History Main / ShopliftAndDie

** ''VideoGame/ZettaiHeroProject'' has a similar case. Hell, the [[OurDragonsAreDifferent ''guard dogs's'']] descriptions are this.

** SpiritualSuccessor ''VideoGame/TheGuidedFateParadox'' also spawns ridiculously powerful monsters to kill you if you steal.
** ''VideoGame/ChocobosDungeon 2'' has the ''[[TheGrimReaper Grim Freaking Reaper]]'' attack you. With multiple bodies. In higher levels, each body is stronger than the endboss, and ''respawns'' if "killed."
*** In ''Franchise/FinalFantasy Fables'', lifting a "super-rare" item will cause the shopkeep -- *ahem* [[PaperThinDisguise Dungeon Hero X]] to attack you. He moves twice a turn, knocks Chocobo into the far wall if he attacks, and has the "Mog Beam X", which always does 777 damage. You can try to escape the room instead to keep the item, but if you aren't quick, he freaking ''teleports'' on top of the stairs. However, this is the only way to get the Thief's memories.
** ''VideoGame/ShirenTheWanderer'' has a rather elaborate system to prevent shoplifting. First, upon picking up any item, the shopkeeper blocks the only exit until the player pays. If the player tries to attack the shopkeeper, he moves at double speed to eviscerate the player with powers rivaling the final boss. Finally, if the player manages to paralyse or otherwise subdue the shopkeeper, upon leaving the store the game will declare "Thief!" and then sic double-speed Guard Dogs and incredibly powerful Sheriffs on you until you somehow manage to leave the town or dungeon floor. To add insult to injury, if you actually are able to kill any of these creatures, you gain neither experience nor items. Small wonder the stats screen has entries for both times you stole items and times you ''successfully'' stole items.
** In ''Torneko'', if you get something and leave the room without paying, or attack the gargoyle shopkeeper, many other gargoyles will come after you. And they're quick and kill you with a single blow.
** ''[[VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey Etrian Mystery Dungeon]]'' has Lizley, the shopkeeper, sic her Red Lions on you and disables your ability to warp away. Each Red Lion is capable of dealing 100 points of fixed damage each turn.
** ''VideoGame/TouhouGensoWanderer'' has Mamiya and her tanuki mafia minding the shops in the dungeons. Try to rob them, and an unsuccessful escape will have [[GratuitousJapanese DOROBOU!]] be the last thing you hear before dying.
*** Also, pray you don't fight a [[ActionBomb Patchouli copy]] in a shop. Any items destroyed by their explosion will require you to pay the fee for them, with the above also happening if you don't.
*** And if a Shiki Eiki copy sees you trying to shoplift, she'll [[BoltOfDivineRetribution smite]] you, and it's instadeath.

** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'': The added [[WreakingHavok physics engine]] can lead to this. It's easy to accidentally knock something off a table while walking around the shop. There's a button which lets you lift an item and move it around, without placing it in your inventory. Naturally, this lead to many players trying to put the displaced object back where it belongs... only to be arrested for theft. It's ''meant'' to keep the player from moving the merchandise off the shelves to the entrance of the store and mashing the pick up item button then making a quick getaway. (And not even that works since you can easily just punch/kick/knock items into dark corners out of the shopkeeper's line-of-sight.)

** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'':
*** The added [[WreakingHavok physics engine]] can lead to this. It's easy to accidentally knock something off a table while walking around the shop. There's a button which lets you lift an item and move it around, without placing it in your inventory. Naturally, this lead to many players trying to put the displaced object back where it belongs... only to be arrested for theft. It's ''meant'' to keep the player from moving the merchandise off the shelves to the entrance of the store and mashing the pick up item button then making a quick getaway. (And not even that works since you can easily just punch/kick/knock items into dark corners out of the shopkeeper's line-of-sight.)
*** The game averts the "and Die" part though, as most shopkeepers are unlikely to be able to kill all but the lowest-leveled players.

*** Averted in that you ''can'' [[GoodBadBugs just put a bucket over their heads and rob them blind.]]

* Inverted bizarrely in the ''Anime/PokemonTheOriginalSeries'' episode "Here Comes the Squirtle Squad". When Ash arrives at the shop where he needs to buy a super potion, Team Rocket are holding the place up. Seconds after they leave with the demanded items, he enters and asks for the potion, only to find multiple guns pointed at him. Guns that everyone completely failed to use against Team Rocket, for some reason. They only relent when Officer Jenny arrives and tells them that he's not a Team Rocket member. Weirdly, this was retained in international versions, [[MissingEpisode which are notoriously tough on firearms]].

In some games, the player is [[KleptomaniacHero expected to grab everything not bolted down]]. In other games, you have the option of not paying for wares at a shop, but doing so makes a shopkeeper attack you or [[IFoughtTheLawAndTheLawWon send]] powerful {{mooks}} against you. Often, the attacker will be an InvincibleMinorMinion that you have no choice but to outrun. [[LightningBruiser Good luck with that.]] Other times, they'll just be brutally overpowered, to the point that they could probably tackle the dungeon themselves and conquer it without even breaking a sweat. Either way, you'll probably be wondering why you're even allowed to ''try'' to shoplift, seeing as it [[VideoGameCrueltyPunishment near-inevitably]] results in you suffering YetAnotherStupidDeath.

* Shoplifting gets you shot in ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry'', ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestIVRogerWilcoAndTheTimeRippers'' (in a humorous way), and ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest: Open Season'' (in a more serious way):

* In ''VideoGame/EarthBound'', taking eggs and bananas from the Happy Happy Village's food stand without paying causes the Unassuming Local Guy watching over it to attack. However, said Local Guy is weak and easy to defeat and doesn't attack again if you beat him. In fact, the fight can be completely avoided if you simply choose not to talk to him.

* Inverted bizarrely in the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' episode "Here Comes the Squirtle Squad". When Ash arrives at the shop where he needs to buy a super potion, Team Rocket are holding the place up. Seconds after they leave with the demanded items, he enters and asks for the potion, only to find multiple guns pointed at him. Guns that everyone completely failed to use against Team Rocket, for some reason. They only relent when Officer Jenny arrives and tells them that he's not a Team Rocket member. Weirdly, this was retained in international versions, [[MissingEpisode which are notoriously tough on firearms]].

*** The chicken at the gate to Riverwood is rather infamous, as it's one of the first things many players see after the prologue, and impulsive or careless players will often kill it not knowing the consequence is the entire village turning hostile and charging them.

* Shoplifting gets you shot in ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry'', ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestIVRogerWilcoAndTheTimeRippers'', (in a humorous way) and ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest: Open Season'' (in a more serious way).

See also BadassBystander, SuperStoicShopkeeper. Compare BallisticDiscount, DisproportionateRetribution, CantGetAwayWithNuthin, IFoughtTheLawAndTheLawWon, VideoGameCrueltyPunishment and ScoldedForNotBuying.

* An ''Webcomic/{{Oglaf}}'' strip shows a [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda familiar-looking green-hatted hero]] insisting that he's TheChosenOne and needs an InfinityPlusOneSword to save the world, but [[NoHeroDiscount an unmoved shopkeeper refuses to give it up]].

* In ''VideoGame/Postal2'', one of the first tasks is to get milk from the store. If you take it and leave without paying, the owner will come after you with a gun. Of course, this being Postal, you can just shoot him. And of course, that's assuming you didn't [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential already shoot him before even getting the milk]]. The game strongly implies that this is the preferred outcome: the objective is counted as complete as soon as you grab the milk without even hinting at actually paying for it. Plus, attempting to do so places you in ridiculously long queue filled with people custom-designed to irritate the player with their words and behaviour. [[AcceptableTargets That, and the shop owner is clearly a terrorist.]] Police response, on the other hand, is surprisingly measured. You can steal money from a bank vault, or even loot a police station, but if you don't pull a gun yourself, cops will not open fire on you. They will apply their batons on your back enthusiastically, though.

** That said, the "Castle Doctrine Laws" does vary from jurisdiction. Some states require the owner to first give notice to the fact that they are armed or at the very least, cannot shoot the robber in the back. Others are looser, with Stand Your Ground laws that allow for the use of force if there is someone univited on your property (though you can't invite them, then rescind the invitation). In more pro-gun control areas, they might put further restrictions on the owner, such as making this only permissible if they cannot reasonably flee the robber. Regardless, almost all states take a dimmer view if you fire warning shots, which can make it harder to prove self defense, and can be dangerous in and of themselves. It's also not uncommon for the thief to be unarmed for any number of reasons ("Clean Guns", or guns with no criminal history are hard to come by for criminals and the gun will either have to be dirty (used in another crime... and if they arrest you you can be charged with that crime), stolen, or forged (very expensive), or they might be the HonestCrook (or on parole and doesn't want to be further charged with weapons possession) who doesn't want to kill anyone, but not above saying that they have a weapon).

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxBGQ1B6zAc This sketch]], from the brazilian SketchComedy show ''Hermes & Renato'', shows the character Boça ([[BasementDweller a dork in his 30s that lives with his grandmother]]) going to a convenience store and deciding to shoplift ''a candy''. It ends with the security guards beating him up and the last shot revealing that [[spoiler: he's narrating the events of the sketch behind bars]].

* ''VideoGame/SyphonFilterTheOmegaStrain'': In the Arms Bazaar mission, taking anything from the chests in the market will blow your cover.

** That said, the "Castle Doctrine Laws" does vary from jurisdiction. Some states require the owner to first give notice to the fact that they are armed or at the very least, cannot shoot the robber in the back. Others are looser, with Stand Your Ground laws that allow for the use of force if there is someone univited on your property (though you can't invite them, then rescind the invitation). In more pro-gun control areas, they might put further restrictions on the owner, such as making this only permissible if they cannot reasonably flee the robber. Regardless, almost all states take a dimmer view if you fire warning shots, which can make it harder to prove self defense, and can be dangerous in and of themselves. It's also uncommon for the thief to be unarmed for any number of reasons ("Clean Guns", or guns with no criminal history are hard to come by for criminals and the gun will either have to be dirty (used in another crime... and if they arrest you you can be charged with that crime), stolen, or forged (very expensive), or they might be the HonestCrook (or on parole and doesn't want to be further charged with weapons possession) who doesn't want to kill anyone, but not above saying that they have a weapon).

* In ''VideoGame/{{Hades}}'', you might see a pouch of obols in the back of [[TheFerryman Charon's]] shop. You're given the option to "borrow" these obols, whereupon Charon will immediately notice and [[BonusBoss respond by "borrowing" your chance of a successful run]]. Much like all the other examples of this trope, Charon is one of the hardest bosses in the game and is on par with either of the [[WarriorHeaven Champions of Elysium]] stat-wise. After he kills you Zagreus is reminded that Charon is an ancient chthonic god, and it was stupid to steal from him. Defeating him allows Zagreus to keep his ill-gotten gains, at least until the next time you're forced to spend money in his shop, [[WorthyOpponent and provides a small discount for the rest of the run]].

* In ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights: Shadows of Undrentide'', an NPC has a device that allows you to recharge magic items. If you use the device and try to leave without paying for it, he [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins turns you into a penguin]]. And magically seals the door so you can't leave.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''Website/ActsOfGord'' features a few accounts of Gord chasing down shoplifters and throwing them into fences and so forth.
* One of ''Website/{{Cracked}}'''s [[http://www.cracked.com/photoplasty_586_31-life-lessons-you-can-only-learn-from-video-games/ 31 Life Lessons You Can Only Learn From Video Games]] is to avert this by putting a basket on the shopkeeper's head. "Robbery is easier than you think."
[[/folder]]

* During the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, many shopkeepers decided to protect their livelihood, and none were more famous than the image of Korean shopkeepers on their roofs with rifles and shotguns defending their neighborhood. Ethnic tensions between Koreans and African Americans were very poor before the riots began, and much of the violence was directed at Koreatown, which suffered greatly. Koreatown was considered a low priority by the less than spectacular LAPD, who retreated to the wealthy and mostly white areas of the city. One shopkeeper even witnessed police officers [[PoliceAreUseless fleeing from the sound of gunshots]], leaving the shopkeepers and citizens to fend for themselves. So the shopkeepers and Korean volunteers took matters into their own hands and defended their shops with firearms and improvised weapons until the [[TheCavalry National Guard]] showed up to restore order.