History Main / FreeSamplePlotCoupon

* ''Fanfic/OnePieceASmashAdventure'': Merlon had the first mystery heart and gave it to the Strawhats similar to how the Merlon in Super Paper Mario had the first Pure Heart.

** ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeHunters'' downplays this trope. The whereabouts of the first Octolith are found at the start of the game, but like all other Octoliths it's guarded by a boss that must be defeated. The remaining Octoliths not only require defeating a boss to get, but also ''reach'' them by exploring extensively the main locations of the Alimbic solar system.

** In ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'', the first of twelve artifacts can be found at the Artifact Temple you need to bring them all to in the first place.
** ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes'' takes it further, as one of the ten keys needed to access the final area is already in its lock thanks to the efforts of a long-deceased Luminoth warrior, so Samus only needs to find nine. And one of those nine keys lies close to its required destination, needing little effort to find it; namely, its location is the DarkWorld version of [[spoiler:Samus's landing site]].
** In ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'', you're instead hunting Energy Cells to restore power as you go to portions of a derelict space vessel; conveniently, a wrecked fighter is crashed in its docking bay, with its Energy Cell having fallen out for you to grab and use right away.
** ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeHunters'' downplays this trope. The whereabouts of the first Octolith are found at the start of the game, but like all other Octoliths it's guarded by a boss that must be defeated.

* In ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', Thanos [[spoiler: easily gets the first Infinity Stone offscreen]].

* Several arcs of ''Manga/DragonBall'' revolve around looking for the Dragon Balls. But at the start of the first arc, Son Goku already has one and Bulma meets him having ''two'', making the quest much easier already. After Shenron is summoned and the corresponding wish is granted, the Dragon Balls scatter across the world after granting a wish, making finding them again harder.

* It may turn out that you already had one of the tokens... Or you '''are''' one [[TomatoSurprise yourself]]!

%%** In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'', Mario's goal is to retrieve the Grand Stars that fuel the Comet Observatory built by Rosalina. Luckily for him, the first of these Stars (found in the prologue level, Gateway Galaxy) is the only one that isn't guarded by any of the bosses, in fact its power hasn't been fully used yet. Also a case of BackFromTheBrink, because that ''is'' the last remaining Grand Star unused by Bowser or his army.

** In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'', Mario's goal is to retrieve the Grand Stars that fuel the Comet Observatory built by Rosalina. Luckily for him, the first of these Stars (found in the prologue level, Gateway Galaxy) is the only one that isn't guarded by any of the bosses, in fact its power hasn't been fully used yet. Also a case of BackFromTheBrink, because that ''is'' the last remaining Grand Star unused by Bowser or his army.

*** Link and Midna must reunite the four fragments of the Mirror of Twilight in order to pursue Zant into the Twilight Realm. The first fragment, luckily, is still in the mirror's stand when they find it broken, so they only have to look for three more.

* ''Film/TheTwelveGoldMedallions'': The titular medallions are required to prevent a lawful minister from being sente3nced to death, and the heroic knight, Lung, must collect all twelve - three which he receives in the film's ActionPrologue.

** ''Banjo-Tooie'' has Jingaling handle the first Jiggy to the protagonists after they promise him to rescue all Jinjos. This Jiggy allows them later to access the first Jiggywiggy Challenge and unlock the first regular world. There they can find more Jiggies and repeat the process with later Challenges to unlock future worlds.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* The trope is often averted in ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' games, where Link has to traverse through a dungeon and other places before gaining the first of the PlotCoupon items. However, there are a few exceptions:
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'', after Ganondorf takes over Hyrule and Link wakes up from his seven-year slumber, the first Sage tells him that all the others have to be awakened so they can together capture and seal Ganondorf. He also gives him the first Sage Medallion, Light.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'':

** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'', the first Ancient Tablet is already given to him by Fi in Skyloft, allowing him to gain access to the first area of the Surface, Faron Woods. The trope is inverted in the Song of the Hero quest, as Levias is the character that tells Link about the song and the parts of it that were taught separately to him and the three Dragons guarding the areas of the Surface, but he won't teach him his part until all others are learned.
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds A Link Between Worlds]]'', the Pendant of Courage [[ChekhovsGun is actually Zelda's special charm]], which she gives Link when he goes to warn her about Yuga. You still have to go through the Eastern Palace, which features no quest rewards, before Link learns this, though, so it's technically a subversion.

** Mario's goal in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' is to retrieve the Grand Stars that fuel the Comet Observatory built by Rosalina. Luckily for him, the first of these Stars (found in the prologue level, Gateway Galaxy) is the only one that isn't guarded by any of the bosses, in fact its power hasn't been fully used yet. Also a case of BackFromTheBrink, because that ''is'' the last remaining Grand Star unused by Bowser or his army.

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/JetForceGemini'': When Mizar escapes from his palace after Lupus easily defeats him, he threatens the characters to redirect an asteroid to blow up planet Earth. Aware of this, King Jeff tells the protagonists that there is a huge mothership that will help them intercept the asteroid and find a way to stop it, but it's missing twelve pieces. Eleven of these pieces are scattered through the galaxy, so the three characters have to do a FetchQuest to retrieve them. The 12th piece, technically the first, is in Jeff's hands, but [[NoHeroDiscount he won't give it away until all 282 missing tribals in the game are rescued]]. He doesn't even care if the aforementioned asteroid manages to hit Earth in the meantime.

* Played with in all ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeTrilogy'' games; each of them involves a PlotCoupon hunt, but it doesn't begin until about mid-way through the game.
** In the [[VideoGame/MetroidPrime first game]], the first of twelve artifacts can be found at the Artifact Temple you need to bring them all to in the first place.

* The first level of ''VideoGame/SnakePass'' needs you to collect only one Keystone, and it's sitting there out in the open. In later levels all three Keystones are scattered all over the place, in increasingly tricky locations.
* It's only an optional sidequest, but the DLC of ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' has a man who lost 151 Alolan Diglett all over the Isle of Armor and requests your help in finding them. He asks this of you just after you stumble into the first one (who blocks a bridge that is the most obvious way to reach the plot-relevant dojo.)

The work you're in has a writer, of course. In this case, the writer knows that a handy way to structure a plot is to present it as a quest for a [[PlotCoupon certain number of special items]]. But your heart may sink when you receive what looks like the Grocery List from Hell -- find the Four Stars of Virtue, slay the Six Dragons of Deceit, win a kiss from all Fifteen Maidens of Dubious Intent, and only ''then'' can you defeat the [[BigBad Dark Emperor]]... You know, slaying even ''one'' Dragon of Deceit could be the plot of an entire adventure. And what does a Maiden of Dubious Intent look like, anyway?

* ''VideoGame/PetalCrash'' has the seven Sacred Blossoms, a set of artifacts that grant a wish to whoever gets all seven of them. Each character starts with one already in their possession (Lilibri for instance starts off with the Lily, while Daize won his in a game of cards) with their story consisting of travelling across Florea to defeat the other characters and obtain their Sacred Blossoms.

* Earlier arcs of ''Manga/DragonBall'', for the most part, revolve around looking for the Dragon Balls. But at the start of the first arc, Son Goku already has one and Bulma meets him having ''two'', making the quest much easier already. After Shenron is summoned and the corresponding wish is granted, the Dragon Balls scatter across the world after granting a wish, making finding them again harder.
* ''Manga/InuYasha'': After the Shikon is fragmented into several pieces, scattered through Feudal Japan, Kagome and [=InuYasha=] find their first shard laying around with a few hours (which is how they find out it was broken).

* "[[ComicBook/SupergirlRebirth The Killers of Krypton]]": After explaining to ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} that she will need to gather six data stones scattered all over the galaxy to discover why and by whom was destroyed Krypton, [[Franchise/GreenLantern Appa Ali Apsa]] gives her the first stone.

* In ''Film/{{Lockout}}'', Snow receives the lighter and briefcase from the dying Colonel and promptly stashes the briefcase [[spoiler:(which turns out to be a MockGuffin) and -- unknowingly -- keeps the lighter which is the ACTUAL item he seeking.]]

* In ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'', while the rest of the Clow Cards were freed, the Windy remains (Sakura having had it in her hand when she read its name).

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* In ''Film/{{Lockout}}'', Snow receives the lighter and briefcase from the dying Colonel and promptly stashes the briefcase [[spoiler:(which turns out to be a MockGuffin) and -- unknowingly -- keeps the lighter which is the ACTUAL item he seeking.]]
* ''Film/TheGoldenVoyageOfSinbad''. The grand vizier of Marabia gives Sinbad a quest to find the three golden tablets before the evil Koura does. Luckily Sinbad accidentally acquired the first tablet from Koura before meeting the vizier; the vizier has the second; and Sinbad uses the first two to locate the area where the last tablet can be found.
* In ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', Thanos [[spoiler: easily gets the first Infinity Stone offscreen]].
* In ''Film/JumanjiWelcomeToTheJungle'', the party is given the Jaguar's Eye at the start of the game.

[[folder:Literature]]
* The quest for the Horcruxes in ''Literature/HarryPotter'' is a DoubleSubversion. The first Horcrux destroyed was Riddle's Diary, four years before Harry even knew it was such. And it took the plot of an entire book (''Chamber of Secrets'') to destroy it, so it wouldn't fit the trope. However, in ''Half-Blood Prince'', when Dumbledore tells Harry about Horcruxes and the importance of destroying them, he tells him that not only is the diary already out of the picture, so is Marvolo Gaunt's Ring, which he and Snape had already found and gotten rid of prior to the events of ''Half-Blood Prince''.
* In the novel ''Literature/TheDarkIsRising'', Will Stanton is given the first Sign, the Sign of Iron, before he even learns that he is an Old One and starts his quest for the other five Signs.
* In ''Literature/TheKeysToTheKingdom'', Arthur is given half of the first Key right at the start of ''Mister Monday'', and the first part of the Will has already escaped before he enters the House to find the rest of the seven Keys and free the other six parts of the Will.
* A villainous example occurs in ''Literature/TheDarkTower'', where [[BigBad The Crimson King]] is trying to end reality by destroying the six beams that hold up the titular Tower. By the time the story starts, two of the beams have broken on their own, and the King has destroyed another.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* Several ''Franchise/KamenRider'' shows indulge in the trope:
** ''Series/KamenRiderOOO'' is a continual struggle between all parties for control of the various Core Medals, with Eiji starting out with just enough to access his base form and demonstrate his part-swapping gimmick.
** ''Series/KamenRiderGhost'' gets the Musashi Eyecon immediately upon acquiring his superpowers, but has to hunt down the other fourteen needed to wish him back to life. This gets {{exaggerated}} when he gets an extension to the time limit needed, as he has ten Eyecons with his friend having three.
** ''Series/KamenRiderBuild'' starts with a fair number of Fullbottles already in his possession, and has to create the rest from the remains of each MonsterOfTheWeek or steal them from the antagonists. Of course, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero it's not until he's finished creating them all]] that he finds out they're components of an ArtifactOfDoom.
** Subverted in ''Series/KamenRiderZiO''. Sougo is charged with collecting the powers of the nineteen Kamen Riders that preceded him in the form of Ridewatches, and his reluctant ally Kamen Rider Geiz already has the ones for Ghost and Drive. However, the Ghost Ridewatch gets destroyed, meaning Sougo has to go through the process of acquiring a new one anyway. And more importantly, when he does collect them all and unlock his SuperMode, the fact that he never legitimately gained the Drive powers on his own works against him and forces him to go and get the Drive Ridewatch for real before he can be at full power.
* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1963'' episode "Demon with a Glass Hand". Trent must find the three missing fingers of his artificial left hand to save humanity from the Kyben invasion. Fortunately Trent's incomplete left hand is a computer that can help him find the three fingers.
* In ''Series/PowerRangersOperationOverdrive,'' it's the ''last'' of the five jewels that's easy - it was already in their base in a sealed compartment. But then the villains [[AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs come barging in]].
* In ''Series/PowerRangersDinoCharge,'' of the ten Energems lost in the dinosaur age, the first five are what gives the Rangers their powers.

[[folder:Theater]]
* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' stageplay "Seven Keys to Doomsday", the Doctor already has the first of the seven crystals when he shows up at the beginning of the play.

** ''Banjo-Tooie'' has Jingaling explain Jiggies to the protagonists while handing them the first one of that particular game.

* In ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'', K. Rool orders his minions to steal the Golden Bananas from DK's Banana Hoard so he's distracted finding them while K. Rool buys time to repair the Blas-O-Matic and use it to destroy DK Isles. To make matters worse, the worlds where the Bananas were placed are guarded by B. Locker, who won't allow the Kongs to enter if they don't have the necessary amount of Golden Bananas. Fortunately, the first world (Jungle Japes) only requires one Golden Banana, which can be collected easily when the lobby leading to the world's entrance is opened.

* In ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'', Mario gets the first Pure Heart handed to him before the player even officially has control of him. Hilariously, you can avert ButThouMust by refusing multiple times to accept the first PlotCoupon, eventually leading to the giver just giving up and a NonStandardGameOver before the game even begins.

** Mario's goal in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' is to retrieve the Grand Stars that fuel the Comet Observatory built by Rosalina. Luckily for him, the first of these Stars is the only one that isn't guarded by any of the bosses, in fact its power hasn't been fully used yet. Also a case of BackFromTheBrink.

* Averted in ''VideoGame/JetForceGemini'': When Mizar escapes from his palace after Lupus easily defeats him, he threatens the characters to redirect an asteroid to blow up planet Earth. Aware of this, King Jeff tells the protagonists that there is a huge mothership that will help them intercept the asteroid and find a way to stop it, but it's missing twelve pieces. Eleven of these pieces are scattered through the galaxy, so the three characters have to do a FetchQuest to retrieve them. The 12th piece, technically the first, is in Jeff's hands, but [[NoHeroDiscount he won't give it away until all 282 missing tribals in the game are rescued]]. He doesn't even care if the aforementioned asteroid manages to hit Earth in the meantime.

* Downplayed in ''Manga/InuYasha''. Kagome already has the Shikon pearl inside her at the start of the series, but after some unsavory events it is fragmented into several pieces, scattered through Feudal Japan. Thus the objective is to retrieve them, and the first of them is held by a very powerful opponent, thus negating the trope.

The work you're in has a writer, of course. In this case, the writer knowfs that a handy way to structure a plot is to present it as a quest for a [[PlotCoupon certain number of special items]]. But your heart may sink when you receive what looks like the Grocery List from Hell -- find the Four Stars of Virtue, slay the Six Dragons of Deceit, win a kiss from all Fifteen Maidens of Dubious Intent, and only ''then'' can you defeat the [[BigBad Dark Emperor]]... You know, slaying even ''one'' Dragon of Deceit could be the plot of an entire adventure. And what does a Maiden of Dubious Intent look like, anyway?