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{{trope}}
{{quote|'''RGN''': But how? None of us -- hang on, why is everyone looking at me?
'''JUHANI''': Because you always do this sort of thing.
'''MISSION''': Yeah, we just kind of tag along while you do all the work.
'''RGN''': Look, I hate to disappoint you all, but I don't actually have any form of legal training.|RGN is [[Genre Blind]] after being asked to be a defense lawyer in ''[http://hawk.kotorfanmedia.com/node/1771 Yet Another KotOR Parody]''.}}
[[RPG
Everyone, but everyone, whom you meet in the game has some kind of task they want you to perform. Very often this has nothing to do with your official job; you may have gained fame as a slayer of monsters and bandits, yet people will be asking you to sort out their marital disputes or fix machinery. It's not quite the same thing as [[Dude, Where's My Respect?]], as they may well have a healthy respect for you - in fact, that's often why they've sought you out in the first place. If you're lucky you'll receive a rare item or a monetary reward, but sometimes all you get is a warm fuzzy feeling and [[Karma Meter|karma points]].
A result of this is that every RPG hero comes across as a jack-of-all-trades capable of performing any task asked of him, [[Instant Expert|regardless of how little experience or training he/she has in that field]], and can often outperform actual experts that have been doing it their entire life. This can be really weird if your professional soldier PC is asked to say, babysit some kids or decorate for a dinner party by a complete stranger, especially if you [[But Thou Must!|aren't given the option to refuse]].
Bonus points if the sky is a weird color or the world is in the process of changing into an infernal hellscape at the time.
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Can become a [[Plot Tumor]]. Related to [[Apathetic Citizens]] (your clients), [[It's Up to You]] (nobody else will do these things for you), and [[Take Your Time]] (do as many sidequests as you want!).
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
* ''[[Baldur's Gate]]'' has lots of them, where you need to pick up rings, gems, books, nymphs... whatever, for no real reason that has anything to do with the plot. Fortunately, many provide experience, gold, and reputation, as well as making your journal quite an interesting read.
** ''[[Baldur's Gate]]'' 2 is much better about it: the sidequests are ''just'' as irrelevant, but you either a) have a personal stake, b) make it clear that you're looking for a large sum of cash for a personal quest, or c) given to you ''because'' you're an ass-kicking demi-god. Throne of Bhaal is also significant in that there are ''no'' irrelevant sidequests ''per se'': some seem that way, but end up being relevant later.
* Particularly jarring in ''[[
* These are arguably the whole point of ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'' series. There are dozens upon dozens of irrelevant side-quests (The first two had infinite quests that were procedurally-generated on-demand), all of which are optional. Even the "main quest" a.k.a the game's entire plot, is optional. Players are expected to pick-and-choose which ones to complete on their own.
** This doesn't keep four out of five games from having main plots with good in-universe reasons for why you ''[[Take Your Time|shouldn't]]'' keep them hanging (the exception is [[The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall]], which instead has reasons ''why'' you'd go off and do entirely unrelated things for a while).
* Humorously [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] in ''[[Fallout]] 3'', which has a radio station on which the DJ periodically gives news reports about the various side-quests your character accomplishes (i.e. if you help the settlement of Arefu in the Blood Ties quest, he'll praise you for doing so). One quest involves collecting 30 bottles of a limited edition soda for a cola addict. When you finish the quest, the DJ's news report is simply "The Lone Wanderer is done collecting ''soda bottles''. Sheesh, talk about your slow news days".
** Surprisingly subverted in the first two games, though. No matter how irrelevant they may seem, many of the sidequests you can undertake can, and often do, directly affect the game's ending depending on how you completed them. This is also the case in ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'', which came after ''Fallout 3''.
*** The above is true towards the end of the game, where your now [[Sequence Breaking|(supposedly)]] experienced and well equipped character is entrusted with all sorts of important tasks by the various factions. Throughout the early game on the other hand, most of your quests still involve inconsequential things such as guarding cattle or saving some nobody, [[Take Your Time|despite the fact that any delay may very well lead to the destruction of your entire tribe]] [[Gameplay and Story Segregation|(from a storyline standpoint at least)]].
* ''[[Final Fantasy XI]]'''s adventurers are never explicitly stated to do anything... just "adventure". Said adventures somehow include collecting stamps and grocery shopping. Apparently the little kid definition is what comes to mind to these people...
** The new ''Abyssea'' expansions are based entirely around an alternate version of Vana'diel (called Abyssea) in which all of the adventurers simply disappeared one day {{spoiler|in their world, the [[Alternate Universe]] version of the [[Player Character]] failed the final fight of ''Chains of Promathia'' and was absorbed by the awakening god}}. Without adventurers to grease the wheels and do the dirty work, it doesn't take long for [[The End of the World as We Know It]] to set in.
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** Shepard frequently [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades]] this, to which the quest-giver usually responds "I can pay you", which makes it all fine and dandy, since [[Adam Smith Hates Your Guts|shopkeepers have no time for galactic saviours]].
*** The gene therapy couple get a [[Take That Us]] in the sequel in incidental dialogue. She's still worried.
{{quote|
*** The sequel has probably the most irrelevant irrelevant sidequest ever: finding out if there are fish in the Presidium lake. That's it. True, nobody actually ''asks'' Shepard to do this, but they still seem to find settling what amounts to two tourists arguing to be a worthy use of their "preparing to save humanity" time anyway.<ref>Note that, while this quest seems completely irrelevant, if you do it right, it's less a sidequest and more "While I was there, I happened to find out X". Shepard is, in fact, going all over the Zakera Wards, trying to prepare for his/her mission, and while in a bar on an unrelated side-trip, s/he runs into the person that happens to know the answer.</ref>
* Have you ever wanted to find a banana, cure recurring nightmares, take a picture of snow, or give unsolicited weight loss advice? Well, then ''[[Mega Man Star Force]] 2'' is the game for you!
** ''[[Mega Man Battle Network]]'' was only slightly better because it had a valid reason for them to be given to the PC (he accepted them via a job board)
*** That, and the fact that most of the time your PC is basically a just an elementary-school student. Major threats only come up in specific [[Closed Circle]] events, while the rest of the time the series is more [[Slice of Life]], so it makes sense for you to do odd jobs on the side when there's no major disaster in progress.
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** Subverted, however, in that none of the sidequests in the game are truly irrelevant; the hero is, in addition to trying to save the day, is looking to constantly improve. Sidequests are optional, but never worthless.
* Taken to ridiculous extents in ''Sacred'' and ''Sacred 2''. One moment you're crawling through fetid sewers, fighting off thieves, cultists, undead, dragons and gods know what else, another you're approached by a tearful girl asking you to help find her pet bunny.
* ''
* Mostly averted in ''[[The Witcher]]''. Geralt is a professional monster-slayer and he can take out lots of contracts in each chapter of the game, though ultimately these amount to [[Fetch Quest
* The main character of the ''[[Ryu ga Gotoku|Yakuza]]'' games is extremely community minded, which seems to be a open invitation to provide him with ridiculous requests for help. "Please, you have to stop my corrupt boss by becoming a male escort!", "Please, you must run my Hostess Bar while I go to see my sick mother!".
* Justified in the ''[[Ultima]]'' games, from IV onward, where your character is explicitly a role-model for the population and helping people out boosts the [[Karma Meter]]. In VII, Lord British encourages you to mingle with the citizens and solve their sidequests.
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* 77.4% of ''[[Paper Mario (franchise)|Paper Mario]]'' is composed of this trope. Especially in the form of mail delivery and Koopa Koot's favors.
* In ''[[Okami]]'', you can end up helping an old lady with her laundry, getting ingredients for a restaurant (twice!), racing messengers, taking vases as offerings to shrines, feeding kittens, and what-have-you. And you're playing as ''god''. Heck, the plot ''requires'' you to do some of the odder ones, like helping clueless people fish with no line and having a turnip-digging contest with a kid's pet dog. Vaguely justified in that you need to re-earn the people's faith, but still, you'd think that there would be better ways to do it.
* [[Borderlands]], which provide the fastest route for experience to level up your characters. They're less important late-game.
* In ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (2006
* In ''[[Grand Theft Auto IV]]'' and ''[[Red Dead Redemption]]'', you are frequently tasked with doing silly side missions, oftentimes to get NPCs out of debt. If you are someone who spends a lot of time roaming the [[Wide Open Sandbox]], you can easily have enough money to settle these debts for your friend without jumping through the hoops, but this is not an option.
** Many Grand Theft Auto games are like this. In ''San Andreas'' your beloved Grove Street is overrun by drug dealers, smackheads and people who personally hate you. But hey, let's go race cars and dance!
* ''[[
* Used a lot in ''[[Soul Nomad and The World Eaters]]'', to the point where resident team [[Jerkass]] Gig openly lampshades it. {{spoiler|Then completely and utterly subverted with [[The Reveal]] that every single one of these sidequests was set up by World Eater Raksha in order to remove any obstacles that would prevent him from taking over the world}}.
* There are several in ''[[Dragon Age]]: Origins'', but they tend to pay well and so usually worth doing in a game built on [[Anti-Grinding]] and [[An Entrepreneur Is You|anti-gold farming]].
** Early on, if you ask one merchant if you can help him find his AWOL employee he [[
** Also, Sten gets frustrated with what he believes is this trope:
{{quote|
'''Warden''': I'm not running.
'''Sten''': No, you're not. [[Anti-Mutiny|I'm taking command.]] }}
*** Ironically, the quest that triggers this conversation ''is'' actually part of the main plot.
* ''[[Dragon Age II]]'' is absolutely brimming with these, as the focus is less on any overarching threat and more on [[Player Character|Hawke's]] rise to glory. However, there are a lot of quests that appear to be irrelevant, but later are revealed to tie into the main plot. An example would be {{spoiler|the serial killer story arc, which suddenly comes to the fore just before the climax of Act II, then again at the climax of Act III}}.
* Most (side)quests in ''[[Dragon Quest IX]]''. [[
* ''[[Persona 3]]'' justified these by having the sole questgiver wishing to test your resourcefulness and power (or just indulge her curiosity about the outside world). Meanwhile, in ''[[Persona 4]]'' all of the side quests fit this trope to a T - random people needing random problems solved and items gathered. One questgiver notes that she wouldn't bother you except you've gained a reputation as being able to find anything people ask for.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Role Playing Game]]▼
[[Category:Gameplay and Story Segregation]]
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