V (character)

V, an alias for Valerie/Vincent (gender-dependent), is the player-controlled character in. V's gender, appearance, attributes, perks, and lifepath are all customizable and have an impact on the story.

Character Creation
This part of is a deep character customization system. The process starts with the player either selecting a preset character or creating a custom character. When creating a custom character, the player can select a gender and customize their character; customization can include depictions of breasts, buttocks and genitalia, as well as various sizes and combinations of genitals. Options also include picking between a male or female sounding voice, while also adjusting the pitch. Of note, the character creation gives the birthay dates of both genders.

Lifepath History
The player then selects V's Lifepath history, by choosing Nomad, Streetkid, or Corporate.

Each lifepath will begin in a different starting location in Night City and V will be in a different place in life overall. V will have a different introductory questline, and equipment which will be connected to your specific origin story and will be introduced to the characters differently. Lifepaths will stretch the entirety of the game, and not only will it open up different dialogue options like previously stated, but you will also unlock specific side quests based off your Lifepath.


 * Nomad: "Roaming the Badlands, looting scrapyards, raiding fuel depots – life on the road wasn't easy, but growing up in a nomad clan has its perks. Honesty, integrity and a love of freedom – qualities that few in Night City possess and no amount of money can buy."
 * V grew up in the Badlands, having been part of the Bakkers nomad clan. They left the clan after it merged with Snake Nation, leading them to search for a new life in Night City. Whilst travelling, V is forced to stop at the Southern Californian town of Yucca to get their car repaired. After a local mechanic fixes it, V makes contact with Jackie Welles and agrees to help him smuggle contraband across the Californian border. Managing to cross without a hitch, they discover the border patrol awaiting on the other side, forcing them to flee through the Biotechnica Flats. After losing their tail and taking refuge in an abandoned garage, V and Jackie discover that they were smuggling an iguana. Though planning to ditch them without their money, Jackie offers to help V set up in Night City and split their profit by selling to another party, which they accept.


 * Streetkid: "They say if you wanna understand the streets, you gotta live 'em. Gangs, fixers, dolls, small-time pushers – you were raised by them all. Down here the law of the jungle dictates the weak serve the strong – the only law in Night City you have yet to break."
 * V grew up in the Heywood District of Night City and was raised by the gangs. Though they initially left for Atlanta two years ago, they returned several months before the game starts. Whilst recovering from a fight in El Coyote Cojo, V agrees to help the bartender named Pepe Najarro settle a debt with Kirk Sawyer. In exchange, they are sent to steal a Rayfield Aerondight S9 from a corpo agent, receiving a lift from their old friend Padre. As they enter and start the car, V is stopped by Jackie Welles, who is also attempting to steal the vehicle. They are quickly surrounded by the NCPD, lead by officer Stints and arrested. Though ordered to be executed by the vehicle's owner, they are instead knocked unconscious and left bloodied in an alleyway. After the ordeal, V and Jackie are properly introduced, the latter revealing that Kirk's threats are actually empty. When he invites them for a meal, V hesitantly accepts, leading to their friendship.


 * Corporate: "Few leave the corporate world with their lives – fewer still with their souls intact. You've been there – you've bent the rules, exploited secrets and weaponized information. There's no such thing as fair game, only winners and losers."
 * V was raised in a corporate family in Charter Hill, Night City. Joining Arasaka, they work as a counterintelligence operative agent for Arthur Jenkins in the Arasaka Tower, Corpo Plaza. Though they are highly regarded within the organization, V is stressed about the job. When Jenkins assassinates the ESA representatives without the official approval, V is tasked with assassinating his boss, Susan Abernathy, to ensure he cannot be tracked to him. While meeting with their street contact Jackie Welles at Lizzie's Bar, they are cornered by other Arasaka agents and is stripped of their corporate status. However, Jackie intervenes before they extract V. With their life effectively over, V is offered help by Jackie and allowed to stay at his home until they get back on their feet.

After the intro questlines are completed, they then lead into a compilation cutscene of Jackie and V sticking together for six months, doing jobs before it reaches the starting point of the game. At this point, the game follows a similar narrative path.

2077
After completing a job for Wakako Okada, V and Jackie were contacted by fixer Dexter DeShawn. They, along with netrunner T-Bug, were hired to break into Konpeki Plaza and steal a Relic from Yorinobu Arasaka for Evelyn Parker. V undertook preparation for the heist, meeting with Parker to locate the device and retrieving a Flathead from the Maelstrom gang to assist them.

After finishing planning, V and the crew undertook the heist and successfully retrieved the Relic. However, they were forced to hide when Yorinobu met with his father, Saburo Arasaka, in the room and murdered him. With security increased in the building, V became the only survivor whilst the other crew members died at the hands of Arasaka's forces. The Relic's casing was also critically damaged, forcing them to slot it into their shard to preserve it. At the rendezvous point, V was betrayed and murdered by DeShawn via a gunshot to the head. Their body was then disposed at a landfill on the outskirts of Night City.

However, due to the Relic's presence in their body, V was revived by the device some time later. Located by Saburo's ex-bodyguard Goro Takemura, they were brought back to Night City and to Viktor Vector's clinic. Whilst recovering there, V learned that the Relic was overriding their consciousness with an engram of Johnny Silverhand and that they have only a short time left to live. Meeting with Goro, V was asked to help testify to Saburo's heir, Hanako, and expose Yorinobu's crime. At the same time, they decided to investigate various leads into removing the Relic, including Evelyn and its creator Anders Hellman.

With help from Mox member Judy Alvarez, V located Evelyn and learned that she was initially hired by the Voodoo Boys to steal the Relic, though only for Silverhand's engram. Meeting with Placide, they arranged to help them bypass the Blackwall and contact Alt Cunningham, a legendary netrunner and Johnny's former girlfriend. Through Alt, V learned that they could extract the engram through Soulkiller and rewrite it with their consciousness, though only within Arasaka's Mikoshi system. After contacting Rogue Amendiares, V learned that Hellman was attempting to defect to Kang Tao. Working with Panam Palmer and the Aldecaldos, they ambushed his convoy and retrieved him. Whilst interrogating Hellman, V learned that the Relic was permanently connected to their neural system, making the process impossible to undo. Afterwards V called Takemura to follow up with his own interrogation and unfinished business.

V and Goro met with Sandayu Oda, Hanako's bodygaurd, to inform him of Yorinobu's betrayal. However he did not believe them. They gradually decided to contact Hanako during Yorinobu's memorial parade and began making preparations. After dealing with security forces and her personal bodyguard Oda, Goro was forced to kidnap Hanako. V met with her and told her what they witnessed. However, they are attacked by Arasaka forces, led by Adam Smasher, who rescued Hanako. Able to escape the ambush, V was contacted by Hanako shortly afterwards and arranged a meeting, due to which they learn that Mikoshi was located under Arasaka Tower and were offered access if they helped testify to the board.

During the meeting, the Relic began to malfunction, forcing V to leave it. With Silverhand taking control, they were taken to Victor's surgery and learned that the Relic's process is almost complete. Given final moments to make their choice, V made their last calls and decided what they would do.

Development
The character of V was unveiled at the E3 2018 show, where CD Projekt Red revealed the game for the first time since 2013. Players are going to find themselves in the role of V, an up and coming cyberpunk in Night City. Rather than having a pre-defined character, similar to Geralt of Rivia from the Witcher franchise, CDPR elected to allow players to define their own character.

Trivia

 * Male V went through multiple redesigns over the course of development. By looking at the various trailers and gameplay footage, you can see each new design CDPR went with for that time.
 * CDPR designed the game so that the game's content and gameplay experience would be identical for both genders. However, V's dialogue, mannerisms and how others treat them may vary depending on which one you pick.