History Main / MoneySpider

* Justified in ''VideoGame/DarkSouls''. Enemies aren't dropping money, they're dropping ''souls," the magical force that allows the undead to continue to move as of alive. The more powerful the Undead, the more souls they drop. The player is no exception, dropping any "sovereignless souls," (i.e souls they haven't permanently committed to their body leveling up) on death.
** SpiritualSuccessor ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' uses the same system, thematically refluffed. Beings in the Lands Between aren't undead, but the damage to the Elden Ring has left some natural laws suspended, including the ability for things to stay dead. They drop Runes instead, the building blocks of life in the Lands Between.

** ''Fallout 1'' and ''2'' were actually pretty good at this. Enemies were placed on the map with one or two weapons and a certain amount of ammo (which they are very willing to use) and perhaps some chems. If they run out of it (and you're ''still'' alive), they can't use it anymore, unlike Fallout 3's BottomlessMagazines. If they don't, you can loot what's left of it. Armor is invariably destroyed in the process.

** Certain enemies will drop a Rupee or a few if killed.

Occasionally, there will be an in-game HandWave saying that there's a bounty on the monsters you're fighting. However, unless there's a specific sub-quest requiring you to, say, [[TwentyBearAsses slay twenty bears and bring back their asses]], you will never be required to talk to a specific person or prove that you've killed the monsters in order to get the money. ShopFodder is sometimes used as a more realistic version - killing the monsters doesn't get you immediate money, but you can easily sell their teeth, hides, or feathers back in town. However, this eats up precious seconds of a player's time, in which time you might get bored and switch to another game. And we can't have that, now can we?

* ''{{VideoGame/Civilization}}'':

* In ''VideoGame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri'', mind worm boils will yield "Planetpearls" when killed, giving a small amount of cash.

* The ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' games have not only monsters dropping money, but candles, chandeliers, and other fixtures. ''VideoGame/SuperCastlevaniaIV'' actually features a boss called the Zapft Bat, which made entirely out of coins and jewels.
* Enemies in ''VideoGame/LaMulana'' will often leave behind coins or some type of ammo.
* In ''VideoGame/TheGuardianLegend'', enemies will sometimes drop Power Chips, which function as both money ''and'' ammo.
* In ''VideoGame/DeadlyTowers'', pretty much anything can randomly drop money.

* Animal-based enemies in ''VideoGame/NinjaShadowOfDarkness'', including {{Giant Spider}}s, [[GIantEnemyCrab Giant Crabs]], [[GiantFlyer Giant Eagles]] and the like will, for some inexplicable reason, drop coins and gems upon being defeated.
* In ''VideoGame/Yakuza0'', enemies explode in a shower of cash whenever they take a strong hit. This is [[{{Symbolism}} symbolic]] of TheEighties in Japan, the era of the "Bubble Economy", an economic boom when people had cash to spare, and then some.
* ''VideoGame/TombRaider2013'' is actually quite consistent at averting this trope for most of its runtime. Money doesn't exist and most enemies only drop either generic scrap for weapon upgrades, or ammo for the weapon class they're wielding. However, it gets a bit weird when animals also drop weapons scrap (implied to be their ''bones'', however that's supposed to work), and the game drops its internal logic entirely once you start looting tons of bullets and shotgun shells off of millennia-old undead samurai that fight with nothing but bows and melee weapons.
** The sequel, ''VideoGame/RiseOfTheTombRaider'', does pretty much the same thing, only with ancient Byzantine warriors instead of the samurai. Both examples did have brief contact with modern firearms prior to fighting Lara, but not nearly enough to justify their carrying around so much ammo for weapons they don't use.
* In ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'', most of the hostile bugs, whether highly sapient or totally not, will drop some amount of Geo upon death.

* Monsters in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' don't drop money at all; instead, the heroes get a regular paycheck. However, since your salary will rise or fall depending on how many enemies you've killed since your last check (among other, lesser factors), you'll still want to kill plenty of monsters to keep your funds up. In addition, many monsters drop [[OrganDrops valuable items, such as bones or teeth]], that can either be refined into magic or useful items, or sold for extra gil.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'''s enemies don't drop money, unless they're the kind of people who you'd expect to be carrying money around, i.e. humanoids. However, they ''do'' drop valuable hides, minerals, and so forth, which can be redeemed at shops for actual currency. The looting system is a bit disturbing, as it allows you to steal skin and skulls from enemies ''while they are still alive'' and then have the same loot from a drop.

* In ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'', your primary means of earning Munny is killing heartless (and later, nobodies, too). Not only is it never explained how beings who are only interested in collecting hearts and lack flesh carry currency, but you are never in short supply after the very beginning of the game. Then again, in the [=PS2=] games, you typically find better items in the field or at Synthesis shops anyway. 358/2 Days takes this to the absurd lengths of making it very easy to rack up hundreds of thousands of munny, while the most expensive items cost about 20,000, and you have no need for more than one.

[[folder:Video Games -- MMORPGs]]

Occasionally, there will be an in-game HandWave saying that there's a bounty on the monsters you're fighting. However, unless there's a specific sub-quest requiring you to, say, [[TwentyBearAsses slay twenty bears and bring back their asses]], you will never be required to talk to a specific person or prove that you've killed the monsters in order to get the money. VendorTrash is sometimes used as a more realistic version - killing the monsters doesn't get you immediate money, but you can easily sell their teeth, hides, or feathers back in town. However, this eats up precious seconds of a player's time, in which time you might get bored and switch to another game. And we can't have that, now can we?

* Spoofyfied in the MMORPG ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'', where the unit of currency is meat, and things like gold and jewels are useless, except as VendorTrash; thus, converting a giant rat into a giant rat carcass makes a twisted kind of financial sense. Some characters not made of meat (e.g. the robotic [=MagiMechTech=] [=MechaMech=]) drop no meat in a zone with otherwise high meat drops. Some thematically rich monsters (e.g. the Wealthy Pirate) drop more meat than other monsters in the same zone, and hippies of all stripes (except the Business Hippy) drop no meat. But at that same time, they fall for this trope in an even more nonsensical way; pretty much everything drops meat, so while it makes sense for animals and other creatures to drop meat, some things have no reason to have meat, like the possessed vegetables.\\\

* In the MMORPG ''VideoGame/TabulaRasa'' you get credits for every enemy you kill but you don't pick them up- you're automatically credited to your account as a bounty by high command (since you're part of a giant army credits aren't strictly speaking a currency, they're an equipment requisition resource). Additionally, most enemies drop VendorTrash which up until recently were only good to be "sold" for more credits, although a lot of them can now be broken down for crafting resource.

* In ''VideoGame/MapleStory'', sufficiently high level mobs will start dropping ''stacks of bills'' instead of shiny coins. You can also grind certain mobs for weapons and armor (usually then sold off as VendorTrash).

** A common practice amongst [=DMs=] is to place all of the treasure at a logical point in the adventure, such as in a monster's lair, or as a bounty. In situations where massive piles of gold are impractical, a [=DM=] might place a piece of VendorTrash amongst the loot, worth the amount of currency expected.

* The VendorTrash alternative is mocked in [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2005/02/02/ this]] ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' comic.

* In ''Webcomic/TheGamer'', Jee-Han (the title Gamer) fights dozens of zombies that drop VendorTrash and more useful things. Eventually, a boss zombie shows up, and it drops a fat stack of cash on death. His friend Sun-Il is shocked at the whole situation, but Jee-Han points out that when you get down to it, it's probably weirder that the normal zombies ''didn't'' drop money.

* Subverted and lampshaded in ''{{LightNovel/Overlord}}''. Momonga, a long-time MMORPG player, has found himself trapped in a fantasy world. When he meets a team of low-level adventurers, they explain that they were planning on earning money by killing monsters near their city. Momonga allies with them, and after helping them kill a group of monsters, they start cutting off ears. They explain that they bring the body parts back to the city as proof that they've killed a certain number of monsters, and the city pays money according to how dangerous each type of monster was, to encourage adventurers to keep the area surrounding the city safe. Momonga was clearly expecting the ogres to be carrying something valuable like [[VendorTrash crystals]], and one of the locals points out how outlandish that sounds.

* Inverted in ''[[{{VideoGame/STALKER}} S.T.A.L.K.E.R.]]'' series. Mutants have nothing on themselves but the occasionally [[OrganDrops body part]] in sidequests (mods also make them drop normally as VendorTrash) and Stalkers carry weapons they use as well as ammo, comestibles and (sometimes) medicine. But even as they carry limited amount of money (so they can be sold stuff to) this money cannot be scavenged from their bodies, [[UnusableEnemyEquipment nor can their armor.]]

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' usually averts this trope - money is found on humanoid creatures, while beasts drop VendorTrash that can be sold for money or used for crafting. That doesn't stop [[ImpossibleItemDrop wolves eating six-foot battle-axes]] but at least they're ''trying.''

* In ''VideoGame/RagnarokOnline'', monsters drop VendorTrash (and the occasional [[LootDrama card]]) which is then sold for money.
* In ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsOnline'', most monsters will not drop gold, but VendorTrash like fur, tails, wings, etc. Only the races likely to use money (Humans, Dwarves, Orcs, Goblins, Uruk-hai and a few others) will drop money.

** Averted in general throughout the series. Most creatures drop bits of VendorTrash or [[OrganDrops Organ Drop]][=-style=] alchemical ingredients which you'll need to sell to earn money. Rarely, you may find a wolf, bear, or ''dragon'' with some coins, jewelry, or gems. One can presume that these were ingested when the creature in question ate the person carrying them...

* In the first ''{{VideoGame/Xenosaga}}'' game, killing gnosis would never earn money, only [[RandomlyDrops item drops]]. Human enemies dropped money, while MechaMooks gave up Scrap Metal as VendorTrash. The second game did away with money altogether (except in one subquest in which objects could be sold to help out with someone's debt).

** And then there's the supernatural, extradimensional, metaphysical, quite possibly artificial [[spoiler:Elizabeth pouring over 1 million yen in a fountain because she heard it's customary to drop coins in them. She probably got all that money from gouging previous adventures on Compendium buybacks, because she can also give you hefty monetary rewards [[VendorTrash for getting assorted debris from battles]].]]
** ''{{VideoGame/Persona 4}}'' goes with the "Sell the crap you get from killing Shadows to the main store so you can get bigger and better equipment" approach. It's also played straight. Shadows drop money in addition to the VendorTrash. Potentially handwaved in that shadows are the remnants of shadow-selves who killed their creators, and thus have their creators' possessions with them.
* Averted painfully in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV''. Enemies no longer drop cash; either you get used to finding and selling VendorTrash, learn to cheat demons out of their Macca, find out where the human mobs (the only enemy that ''does'' carry money) spawn, or scurry around Tennozu Shelter until you can find Black Rider, [[LuckBasedMission however long that might take]]...

* In the ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' games, Money Spidering makes ''sense''; since every enemy you fight is on the Internet, and the economy is Internet-based, it stands to reason that you'd reap an "instant cash reward" for virus busting or winning a battle against another Navi. (And there's plenty of VendorTrash to be had, too -- you can't SELL junk battlechips, but you can pop them into chip traders to try to get new, better chips.)

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyThe4HeroesOfLight'', monsters don't drop money at all -- they drop ''gemstones'', which can be used to upgrade your equipment or for VendorTrash. All in all, the best way to make money is to exploit a shop-running minigame, not hunting monsters.

* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' has had an interesting relationship with this trope over the years, but two particularly noteworthy uses of it come from ''Shin Megami Tensei IV'' and ''Shin Megami Tensei V'':
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'': Zigzagged. Demons for the most part don't drop any money when you kill them (though interestingly, the amount of money gained from winning a battle is still shown after all of them even though it pretty much invariably reads "0"). However, you can still gain truckloads of cash from Demon battles via the fundraise app. When activated, the MC will attempt to ask the Demon nicely for money, which will always be refused and be followed by it being forcibly extracted from them in a manner that is never made clear but is implied to be physically painful for the demon. When fully upgraded, the fundraise app will let you get several tens of thousands of macca from almost every end game battle.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'': Technically played straight, though even in the end game your monetary reward for winning battles is so laughably small that it's only marginally better than getting nothing at all.

** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'': Technically played straight, though even in the end game your monetary reward for winning battles is so laughably small that it can't really be considered as a viable means of grinding money.

* ''VideoGame/TreasureHunterMan'': Enemies, which are non-human, RandomDrop coins.

* ''VideoGame/SongsForAHero'': Like many other video game conventions, the Hero [[LampshadeHanging points it out]] in one verse after slaying a snake mook and getting a coin, wondering why would it had eaten gold before their encounter.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', the most common monsters do not carry rupees except inside the boxes and barrels at their camps that were presumably looted from unfortunate travelers. The only enemy types that carry rupees are the [[{{Ninja}} Yiga Clan]] enemies, who are intelligent humans and thus ''would'' logically be carrying money.

** The sequel, ''VideoGame/RiseOfTheTombRaider'', does pretty much the same thing, only with ancient Byzantine warriors instead of the samurai. Both examples did have brief contact with modern firearms prior to fighting Lara, but not nearly enough to justify their carrying around so much ammo for weapons they don't use.]

* [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] and PlayedForLaughs in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5382984/2/Big-Human-on-Campus Big Human on Campus]]'', when after [[Manga/RanmaOneHalf Ranma]] kills a spider, he asks [[Manga/RosarioToVampire Tsukune]] if the spider had any money on it. Tsukune is incredulous, but after a dorm-mate takes the spider's corpse off his hands, said dorm-mate finds a gold ring on it.

** RealityEnsues a year after the robot war. Gray Mann, the inventor of the robots, finds himself almost completely bankrupt. Even ''his own robots'' suggest he build a new type of robot that runs on a different power source, which only elicits a DeathGlare from him.

** The sequel, ''VideoGame/RiseOfTheTombRaider'', does pretty much the same thing, only with ancient Byzantine warriors instead of the samurai. Both examples did have brief contact with modern firearms prior to fighting Lara, but not nearly enough to justify their carrying around so much ammo for weapons they don't use.