History Main / NoHeroDiscount

* Justified in ''QuestForGlory'': Each game takes place in a totally new setting, where your heroism in the previous games is known only to a few people, if any. The second game somewhat averts this trope: the people who you helped in the first game provide you with free room and board at their inn, and when the city is beset by Elementals, the merchants will give you the items you need to stop them for free, but only if you ask when you need them.

** Of course: ONLY ADVENTURERS CAN AFFORD THOSE PRICES! It's a LampshadeHanging of the fact that the prices in most DnD books dont' fit the amount non-adventurers make. Your average town-person gets a gold piece a year.

-->-- ''Breath Of Death VII: The Beginning''

* Lampshaded and justified in ''Evil Islands''. In one instance your base of operations is a village where you are praised as the ''ChosenOne'', but the village merchant is such an infamously stingy bastard he explicitly warns you right away that he will still charge you with all your purchases. [[spoiler: Later all the village money happens to be stolen and he once again clearly refuses to supply the village guards with weapons for free... because they didn't stand for him against brigands]]. Another time you join some rebels and obtain all the gear from their blacksmith. He actually apologizes for his shameless prices and explains that he has to smuggle the weapons and bribe the officials of the EvilEmpire.

* Parodied in the freeware game ''Ocular Ink'', in which the hero's travel fees are paid for by the government.

* Averted in ''Stonekeep''. The only shop in the game is owned by a dwarf who'll charge you full price despite the fact that you're at war with their mortal enemies, the throggs...until you show him some feathers from a throgg shaman's headdress. He then goes on to tell you that his family was murdered by a throgg shaman (possibly the one you killed) and allows you to take whatever you want from his shop for free!

* Lampshaded in ''Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean'', where the shopkeeper who follows you to the VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon justifies herself saying that she not only trusts your ability to defeat the bad guy, but if you should fail, the money wouldn't matter anyway.

--> -''Breath Of Death VII: The Beginning''

* Lampshaded and justified in ''EvilIslands''. In one instance your base of operations is a village where you are praised as the ''ChosenOne'', but the village merchant is such an infamously stingy bastard he explicitly warns you right away that he will still charge you with all your purchases. [[spoiler: Later all the village money happens to be stolen and he once again clearly refuses to supply the village guards with weapons for free... because they didn't stand for him against brigands]]. Another time you join some rebels and obtain all the gear from their blacksmith. He actually apologizes for his shameless prices and explains that he has to smuggle the weapons and bribe the officials of the EvilEmpire.

* Parodied in the freeware game ''OcularInk'', in which the hero's travel fees are paid for by the government.

* Averted in ''{{Stonekeep}}''. The only shop in the game is owned by a dwarf who'll charge you full price despite the fact that you're at war with their mortal enemies, the throggs...until you show him some feathers from a throgg shaman's headdress. He then goes on to tell you that his family was murdered by a throgg shaman (possibly the one you killed) and allows you to take whatever you want from his shop for free!

* Lampshaded in ''AlbertOdyssey: Legend of Eldean'', where the shopkeeper who follows you to the VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon justifies herself saying that she not only trusts your ability to defeat the bad guy, but if you should fail, the money wouldn't matter anyway.

->''"It doesn't matter how many times you save the day, a good merchant still won't give you a discount on weapons and armor"''
--> '''BreathOfDeathVII: The Beginning

** Later on in the game you CAN get a discount at vendors...by using ''MindControl''

* Lampshaded in ''{{Final Fantasy X}}''. Right before the battle with ThatOneBoss, [[spoiler:Evrae, which also leads almost directly to a whole gauntlet run of bossess]], Rin will ''still'' charge you exorbitant prices. When asked why, when you could all die, he replies:

*** Strictly speaking, the person behind the counter can charge the customer whatever price they choose — provided they don't mind risking their own jobs (or making up the difference out of their own pocket before the end of the day). In the 9/11 case, I'd have used my own initiative to distribute free drinks (with highly visible Starbucks branding) to rescue-workers and survivors, and then defend my decision if necessary as a spur-of-the-moment PR exercise. Then again, that sort of attitude may be why I'm not a Starbucks employee...

* In ''{{Fallout 3}}'', being nice to ghoul bartender gets you a discount on anything he sells but others are fairly unfreindly towards you, even after you repeatly save their collective asses.

* In ''KingdomHearts'' and ''KingdomHeartsII'' Huey, Dewey and Louie don't give a damn that is their uncle buying and saving the world as we know it, as longs as he keep on coughing up the munny.

* Can be averted or played straight in ''{{Recettear}}'' seeing as you're the merchant and it's up to you whether or not adventurers get discounts. Tear recommends that you give discounts to the heroes you hire, even if at a loss sometimes, since it will save you from having to equip them when you go dungeon crawling. Think of it as an investment.

* In the ''HarvestMoon'' games, most of the marriageable bachelors and bachelorettes work in the area's shops, which are usually owned by their families. You won't get any kind of discount from their family's store if you marry one of them, ''even if your spouse is the one running the store''.
** This troper always thought they made the games like that so people would marry characters they liked, rather than just marrying the person that gives them the biggest discounts. It makes little sense in universe, but a lot of sense when you consider the implications of marrying someone for free cake at the bakery.

* Played with in ''MarioAndLuigi''. Shopkeepers are willing to give the Brothers a discount if they have good-looking moustaches.

So you're the plucky group of young heroes out to defeat the BigBad and bring peace back to the world. You'd think that means that stores might give you discounts or even free items — after all, you're protecting them and ensuring they'll still have not only their shops but also their businesses in the future.

* Averted in DarkCloud where the Wise Owl will sell you a special sword for a discount. It's still pretty high but as he (along with some other merchants in the game) will tell you, they are still merchants and need to make a living.

* Subverted in ''{{Tales of Hearts}}''; late in the game, when the world is going down the tubes, all the shops start giving you 5% off - better than nothing. This carries to a [[NewGamePlus New Game +]], too.