History GrandTheftAutoV / SinglePlayerTropesEToM

** As a reference to the many "SerialKiller" myths from San Andreas, the player can find a burnt house in Sandy Shores that belonged to a man named Merlee Abrahams who was the main suspect of being "The Infinity Killer" that had an obsession with infinity and killed 8 hikers with Abrahams never confessing to being the killer before he dies in Bolingbrook Penitentiary in December 2004.

** Playing past HundredPercentCompletion unlocks an entire subplot about [[GovernmentAgencyOfFiction FIB]] and [[TheMasquerade government conspiracies]] about {{Flying Saucer}} cover-ups.
** Achieving HundredPercentCompletion unlocks a bonus mission involving [[spoiler: Bigfoot]]. However the mission doesn't trigger until a random number of in-game days pass (which could mean hours of post-game playing before it appears). Those who [[AllThereInTheManual aren't aware of the mission]] can easily miss it by simply concluding their play and moving on to another game or "Online".

** One of the in-game website links from "Who Killed Leonora Johnson" leads to an article about another murder case involving Jolene Cranley-Evens, Jock Cranley's wife, who vanished after 1978 when she and Jock were hiking on Mount Gordo and Jolene was against Jock becoming a stuntman due to her still having to take care of her own family. If the player goes to the top of Mount Gordo late at night, they can actually spot Jolene's ghost before she disappears if the player gets too close, but can still be seen if the player uses a sniper rifle, with the word "Jock" written in blood where she appears and the player can hear screaming coming from the side of the mountain with it being heavily implied that Jock pushed Jolene off Mount Gordo to her death.

** Achieving HundredPercentCompletion unlocks a bonus mission involving [[spoiler: Bigfoot]]. However the mission doesn't trigger until a random number of in-game days pass (which could mean hours of post-game playing before it appears). Those who [[AllThereInTheManual aren't aware of the mission]] can easily miss it by simply concluding their play and moving on to another game.
** There are some easter eggs related to Creator/RoosterTeeth. They have custom-made patches that resemble the Creator/AchievementHunter logo and sometimes a small dock will spawn four boats colored [[WebAnimation/{{RWBY}} red, white, black, and yellow]] (the colors associated with the four main characters of Creator/MontyOum's ''RWBY'' web series).

** In the next-gen version of the game, there are Peyote plants scattered around the map that you can eat. [[spoiler: Doing so makes you hallucinate into a random animal, which you can roam the map with, including the ability to attack pedestrians and gain a wanted level. Collecting them all unlocks a unique additional plant that turns you into a Bigfoot]].

** In a non-player example, we have Jimmy. [[spoiler:He ends up drugging his own father in order to mug and carjack him, all because he wants to elope with his cheating mother and asshole sister]].

* GoneHorriblyRight: Trevor's Merryweather Heist plan goes off with hardly any hitch, and without Lester's planning which eliminates his 20% cut. Unfortunately, Trevor ends up stealing a bomb and is about to sell it to the Chinese. Lester, who has gotten wind of it, immediately makes them take it back before everyone involved ends up in the top places of a government terrorist kill list.

** Later in the game, when [[spoiler:Debra]] comes back into Floyd's life, they both insult Trevor and [[spoiler:Debra]] ends up pointing a gun at him. Cue Trevor saying ''"You people are not very fucking nice."'' A few seconds of black screen later, Trevor walks out of the house, covered in blood. There's also blood splattered on the kitchen window, suggesting whatever Trevor did to them was ''very'' messy.

*** And, while some random events respawn occasionally, some are believed to only be offered once, and if you kill the wrong person, or simply miss the mission, that's it. Good luck recruiting [[spoiler: Packie [=McReary=]]] for your heists if he [[KilledOffForReal dies]].

** When you can first access the in-game internet, some of the news stories early in the game foreshadow many events that come into play later in the game such as the FIB/IAA rivalry, the increase in gang violence referencing the Ballas, the Lost MC moving into Blaine County, the arrival of the Wei Cheng Triads in San Adreas, and Devin Weston purchasing 11 percent of Merryweather shares as well as taking a stake in Richards Majestics.
** One of the early internet news stories mentions the bankruptcy of Richards Majestics mimi-major rival, Lowenstein Productions, with the studio lot to be torn down in order to make space for Condo's. At least one mission later, the internet reports that Devin Weston has taken a stake in Richard Majestics. [[spoiler:In the final act of the game, Devin Weston attempts to shut down production on "Meltdown" and sell Richard Majestics in order to turn the studio into condo's, implying that he was actually the one behind Lowenstein Productions shutdown as well and only bought a stake to profit for himself.]]

** When you can first access the in-game internet, some of the news stories early in the game foreshadow many events that come into play layer in the game such as the FIB/IAA rivalry, the increase in gang violence referencing the Ballas, the Lost MC moving into Blaine County, the arrival of the Wei Cheng Triads in San Adreas, and Devin Weston purchasing 11 percent of Merryweather shares as well as taking a stake in Richards Majestics.

* ForWantOfANail: [[spoiler:If Michael had not destroyed part of Martin Madrazo's mistress' house, he would not have had to resort to the Vangelico heist to cover the damage, there would not have been a news report about it (and thus he and Franklin wouldn't have been roped into working for the government) and Trevor would have never seen him again because he wouldn't have seen Michael [[SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay using the same phrase he did]] when he robbed the bank in North Yankton at the start of the game.]]

* IdiotPlot

* HotterAndSexier: During private dances, strippers are completely topless, unlike in previous games, where they would wear pasties. It is also possible to seduce the strippers and take them home, in stark contrast to ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', where Niko would comment on how pathetic and frustrated he was for visiting strip clubs in the first place. (Ironically, however, unlike ''GTA San Andreas'', which had multiple strip clubs to visit, there's only one in GTA V).
** Prostitute interactions are particularly more explicit than earlier games (particularly in the dialogue).
** Thanks to improvements in graphic and character design, there are a lot more physically attractive male and female non-player characters (especially near the beach) than in previous games. Sapphire, a particularly attractively designed stripper (and optional "booty call") by 2014 was on the verge of becoming a meme with a number of videos in her honor appearing on Website/YouTube.

** Trevor outright says "You're horrible." to a hitchhiker who admits to having a drug-fuelled lesbian tryst at a party in the desert while her boyfriend was working long hours at his security job trying to support them both.

* MexicanStandoff: The confrontation at the Kortz Center is ''insane''. You have [[spoiler:Michael and Dave, Steve and Andreas, the FIB, the IAA, Merryweather Mercs, a '''friggin gunship''', and eventually Trevor all pointing guns at each other]]. Allegiances also change on a whim, with [[spoiler:Andreas turning on Steve, and Trevor barely managing to hold back the urge to shoot Dave]].

** Franklin's first mission has him and Lamar briefly driving through the Union Depository, which is the setting for [[spoiler:the game's biggest and most climactic heist]]. Similarly, when Michael reunites with Lester at the beginning of the game to discuss locations for a new heist, Lester's first recommendation is the Union Depository, but Michael winces and says he had a much smaller job in mind. Lester then offers two smaller alternatives in the form of either a nearby jewelry store, or a bank up in Paleto Bay. Michael picks the jewelry store, but when they need to acquire a lot of money for an FIB operation about halfway through the game, guess how they get it? Yep, by robbing the Paleto Bay bank.

** When Michael and Lester talk about Trevor during the first heist set up, one of the possible fates Michael suggests is "anonymous charred remains by the roadside". [[spoiler:[[KillItWithFire This is exactly what becomes of Trevor]] during Ending A]]. Similarly, when Michael insists on bringing the untested Franklin into the jewelry store heist, Lester quips that it's "your funeral". [[spoiler: In Ending B, Michael is betrayed and killed by none other than Franklin]].

** There's no effect for altitude sickness present in the game, so you can fly unpressurized or open-cockpit aircraft as high as the game engine allows you to without any effects from hypoxia or altitude sickness showing up. This is most apparent in the mission "Minor Turbulence," in which Trevor flies an old cropduster biplane up to the altitude of a military cargo jet without passing out from oxygen deficiency, and this is ''without'' mentioning that most cropduster aircraft, especially vintage models like the one Trevor used, completely lack the performance capability to match altitude with jet aircraft, let alone catch up to one at cruising speed. This goes double for the soldiers in the cargo hold of said jet, who are able to stand in the unpressurized hold without masks and engage in a shootout with Trevor, also without showing any effects of flying in the stratosphere the entire time.