Consequence Combo
The Hero has received the Call to Adventure, but has refused it. He is then told he will receive a reward for accepting it. If he doesn't do it, something suitably horrible will happen to him. Simply, this is a way that the hero is forced to answer the call.
This is specifically for those instances when the same person (usually The Herald) will initiate both the reward and the punishment. For example, if the hero is called upon to defuse a bomb, he might expect to be rewarded for succeeding, while the natural consequence of failing is being blown up. But that is not this trope.
Essentially, while some people inspire loyalty by offering a carrot, and some people inspire fear by threatening a stick, this person just hits you over the head with the carrot.
Compare The Call Knows Where You Live.
Examples of Consequence Combo include:
Film
- In Run Fatboy Run, Dennis' motivation to run the marathon starts out as "prove to the woman I love that I have the willpower to see something through to the end". However, following her Guess Who I'm Marrying scene he gives up on winning her back. By now there are other people involved, though; his Cranky Landlady threatens to call off his back rent if he finishes the race or kick him into the street if he doesn't, and his best friend has bet a lot of money on him (with dodgy people) and they fall out over his quitting.
Literature
- In Tiger Moon, by Antonia Michaelis, Krishna tells the Unlucky Everydude that he's got to go rescue his daughter, the princess, from the Evil Overlord. If he succeeds, he will be reborn as a wise and prosperous man. If he fails, he will be reborn as low lifeforms, such as worms, over and over again.
- In Line Of Dreams (Sergey Lukyanenko's Master of Orion-based series of novels) one of the major plot points near-instant resurrection infinite times without any negative consequences whatsoever at a nearest Respawn Point is avaliable to all of humankind, except it's definitely not cheap. The Corrupt Corporate Executive who's in charge of the whole resurrecting thing hires the Anti-Hero for a mission, and free unlimited resurrection for him is already granted as a part of the call. If he succeeds, the further reward is being discussed later. If he fails or runs away, then as soon as he dies and revives next time he will be going to be tortured to death by the best Torture Technicians in the known space. Infinite amount of times.
- Terry Pratchett's Making Money has Moist von Lipwig who is written a dear old note by an elderly widow telling him that "the sum of $20 000 annually will be paid for performing this duty, which I beg you to accept. If you do not ... your arse will belong to the Guild of Assassins." Thus inspiring him to start another adventure, inventing economics.
- Moist also gets the same deal from Vetinari in Going Postal. He's offered a stable job as postmaster general, with decent pay and good retirement benefits and, of course, the chance to live relatively free for a convicted criminal formerly on death row. Alternatively, he can walk out the door next to him... Into a Bottomless Pit. Needless to say he expects the same from Vetinari in Making Money when he's asked to become the city's master of coin, only to discover that the door next to him contains a completely normal room with a solid floor, and that he's free to return to his job at the post office. It's the aforementioned old widow who drags him into it instead.
- The trope is defied in Going Postal by Reacher Gilt, Moist's Evil Counterpart. He's given the same choice as Moist, and chooses the pit. It's left unclear whether or not he checked the other side of the door before walking through it.
- Moist also gets the same deal from Vetinari in Going Postal. He's offered a stable job as postmaster general, with decent pay and good retirement benefits and, of course, the chance to live relatively free for a convicted criminal formerly on death row. Alternatively, he can walk out the door next to him... Into a Bottomless Pit. Needless to say he expects the same from Vetinari in Making Money when he's asked to become the city's master of coin, only to discover that the door next to him contains a completely normal room with a solid floor, and that he's free to return to his job at the post office. It's the aforementioned old widow who drags him into it instead.
- At the start of Isaac Asimov's in Elijah Bailey crime trilogy, The Naked Sun, Bailey is told he will get a possible promotion to class 7 if he accepts and does a good job, meaning his family will be looked after, he will get better rations, better showers and all that comes with it. However, with the offer comes the unspoken threat of declassification if he refuses.
- In another Asimov example, Foundation's Edge, Trevize is told that if he completes his mission he will be allowed to return to his homeworld as a reward. If he doesn't, they'll blow him up if he tries to get near.