping Preston Garvey in Concord, but the game will assign you the quest anyway.

* ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' was infamous for almost never giving the player an option to outright refuse a quest giver. All dialogue gives the player exactly four options, and quest givers always boiled down to, Yes, Yes But Sarcastically, Not Right Now, and Tell Me More.

** In ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'', you ''cannot'' deny Nemona's repeated attempts for a battle or even turn down her wish to be rivals. She only gets annoyed, but she ''will'' get what she wants out of you. This is also used on Bede in the "We Should Have A Battle" event in ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'', where Nemona refuses to back down until Bede says "yes" to her request to form a team with her after Bede says "no" the first two times.

** In ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'', you ''cannot'' deny Nemona's repeated attempts for a battle or even turn down her wish to be rivals. She only gets annoyed, but she ''will'' get what she wants out of you.

** In the earliest case where Kid (the female protagonist and hero's love interest -- FirstGirlWins be (jarringly) damned even though the first girl is the childhood friend and girlfriend of the hero) tries to join up with you in what seems to be a But Thou Must sequence, repeated refusal will cause her to not join up with you and you will get a different party member instead. Because Kid will then join your party shortly after anyway, unless you pointlessly refuse this time and because that extra character (amusingly, the parallel world version of said first girl) who would join your party is otherwise [[PermanentlyMissableContent lost forever]], you're actually better off for refusing the first time it looks like thou must.

* ''VideoGame/Conception2ChildrenOfTheSevenStars'': During your first trip into the dungeon, you encounter the first boss early, and Ruby orders you to flee. Your options are "No", "I won't run from an enemy", and "Too Hell with that".

* ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyI'': The mayor gives you a mission to annihilate the forest people -- that's right, an entire ''race'' of sapient beings -- in order to protect the town's ''tourist industry''. You cannot proceed until you accept it and carry it out.

*** In the UpdatedRerelease, the first house on the route to Mr. Pokémon belongs to a man who explains apricorns to you and gives you a bag for carrying them. If you walk past his house, he'll come out of the house to demand why you're passing by his house and then explain apricorns to you and give you a bag for carrying them.

*** ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'':

* In ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'', midway through the Arena questline, Kai Lan the Serpent will ask you to help him take over the Guild. Unlike other quests that feature an evil route, you cannot say yes to him; Black Whirlwind will barge into the meeting and pull you aside for a private discussion. Kai Lan's lackey Lucky Cho will then attack you, forcing you to kill him and resulting in Kai Lan planning to have you

* An example that is actually PlayedForHorror in the first demo for ''VideoGame/TSUnderswap'' (a FanGame for ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}''), in the spirit as the original's game's weird relationship with meta and video game tropes. [[spoiler:After you make it to Asgore's house in a Neutral or Pacifist run, Asgore warmly welcomes [[PlayerCharacter Chara]] in, offers them food and their own bedroom like Toriel does with the protagonist in the original game, and he talks happily about the two of them living together as a family. You then get the dialogue options popping up, with the default text showing that Chara wants to ask to stay... but then when you go to choose it, it suddenly changes to ask him how to leave Ruined Home, upsetting both Asgore '''and''' Chara, who tries to say they didn't say that -- except that too changes to keep asking him on how to leave, with poor Chara forced to keep asking him to leave as they get more and more scared. Ultimately they're forced to fight Asgore, leave the safety of his house and Ruined Home, and go deeper into the Underground.]] It's [[SurpriseCreepy surprisingly unsettling]].

** Also, at the end of a No Mercy run [[spoiler:Chara asks you to erase the entire game world. If you refuse, they rhetorically ask '''''[[SuddenlyShouting "SINCE WHEN WERE YOU THE ONE IN CONTROL?"]]''''' and just goes ahead anyway on their own, with a bonus JumpScare (the game switches to windowed mode and shakes violently as a loud noise plays and Chara heads towards you laughing maniacally as the background flashes red, before killing you, at which point the game window moves in the same way monsters do when killed, then closes) for defying them]].

** Also, at the end of a No Mercy run [[spoiler:Chara asks you to erase the entire game world. If you refuse, they rhetorically ask '''''[[Suddenly Shouting "SINCE WHEN WERE YOU THE ONE IN CONTROL?"]]''''' and just goes ahead anyway on their own, with a bonus JumpScare (the game switches to windowed mode and shakes violently as a loud noise plays and Chara heads towards you laughing maniacally as the background flashes red, before killing you, at which point the game window moves in the same way monsters do when killed, then closes) for defying them]].

** Also, at the end of a No Mercy run, a character asks you to [[spoiler:erase the entire game world]]. If you refuse, the character says that you were never the one in control and just goes ahead anyway on their own, [[spoiler: with a bonus JumpScare for defying them]].

** In the original game, or if you did not unlock th third term in ''Royal'', just after you defeat the FinalBoss, Sae meets with you and reveals that [[spoiler:in order to ensure that Shido is brought to justice and prevent his cronies from coming after your friends and allies, you must turn yourself in to the police]]. You then have two choices -- one says you'll do it to change society, and another says you'll do it to protect your friends.

* Annoyingly used in ''VideoGame/Persona3''. Though you may be itching to spend time with a social link, your allies will occasionally pop up to ask you to do something with them or for them that will use up your "after school" hours. No matter how much you say "No" you'll be forced into the problem anyway. Made worse by the fact that each social link has a specific set of times when it's available, so if you're forced to skip Yuko on Wednesday, for example, you won't get another chance to spend time with her until Saturday.

** ''Weaponized'' in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX''. [[spoiler:It is a plot point that Celestrians ''cannot'' disobey their superiors, even if that means forcing them against their will. The main antagonist of the game is Corvus, a fallen Celestrian who went insane due to being betrayed and [[BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil tortured]], and then [[GoMadFromTheIsolation chained alone in his cage for 300+ years]]. By eating all of the [[MacGuffin Fyggs]], he becomes the most powerful Celestrian in history, and is [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority thus at the absolute highest of their hierarchy]], even though they ''really'' don't want him to be. He abuses this by commanding any Celestrian they encounter, including the player, to not attack him, rendering them unable to harm him in any way. The only way for the player character to get out of this is to [[MortalityEnsues forsake their angelic nature and become mortal]], thus freeing them from the Celestrian hierarchy. [[CombatPragmatist Your mortal allies who could harm him, he just knocks out when you encounter him]].]]

** There are many different choices in the end, but the expansion assumes that the main character is still a Grey Warden. Alternatively, a new character replaces her or him.
*** Justified in that whatever a Grey Warden does with their life while there's no Darkspawn threat, they always remain Wardens and must always be ready to fight as one again.

** Finally, if you choose to send Morrigan, Wynne, Irving, or Jowan into the Fade to confront the Desire Demon (either because you're not playing a mage or just because you don't feel like going yourself), when the Desire Demon attempts to bargain, the dialog options all become variations on "shut up and die already."

*** There's more. There's also the sea creature in the sea in the final map who gives you the same proposal as the T-Rex and the bird chief where you can join him and rule the ocean or fight him. [[spoiler: as with the other two, however, you rule the ocean with him through fear and might, but then he is caught by fishermen and left you to your own imminent doom without him. You're then forced to re-encounter him and fight him without the question]]. The fourth instance of this also includes a bonus [[spoiler: if you are able to fly either as a bird or past-evolving into a flying creature, you can attack the aliens hiding in the skies. They will beg you to spare them. If you don't, the ship will explode, causing all the aliens to fly out of their ship and toward their deaths way down below. If you accept to spare them, however, they are grateful and take you with them to Mars. This is a rare subversion, however, because they promptly bring you back to Earth and you can then continue on the next level normally]].

* In the first ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'', the mayor gives you a mission to annihilate the forest people -- that's right, an entire ''race'' of sapient beings -- in order to protect the town's ''tourist industry''. You cannot proceed until you accept it and carry it out.