| rdfs:comment | - A character or business, often the protagonist, performs a service or supplies a good of reasonable demand, and expects a reasonable payment in return. In many cultures, particularly those that appear in works of fiction, "payment" means "money." Unfortunately, not everyone who needs the character's goods or services can pay with money. In many cases, this is due to poverty; although there are other circumstances in which a potential client simply cannot (or will not) use standard currency. In these cases, the client will present a non-monetary gift to the character as a "payment" of sorts.
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| abstract | - A character or business, often the protagonist, performs a service or supplies a good of reasonable demand, and expects a reasonable payment in return. In many cultures, particularly those that appear in works of fiction, "payment" means "money." Unfortunately, not everyone who needs the character's goods or services can pay with money. In many cases, this is due to poverty; although there are other circumstances in which a potential client simply cannot (or will not) use standard currency. In these cases, the client will present a non-monetary gift to the character as a "payment" of sorts. Sometimes the character does this willingly, as he or she is good-hearted and likes helping out those in need and/or has a familiar connection to the client. Other times, the character does this grudgingly or may attempt to avoid doing this altogether, possibly because of greed, or possibly because he or she is foreseeing his or her own impending poverty from accepting too many gifts instead of money. In still other situations, the character may flat-out refuse the gift and deny the service, or the character may prefer the gift over money, or the character may accept it because the person making the offer is powerful, crazy, and/or potentially dangerous. This trope can also be Played for Laughs if the client offers the character something ridiculous and/or worthless. The one thing that distinguishes a Pro Bono Barter from a regular barter is the pro bono; that is, the character accepting a gift instead of money is essentially providing a good or service for free, because he or she lives in a culture where bartering is uncommon or flat-out abnormal. This is often the case even with items of high value, since the character may or may not have the ability (or the heart) to exchange the gift for money. Compare Work Off the Debt, a much more specific trope in which a character must pay off a food bill by washing dishes or performing some other menial job around a restaurant, and Hospitality for Heroes, where someone noticing the good deed rewards the individual with whatever they can. Examples of Pro Bono Barter include:
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