History Characters / VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlinesPlayerCharacter

* TheNicknamer: The Malkavian PC, who only calls people by their real names when it would mess with them even more. They'll often give characters precise nicknames ''before learning their names''. For example, they will call Alexander Knox "golden boy" before he reveals his identity, or Therese and Jeanette Voerman the Light and Dark Faces of Janus. Lampshaded directly by the Anarchs; Skelter gets pretty freaked out that a Malk PC calls him "Helter Skelter" before he introduces himself, while Damsel demands to know who among the Camarilla was talking smack about her when called "the Damsel who breathes fire", likewise without her introducing herself beforehand.

* {{Jerkass}}: It can be played this way but it is not recommended, many quest givers will refuse to give you missions if you act that way and you even get fewer rewards than if you were kind.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Can be played like this. At one point you need an Intimidation score of 6 to be able to save a human's life without harming the Masquerade. A high Persuasion will only help you send him to his death and cost you Humanity.

** The female Malkavian starts with a DangerouslyShortSkirt with [[PantyShot exposed underwear]], and can upgrade her armor to a {{sexy|WhateverOutfit}} cop outfit. Her last armor is a [[HellBentForLeather black leather bodysuit.]]

* {{Expy}}: The Female Tremere PC bears a strong physical resemblance to [[https://whitewolf.fandom.com/wiki/Aisling_Sturbridge Aisling Sturbridge]], the signature Tremere with her long dark hair, slim physique, posh outfits and SexySpectacles.

* {{Meganekko}}/SexySpectacles: The female Tremere wears a pair of rectangular reading glasses with all her outfits and is quite pretty to boot.

* ThirdPersonSeductress: Most of the (non-Nosferatu) female clans are this in some way. Most obviously is the female Malkavian, who starts the game in a {{Stripperiffic}} cheerleader outfit and upgrades it into fetish gear. Other notable examples are the female Ventrue's starting dress with a [[ShesGotLegs slit that goes all the way up]], the Brujah's [[BikerBabe tank top and biker gear look]], and the female Tremere for [[SexySpectacles her glasses]] and her second outfit's PaintedOnPants.

* MadOracle: Most of the Malkavian PC's bizarre non-sequiturs and quirks of language seem to be them knowing more than they should through supernatural means, often to the point of LeaningOnTheFourthWall. Strauss will warn you to hide that fact, unless you want to be a victim of HeKnowsTooMuch.

* AmbiguousCriminalHistory: Smiling Jack {{lampshade|hanging}}s that they knew how to pick locks as a mortal. Also, their former acquaintance Samantha assumes that their disappearance (upon becoming a vampire) was drug-related. If you play any version of the game where you can select the character's history you can even directly choose several variants of a criminal option for various bonuses and flaws.[[note]] They are: Con Artist, Degenerate Gambler, Eco-Terrorist Hacker, Hard-Ass Chica, Highway Drifter, Cleaner, Union Boss,War Profiteer, Juvenile Hall Disciplinarian. Even a [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Decadent Enchantress]].[[/note]]

'''PC:''' ''(possible response)'' I had my moments.

* InSeriesNickname: There are some variant, such as "Neonate", and some character have specific nicknames for you ("Boss" from Gary, "Cammy" from Damsel, "Demon" from Yukie, "Kid" from Nines and Jack, "Cupcake" from Bertram if you are female), but you usually are just referred to as "the Fledgling". Also, if you seduced Chunk in your first encounter, he'll refer to a female [=PC=] with a colorful variety of food-related pet-names in all subsequent interactions.

* {{Jerkass}}: It can be played this way but it is not recommended, many quest givers will refuse to give you missions if you act that way and you even get less rewards than if you were kind.

* JigglePhysics: A few of the female [=PCs=] have noticeable sway in the chest department, though surprisingly not the clans that'd be expected. Besides the the female Malkavian's first outfit, it's actually the ''[[BeastMan Gangrel]]'' and the ''[[EvilSorcerer Tremere]]'' females who have the most outfits with breast physics.

* KleptomaniacHero: A standard of [=RPGs=] everywhere. Also, a JustifiedTrope in universe, as vampires are not intrinsically bound by human moral norms aside from ThouShaltNotKill (innocents, anyway), so [[IDidWhatIHadToDo whatever you have to do to survive is considered fair play]].

** A Gangrel with maxed out stats can learn Celerity from Beckett. While it's limited to only the first three levels, it's still enough to make them this.

* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: You can make fun of other people based on their clans, looks, conditions and more. For example, you can make a ''Hentai joke'' to the very {{animesque}} Yukie.

* RandomlyGifted: As far as we know, the protagonist is just a standard eighth-generation vampire, but in just a few nights he or she achieves a huge power boost to the point of being able to fight seventh-generation vampires with decades of experience.

* UnderestimatingBadassery: A ''very'' frequent mistake of the PC's human enemies, who more often than not mistake them as a foolish random in need of a lesson only to find out far too late that they're dealing with a superhuman monster. Inevitable CurbStompBattle ensues.

* VaporWear: Several of the female [=PCs=] are obviously not wearing bras, be it because of [[JigglePhysics chest physics]] or because of how {{Stripperiffic}} their outfits are. In particular, the female Toreador and Malkavian's first outfits are all skimpy enough to make it obvious while the female Brujah's final outfit and the all the Malkavian's other outfits both also show off more cleavage than would be possible otherwise.

* WillfullyWeak: If you want to avoid losing humanity points or want to avoid breaking the masquerade, the playable character will be this in relation to the police. In most cases, the police are nothing more than simple Mooks, but killing them will lose you humanity point, so the playable character will simply hide and wait for them to leave.
* YesMan: If you choose to stick with [=LaCroix=] the entire way through. Getting the option to side with the prince during the ending requires you to have acted politely towards him in the past, followed his orders to a T, and either overlooked or rationalised how [[spoiler:he's sent you to your death multiple times and set you up for a fall.]] Through dialogue, you can play it in a number of ways, such as professing genuine loyalty to the man, believing him to be an [[WellIntentionedExtremist ultimately good leader whose rule the city will benefit from]], or simply sticking with [=LaCroix=] because he begins the endgame [[IFightForTheStrongestSide in the strongest position]].

* RefugeInAudacity: Nosferatu and Malkavian take solace in this with the former's BDSM outfits and the latter's rather colorful cloth options. [[invoked]][[FridgeBrilliance It's not like a mortal would believe someone telling tales about a monstrous-looking creature with a BDSM outfit appearing out of blue and sucking someone's blood dry, or a shirtless man in a white fur coat and a stupid-looking hat charging at someone with a fire-axe.]]

** Lowering your humanity too much makes you more susceptible to frenezy, and if activated in the wrong place it can cause you to kill someone in a public place and lose masquerade points.
** Killing humans on the ship will cause you to gain less experience and not be able to get second base.
** Being an jerk with a Quest Giver in many cases causes him or her not to give you the mission, and you lose the experience or money that you would have gotten with this mission.

** The Malkavian may realize that s/he is being manipulated by Knox, but s/he still has to do the mission if s/he wants to get the extra experience.

* HeroicSeductress: Any PC with a high enough Seduction score can get their way through situations using their charms, especially if you are playing a Toreador. Female PCs can also complete a quest by sleeping with Romero. Depending on their morality, they might be closer to TheVamp.

* DeathByOriginStory: Your sire gets one line of dialogue before the Sheriff decapitates them. And in a technical sense, you, since your character appears once and has one spoken "line" (a scream) before being turned into an undead vampire.
** Technically the fledgling themselves as everyone reinforces. They're no longer living and [[YouCantGoHomeAgain can't return to a semblance of the life they had before]]. This is only highlighted by the Samantha encounter, where letting her know the fledgling still in town and ''alive'' results in a masquerade violation.

* AmbiguousCriminalHistory: Smiling Jack {{lampshade|hanging}}s that they knew how to pick locks as a mortal. Also, their former acquaintance Samantha assumes that their disappearance (upon becoming a vampire) was drug-related.

* {{Animorphism}}: A Gangrel PC who's fully trained in the Protean discipline can transform into a clawed, werebat-like War Form.[[note]]In the tabletop game, this is an even higher-level ability named ''••••• •• Shape of Beast's Wrath'', that can be used only by ''Sixth Generation Elders'', or those of even lower generation.[[/note]]

* ButThouMust: {{Justified|Trope}}:

** Some builds force the player into actions they have no agency in. For instance, a Toreador will ''always'' react to Gary Golden by calling him the ugliest thing they've ever seen. Even if the Toreador never showed that kind of prejudice towards the other Nosferatu characters.
** The Malkavian may realize that s/he is being manipulated by Knox, but S/he still has to do the mission if s/he wants to get the extra experience.

** The female Malkavian starts with a DangerouslyShortSkirt with [[PantyShot exposed underwear]], and can upgrade her armor to a stripperific cop outfit.

* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: You can make fun of other people based on their clans, looks, conditions and more. For example, you can make a ''Hentai joke'' to the very animesque Yukie.

* RainbowPimpGear: Every clan's armor include more practical outfits for combat, except the Malks. The male [[CloudCuckooLander Malkavian's]] armor ''starts'' at shirtless, moves through hazmat suits, and ends in a white fur coat and a ''[[Literature/TheCatInTheHat Cat in the Hat]]'' hat, which also has no shirt. The ''female'' Malkavian armor is straight-up fetish gear. All of the Nosferatu outfits are bondage gear; higher levels just add more straps and eventually a gimp mask.

* RefugeInAudacity: Nosferatu and Malkavian take solace in this with the former's BDSM outfits and the latter's rather colorful cloth options. [[invoked]][[FridgeBrilliance It's not like a mortal would believe someone telling tales about a monstrous looking creature with a BDSM outfit appearing out of blue and sucking someone's blood dry, or a shirtless man in a white fur coat and a stupid looking hat charging at someone with a fire-axe.]]

** Some builds force the player into actions they have no agency in. For instance, a Toreador will ''always'' react to Gary Golden by calling him the ugliest thing they've ever seen.

* MsFanservice: The female Malkavian and Toreador both start out with rather {{Stripperiffic}} outfits. The female Malkavian, in particular, wears a DangerouslyShortSkirt with [[PantyShot exposed underwear]], and can upgrade her armor to a stripperific cop outfit. The female Tremere is there for those who believe NerdsAreSexy, with her second outfit featuring some PaintedOnPants and her third being a rich red coat that on close inspection has ''nothing'' underneath.

** A character with high levels of seduction are considered, "World Class Beauty" especially if they are female. If the seduction is of at least 7, the vampire can hire prostitutes without having to pay them.

* AnAxeToGrind: One of the best meleé weapons in the early-to-mid game is a fire axe, which will probably get a lot of use by most fledgelings.

* BadassInANiceSuit: Depending on the Clan. Toreador, Tremere, and Ventrue have more upper-class clothing than the other four clans. Toreador and Tremere go for more casual suits, while Ventrue are white-collar personified.

* CombatPragmatist: Can be played as one, especially with a clan which has Obfuscate. Nosferatu can engage in lots of sneak attacks and hit-and-run tactics with heavy meleé weapons. Malkavians can cast Dementation while still invisible, causing enemies to kill each other, or cause them to drop dead on the spot.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: No matter how you build your character, they will know something about lockpicking (Jack even lampshades this in the tutorial after the lockpicking segment, "Not exactly an angel in life, were you?" and you don't really have an option to deny it). It's also probably a bad sign that when Sam finds you and wonders where you've been she automatically assumes it has something to do with drugs.

** The PC models from other clans apprehend the player after they are embraced and a few attend to the execution of your sire. You have the option to kill them [[spoiler: when the Blood Hunt is called on you and LA's Kindred begin hunting you down.]]

* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler:If you betray everyone by siding with Ming-Xiao, she rewards you by sparing your life when she runs the rest of the Kindred out of the city... by chaining you to the Sarcophagus and dumping it into the ocean. She doesn't kill you, but you'll sure wish she had.]]

* FemmeFatalons: The female [=PCs=] (Toreador and Ventrue especially, who have unique nail colours instead of the standard black) have long, manicured nails that can be seen during lockpicking. It can be a rare example of this on a mostly good-aligned character, depending on how you played.

* GlassCannon: A meleé-focused Nosferatu becomes this thanks to their disciplines. They have Potence and the last level of Obfuscate will ''triple'' that damage, [[OneHitKill destroying most normal enemies in one blow.]] But despite that, they lack a defensive discipline besides invisibility, making it harder to tank or dodge damage compared to other clans.

* GuileHero: If the player character is good at conversational skills, a lot of quests can be completed just by wits alone. Zig-zagged when the last two or three missions of the game are straight combat with limited potential for even stealth in the dungeon crawl and none at all during the boss fights.

* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Can prove to be one if you side with [[spoiler: Ming-Xiao or [=LaCroix=],]] the former who betrays you immediately the minute you give her what she wants and the latter who probably will the very moment you can no longer challenge him. Backing either requires you to essentially overlook the several attempts both characters have already made on your life by that point. You can even tell the cabbie [[spoiler:[[TooDumbToLive that LaCroix has the city's best interests at heart.]]]]

* JigglePhysics: A few of the female [=PCs=] have noticable sway in the chest department, though suprisingly not the clans that'd be expected. Besides the the female Malkavian's first outfit, it's actually the ''[[BeastMan Gangrel]]'' and the ''[[EvilSorcerer Tremere]]'' females who have the most outfits with breast physics.
* TheJuggernaut: Either of the clans with Fortitude who max it out can shrug off bullets, blades and even bombs without much trouble.

* MightyGlacier: A Gangrel PC with maxed out Fortitude and Protean becomes a virtually indestructable monster that can kill almost anyone in two-or-three hits. But they walk slower than most humans, and lack a proper ranged attack without points in Animalism, since the War Form can't use guns.

* MsFanservice: The female Malkavian and Toreador both start out with rather {{Stripperiffic}} outfits. The female Malkavian, in particular, wears a DangerouslyShortSkirt with [[PantyShot exposed underwear]], and can upgrade her armor to a stripperific cop outfit. The female Tremere is there for those who believe NerdsAreSexy, with her second outfit featuring some PaintedOnPants and her third being a rich red coat that on close inspection has ''nothing'' underneath
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: You can choose a specific Clan and then have your PC act in a completely opposite way to how his Clan usually does; for example, play as a [[EvilSorcerer Tremere]] and then be a FriendlyNeighbourhoodVampire, join the Anarch with a Ventrue or the Camarilla with a Brujah, and so on. It is, however, impossible to play a Malkavian as non-insane due to the changed dialogue options. [[TheCuckoolanderWasRight At least not in the regular sense...]]
* NeverBareheaded: Female Brujah is guilty of this one.

* RageWithinTheMachine: Regardless of if you decide to side Anarch, you'll continue working full time for [=LaCroix=] and the Camarilla until the final two missions.

* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: Happens in one of the endings. [[spoiler: If you betray the Kindred and side with the Kuei-Jin, Ming-Xiao will reward you by chaining you to the Ankaran Sarcophagus and throwing it into the ocean.]]

* RoaringRampageofRevenge:

** Nosferatus are considered horrendous and constantly have to hide in the sewers.

* TheTease: You have ample opportunity to flirt with many npcs, but usually it's in order to get what you want from them, or mutual flirting like with Velvet and Jeanette. This trope mostly only comes into play with Chunk (if you seduced him in your original encounter, then played along with his crush for every subsequent one) and Romero (if you lightly flirted with him but didn't ever actually end up sleeping with him). Romero will directly call you on it, referring to a female PC as "[[StealthPun Miss Cold and Hot]]".

* HeroicSeductress: Any PC with a high enough Seduction score can get his[=/=]her way through situations using his[=/=]her charms, especially if you are playing a Toreador. Female [=PCs=] can also complete a quest by sleeping with Romero. Depending on their morality, they might be closer to TheVamp.

* IWasQuiteTheLooker: What little you can see of the Nosferatu PC before his/her Embrace, male or female, suggests that s/he was quite attractive in life. Seeking out an attractive and/or vain individual is pretty standard behavior for Nosferatu looking to sire.

* VolatileSecondTierPosition: Lacroix begins to treat you as his trusted emissary after you return with the Sarcophagus, promising grander things on the horizon; it's all an act, of course, and the majority of this supposedly more prestigious job is spent being stuck with duties that will probably get you killed.

* EvilIsEasy: Played with. There are some cases where killing a guard is much easier than using stealth to prevent him from seeing you, but that can affect the masquerade that will attract the attention of vampire hunters.

[[caption-width-right:300:The male and female protagonists at character creation, for each clan. On the left, from top to bottom: [[HotBlooded Brujah]], [[BeastMan Gangrel]], [[MadOracle Malkavian]] and [[LooksLikeOrlok Nosferatu]]; and on the right: [[TheBeautifulElite Toreador]], [[BloodMagic Tremere]], and [[VampiresAreRich Ventrue]].]]

The main protagonist of the game. Originally a random resident of Los Angeles, the Fledgling was embraced by a vampire they were having a date with. Since this was done without permission from the Camarilla, their Sire is executed by Prince [=LaCroix=], and only the intervention of Anarch leader Nines Rodriguez saves them from a similar fate. They then have to adapt to their new vampire existence, all while serving as an errand boy to [=LaCroix=], [[UriahGambit who keeps sending them on suicide missions]]. The Fledgling's name, gender and clan are all customizable by the player, though the last one can only be one of the seven Camarilla-affiliated ones (Ventrue, Brujah, Tremere, Gangrel, Nosferatu, Toreador, Malkavian).

* CelibateHero: Possible depending how you play, as the only actual sexual encounters you have .are entirely optional. Generally, the PC doesn't have sex, but will likely end up seducing at least a few of the available blood dolls in the game. It will, of course, be for blood rather than sex, with the seductee left with the impression that something sexy took place, [[KissOfTheVampire which, in a way, it did]].

** The PC models from other clans apprehend the player after they are embraced and a few attend to execution of your sire. You have the option to kill them [[spoiler: when the Blood Hunt is called on you and LA's Kindred begin hunting you down.]]

* DefectorFromDecadence: You start out press-ganged into the AncientConspiracy of the Camarilla and [=LaCroix=] eventually shows you the rewards of toeing the party line, especially if you're not Tremere or Nosferatu.[[note]]If you're on good terms with him and not from those Clans, he gives you a rather nice condo. There Tremere and Nosferatu PC's will get special accommodations from Maximilian and Gary respectively instead.[[/note]] You can just as easily tell him where to shove his petty favours.

* TheDragon: The PC has the option of becoming this to Maximilian Strauss, [=LaCroix=] (though [[BadEnding that doesn't turn out so well]]) or potentially Nines if you choose to throw in your lot with him and his cause. Andrei as well in the patch.

* FragileSpeedster: Toreador can be played this way, since they have [[SuperSpeed Celerity]] and not much in the way of strength-boosting or direct defensive power. There's even a history which enforces that approach.

* InTheHood: The male Gangrel's heaviest armor has one, and it's always up.

* MagikarpPower: Especially Tremere, who are quite weak at first with a limit to their physical stats, but when you build up their Disciplines (Thaumaturgy in particular), they're a force to be reconed with.

* MsFanservice: The female Malkavian and Toreador both start out with rather {{Stripperiffic}} outfits. The female Malkavian, in particular, wears a DangerouslyShortSkirt with [[PantyShot exposed underwear]], and can upgrade her armor to a stripperific cop outfit. The female Tremere is there for those who believe NerdsAreSexy, with her second outfit fraturing some PaintedOnPants and her third being a rich red coat that on close inspection has ''nothing'' underneath
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: You can chose a specific Clan and then have your PC act in a completely opposite way to how his Clan usually does; for example, play as a [[EvilSorcerer Tremere]] and then be a FriendlyNeighbourhoodVampire, join the Anarch with a Ventrue or the Camarilla with a Brujah, and so on. It is, however, impossible to play a Malkavian as non-insane due to the changed dialogues options. [[TheCuckoolanderWasRight At least not in the regular sense...]]

* PintSizedPowerhouse: The female NonActionGuy clan [=PCs=] (Toreador, Ventrue, and Tremere) are noticeably shorter and slighter in build than most npcs, even including other women. All wear some [[CombatStilettos really serious heels]] to compensate. Regardless of her size, by the endgame she'll have become quite the fearsome ActionGirl, having cut and/or shot her way through countless enemies of the live and undead variety alike. Also counts for the more action-oriented clans to a lesser degree, as they'll still be quite a bit shorter than most male npcs, though on par with most female npcs.
* PlayerHeadquarters: Like most Kindred, your character is provided with a Haven where to hang out between missions. The initial one is provided to you by [=LaCroix=], and is a crappy bachelor apartment in Santa Monica with only the bare necessities, but being sufficiently polite to him will eventually result in the Prince getting you a much more comfortable one in Skyline. Two special ones can be acquired for a Tremere and Nosferatu Fledgling, respectively from Strauss and Gary Golden.

* PrecisionFStrike: A couple dialogue options for the final conversation with [=LaCroix=] in the Camarilla, Anarch, and No Allegiance endings.

* YesMan: If you choose to stick with [=LaCroix=] the entire way through. Getting the option to side with the prince during the ending requires you to have acted politely towards him in the past, followed his orders to a T, and either overlooked or rationalised how [[spoiler:he's sent you to your death multiple times and set you up for a fall.]] Through dialogue, you can play it in a number of ways, such as professing genuine loyalty to the man, believing him to be an [[WellIntentionedExtremist ultimately good leader whose rule the city will benefit from]], or simply sticking with [=LaCroix=] because he begins the endgame [[IFightForTheStrongestSide in the strongest position]].
* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: The PC gets to be Sheriff of the City in the Camarilla ending. If they side with the Anarchs, it's very likely they will be second in command to Nines Rodriguez in his new order.