History Main / RewardFromNowhere

* Most quest rewards in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' are given to you by the person who gave you the quest, or give a useless object with a new quest to take an object to someone who will give you a reward. Occasionally though, they seem to just show up when you collect an object. The simple explanation would the reward is next to the item, but it tends to be completely at odds with other things lying around in the area.

*** Parodied with the quest [[http://www.wowhead.com/quest=27729 "Once More, With Eeling"]], where you give ''yourself'' a quest to go [[TwentyBearAsses kill eight more eels]], just for the hell of it. After somehow turning in the quest (do you turn it in to yourself, or what?), the monetary reward just appears in your pocket. Did you just give yourself 7 gold? It wasn't there before.
*** In situations where you have a choice among several quest rewards lying on the ground, you can only take one because [[SchrodingersQuestion that's the only one]] [[GameplayAndStorySegregation that's actually there]].

* A rare non-video game example. In ''Literature/AkataWitch'' by Creator/NnediOkorafor, the currency of Leopards (people with magical powers) is chittim, which falls from the sky when one learns something.

[[quoteright:323:[[Webcomic/AwkwardZombie https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/reward_from_nowhere.jpg]]]]

[[quoteright:239:[[WebComic/AwkwardZombie http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rubix.jpg]]]]

* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda''. If those treasure chests don't count, then nothing does. Though in this case it's also often [[InexplicableTreasureChests treasure chests from nowhere]].
** If the treasure chests don't count, then how about the keys that ''fall out of the sky'' when you solve a puzzle?
** Averted in several boss fights where the obligatory Heart Container reward comes out of the skull/stinger/eyeball/insert-body-part-here of the boss's corpse as it explodes, implying that you're taking power FROM your defeated foe.

* ''AnarchyOnline'' has mission rewards appearing literally out of nowhere as soon as the mission is complete, even if you are far away from town. This is at least somewhat plausible due to something known as the grid, which can apparently transfer matter around the world in data form. And, of course, you [[MoneySpider receive credits]] from every kill, and various wildlife, monsters, and robots can drop armour, weapons, and even precious stones.

* ''AtlanticaOnline'' does this with guild quests, random tasks that reward the guild with points and the one doing it with the usual things. Some quest rewards are also given out of nowhere when you talk to another NPC as the objective (with the NPC in question having no reason at all to reward the player).

* The ''ProfessorLayton'' series. How exactly does solving that match-stick puzzle mean to find a piece of a mechanical dog or new tea ingredient?

* A rare non-video game example. In ''Literature/AkataWitch'' by NnediOkorafor, the currency of Leopards (people with magical powers) is chittim, which falls from the sky when one learns something.
* In the ''FireEmblem'' games, certain items are collected from foes upon defeat, even if the foe was on the other side of a wall, or on the other side of the whole battlefield.

* In ''{{Neosteam}}'' you receive experience points and gold (complete with bouncing coins animation) when your party makes a kill - even if you are not in the same area.

* The [[RandomlyDrops Randomly Dropped]] Wargear in the ''DawnOfWar II'' campaign. This is justified ''once'', when Tarkus discovers a vault containing Terminator armour and the other Space Marines are understandably pissed at the Governor hoarding such rare and powerful PoweredArmor, but nothing is mentioned when even ''stronger'' versions of said armour can be acquired in subsequent missions.

[[AwkwardZombie http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rubix.jpg]]

* The ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea}}'' series: Clearing a level gets you prizes from nowhere, based on enemies killed, geoblocks destroyed, and so on.

* In ''VideoGame/EvilGenius'' you mostly get cash reasonably, by sending henchmen to go steal in the world map. However, if an agent trips a trap that then blasts him into another trap, then into another, etc, money appears out of thin air rewarding you for the combo.

* ''VideoGame/{{Counter-Strike}}''. You get money from killing other players. This would make sense as bounties paid between rounds except you get the money the ''instant'' you kill them and can even buy more stuff right there if the round's buy period hasn't ended yet.
* ''VideoGame/KillingFloor'', similarly, gives you [[MemeticMutation dosh]] for killing Specimens, healing teammates, and surviving waves.

** You receive credits from corpses on Rubi-Ka because ICC, the organisation that governs the planet is paying you bounty for them (tracking you by surveilance satelites or whatever). You dont get credits from corpses in Shadowlands.

** If the treasure chests don't count, then how about the keys that ''fall out of the sky'' when you solve a puzzle.

* In ''MegaManLegends'', there was a shopping center with a can on the floor and a bakery nearby. You could get free money by kicking the can so it landed behind the bakery's counter. The logical explanation (implied by the text message that appears) is that you're being paid for recycling the can, but this works even when no one is around.

* A rare non-video game example. In ''AkataWitch'' by NnediOkorafor, the currency of Leopards (people with magical powers) is chittim, which falls from the sky when one learns something.