History TabletopGame / VampireTheMasqueradeChicagoByNight

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chicago_by_night_1st_ed.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350: The supplement which started it all.]]

''Chicago by Night'' is a sourcebook for the first edition of ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade''. It was revised in 1993 as ''Chicago by Night Second Edition''. The book gives a lot of detail on Chicago for the Storytellers to build a campaign in one of the main cities of the Classic World of Darkness.

Only at night do the dead come out no other city so dangerously on the edge of chaos. No other city so desperately overcrowded. No other city so divided. No other city so torn by its conflicts. Chicago's streets are coated with the blood of those who have been destroyed in its ancient war, and soon the flames will raze it yet again. The plots and schemes of the Immortals of this metropolis will always enmesh the unwary or the foolish. Trust no one - not even yourself. Then the Jyhad Doth Rage.

''Chicago by Night'' is the archetypal supplement for ''Vampire: The Masquerade'' which established many of the stereotypes and patterns for the game line. It contained over a hundred npcs who would go on to inspire many other city supplements and characters in the rest of the setting.
The book had multiple supplements in addition to its two editions:

* ''Blood Bond''
* ''Ashes to Ashes''
* ''The Succubus Club''
* ''Milwaukee By Night''
* '''Awakening: Diablerie Mexico''
* ''Dust to Dust''

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This supplement contained the following tropes:

* ActuallyNotAVampire: The Blood Dolls are deliberately designed to cause this confusion with Kindred encouraging it.
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Any Humanity 0 vampire is basically an irredeemable monster. [[AcceptableTargets Oddly, they're almost all yuppies or old money.]]
* ArtisticLicenseHistory: The story of Carthage's fall is actually the story of the Fall of ''Troy'' (with a vampire twist). The fact the main players of Helene, Menele, and Priam (Paris) are involved in its fall should be a person's first clue.
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Maureen O'Leary (who started the Great Chicago Fire) is a Malkavian Elder.
** Averted with Al Capone who became a vampire after his ''death.''
* BigBad: Lodin was generally portrayed as this for any Anarch-themed game. Subverted in that he was nothing more than Helene's most prominent pawn.
** Helene is a somewhat sympathetic example of this.
* BigGood: Maldavis had the potential to be this but failed in her Anarch Revolt, so she's suffering a protracted HeroicBSOD.
** Menele is the actual BigGood of the city being a Methuselah with Humanity 10.
* CategoryTraitor: Sheriff is considered this due to the fact he's a lackey to Lodin and an enforcer of the Traditions despite being a Brujah.
* CoolestClubEver: The Succubus Club is more cool than any nightclub has a right to be.
* CoolOldGuy: Always in a setting with so many vampires. Critias is one example as he's a (relatively) high humanity vampire who adores spirited debate and treats younger vampires as students than pawns.
* CycleOfRevenge: Entire swaths of human history have been determined by the feud between Menele and Helene. [[spoiler: Specifically, Carthage is settled by the Brujah Philosopher Kings who then are joined by Helene with her lover Priam. Helene betrays Carthage to Rome when she realizes their cause is lost in order to receive her own city, only for Menele to use his massively overpowered Spirit Thaumaturgy to cause the volcanic eruption of Vesuvius. Menele is then driven to the New World, only for Helene to bring European Kindred as well as Conquistadors over to destroy them.]]
* DistantFinale: ''Dust to Dust'' was a Vampire 20th Anniversary adventure module which explained the fates of Gary, Indiana's Kindred.
* TheDragon: Thomas Ewell a.k.a Balthazar a.k.a Sheriff serves as this to Lodin.
** Priam used to have this role to Helene, being the possibly oldest ghoul in the world.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: A number of characters have Humanity 0 without being wild animalistic beasts. A number of other characters have Humanity 10 despite this meaning Jesus-like levels of goodness.
* FatBastard: Horatio Ballard weighs four hundred pounds and looks like a fat sagging caricature of the Godfather.
* FullyEmbracedFiend: Actually fairly rare in the supplement. Son, Ballard, and Gordon Keaton are among the few Humanity 0 members in the book.
* FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire: Anite Waynewright has a Humanity 9 and is a perky lovable GranolaGirl despite being a vampire.
** Maldavis and, to a lesser extent, Annabelle Triabell and Inyanga also qualify for this.
** Baby Chorus is composed of these as well.
* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Aside from the Humanity EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, the characters are terribly optimized with many of them having disciplines they can't use effectively.
* GenerationXerox: A humorous one in that both Dusable and Nicolai screwed up in more or less the same way.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Ballard is a child-molester whose childe, Lawrence, wants to kill to protect his children.
* GothicPunk: One of the great examples thereof.
* GrayAndGrayMorality: While the stats say otherwise (Humanity 10 vs. Humanity 4), the conflict between Helene and Menele really comes off like this. Neither side is blameless for the atrocities committed by both.
* KilledOffForReal: A massive number of the city's quirkier and less powerful Kindred during the events of ''Under a Blood Red Moon.'' This included Lodin, the city's Prince.
* LooksLikeOrlok: All of the Nosferatu characters in the book(s).
* LoveMakesYouStupid: Dusable and Nicolai both embraced women they were attracted to, leading to decisions which could get them killed in the Tremere.
* RomanticVampireBoy: Damien is a parody of this concept, being a 14 year old ladies man who is meant to appeal to the target audience.
** Maldavis, Erichtho, Anita Wainwright, and Annabelle have been all used as romantic interests for straight male gamers (and many bi or lesbian female). Priam appears to have been created with this in mind as well for straight female gamers.
** Bret Stryker and Sophia seem to have been made as a parody of this as well. They're beautiful, true, but shallow and kind of stupid.
* RuleAbidingRebel: Garwood Marshall acts like Dusable's loyal but rebellious son.
* StrawLoser: Modius is basically a formerly impressive Prince who has degenerated into this. He's pathetic to an insanely comical degree but somewhat subverted in this fact he's also still a centuries-old elder who could pose a threat to a coterie of pcs.
* StrongerWithAge: Played with as some vampires are weak due to their high generation but played straight with most vampires.
* TokenHeroicOrc: Garwood Marshall is a jazz playing Tremere Anarch who is also a RuleAbidingRebel.
* UndeadChild: Nicolai is a prepubescent 800-year-old Tremere elder.
* UnwittingPawn: Virtually the entire city is this between Menele and Helene.
* VampiresAreRich: Annabelle Triabell and most of the Ventrue Elders.
* VampireHunter: Sullivan Dane is the most famous of Chicago Hunters.
* VampiresAreSexGods: Bret Stryker, Sophia Meyers, and Priscilla Gibbs are all examples of this.
** Annabelle Triabel and Portia are Elder examples.
* VampireMonarch: Lodin is the Prince of the City during 1st edition with the title up for grabs in the 2nd book.
* VampiresOwnNightClubs: One of the trope naming examples with Portia and the Succubus Club.
* VampireWannabe: Blood Dolls are an entire grouping of this, being vampire-themed Goths who share blood.
* VegetarianVampire: Doyle is an example of this despite being CreepyGood.
* WhamEpisode: ''Under a Blood Red Moon'' changed the face of Chicago forever by killing much of the vampire population and creating a power vacuum. [[spoiler: The Sabbat and Black Spiral Dancers team up to frame start a FalseFlagOperation where the local sept of the Garou is attacked by vampires so a massive war begins between the Kindred and werewolves. While both sides eventually figure it out, it's not before many are killed in the process.]]
* WouldHarmAChild: Both Gordon Keaton and Son are examples of this, which is why they are 0 Humanity.

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* VampiresAreSexGods: Brett Stryker, Sophia Meyers, and Priscilla Gibbs are all examples of this.

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Some of the rules are pretty wonky as Humanity 0 vampires are usually treated as ravenous beasts in later editions while, here, they're just treated as AlwaysChaoticEvil.

* CycleOfRevenge: Entire swaths of human history have been determined by the feud between Menele and Helene. [[spoiler: Specifically, Carthage is settled by the Brujah Philosopher Kings who then are joined by Helene with her lover Priam. Helene betrays Carthage to Rome when she realizes their cause is lost in order to receive her own city, only for Menele to use his massively overpowered Spirit Thaumaturgy to cause the volcanic eruption of Vesuvivius after. Menele is then driven to the New World, only for Helene to bring European Kindred as well as Conquistadors over to destroy them.]]

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: The story of Carthage's fall is actually the story of the Fall of ''Troy'' (with a vampire twist).

* BigBad: Lodin was generally portrayed as this for any Anarch-themed game. Subverted in that he was nothing more than Helena's most prominent pawn.
** Helena is a somewhat sympathetic example of this.

* CycleOfRevenge: Entire swaths of human history have been determined by the feud between Menele and Helena.

* GrayAndGrayMorality: While the stats say otherwise (Humanity 10 vs. Humanity 4), the conflict between Helena and Menele really comes off like this. Neither side is blameless for the atrocities committed by both.

* UnwittingPawn: Virtually the entire city is this between Menele and Helena.

* WhamEpisode: ''Under a Blood Red Moon'' changed the face of Chicago forever by killing much of the vampire population and creating a power vacuum.

* RulesAbidingRebel: Garwood Marshall acts like Dusable's loyal but rebellious son.

* TokenGoodOrc: Garwood Marshall is a jazz playing Tremere Anarch who is also a RulesAbidingRebel.

* GrayAndGrayMorality: While the stats say otherwise (Humanity 10 vs. Humanity 4), the conflict between Helena and Menele really comes off like this. Neither side is blameless for the atrocities

* BigBad: Lodin was generally portrayed as this for any Anarch-themed game.

* StrawLoser: Modius is basically a formerly impressive Prince who has degenerated into this. He's pathetic to an insanely comical degree but somewhat subverted in this fact he's also still a centuries-old elder who could pose a threat to a coterie of PCs.

* CoolClub: The Succubus Club is more cool than any nightclub has a right to be.

''Chicago by Night'' is a sourcebook for the first edition of ''Vampire: The Masquerade''. It was revised in 1993 as ''Chicago by Night Second Edition''. The book gives a lot of detail on Chicago for the Storytellers to build a campaign in one of the main cities of the Classic World of Darkness.

''Chicago by Night'' is the archetypal supplement for ''Vampire: The Masquerade'' which established many of the stereotypes and patterns for the game line. It contained over a hundred =NPCs= who would go on to inspire many other city supplements and characters in the rest of the setting.

''Chicago by Night'' is the archetypal supplement for ''Vampire: The Masquerade'' which established many of the stereotypes and patterns for the game line. It contained over a hundred NPCs who would go on to inspire many other city supplements and characters in the rest of the setting.