Tiefling

## ON TIEFLINGS

*"No Devil-Spawn welcome!"- A sign posted outside the Golden Flask tavern in northern Latrellus.*

*"One should not be defined by the action's of one's ancestors! One should not be condemned for the basis of their birth!"- Zusogash, half-orc cleric of Asus, in a passionate open-air sermon.*

*"Don't trust them. Don't turn your back on them."- Vyralarys Shiammacid, dragonborn bodyguard, to her charge before a meeting with several tiefling merchants.*

*"I found her a captivating woman. The color of her skin, the swaying of her tail. I couldn't take my eyes off her,"- Rek, human bandit, discussing a tiefling woman he saw in passing once.*

Tieflings are the descendants of people whose ancestry is mingled with evil outsiders, marked by that fiendish blood. Each tiefling is physically unique, though tails, horns, hooves, fantastical skin colors, and the stench of brimstone are common characteristics. A sense of wrongness surrounds them, leading to a reputation for wickedness. The lure of evil is intense for those of fiendish descent and only a truly strong will or loving community can bring a tiefling into neutrality or even goodness. Still, there are numerous examples of tieflings who have done just that, enough that many folks will grudgingly accept a tiefling in their midst though they'd never turn their back on them.

## Physical Description:

When it comes to both physical appearance and style of dress, there is no standard for how a tiefling appears. The effects of fiendish heritage cause a wide-range of physical and emotional traits, leading to dramatically different appearances. While hellblood (diabolic) tieflings tend to have a "classical" devil appearance, even they are different from each other. Recurring physical traits include tails, horns, hooves, fantastical skin colors, and the stench of brimstone. A tiefling my have all, some, or none of these markers. Other less common ones include animalistic features, six fingers and toes, forked tails, split tongues, goat-like legs or small vestigial bat-like wings. To better represent the randomness of tiefling appearances, the 2E tiefling appearance table from the Planescape boxset is included below to spark creativity.

When it comes to style, tieflings have a vast array of different opinions. Some try to match the culture they live in and dress like those around them. Others use large cloaks, hoods, masks and other heavy robes to disguise their fiendish heritage, covering the outward markers of inward corruption. Some go the opposite and dress themselves in outlandish, colorful garbs that draw attention to their fiendish heritages. Clothing choices, tattoos, piercings and scars are deeply personal to the individual tiefling who often finds themselves trying to live in lands that weren't intended for them. Any particular style or outfit is appropriate for the highly individualized people.

## History:

Tieflings are the spawn of fiendish outsiders and mortals. The obvious, those who lie with fiends either willingly or otherwise, does account for many of them but is by no means the only way a tiefling is born. Fiendish curses on bloodlines, exposure to diabolic energies, and contracts signed with evil outsiders are all causes of tieflings. They can be born from family's without obvious connections to evil outsiders, the blood lying dormant for many generations. More than once a human couple has given birth to a tiefling, a thing that is deeply embarrassing and drenched in superstition. As of more recent times, a primary cause of tieflings are, in fact, two tiefling parents because the race breeds true.

Historical tieflings were a known, but not particularly common sight, throughout Apia. Considering that the fiends predate many mortal races, and hate The Divine Family, it isn't surprising that they'd constantly try to lead the mortals astray. Tieflings were considered rare pariahs, curses on families and, in general, were driven away from civilized lands. Some possibly fought in Latrell's Rebellion serving among Shimira's Raiders but this cannot be confirmed. (A few tieflings even claim Latrell was one of them but this isn't a common belief.) Aside from that blip, tieflings were a mostly ignored rarity.

Then came the Apian Blood War when demons and devils battled all across the surface of Apia and left countless tieflings in their wake. Suddenly tieflings were everywhere. This led to them forming their own towns, communities and districts in many nations. The increase in tieflings also led to family units forming in places like Vitteodel where tiefling families lived together for generations. As a unified people tieflings lack a general history, though individuals can, and have, made huge impacts on the world around them. Individuals find themselves remembered in legends and historic text books as heroes or villains' but there are no real historic beats for tieflings as a whole, save the aforemention Blood War. Some various tieflings have tried to set up their own nations but thus far no progress has been made.

## Geography:

While they lack any nation of their own, tieflings are found in almost every country on Apian soil. Notably places they are found include Vitteodel, Taskanda, Demauric, Latrellus and Umgar. Some communities exist within the Hollow and recently there have been dedicated attempts to set up a tiefling colony on The Western Continent.

## Personality:

Tiefling personality ranges from barely sentient psychopath to deeply introspective poet and everything in-between. Like humans, they can beany kind of person though there are some hallmarks. Because of the fiendish blood, the call for evil is strong on the tiefling soul and many join cults or become demon-worshipers themselves. However, this is far from guaranteed and many heroes, saints or simple farmers are tieflings. Just because the tiefling is naturally predisposed to evil doesn't mean they choose it. Many tieflings are withdrawn and subdued. They are used to being distrusted and thus simply keep to themselves or their own kind. Others have fearsome tempers or easily succumb to melancholy. Some are morbid with nihilistic tendencies while others embrace the joy of life itself. Tieflings can be full of life and love as they have all the energy that their fiendish heritage provides. Their personality is deeply affected by what type of tiefling the individual is, because the fiendish ancestry will influence how one sees the world, but even that isn't a guarantee. A demonic tiefling can be lawful, while a diabolic one is chaotic.

There is a popular movement among young tieflings that flaunts their fiendish appearance and personality. They take names with vaguely evil connotations, and form gangs or clubs that draw attention to their nature. Others reject this take and instead behave with the same personality as the society around them. Ultimately, how a tiefling behaves depends on the individual.

## Society:

Tieflings don't have their own nations and few towns, instead most live within human or other sentient communities. While many tieflings are loners and thus lack any society by definition, there are certainly groups. Because tieflings breedi true and move into communities where other tieflings can be found, they usually form little sub-societies within the city.

Tieflings who live in communities tend to be focused on their own people. They are an inward, collective group who police their own, watch out for their neighbors and, in general, try to help one another. They know most other people aren't going to help them and thus learn to rely on each other. The elders of the community tend to lead, more due to experience than general philosophy. While tieflings are fiercely independent and individualistic, they do take on a strangely collectivist bent within groups. While a tiefling leaves his neighbors alone for the most part, they'll jump to assist each other whenever asked. Tieflings will respect the culture of the countries they live in, often adopting their philosophies and family structures. Tieflings will marry and have children like other races and tend to be rather protective parents. Even those unmarried tieflings who have children tend to live together for some time to ensure their children are protected and ready for whatever Apia will throw at them. Tiefling parents know that their children will not have the fair shake they deserve, and try to give them the tools they need to face the life ahead.

Evil tieflings are loners, cultists, killers and bandits. Lawful evil ones can be tyrants, bandit kings or diabolists. Evil tieflings are a true blight on the world around them, doing gods know what for evil purposes only they understand. Sometimes they do it without purpose at all.

## Religion:

Asus is the patron of good and neutral tieflings. All those who strive against their evil nature, trying to be more than they are, call on the The Penitent One to help them. As beings with a natural inclination towards arcane magic, Atix Crowfeather also serves as the patron for many tiefling spellcasters. Teteus, as Asus' spiritual father, has more than a few tiefling worshipers. Evil tieflings worship all manner of depraved beings, archdevils, demon lords, Great Old Ones and dark gods. They can be among the most fanatical of those followers, reveling in the fiendish heritage of their dark forbearers in service to those same powers who either created the bloodline directly or their servants.

## Alignment:

While there are many evil tieflings, and tieflings are drawn towards evil by their fiendish nature, they are not guaranteed to be evil. Tieflings cover all range of alignments from lawful good to chaotic evil. While it is difficult, many succeed. Tieflings born of two tiefling parents seem to have an easier time resisting the call of evil, though this is only circumstantially supported.

## Relations:

As beings with an obviously fiendish origin, first impressions tend to be poor. While many, but hardly all, tieflings are physically attractive, they give off an aura of wrongness, look evil and are "known demon worshipers" which means most people don't give them a chance. Those races that tend to get along best with tieflings include half-orcs, changlings half-ogres, half-drow and half-goblins. Any race that tends to be immediately judged based on appearance often befriends the tiefling who understands that struggle too well. Interestingly enough, gnomes, with their boundless curiosity and obsession with strange things, like tieflings a lot and many are welcomed into gnome communities with a gusto bordering on obsession.

When it comes to races they specifically don't get along with, dwarves view tieflings as untrustworthy and elves disdain the fiendish blood. However it is the aasimar that most distrust the tieflings and the feeling is mutual. This is due to influences in their blood, those natural instincts imposed by higher powers. However, individuals can rise above this and realize they actually have a lot in common when they choose to work on it and friendships, even love affairs between tieflings and aasimar are the stuff of poetry.

## Names:

Tiefling names are either fiendish in nature or a virtue name meant to embody a wish, goal or other life path they strive to embody or achieve. Virtue names aren't necessarily good in nature, a virtue name could be Possession, for example, or Fear. Tieflings don't typically use last names but some family tieflings will call themselves "son-of" or "daughter-of" in reference to their parent.

**Example Male Names:** Thymus, Ebris, Garus, Akzire, Ardos, Gumeros, Morrius, Kilrus, Dammarir, Ebxus

**Example Female Names:** Crespira, Vellaia, Mishiri, Cretari, Kalfirith, Zaispira, Orilyvia, Sardani, Zenise, Briyis

**Virtue Names:** Doubt, Harmony, Excellence, Dread, Temerity, Art, Trust, Death, Sly, Fresh

## Adventurers:

Due to their natural abilities, status as loners, and general treatment of tieflings in most places, many become adventurers. Those wandering bands tend to be more accommodating of odder folks as long as they are trustworthy and skilled. Tieflings are common sights within adventuring parties and many grow to see them as surrogate families. Most older tieflings have spent some time as adventurers and have a few good stories to tell. Many adventuring tieflings are sorcerers or warlocks but due to their individualistic nature a tiefling can be any class.

## Tiefling Sub-Types:

While the above information is accurate for any tieflings, regardless of fiendish ancestry, there are some who are more clearly defined by their particular bloodline. While "chimeras," tieflings that don't have an obvious ancestor, are known, most are identified by different sub-types. Curiously, yugoloths and demodands don't seem to produce tieflings and whether they capable of it and simply choose not to or physically cannot is a source of much scholarly debate.

**Pitblood:** Pitbloods are those tieflings who can trace their ancestry back to the demons of the Abyss, typically Tanar'ri but occasionally obyrith or unaligned demons do mingled with mortals. These tieflings have radically different physical features from one another, depending on the demon parent and usually a temperament to match. Some manner of chaos infuses their bodies and upsets typical symmetry, mismatched eyes, an excessive number of fingers, scales, or other features are common. Due to the prevalence of succubi and incubi as the founders of tiefling bloodlines, pitborns are among the most common tieflings. While naturally drawn to chaos, they can be as lawful as any other being when they set their minds to it. Evil pitbloods tend to be bandits and thugs, good ones lean towards honest military service or adventuring.

**Hellblood:** Hellbloods, or diabolics, are those tieflings who trace their ancestry back to the devils of the Nine Hells. Unlike their pitblood cousins, these tieflings tend to have a rather uniform appearance, as befits the lawful nature of the Hells. Exotic skin tones of red or purple (or others), a long pointed tail, sharp teeth, large horns and pointed ears mark all hellbloods as children of the devils. They have less range of appearance than other sub-races and tend to be attractive, well-spoken beings with sharp minds and quick wits. While drawn towards the lawful evil side of life, many a reaver traces his lineage back to a devil and they are free to choose their own path. Hellbloods are the most likely to form communities within human cities or, at the very least, be the bedrock of already existing tiefling communities. Asus himself appears very similar to a hellblood, though he's been known to manifest as every tiefling variant. Many evil hellbloods are diabolists, tyrants and cult leaders while good hellbloods are administrators, mathematicians and wizards. Aside from pitbloods, hellbloods are the most common sub-race.

**Chainblood:** Chainbloods are tieflings descended from kytons, also called chain devils. As beings obsessed with the fine line between pain and pleasure, and being physically attractive, many kytons produce tiefling offspring. Like their fiendish ancestors, chainbloods have blue, purple or red skin with shades and patterns resembling scares or bruises and dark eyes. They bruise and scar quite easily. Some can magically control chains while others have small pieces of metal growing on their bodies. They are driven by many of the same instincts as the kytons and, as such, most are heavily pierced, tattooed and ritually scarred. They seek the lines of pleasure and pain, with evil chainbloods leaning towards sadomasochistic killers and good aligned chainbloods becoming healers of body and mind or guardians of the poor.

**Divblood:** The divblood are those tieflings whose ancestry includes a div. These fallen genies are known to lack emotions but enjoy tormenting and manipulating mortals. Their tiefling spawn do have emotions, though they greatly dulled, leading many towards the same drive to cause misery whenever they can. Divbloods have strange deformities in skin tone, large horns and other "wrong" features, such as flesh that appears to melt or even have insects crawling beneath it. The evil divbloods are wanderers who cause misery through lies, manipulation and outright violence. Good divbloods are scholars and lore-keepers, trying to find the way to feel emotion more strongly and correct the mistakes of the div.

**Beastblood:** The beastblood are tieflings whose ancestry includes rakshasas. Due to their wild, hedonistic ways and alluring charisma, many rakshasa produce offspring with favorite servants, slaves and sycophants. Beastbloods are arrogant hedonists' who seek out pleasure whenever possible. Physically they will always be attractive and alluring, though with obvious animal traits, ranging from cat eyes and ears to beings which more resemble a Tabaxi than a human. Evil beastbloods are extreme pleasure-seekers and dabble in whatever dark excess takes their fancy, good ones channel their desires more positively becoming entertainers, artists and bards.

**Oniblood:** The oniblood are tieflings whose ancestry includes an oni. Just as oni are driven to conquer in pursuit of pleasure and glory, the oniblood chase achievements and pride. They long for battles so they can claim pleasures and renown for themselves. Physically, they are massive creatures who ripple with muscle and stand over six feet regardless of gender. They have skin of bright red, orange or blue, large curling horns, and eyes. Most males grow large beards and even some females have small ones. The evil onibloods become warlords and slavers, taking what they want and brutalizing those who stand in their way, good onibloods are champions and warriors who protect those weaker than themselves from such evil.

## Racial Traits:

Tiefling racial traits are described below. While these fit with any of the subtypes, feel free to customize the stats alongside your DM to better reflect your specific bloodline.

+2 Intelligence, –2 Charisma.

Medium size.

A tiefling’s base land speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision out to 60 feet.

Tieflings have a +2 racial bonus on Bluff and Hide checks.

*Darkness* (Sp)**:** A tiefling can use *darkness* once per day (caster level equal to class levels).

Special Qualities: Resistance to cold 5, electricity 5, and fire 5.

Automatic Languages: Common, Infernal. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling, Orc.

Favored Class: Rogue.