Tieflings, in the eyes of many, are a travesty against nature. They’re the combination of “regular” humanoids, usually humans, and fiendish creatures who at some point left their mark on mortal life, either through corruption or direct procreation. Tieflings are more common in societies who tend towards evil, as fiendish creatures are more tolerated there. Elsewhere, they’re often ostracized for their nature, as everyone around them automatically assume that they are evil.
Tieflings see themselves as the victim of some cosmic joke or cruel prank. They’re marked by the deeds of a foolish ancestor who engaged with powers beyond the ken of mortals. Now, the tieflings carry the scars of that liaison physically, as a brand of shame. They’re not the same as their fiendish ancestors and they retain the ability of most mortals to shape their own destiny, though many succumb to the lure of darkness. Few break the shackles of their fiendish heritage and gain divinity.
Hit Points
8
Size Medium
Speed 25 feet
Ability Boosts Intelligence
Free
Ability Flaw
Languages
- Common
- Either Abyssal, Daemonic, or Infernal
- Additional languages equal to your Intelligence modifier (if it’s positive).
- Choose from Abyssal, Celestial, Daemonic, Draconic, Infernal and any other languages to which you have access (such as the languages prevalent in your region).
Traits Tiefling
You can see in darkness and dim light just as well as you can see in bright light, though your vision in darkness is in black and white.
You Might…
- Have a hard time opening up to others.
- Bully others to get your way when in a hurry.
- Feel that you’re smarter than everyone else.
Others Probably…
- Think that you’re some sort of fiend or fiend-spawn.
- Blame you when things go wrong and there’s no other obvious reason.
- Think that you can’t be trusted, as your nature will eventually come back to haunt you.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Where most other races have some constant that defines them, the tieflings are an extremely varied bunch, as varied as their fiendish ancestors. Thus a tiefling descended from a barbarzu (bearded devil), for example, might have a bone-growth resembling a beard and red scales, while an unfortunate descendant of a lemure might have a face that resembles molten skin. These two tieflings, while both descended from devils native to Hell are clearly distinct from one another, and would bear no similarity to the otherworldly beauty of a tiefling descended from a succubus.
The mortal side of tieflings is both easier, and more difficult to predict. Most tieflings are born to humans, as the short-lived race tends to take shortcuts that longer-lived (or wiser) races would avoid. As such, tieflings descended from humans tend to range from just over 4½ feet to 6½ feet, with weights ranging from 95 to 220 lbs. Those from other races vary accordingly, such that a tiefling descended from a halfling would be considerably shorter and lighter, while one descended from an ogre would be a lot bigger.
| Gender | Base Height | Height Modifier | Base Weight | Weight Modifier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 4 ft. 10 in. | +2d10 in. | 120 lbs. | +(2d10x5 lbs.) |
| Female | 4 ft. 5 in. | +2d10 in. | 85 lbs. | +(2d10x5 lbs.) |
SOCIETY
Tieflings are not considered to be a part of the society in which they grew up, due to their fiendish ancestry. They’re often bullied as children because they “look funny,” which can turn into fear and resentment as the tiefling grows older. As such, any given tiefling rarely stays where they grew up, choosing instead to wander the world, or settle elsewhere. There are civilizations and societies—the ones that turn to devil-worship and the like—that consider tieflings to be blessed. As such, any one tiefling could be relegated to a different social class depending on where they are, ranging from beggar or slave, to veneration as a god.
Tieflings rarely join up with others of their kind, as they do not have much in common, apart from the foolishness of some long-forgotten ancestor, but when they do they create their own “society within society.” These take the form of clubs or societies, kept secret from non-tieflings. These social organizations are run and ruled by tieflings whose forebears leaned towards lawful behaviour. Chaotic tieflings tend to create murderous cults with other evil tieflings, while those who lean towards good join or incite rebellions against oppressive regimes.
ALIGNMENT & RELIGION
Tieflings, by their very nature, tend toward evil. While they have the free will and freedom of choice of most mortal creatures, their fiendish blood draws forth their darkest tendencies. Tieflings have no particular inclinations towards law or chaos, in general, but the legacy of their ancestors influences them. As such, a descendant of a devil would tend towards lawful, while one descended from a demon would have a chaotic bend.
While not overly religious on a whole, some tieflings are drawn towards the divine, seeing in the gods an opportunity to redeem and better themselves. These tieflings can become strong believers in divine providence. In particular, gods that espouse a forgiving dogma or which teach redemption and betterment through trials of life have a great following among tiefling believers. Gods that teach revenge, violence, and destruction have a small but strong following among evil tieflings.
NAMES
Tieflings take names from the societies in which they were born or live. Sometimes these names are common first and last names and on occasion they are nicknames (though not always nice ones).
Tieflings that have thrown off the mantle of the societies in which they were born take names of their own choosing, though they avoid last names. Chosen names tend to be guttural with plenty of hissing, an ironic nod to their dark ancestry, which some tieflings cannot resist.
SAMPLE NAMES
Allizah, Baru, Dellisar, Endie, Gorgron, Hessh, Indranna, Kasidra, Maldrek, Maris, Mellisan, Molos, Mordren, Nisha, Nokven, Sarvin, Shoremoth, Sushvenneh, Temerith, Voren, Zoren.
TIEFLING ADVENTURERS
Tieflings adventure for power and the opportunity to further themselves, and for a rare few, to experience companionship amongst those that accept them for who they are on the inside, rather than their fiendish exterior.
Typical backgrounds for a tiefling include artist, charlatan, criminal, hermit, and prisoner. Tieflings often become wizards or sorcerers who draw upon their natural fonts of magic, though a great many of the tieflings become rogues, fully embracing their darker sides.
Tiefling Heritages
With their varied ancestors and the history of fiendish interference in the lives of mortals, it is no surprise that there are many types of tieflings. Choose one of the following tiefling heritages at 1st level.
GRIMSPAWN (DAEMON HERITAGE)
Grimspawn hail from Daemon stock. They’re often fascinated by sickness, decay, and death in all forms. They are extremely thin, with sallow skin and milky white, dead, eyes. You gain a +1 status bonus to saves against diseases. In addition, if you roll a critical failure on a save against a disease, you get a failure instead.
PITBORN (DEMON HERITAGE)
Pitborn vary immensely in size and stature, with no constant between them. Even the pitborn themselves vary daily between 1 and 2 inches in height and up to 5 pounds gained or lost. This instability and chaos is inherent in the pitborn, coming from your demonic ancestors. You’re constantly restless and notoriously difficult to control. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to all saving throws against spells and effects with the incapacitation or mental traits. If you roll a success on a saving throw against an effect with both the incapacitation and mental effects, you get a critical success instead.
HELLSPAWN (DEVIL HERITAGE)
Hellspawn tend to be tall and muscular, and often have large horns, though these are not used in combat. You always keep a cool head, calmly assessing a situation, before unleashing a storm of violence. Because of your level-headedness, you make an effective leader, though others might find your methods ruthless.
SURVEY THE SCENE [THREE ACTIONS]
Prerequisite must take place on the first round of combat
You survey the terrain and the combatants, and issue orders to your allies. All allies within 20 feet of you gain a +1 circumstance bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls for their next round only.
GOBMAWS (BARGHEST HERITAGE)
The gobmaws are a very particular type of tiefling, the result of crossing barghests with goblins. They’re far shorter and lighter than most tieflings, with a wiry build, and outsized mouths that give them a terrifying grin.
TOXIC BREATH [SINGLE ACTION]
Frequency once per day
You let out a cloud of toxic gas that affects anyone within a 20-foot cone for a number of rounds equal to half your level. The target becomes sickened 1 unless it succeeds on a DC 10 + ½ your level Fortitude save. Success means that the target is only sickened for one round.