Thief (series)/Heartwarming

"The stone cannot know why the chisel cleaves it.
 * Before the mission Escape in the first game, you discover that you've been manipulated by the Big Bad into unsealing the Sealed Evil in A Can. In addition, you have had by someone you thought was a customer, the closest thing you have to friends loosened your bonds and left you alone almost dead, to desperately fight your own way out past monsters you had never thought might exist until now. Running, fighting and sneaking against hope you make it to the exit. Cue cutscene :

The iron cannot know why the fire scorches it.

When thy life is cleft and scorched,

when death and despair do leap at thee,

beat not thy breast and curse thy evil fate,

but thank the Builder for the trials that shape thee."


 * The Overlook Manor mission in Deadly Shadows. Poor widow, Driven to Madness by her husband's sudden unexplained death. She asks you to fetch her a glass of wine from the manor's kitchen to cheer her up. It's not essential to the storyline or the completion of the mission, but fulfilling this mini side quest results in this trope. Later, when Garrett is leaving the mansion, he has the option of stealing the family's life savings and a special bonus piece of loot, which is a family relic. If you leave this loot be and finish the mission, you'll soon receive a letter from the widow. She thanks you for your kindness and compliments you for being a true Gentleman Thief, a rare sight these days. Awwww...
 * Inspector Drept, a minor character Deadly Shadows; despite being a Hammerite, his sole aim in life is to destroy the creature who killed and skinned his only friend, Lauryl, in the Shalebridge Cradle when they were both children. He's nearing old age, and the other Hammerites all believe he's chasing ghosts, but he is in fact the only one with a near-complete idea of what the Big Bad really is; enough that Garrett eventually goes to him for help. It's the plaque above his desk that really crushes you: