GTA Online Protagonist

"Thank you my boy, thank you. I am honored to call you my son... By another mother, if you know what I mean?"

- Simeon Yetarian to the male online player.

"Thank you my girl, thank you. You are the daughter I never wanted. Seriously, I mean that. Liberation has done much for your gender. I honor... your boundless fertility... of imagination."

- Simeon Yetarian to the female online player.

"It is indeed. Club owner, heli pilot, getaway driver, chauffeur, music curator... does the lot. Just don't ask for a massage. Or an insightful chat into the human soul."

- English Dave introducing the online player to The Blessed Madonna.

In Grand Theft Auto Online, the protagonist is a player-created character, with highly customizable traits.

Background
Very little is known about the player's background, other than that they met Lamar Davis on Lifeinvader and took a flight to Los Santos, San Andreas, in early 2013. The player does not return to their old home and still resides in San Andreas in the early 2020s.

If the player starts a new character through the Career Builder, it is revealed that the protagonist has been arrested at some point and released from prison in 2022. However, the player's original background is still referenced to be official, as Lamar will still message the player during the introduction. The Career Builder version of the player's introduction does not affect the original storyline.

Events of Grand Theft Auto Online
The player is first seen in the initial cinematic tutorial of Grand Theft Auto Online, and meets Lamar Davis when he picks the player up after their arrival in Los Santos from the airport. The two had previously met on Lifeinvader and became close friends.

They enter Lamar's Emperor, where he gives the player a Pistol and welcomes them to the city. If the character is female, a different cutscene is shown where Lamar will try to hit on the protagonist but fails. Lamar drives the player to a Vinewood parking lot, where they begin to race, potentially with other players competing.

Regardless of who wins the race, Lamar sees further potential in the character and introduces them to Gerald, a drug runner living in Chamberlain Hills. Gerald immediately employs the character by asking them to ambush a deal between the Ballas and the Vagos and return the product to him. Lamar also introduces the character to Simeon Yetarian, who gifts the player a vehicle to keep in exchange for work.

As the player gains Reputation (or RP), they are introduced to several contacts including Lester Crest and Martin Madrazo, who all offer basic work to the player in the form of Contact Missions.

Eventually, after stealing an RV full of meth belonging to Trevor Philips for Gerald, Ron Jakowski contacts the GTA Online Protagonist and tells them to meet Trevor at his trailer in Sandy Shores, and they settle the issue by having the player do jobs for Trevor Philips Industries, which mainly consist of stealing drugs from rival groups, such as The Lost MC, while killing the dealers.

GTA Online: Heists Update
Lester Crest will eventually contact the player character if they purchase a high-end Apartment and earn enough RP to reach Rank 12. Lester will introduce the player to various heists that are given by different contacts, such as Trevor Philips and Agent 14. The player is required to form a team of two or four players for each heist in order to progress through them. The team is hired to perform various tasks, such as staging a prison break or helping finance a drug startup and even robbing one of the biggest banks of USA.

GTA Online: Lowriders
After gaining enough RP to reach Rank 5, Lamar will introduce the player to Benny and hire them to help him rise to power in southern Los Santos. Lamar employs the player to sabotage rival gangs, for example hiring them to crash a Vagos funeral or having them perform drive-bys on the street. However, continued failures to achieve Lamar's original plans lead him to abandon his ambitions.

GTA Online: Executives and Other Criminals
After gaining at least $50,000, the player character is able to create and manage their own Organization. Organizations are run through the SecuroServ network and are created by players in Free Mode. They then have multiple options from which to choose, such as hiring and firing other players as bodyguards. These bodyguards then work for the player and help them to generate an income from the organization, through various tasks including recovering impounded vehicles from the police and retrieving packages across the state.

GTA Online: Further Adventures in Finance and Felony
The player character is eventually directed to purchase an Office, which allows them to permanently access their Organization and introduces them to the Executive Assistant. The player can further expand their criminal empire by buying, storing, and selling coveted contraband including jewelry, counterfeit goods, and medical supplies.

GTA Online: Bikers
Similar to Offices, the player is eventually allowed to purchase a Biker Clubhouse, which allows them to run their own Motorcycle Club as a President. When the player first enters their Clubhouse, they are introduced to Malc, who helps the player set up their Motorcycle Club. The player's Club, similar to Organizations, can create profit by running odd jobs and managing Businesses that create narcotics and counterfeit goods. The player can hire up to seven additional players and promote them across a hierarchy within the Club.

GTA Online: Import/Export
Import/Export expands on Further Adventures in Finance and Felony, continuing the player's business tycoon hosted by SecuroServ. The player is given the opportunity to purchase Vehicle Warehouses that store stolen vehicles; the player is tasked with stealing, modifying, and selling the vehicle themselves, and can choose to have other player Associates assist them. The player is also able to undergo Special Vehicle Work for SecuroServ that involve the player using highly modified, specialized vehicles to perform various missions.

Grand Theft Auto V
The player's whereabouts during the events of Grand Theft Auto V are unknown. Lester still seems to be in touch with and is implied to still be working with the player, and even considered them for the jewelry store robbery, but decides against it on the grounds that "they're too unpredictable" for the job.

Some of the crimes they have previously committed in mid-2013 are also referenced during the events of Grand Theft Auto V, such as the "disappearance" of Martin Madrazo witnesses and stealing gas tankers for Lamar Davis.

GTA Online: Gunrunning
Gunrunning takes place in June 2017, which means that GTA Online has advanced to current time.

Agent 14 contacts the player and introduces optional business venture in the illegal arms trade and weapons manufacturing, which can be utilized under a SecuroServ VIP contract, a SecuroServ CEO organization, or a registered Motorcycle Club. The player begins by an underground bunker and/or Mobile Operations Center. Agent 14 gives the player a personal tour of the bunker to help and guide the player through various Gunrunning-related operations, including research, manufacturing and resupplying, functioning similarly to the MC businesses in the Bikers. Agent 14 also hires the player to work for him for various MOC missions, which work in the same way as the Special Vehicle Work that was introduced in Import/Export.

GTA Online: Smuggler's Run
In August 2017, the player is contacted by Ron Jakowski, who introduces the optional business venture of air freighting contraband across San Andreas, which can be utilized under a SecuroServ VIP contract, SecuroServ CEO organization, or registered Motorcycle Club. The player begins upon purchasing a hangar located at either Los Santos International Airport or Fort Zancudo in which the player can store personal aircraft. Ron gives the player a personal tour of the hangar and helps them on finding cargo to source and finding buyers for it, functioning similar to the warehouses in Further Adventures in Finance and Felony.

GTA Online: The Doomsday Heist
In late 2017, Lester contacts the player, saying he found opportunities more lucrative than the traditional bank heists, which can be utilized under a SecuroServ VIP contract, a SecuroServ CEO organization, or a registered Motorcycle Club. The player begins by purchasing an ex-government facility, where they are met with both Lester and a billionaire named Avon Hertz, who have unfolded a doomsday plot from an unknown foreign entity, and is tasked with extremely dangerous missions, such as infiltrating the NOOSE building or stealing an Avenger from Merryweather, thus acting as a hired gun for both Lester and Avon along with Agent 14, and the International Affairs Agency. Overall, the Doomsday Heist functions similarly to the original Heists, but features prep missions that take place in freemode in addition to the usual setup missions.

GTA Online: After Hours
In July 2018, Tony Prince arrives in Los Santos and calls the player, inviting them to join him on a nightclub venture, which can be utilized under a SecuroServ VIP contract, a SecuroServ CEO organization, or a registered Motorcycle Club. The player begins by purchasing a foreclosed property, and Tony helps them turn it into a thriving club alongside Lazlow Jones and English Dave. While Tony runs the club, the player promotes it while using the club as a front for their covert businesses.

Paige Harris calls the player about setting up a vehicle known as the Terrorbyte. A proposal where the player and Paige can make their scores. Once the Terrorbyte is bought by the player, Paige explain through the detail about the vehicle such as drones, workshop for Mk ll Oppressors and Mk ll Weapons, and missile turrets. The computer in the vehicle can provide client job and hack computers to for supplies for all businesses except the nightclub computer.

GTA Online: Arena War
In late 2018, Alan Jerome, through his assistant, Bryony, contacts the player and offers them the chance to participate in his new livestream internet show Arena War. The player begins by purchasing a workshop in the Maze Bank Arena. Upon entering, they are greeted by Bryony, who has them sign documents, and later Alan, who is eager to begin. After the exchange, the player is then sent into their first match in Arena War. Following the match, Alan is elated with the success the player has drawn. Bryony then gives the player a brief rundown on the workshop and the Sponsorship Tiers as they progress in Arena War.

GTA Online: The Diamond Casino & Resort
In July 2019, when the player enters the The Diamond Casino & Resort for the first time, they are greeted by Vincent, who tells them to feel free and come in to have a good time inside of the casino. However, as Vincent tells them that members get access to all the facilities of the resort, he is interrupted by Tom Connors, the Executive Director of Guest Services of the casino, who proceeds to take the player on a tour of the casino. During the tour, the player and Tom bump into the General Manager of the casino, Agatha Baker. After showing the player around the various games they can partake in the casino, Tom suggests to the player that they should buying a penthouse so that they can enjoy the full benefits of being a VIP member of the casino. Tom then concludes the tour and bids the player farewell, leaving them to explore the casino.

The player begins by buying a penthouse. Upon entering, they are greeted by Ms. Baker, congratulating the player on their purchase of a penthouse. Tom enters in shortly afterwards, also congratulating the player for purchasing a penthouse. As Tom is about to pop open some champagne, he, the player, and Ms. Baker encounter Tao Cheng and his translator. Ms. Baker informs Tao of the player's purchase of a penthouse, much to Tao's delight, who then hugs the player. In the midst of the celebration however, Ms. Baker tells Tao that she's received another aggressive call from the Texans, most specifically, from Avery Duggan. She tells Tao that he vows to take over the casino, but due to his state of drunkenness, Tao takes his threat light-heartedly, and he exits the player's penthouse along with his translator. Ms. Baker then informs the player of their current situation with Avery, before her and Tom leave the player alone to explore their penthouse. Later on, the player receives both a text and a call from Ms. Baker, who seeks their help against Avery and his plans. The player can partake in missions that will help the casino executives fight back against Avery and his forces. The player can also do Casino Work missions for Ms. Baker by calling her and selecting the "Request Work" option.

GTA Online: The Diamond Casino Heist
In late 2019, the player is suddenly contacted by Lester, who texts them to come meet him at Mirror Park, stating that there's something to discuss about. However, upon reaching Mirror Park, Lester is nowhere to be seen at first, and the player sits on a bench. Lester then shows up, but tells the player that he's no longer interested in doing heists, reasoning that he's taken every score worth taking in San Andreas, such as cleaning out the Union Depository, and was going to tell them to "dick off". As he continues to ramble on, the player shows them the text he supposedly sent to them, but Lester accuses them of messaging him, only to realize that someone had hacked his phone. Suddenly, members of the Cheng family representing Cheng Family Holdings shows up, stating that they're the ones behind hacking Lester's phone and setting up an arranged meeting between them, Lester, and the player.

One of the members, Huang, introduces them to Georgina Cheng, the vice president of Cheng Holdings. Huang tells Lester and the player that Georgina has come to Los Santos to deal with a "regrettable incident", referring to the conflict between the Cheng family and the Duggan family over the ownership of The Diamond Casino & Resort, which culminated in the sale of the casino from the Cheng family to Thornton Duggan. Lester assumes that they feel embittered about the whole ordeal, but Georgina says that her brother and previous owner of the casino, Tao Cheng, was taken advantage of. Lester then suggests that she should contact a lawyer instead to deal with the situation and not him and the player, but Georgina isn't seeking to take back ownership of the casino. Instead, she wants Lester and the player to rob the casino in order to get revenge on the Duggan family. Georgina reasons that aside from getting money, there's a bigger challenge into pulling off the heist, which is the casino's adaptive and dynamic security system.

Lester is at first hesitant into being pulled back into doing heists, reasoning that he's done heists that were considered impossible until his involvement in them, but Georgina tells him that he's the best in the business when it comes to pulling off heists. Lester still resists, citing that he needs more persuasion into pulling off the heist. Georgina tells him to do the heist for her as a favor, stating that she's not in it for the money and that whatever money they can get is theirs for the taking. Finally convinced, Lester says that they need a base of operations, but Huang tells him that it cannot involve the Cheng family, and that the player is tasked in finding a potential base of operations. Lester tells the player that he'll send them a link to buy a property in order to setup the heist. Lester and the rest of the Cheng family depart afterwards.

The player receives a text from Lester, which is a link to Maze Bank Foreclosures in order to buy an Arcade property and begin the setup for the heist. After the player selects and buys an Arcade property, Lester calls them, stating that he's officially out of retirement and tells the player to meet him and the rest of the staff at the Arcade property they purchased.

When the player first enters their newly purchased Arcade property, they see Jimmy De Santa talking to Wendy about working in the arcade business. Despite his hopes of having a higher position in the business, he is at first relegated to sweeping the floors and setting up arcade machines. Lester appears shortly afterwards, and shows the player the initial dilapidated state of the arcade before guiding them to the office. Lester then puts a coin into the fortune telling machine, which turns out to be an entrance to an underground bunker where the setup and planning of the heist takes place in. Lester then shows the player around the place, showing them the various sections of the place. Georgina and the rest of Cheng Holdings show up, excited that both Lester and the player are on board in planning the heist. Georgina tells Lester to come with him to discuss plans in regards to the heist, with Lester telling the player that he'll come back once they have everything set up.

Once the player completes the first setup mission, they can now begin to do Prep missions in order to setup the heist. When doing a Prep mission, Lester gives instructions on what do during the prep mission and/or what equipment they need to obtain based on their chosen approach for the heist. Once the player completes all the necessary requirements in setting up the heist, gathers other crew members in aiding them with the heist as well as making final preparations, they are ready to tackle on the heist.

Once the heist has been successfully pulled off, the player and their crew members regroup with Lester at a building across the Diamond Casino to celebrate with him. As they are celebrating, Georgina shows up unexpectedly, much to Lester's shock. Georgina tells him that the Duggan's insurance premium has doubled, with Lester responding that it will continue to double if they rob the casino again, although the security will be ready to anticipate their approach unless they do a approach different from before. As Lester and Georgina start to get close to one another, the player and their crew silently walk away from the scene, leaving them in privacy as they kiss.

GTA Online: Los Santos Summer Special
In summer 2020, the player is called by Brendan Darcy, who has jobs including the Yacht. The protagonist facing off the Kkangpae like for example, destroying their boats as revenge in order of Darcy saying they were part of the Puerto Del Sol Yacht Club. In the fourth mission, Brendan Darcy and the barkeeper from the Yacht are kidnapped by the Kkangpaes and the player saved them. Before the last mission, the players yacht's engine and generators have all gone down and it is attacked by the Kkangpaes. After successfully defending the Yacht, the protagonist taking revenge by attacking their Yacht and killing their boss who was about to fly away and escape with his Maverick. After killing the rest of his henchmen, Brendan Darcy told the player that a bounty was on the boss head and that they should collect it.

The protagonist is also called by Solomon Richards who claims that he was robbed and needs help to get his famous collection of movie props back. After the player collected all ten of them and bringing them back to Richards' office he rewarded him with cash and an alien outfit.

Later in November, the player is contacted by Tom Connors via text message where he is apologizing for the noises saying that the casino is under construction.

A week after that, a corpse and a briefcase are found near the southwest coast of Los Santos at a random location ranging from Vespucci Beach to Los Santos International Airport.

GTA Online: The Cayo Perico Heist
In late 2020, the player is contacted by Miguel Madrazo, who meets them in the newly-opened Music Locker underneath the Diamond Casino. Madrazo hires the player to travel to the island of Cayo Perico and rob Juan Strickler, alias "El Rubio" (Spanish: The Blonde One), the drug lord who owns the island. Miguel wants the player to find some files that El Rubio could use to blackmail the Madrazo family. He also informs the player that El Rubio has a lot of riches, and the player can keep whatever else they find in addition to Miguel's payment for the files.

English Dave helps the player get onto the island by posing as a tour manager for one of El Rubio's legendary beach parties. The player also purchases a submarine and meets the one-man crew, Pavel. Pavel aids the player in conducting reconnaissance and preparation for the mission. The player finally returns to Cayo Perico, possibly with allies, and steals the Madrazo files.

Returning to Miguel, they receive their payment, and Miguel hastily destroys the files, which also included photographs of a tryst between Trevor Philips and Patricia Madrazo. Afterwards, the player is contacted by Pavel who informs them that El Rubio keeps many valuables on the island, and the player can continue to rob him of various treasures.

The player also aids Joy Orbinson, DJ of Still Slipping Los Santos, in extending the radio's station's broadcast range. They furthermore help Tom Connors in meeting the requests of the Music Locker's DJs.

GTA Online: Los Santos Tuners
In July 2021, the player becomes a member of the LS Car Meet, an underground meeting place in Cypress Flats for fans of custom cars and street racing. There, they are introduced to Sessanta and Kenny "KDJ" Dixon Jr., who provide the player with several contracts after they purchase an auto shop and prove themselves to them. The player can also use the shop as a legitimate business, completing car export jobs for various clients.

GTA Online: The Contract
In December 2021, the GTA Online Protagonist meets the multi-millionaire successful investor and businessman Franklin Clinton through his first Los Santos contact Lamar Davis. The protagonist and Franklin owns F. Clinton and Partner, a new "celebrity solutions agency" catering to the Vinewood elite in need of solutions to high-society problems. Franklin also welcomes aboard Imani, the tech-savvy daughter of one of his old friends from Chamberlain Hills, and relents to Lamar Davis imposing himself on their new partnership. Along with Lamar and Imani, the frequent presence of an elderly Chop adds to the atmosphere of nostalgia at the office. Franklin states that he missed getting his hands dirty, and compares his new agency's scope of work to the personal drama-laden situations he helped Michael de Santa with early in their friendship.

DJ Pooh has been reaching out to Franklin about an exciting potential client: his close friend, Dr. Dre, whose phone containing unreleased music has been stolen one year ago before taking a flight to Cayo Perico to host a beach party. Franklin meets Dr. Dre at the Los Santos Golf Club, where DJ Pooh, Jimmy Iovine and Dre himself was playing golf. After Dre failing to hit hole-in-ones and with 2 other golfers complaining about not being able to play as Dre and his friends were using the holes for too long, the 2 other golfers threatened to use their connections to evict Dre and his friends out of the golf course. Enraged, Dre snapped his gold club and both the GTA Online Protagonist and Franklin went after the two golfers in golf carts and ram them into submission.

Soon after, it was reported that on top of the phone that was stolen from Dre, 3 unreleased tracks in the phone was being demoed out by 3 different people. One has ties to the Los Santos Vagos, one had ties to the Los Santos Triads and one affluent billionaire who dabbles in cryptocurrencies thus Dre asked Franklin and the GTA Online Protagonist to take it back for him. After taking all 3 down and taking back the music scores, Imani managed to triangulate that the last person who has Dre's phone was none other than Johnny Guns, executive and producer for WesLos Records who had beef with Dre since the 90s. Dre instantly tells Franklin and the GTA Online Protagonist that he has to take the phone back by all cost with whatever means necessary and he wants to end the beef once and for all by killing Johnny himself.

After helping Dre at Record A Studios dealing with the private militia that Johnny Guns have sent to kill them, Imani pinpointed the final location on where Johnny would be and Franklin once again tells the GTA Online Protagonist to go and bring Johnny Guns back so Dre can question him himself.

After dealing with Johnny Guns, DJ Pooh invites the GTA Online Protagonist (and an associate), Franklin Clinton and Lamar Davis for a tour inside Dr. Dre's recording studios. Lamar attempts to make his own rap with a beat DJ Pooh provides him, while the GTA Online Protagonist and his associate takes a smoke in the room next door. Before Franklin is about to smoke, Lamar refers to Tanisha getting annoyed if he gets high, implying that they are married. When Franklin and Lamar checks out on their partners, however, they become so high that they "experienced an out-of-body experience". Meanwhile, Franklin helps Lamar with his marijuana business LD Organics, which ends in an accidental viral marketing outside the Tequi-la-la, turning Lamar into a successful business owner with customers from Vinewood.

Career Builder
In early 2022, following a failed heist, the GTA Online Protagonist was arrested and all of their assets seized by the LSPD. However, the protagonist managed to hide away $4,000,000, and they entrusted Lamar with that money to help rebuild their career, either becoming an Executive, a Gunrunner, a Nightclub Owner or a Biker once again. The protagonist is eventually released from prison, and is immediately contacted by their Mechanic, informing them that their personal vehicle has been delivered nearby. Shortly after, Lamar messages the protagonist, saying that he has stashed the weapons they ordered nearby, which the protagonist comes to pick up, and subsequently deal with the hostile Ballas in the area. After successfully dealing with the Ballas, the protagonist is contacted by their associate (depending on the career path they've chosen) telling them to come to the office to start the business again.

Personality
The protagonist, as shown in cutscenes, seems to be very calm and quiet when dealing with their bosses, the latter of which is often noted and even mocked for although they show no signs of being bothered by this. They will take on any job as long as they get paid for their services (much like Claude in Grand Theft Auto III). They are known to keep their cool and are almost impossible to intimidate. This is best shown when the player first meets Trevor Philips, who initially comes nose to nose with the protagonist and the protagonist shows no sign of backing down from him and is clearly not afraid of Trevor (exemplified by Trevor's eventual screaming of, "WHY AREN'T YOU FUCKING SCARED OF ME!?"), unlike most other people in the game.

They are generally regarded as a "silent person" by the characters. For instance, Trevor often refers to the player as, "My favourite mute." Based on a quote from Brucie Kibbutz, it is implied that if the player calls someone then exits the call, they simply don't say anything, but rather breathe heavily into the phone. Similar comments are made about the player from Agent 14 during The Humane Labs Raid and Lester Crest during The Diamond Casino Heist. In one instance, during the cutscene with Ron Jakowski after buying the Hangar, Ron asks the protagonist why they took so long to come, but as soon as they try to speak they are interrupted by Ron.

As shown during multiple cutscenes the protagonist is seen engaging in friendly exchanges with their crew members and trusted associates such as Lester Crest and Tony Prince. During the Humane Labs Raid, when the crew assembles to tackle the finale, the heist leader will pretend to shut the door on the last crew member before allowing them in with a silent laugh. When Lester calls the crew to discuss the Pacific Standard Job, he dances in front of them, asking if he looks like a model to which one of the protagonists plays along and agrees with a minor dance of their own. During the same heist when Lester discusses stealing the Lectro motorcycles from the Lost MC, the crew are seen humored by Lester's ditsy actions and trying to hide their laughter by turning away from him. After setting up their night club Tony Prince gives a tour to the protagonist, once they reach the office Tony will clarify he knows nothing of the illicit actions done in the club with "Hear no evil, see no evil." which the protagonist gestures "speak no evil", playfully referencing the fact that they never speak. In the Diamond Casino Heist initial cutscene, the player uses Lester's cane as support when he's explaining his complicated and messy plan to the group. The cane is later taken away when Lester finishes by Georgina Cheng. The player also appears to enjoy Lamar rapping on the microphone in Record A Studios during the mission Short Trip - Seed Capital.

The Protagonist appears to also greatly enjoy gambling, and can be seen reacting happily to winning at card games, horse racing and slot machines; their idle animation between card hands depicts them in a good mood, and when viewing a horse race, they can be seen reacting with excitement - or disappointment - depending on how their horse fares.

As with many other playable characters with in the GTA universe, the Online Player's psychosis is determinant on the player's actions, and is only evident when killing civilians or other players. This is represented in-game by the player's radar blip, which progressively turns from white to red depending on how psychotic the player is. It can be assumed from this that the character's personality is entirely determined by the player.

Relationships With Other Characters

 * Lester Crest - Lester is the main contact for the Protagonist and usually hires them for heists. Initially Lester's behavior towards the Protagonist was awkward as he didn't know how to deal with their silence. Later on Lester's faith in their skills increased to the point that they were the go to contact for Lester during the Doomsday Heists which unlike other heists, the fate of the world was at stake and so required skill and talented individuals. Lester remains in contact with them even outside of major heists as he will help the Protagonist under the name of LJT during MC activities.
 * Agent 14 - Agent 14 is another major contact for the Protagonist, they were introduced through Lester Crest, Agent 14 has retained them as a trusted asset since. During their first few encounters, 14 pretended to be a criminal in order to gain the Protagonist and their crew's trust. After being impressed by their professionalism and skill during the prison break, 14 invited them to take part in the second part of the heist. Later on 14 contacts the protagonist and offers them a bunker with highly classified technology, he drops his act of being criminal and will compliment the protagonist on making America safe with their gunrunning sales. 14 would later meet them again at an IAA facility, vouching for them to Rackman and telling her that they saved them.
 * Ron Jakowski - Ron is introduced to the Protagonist accidentally through Gerald, as one of the missions tasked by Gerald had the Protagonist unwittingly interfere with Trevor Philip's business. The Protagonist is contacted by the T.P.I business and is told to do some odd jobs to compensate them, after this incident the business relationship becomes more civil and leads to further activities. Ron act as a secondary contact during the series A heists and is friendly towards the Protagonist and their crew, Trevor refers to them as Ron's "creepy silent friend". Later Ron enters a business partnership with the Protagonist and their relationship is similar to the one Ron has with Trevor, albeit one sided as Ron will show some fear of the Protagonist despite them not doing anything to Ron that Trevor has. He even at one point asks them not to hurt him.
 * Trevor Philips - As stated above, the introduction was unwittingly caused by Gerald poorly choosing who to target. Trevor initially tries to intimidate the Protagonist but finds, to his surprise, that he cannot scare them and verbally acknowledges this. Trevor tasks the Protagonist with a job in order to make up for interfering in his business. After this Trevor and Ron will retain the Protagonist as a contact and will give them odd jobs. Later Trevor and Ron will visit the Protagonist and invite themselves into their apartment and introduce them to T.P.I and they will be tasked with doing set ups for a heist. Trevor's relationship with them is surprisingly civil and he pays them in advance before the deal is completed for fulfilling their part.
 * Lamar Davis - Lamar is the first contact of the Protagonist and apparently their friend from the social network LifeInvader. Lamar introduced them to Gerald with eventually led the Protagonist to climbing the criminal ladder and eventually working for the government. Lamar's own attempt to increase his station fails due to his incompetence, even with the Protagonist helping him. Additionally, if the Protagonist is female, Lamar will express his attraction to them and offer a rose upon meeting them, only to be coldly rebuffed, prompting him to quickly cease his flirtations.
 * As of 2021, Lamar and the Protagonist are shown to still be close, with Lamar occasionally helping them get in touch with people, including his friend Franklin when he has a business he needs help with.
 * Franklin Clinton - The Protagonist is first brought to Franklin's attention through their mutual contact Lamar Davis in 2021. Impressed by their reputation, Franklin brings the Protagonist on as a partner for a business solving high profile problems for high profile people.

Appearance
According to the advanced character customization background and character switch line-up screen, the male protagonist is 6' 0" (1.83 m) and the female protagonist is 5' 9" (1.75 m). The overall physique of the character cannot be altered by player choice. Both the female and male protagonists are generally taller than most pedestrians and other NPCs encountered (in the female's case, usually when wearing shoes with heels).

Originally on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
The character can be created according to the taste of the player, who is able to choose the character's name, age, gender, physical appearance, nationality and grandparents (who can affect their appearance) as well as alter the character's daily lifestyle choices, such as time spent sleeping and exercising; this creates the initial stats for the character and can slightly change their appearance.

Enhanced version for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC
The general appearance has changed, with the male protagonists possessing more body and facial hair, and the female protagonists having longer and broader hair. The facial appearance has also changed to look much more realistic, with more tones, features and structure.

For $100,000, players are able to change their character's appearance (but not the character gender). The player can choose their parents during character creation, which will affect the player's initial appearance (a loose composite of both parents, with variable influence). There is also a choice of grandparents for each parent (a composite of both grandparents), which affects their appearance, in turn affecting the protagonist's appearance. In addition to generic people to choose as parents, there is also the choice of well-known characters from other Rockstar Games titles who can be selected as parents. Mom Character Creator - Heritage Dad    Charlotte  Elizabeth  Evelyn  Giselle  Violet  Grace  Jasmine  Emma  Camila  Hannah  Amelia  Sophia  Nicole  Ava <div id="Ashley_image" style="transform: scaleX(-1); text-align:right;"> Ashley <div id="Audrey_image" style="transform: scaleX(-1); text-align:right;"> Audrey <div id="Natalie_image" style="transform: scaleX(-1); text-align:right;"> Natalie <div id="Zoe_image" style="transform: scaleX(-1); text-align:right;"> Zoe <div id="Isabella_image" style="transform: scaleX(-1); text-align:right;"> Isabella <div id="Brianna_image" style="transform: scaleX(-1); text-align:right;"> Brianna <div id="Olivia_image" style="transform: scaleX(-1); text-align:right;"> Olivia <div id="Misty_image" style="transform: scaleX(-1); text-align:right;"> Misty <div class="target2" id="selected_dad" style="float:left; overflow:hidden; width: 30%; height:280px; text-align:left; color:white;"> <div id="Niko_image" style="text-align:left;"> Niko <div id="Ethan_image" style="text-align:left;"> Ethan <div id="Daniel_image" style="text-align:left;"> Daniel <div id="Kevin_image" style="text-align:left;"> Kevin <div id="Louis_image" style="text-align:left;"> Louis <div id="Isaac_image" style="text-align:left;"> Isaac <div id="Angel_image" style="text-align:left;"> Angel <div id="Alex_image" style="text-align:left;"> Alex <div id="Evan_image" style="text-align:left;"> Evan <div id="Andrew_image" style="text-align:left;"> Andrew <div id="Noah_image" style="text-align:left;"> Noah <div id="Benjamin_image" style="text-align:left;"> Benjamin <div id="John_image" style="text-align:left;"> John <div id="Gabriel_image" style="text-align:left;"> Gabriel <div id="Juan_image" style="text-align:left;"> Juan <div id="Michael_image" style="text-align:left;"> Michael <div id="Adrian_image" style="text-align:left;"> Adrian <div id="Joshua_image" style="text-align:left;"> Joshua <div id="Claude_image" style="text-align:left;"> Claude <div id="Diego_image" style="text-align:left;"> Diego <div id="Samuel_image" style="text-align:left;"> Samuel <div id="Anthony_image" style="text-align:left;"> Anthony <div id="Vincent_image" style="text-align:left;"> Vincent <div id="Santiago_image" style="text-align:left;"> Santiago <div id="dad_nav" style="transform: scaleX(-1); float:left; width: 19%; overflow:auto; text-align:left; height:280px;"> <div style="transform: scaleX(-1);">
 * Amelia
 * Ashley
 * Audrey
 * Ava
 * Briana
 * Camila
 * Charlotte
 * Elizabeth
 * Emma
 * Evelyn
 * Giselle
 * Grace
 * Hannah
 * Isabella
 * Jasmine
 * Misty
 * Natalie
 * Nicole
 * Olivia
 * Sophia
 * Violet
 * Zoe
 * Adrian
 * Alex
 * Andrew
 * Angel
 * Anthony
 * Benjamin
 * Claude
 * Daniel
 * Diego
 * Ethan
 * Evan
 * Gabriel
 * Isaac
 * John
 * Joshua
 * Juan
 * Kevin
 * Louis
 * Michael
 * Niko
 * Noah
 * Samuel
 * Santiago
 * Vincent

Influences
Upon release, GTA Online provided little exposition, giving little to no background or central plot to the protagonist. However, subsequent content updates greatly expanded the storyline of GTA Online, introducing new characters and separate plot lines for players to experience.

A central theme of an aspiring criminal rising the ranks of the underworld is present, similar to those in previous GTA titles. One key inspiration for the story of GTA Online is the The Fast and the Furious Saga film franchise; both franchises feature characters starting as small-time street gangsters, rising the ranks of a criminal hierarchy, and eventually being employed by government entities to undergo heist-like tasks. Content updates including Heists, Gunrunning, and The Doomsday Heist feature the protagonist becoming employed by government members to handle several operations, while GTA Online: Import/Export features vehicles clearly paying direct homage to those from the Fast & Furious franchise.

Mission Appearances

 * Grand Theft Auto Online
 * As the protagonist, they appear in every mission.

Trivia

 * The GTA Online Protagonist is the first female protagonist in the HD Universe of the Grand Theft Auto series, and the first one overall to have some kind of personality applied to her character. She is also the seventh female protagonist to appear in the entire Grand Theft Auto series.
 * The GTA Online Protagonist and Huang Lee were the only protagonists to be referenced in a previous game before being introduced in the Grand Theft Auto series as protagonists (Huang Lee in the LCPD Database in Grand Theft Auto IV, and the GTA Online Protagonist during Casing the Jewel Store in Grand Theft Auto V).
 * The GTA Online Protagonist currently has more prominent antagonists to their name than any other protagonist in the Grand Theft Auto series with a total of seven antagonists as of 2021.
 * Despite claiming otherwise, if the player changes their appearance for $100,000, the game will not charge the player if no changes have been made, stating that “No money was taken”.
 * At the beginning of Grand Theft Auto Online, the player will always spawn in front of a hotel (unless the spawn location is altered) until they have managed to buy a property.
 * The player's signature color is dark blue as seen in the HUD and UI, similar to Michael's signature color, although it was originally meant to be yellow as seen in the gameplay trailer and the color of the screen flashes when switching to the GTA Online Protagonist. This could also be seen if the player highlights the GTA Online Protagonist in the Character Wheel before a GTA Online patch that changed the color. After the patch, it was changed to dark blue. This also inexplicably changed the colors in the credits sequence during Prologue and Franklin and Lamar.
 * While the Grand Theft Auto V protagonists' light bar colors on the PlayStation 4 controller pertain to each of their own themes, the GTA Online protagonist's light bar can be any random color, from pink to blue.
 * On the PS4, if the GTA Online protagonist is in a crew, the controller's light bar color mimics the active crew's color.
 * The GTA Online Protagonist has some similarities to Claude, the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto III, as they both never (canonically) speak in any of their appearances. In addition, if the player bought the collector's edition of GTA V, Claude is usable as a parent of the Player in GTA Online.
 * The GTA Online Protagonist only makes sound by coughing after using a bong or smoking cigarettes. They rarely make any other sounds; however, they do grunt if they are thrown out of The Diamond Casino & Resort and can be heard breathing heavily during the data extraction cutscene in The Humane Labs Raid Heist, and whenever using a rebreather underwater. They can also be heard vocalizing as they vomit, which can occur after ingesting certain drinks or randomly when spawning into their Nightclub's bathroom.
 * In Director Mode, if the player selects their online protagonist and gets damaged, they will grunt clearly but will no longer make any noise after it until selected again. However, they will scream if they fall from a height (such as jumping out of an aircraft without a parachute).
 * The aforementioned pain grunts are the same grunts used for other generic NPCs in the game. This is because the GTA Online actor falls in the same class as the other generic NPCs in the mode (thus why they cannot use parachutes in Director Mode, unlike the story mode protagonists).
 * When entering an arcade on an Oppressor Mk II, the protagonist will begin screaming as if they were falling. This is because the character model turns into a civilian model before being teleported to the arcade's basement.
 * When a player is disconnected suddenly from an online session, their online character will become a normal pedestrian and will walk towards the nearest pedestrian pathway. If the AI controlled character is approached violently without a firearm, they will either scream or yell and run away, or fight back with their fists, but will invariably run away when a firearm is presented.
 * In the early weeks of release, there was a glitch in which the character's gender can be swapped out, resulting in a character having a male's head/facial features on a female body, or vice versa.
 * This glitch could also affect the character's race. When showering, the character's original head could disappear and be replaced with a head from someone of another race on their original body.
 * Despite the player being known to use Lifeinvader, they cannot access the Lifeinvader website in-game.
 * The online protagonist uses a mix of animations from Michael De Santa, Franklin Clinton, and Trevor Philips. What animation sets are used depends on the activity the player is participating in.
 * While in a vehicle with a radio station selected, the player's mood can be seen changing, depending on the song playing. For instance, if a radio advert was playing at the time that the player was staring at their character, the online protagonist can be seen "bored", flicking dust/dirt off their clothes, and glancing around. If a song is playing, the player gradually starts to be become happy and "into" the song; they will start to nod their head at the beginning/end of a song, or when the beat slows down, but rhythmically dance when the song picks up a pace/beat. This feature seems to be synchronized with the song's volume and/or pace. This feature can be seen clearer when turning the hood-camera around to face the player inside their vehicle.
 * The artwork for GTA Online: Executives and Other Criminals, GTA Online: Further Adventures in Finance and Felony and GTA Online: Import/Export all feature the same representation of the GTA Online Protagonist. A man with short hair, notable for the scar across his nose bridge and cheek. However, it is not possible to recreate him accurately in the game, as his hair is not an available option and scars aren't permanent.
 * Unlike most characters the Protagonist meets such as Trevor Philips, Phoenicia Rackman, or Lester in which they appear either angry, or annoyed upon first meeting them, the Protagonist appears welcoming and friendly upon meeting Gay Tony in their night club.
 * When a female protagonist gets a lap dance or engages a prostitute, the same animations are used as for the male protagonist, and dialogue by the stripper/prostitute retains references to male anatomy.
 * Unlike the story mode characters, the online protagonist has the ability to sit down, though generally only in "safehouse" locations (one exception being the outdoor rooftop terrace at the Diamond Casino & Resort).
 * Depending on location, the protagonist has different idle animations. For example, in the nightclub, they can be seen bobbing their head to the music; in the casino, between hands at the table games they can be seen smiling, tapping the table, and looking around at other players and will also have unique reactions to winning or losing hands or spins of the slot machines and roulette. A further unique set of animations occur when the player is watching a horse race that they have a wager on.
 * The Protagonist currently has the largest arsenal of weapons in their pocket when compared to any other protagonist in the Grand Theft Auto series. They're also arguably the most powerful out of all protagonists because they have access to military-grade weapons & vehicles, specialized ammunition like explosive sniper bullets, body armor/ballistic equipment, a satellite-guided orbital cannon superweapon, remote-controlled bombs concealed inside miniature cars & drones, a miniature remote-controlled tank with lethal weaponry, and even a nuclear submarine equipped with torpedoes and long-range guided missiles.
 * It is usually up to the player to decide what vices their character partakes in, with options given for smoking from a bong, smoking cigarettes and drinking to the point of inebriation and passing out. Among exceptions is one of the random MC Clubhouse weed sell missions, where the protagonist becomes high off second-hand pot smoke, and the closing cutscene of the Cayo Perico Heist where, after delivering the goods to Miguel Madrazo, they are seen sharing a drink (apparently a tequila shot with lime chaser), after which they will be seen smoking a cigarette as they leave Madrazo's estate; the protagonist is also shown smoking after other missions. To activate the Short Trips missions, the protagonist voluntarily smokes weed, leading to out-of-body experiences. Therefore, it's impossible to play the protagonist as a teetotaller outside of freeroam.

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