Supplements with their own tropes:

* ''YMMV/VampireTheMasqueradeFifthEdition''
* ''YMMV/ChicagoByNight''

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* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The Anarchs claiming credit for the 2008 Financial Crisis and the Sabbat ''trying'' to claim credit for 9/11 despite the text repeatedly pointing out that that was complete bullshit.
* CompleteMonster: See [[Monster/TheWorldOfDarkness here]].
* DoNotDoThisCoolThing: One aspect of the game is that the player is supposed to view being turned into a vampire as a hellish curse and spend most of their time reflecting upon their undead nature and politicking in vampire world rather than focusing on fighting and action. However, this is undermined by the fact that the game's version of vampirism gives the player access to all kinds of over the top powers while also openly disregarding most of the traditional weaknesses vampires typically have, allowing skilled players to go all out with their character's abilities with minimal consequence. This has led to a sizable portion of the game's player base choosing to play it as a straightforward action game rather than the personal horror roleplay the creators intended it to be—to the point that some players have joked that it needs barely any tweaking to work as a game about superheroes.
* EvilIsCool:
** Supposed to be subverted. However, some writers play it straight, usually with some of the most atrocious Clans.
** The Sabbat is an interesting case. While it draws many who just want to play AlwaysChaoticEvil type characters, if you look into the lore a little, you will find that someone put ''way'' more effort into making them cool and interesting than necessary for what originally was (and in the current edition, once again is) an antagonist-only faction. This includes a society built around cool medieval anachronisms like chivalry, certain values which are actually closer to modern-Western sensibilities than the Camarilla's (meritocracy, camaraderie, freedom, individualism, rebellion against authority not doing its job), having historically provided sanctuary to some of the most [[SpecialSnowflakeSyndrome unusual and unique]] types of vampires in the world (often persecuted outcasts), and the countless [[PathOfInspiration Paths of Enlightenment]], which not only provide a wide variety of interesting possible worldviews and religions (as opposed to the Camarilla's single one), they also run on BlueAndOrangeMorality rather than explicit evil and so can theoretically be interpreted non-psychotically and provide an interesting roleplaying challenge. Additionally, while they are typically {{Hypocrite}}s and incredibly bad at doing what they promise to do, they are the only faction who ''have'' successfully found ways that solve or at least lessen many of vampirekind's biggest issues [[note]]their Vinculum breaks the tyrannical blood-bond and also negates the kindred's omnicidal paranoia towards their own kind, the overpowering domination of elders is reduced by facing them as a pack and not doing politics on their terms, the inevitable degeneration and spiral of doom over the centuries can be countered with the Paths, which allow a vampire to rebuild their self and "go up" rather than down, the Antediluvians they claim to fight are absolutely real and if vampires knew what was good for them they ''would'' form a taskforce to destroy them...[[/note]]. In other words, while people drawn to such aspects may not necessarily think that the ''Evil'' itself makes the Sabbat cool, many might still flock to them hoping for a more well-realized version of the countless cool ''ideas'' they have exclusive access to.
*** This actually ended up having a tangible effect on development, as Fifth Edition gave many of the Sabbat's better points to the playable Anarchs, made their clans available for every sect, and explicitly stated that vampires may follow a religion, including a BlueAndOrangeMorality-style one, while still on the Path of Humanity (where the understanding of what constitutes Humanity itself was also altered to be up to the individual).
* FanNickname: The Russian part of the fandom tends to refer to Old Clan Tzimisce as "Zimischi". The clan's original name is just as unpronounceable in Russian as it is in English, and the Old Clan faction is canonically prominent in Russia - so it needs a Russified name, and Zimischi it is. It means something like "Great Winters". Most use a ''different'' transliteration for the Sabbat Tzimisce ("Tsimiskhi" is the most common). So there is Tsimiskhi the Sabbat clan, and Zimischi the Independent clan.
* LGBTFanbase: The game was inclusive and included many gay, bisexual, or lesbian characters at a time when they were still uncommon in [=RPGs=].
* MagnificentBastard:
** [[UsefulNotes/VladTheImpaler Vlad Tepes]], later known as {{Dracula}}, is a Tzimisce "Voivoide" who became an independent ghoul by capturing and bleeding vampires. Hunting for a vampire to embrace him, Dracula lured an army of [[Characters/VampireTheMasqueradeSabbat Sabbat]] and leaked their location to the [[Characters/VampireTheMasqueradeCamarilla Camarilla]] to come in, sweep up the remnants with his own forces and take two powerful Tzimisce hostage. Forcing one to embrace him, he diablerized the elder and released his sire with a warning to never meddle in his affairs again. Keeping a tight grip over the region, Dracula plays Sabbat and Camarilla against one another to increase his own power, all while flaunting the Masquerade by manipulating Creator/BramStoker into novelizing his life story.
** [[ConsummateProfessional Archon Theo "Killa B" Bell]] was a former slave Embraced into the Brujah clan by the noble Don Cerro. Slaughtering his former master and [[TheBerserker losing himself to the Beast]], Theo kept his master's name of Bell to remind himself of the power he wielded. Named Archon for his skill, Theo becomes a figure of [[TheDreaded renown and terror]], performing operations with brutal and effective skill. Having been a member of the Underground Railroad as a mortal, Theo cultivates more relations with mortals than most and has battled against the Confederacy and Jim Crow from the shadows. As a member of the Camarilla, Theo is a key figure in the East Coast War who devastates many members of the Sabbat, luring treacherous Lasombra Marcus Vitel into a trap to destroy him. When the Camarilla begins to persecute Thin-Bloods, Theo leads a {{defect|orFromDecadence}}ion to the Anarchs, ambushing and destroying the elder Ventrue Hardestadt the Younger in the process.
** [[TheAce Talley the Hound]] is perhaps the finest assassin of the Sabbat. In life, Talley was capable of hunting down and trapping even Lupines. As a vampire, Talley drifts from master to master, performing services with brilliant aplomb while obtaining anything he wants and [[PragmaticVillainy keeping himself from power]] so as to not make himself a target. Able to match wits and power with even the deadly rogue Lasombra assassin Lucita, Talley is assigned to guard one of her targets during the East Coast War and soon deduces it to be the least important of the three potential targets. After Lucita assassinates Archbishop Borges, Talley briefly undergoes a crisis of faith and resolves it by testing Theo Bell to see if he will preserve the Masquerade or attempt to strike Talley down. Finally embracing what he deserves, Talley becomes a Bishop to the Sabbat while later helping to negotiate the Lasombra's entry to the Camarilla.
** [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized Patricia of Bollingbroke]] began her fascination with rebellion upon her husband's murder by a tyrannical local baron. After the failure of Wat Tyler, her lover's rebellion, she was embraced by the infamous Brujah Robin Leeland. Delving further into revolution and later naming herself [[MeaningfulName Tyler]], she would become a key figure in the Anarch revolt, striking out at the elder vampires, including the diablerie of Camarilla elder Hardestadt the Elder. Tyler would continue her actions in revolution until coming to Chicago for a time, [[LetsYouAndHimFight playing enemies against one another]] before moving on as a revered figure by many a young Anarch who aspire to her pedigree.
** [[ChurchMilitant Cardinal Francisco Domingo de Polonia]] is a powerful Lasombra and former Conquistador who makes a name for himself with the cutthroat politics of the Sabbat. Playing werewolves against rivals and other factions to make things easier for himself, Polonia would achieve the coveted rank of Archbishop of New York thanks to his skill in politics and war in equal measure. As a major player in the East Coast War between Sabbat and Camarilla, Polonia would organize much of the offensive that nearly saw the Camarilla smashed from the East Coast and at the final battle of New York, [[FrontlineGeneral takes the front lines]] to cut down many powerful Kindred before being driven back.
** [[FromNobodyToNightmare Madam Guil]], born a peasant girl named Jeanne, was raped and Embraced by a monstrous Baron. Outwitting, staking and [[KillItWithFire burning him alive]], Guil then joined Kindred society. Effortlessly fitting in to the Kindred nobility, she later discovered her mortal love Luc alive and a vampire himself. Deciding to rid the world of the Damned, they became feared Diablerists until Luc received a Blood Hunt against him, prompting Guil to utilize the UsefulNotes/FrenchRevolution to eliminate many rival vampires until at last she worked her way up to Justicar of the Camarilla, a position she uses to tear down and destroy vampires who think they were untouchable. Discovering Luc alive and a Templar of the Sabbat, Guil renews her love for him, with their bond transcending sect and even undeath no matter what.
** [[ByronicHero Lucita de Aragon]] is the signature character of the Lasombra clan. A princess embraced by her confessor, Lucita soon abandoned her clan for independence, forming a bond with the Malkavian prophet Anatole and the Gangrel scholar Beckett. Becoming a [[TheAce brilliant assassin]] who whittles her enemies down via skill and unrivaled strategic aptitude, able to even match the feared Talley of the Sabbat, Lucita is hired to assassinate Archbishop Borges of Miami and three other Sabbat warleaders, which she achieves with her usual effectiveness. Upon the death of her hated Sire, Cardinal Ambrose Luis de Moncada thanks to Lucita and her longtime lover Fatima al-Faqadi, Lucita soon loses Anatole and [[FaceHeelTurn slips]] to join the Sabbat, only for her conscience to get the best of her as she [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices herself]] for her comrades during the Final Nights.
** [[KnightTemplar Fatima al-Faqadi]] is a devout Assamite killer, recruited as the first woman ever Embraced into the clan for her talent at killing and assassinating Crusaders in life. One of the best in all the Assamite clan, Fatima has killed elder vampires, werewolves, mages and more in service to the Clan founder Haqim, balanced with her strict adherence to her Islamic faith. Fatima allies with her occasional lover Lucita, the only being to rouse any passion from her in a millennium, to finally destroy the monstrous Cardinal Moncada before being branded a renegade for her faith by Haqim's own Childer ur-Shulgi. Even assisting against the tides of Gehenna, Fatima only [[FaceDeathWithDignity peacefully awaits Haqim's own judgement]], stating she has lived true to her ideals to the very end.
** [[PragmaticVillainy "Queen" Anne Bowesley]] is the Ventrue Prince of London. A ruthless power broker when alive who helped to [[BeenThereShapedHistory organize the overthrow of King James]] in favor of King William, Anne was Embraced by the Ventrue Valerius and became a valued member of the court of Prince Mithras. As brilliant and deadly in undeath, Anne overcame all enemies, outwitting entire clans in London while making herself [[CantKillYouStillNeedYou so indispensable]] to Mithras she was even covertly allowed to diablerize several elders. Using this to raise her own powers, Anne finally claimed the vacant seat of Princedom in London during the 1940s, ruthlessly consolidating power so that none could hope to dislodge her.
* MemeticBadass: Smiling Jack, even in the pen-and-paper game. A Brujah ex-{{Pirate}} who has no problems getting with the times.
* NightmareFuel:
** The prose introduction for the Baali clanbook features a supposedly respected abbot having sex with a [[NoYay preteen boy]]. After a few minutes, misshapen maggots begin crawling from ''inside the boy'' straight up ''the man's urethra'' as the boy, a Baali vampire posing as a mortal, clenches down with his knees to prevent the man from escaping, breaking several ribs in the process as the maggots begin burrowing, feeding, and laying eggs in his abdomen. This is only ''part'' of how the Baali [[WithFriendsLikeThese choose their new initiates]]. At this point, you can stop reading now and count yourself lucky.
** The original Clanbook Tzimisce. The illustrations look like what might happen if Creator/HRGiger and Creator/SalvadorDali had been fused into one person. Which, come to think of it, is something at least one Tzimisce probably thought about doing.
** The Paths Of Enlightenment are so [[BlueAndOrangeMorality alien compared to standard humanistic morality]] that they are pretty disturbing. The books even recommend that only advanced players play characters that follow the Paths.
** ''Clanbook: Nosferatu'' contains an anecdote about a [[VampiresAreSexGods Toreador]] who met a handsome storyteller [[{{Yandere}} whom he now keeps]] [[AndIMustScream crucified and fed on blood]].
* TooCoolToLive: Countless cool and interesting minor vampire bloodlines have been created over the years, but you're more likely to find them labeled as "extinct in the modern day" than not for the sake of depicting the setting as a DarkerAndEdgier place where such genocide is commonplace and all the nice things died out centuries ago.
* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Earlier editions are rooted in the contemporary times that they were published in.
** This goes into its Masquerade mechanics that were only thought for situations based on its time of publications when the omnipresence of smart phones, Internet, and social media weren't accounted for hiding it. This became a focal point of later editions with ''V5'' having lore of vampire clans creating new codes on internet to use after the Second Inquisiton hunted them via tracking their online presence.
* ValuesDissonance: In early editions, Romani people are treated as an [[PlanetOfHats entire culture of irascible thieves]], possibly influenced by their representation in Gothic literature and classic monster movies; most notoriously, the non-''VTM'' book ''Gypsies'' appears to be based entirely on stereotypes. Ravnos, a clan rooted in Romani culture, is explicitly a clan of criminals, tricksters and vagabonds whose members must pass a willpower check to avoid indulging in their crime of choice. As the metaplot progressed, this was gradually shed; the Ravnos were retooled so that their actual origins laid in India, with the association with the Romani being a marriage of convenience that overtook the truth about them, and later editions changed their weakness to something more befitting the nomads they had become.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: A game about a bunch of the poor next generation dealing with the institutionalized rich previous generation that refuses to give up power. Mark Rein Hagen actually designed the game this way and other authors built on it. [[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2019/06/the-social-satire-of-vampire-masquerade.html Discussed here.]]
** Vampires seeking to make a difference, for the most part, are forced to align themselves with one of two opposed, monolithic political factions, both of which are fraught with corruption, resistant to meaningful change and ruled by a deeply entrenched elite, with one being ALighterShadeOfBlack at best. Needless to say, the game designers were American and very fond of Punk.
* TheWoobie:
** Clan Salubri's backstory is so tragic you want to hug them.
** From the adventure ''Lair of the Hidden,'' there's the Cappadocian Drenis. [[spoiler:She was born a male in the second century AD, but after being gang-raped by enemy soldiers and being unable to consummate her arranged marriage due to the resulting psychological trauma, she ran away and joined the priestesses of Cybele, having herself castrated and becoming a woman in every other way as well due to 1) being disgusted with the male gender entirely after her experiences and 2) believing she would be "in a half-state, neither a man nor woman" until she went through with it. The descriptions of the character elsewhere in the book makes it clear that the psychological scars have persisted over the centuries, even suggesting that Drenis entered into the pact with the demon out of self-destructiveness ("There are deep wounds in Drenis' psyche, a fundamentally gentle nature long subjected to horrors beyond its capacity, and so she sometimes behaves in ways no one, including she herself, can really explain"). Add to that the fact that she's one of the few good members of The Twelve (she's Humanity 7, the human baseline and second only to the senile-but-gentle mad-vampire Demetrius), and you really feel bad for her.]]