Tiefling

## Overview

Tieflings are mortals who experience the influence of a divine outsider on their ancestry, at their birth, or during their time in the womb. The average tiefling cannot lay claim to their parentage, as it is too distant or indirect in their family tree to trace or truly tell, but some have the signs of their divine influence readily displayed in their features and mannerisms. All tieflings are expected to be drawn into the service of one god or another, and many indeed find themselves at home within temples, cathedrals, or within the Inquisition's halls, but those who are clearly marked often have their life planned out for them before it's even begun.

### Heritages

**Faultspawn**: Descendants of Dowager Empress Kyouko's servitor race, are born with strange sets of standards and codes that may seem exacting and needlessly rigorous to those around them, but provide guidance and a sense of moral character that help faultspawn center their minds and actions on their goals. They are expected to be of noble birth themselves or quickly insert themselves into the service of royalty or the aristocracy, directly carrying out the responsibilities of ruler and ruled as Dowager Empress Kyouko asserts, but despite the faultspawn's graceful mannerisms, this isn't the case more often than not. Their stereotypes include devoted servants and footmen, meticulous nitpickers who can't leave well enough alone, or esoteric but pure-intentioned moral compasses for those around them.

**Grimspawn**: Descendants of Alessandra Juntoso's servitor race, are differentiated most easily by their emotional vampirism and dark senses of humor, growing happier and more energetic while spilling shocking and terrible wisecracks as the situations they're in and the people around them grow more tragic and more miserable. They are expected to be sickly and weak, and often do waste away when life is too pleasant, though those that are aware of their own nature are able to seek out horrific circumstances to motivate themselves. Their stereotypes include cruel, mocking sadists, hollow weaklings cursed by their goddess, or laudable heroes who never stop appearing with a smile when the days are darkest.

**Foulspawn**: Descendants of a servitor race created by an ancient cabal of mortals that attempted to usurp the gods, are just as connected to the divine as other tiefling heritages, owing in part to a makeshift 'adoption' of their kind by true gods after the cabal that created demodands was struck down. As a result, foulspawn have both an impassable divide and an overpowering gratitude between themselves and the gods - they are more likely than any other divinely-descended race to dedicate themselves to a deity, though any individual foulspawn's reasoning is sure to be different from another's. Their stereotypes include misshapen, mutant offspring mimicking true faith, born-again prophets and preachers who are living examples of deific mercy, or simply curiously persistent folk with long-running streaks of bad luck.

**Pitborn**: Descendants of Zhihao Jin's evolved servitor race, are natural contrarians on both individual and societal levels, inevitably picking fights and starting arguments among those they interact with while attempting to move opinions and thoughts away from the current dominant culture or zeitgeist. They are expected to exemplify one of Zhihao Jin's Seven Perpetuities in either a positive or negative aspect, and though this is rarely truly accurate, their opponents and enemies usually succeed in forcing that public perception onto them. Their stereotypes include combative ruffians who've never agreed with anything in their lives, rebels who won't let a single oppressive act stand, or deeply troubled people unable to find a healthy outlet for their powerful emotions.

**Hellspawn**: Descendants of Nothing Left of Quibatus' servitor race, value self-sufficiency and not being indebted to others above all else, and have a powerful fear of dependency that extensively colors their relationships and life experiences. They are expected to be domineering, overbearing folk, which, though only occasionally true, tends to drive others away and make it easier for hellspawn to nurture their own skills and ability to survive on their own, just as they like. Their stereotypes include cruel, bullying tyrants who always get their way, creepy loners who seem to have something dangerous planned, or independent, self-confident individuals that would sooner die than become a burden on others.

**Spitespawn**: Descendants of Jolein Composed of Desire's servitor race, reflect the twisted, confusing nature of their forebears who were forever changed by learning knowledge that should not be known. Well aware of fleeting, unimportant things and ignorant of practical or intellectual matters, spitespawn excel at small talk and riddles but are hindered by terrible memories and an innate lack of curiosity. Unfortunately, they are expected to be leading scholars, thinkers, and philosophers, a task which is often met by spitespawn with plentiful words meant to distract while saying as little as possible. Their stereotypes include enigmatic researchers who delve into materials that can't be comprehended by the uninitiated, tongue-tied academics who are too full of themselves to speak clearly, or airheaded plebeians who prefer wordplay to actual learning.

**Shackleborn**: Descendants of Pahala Kadam's servitor race, are no different from their stereotypes. The fact that others see them as bloodthirsty, warmongering battle maniacs fills shackleborn with joy, as it means that anyone looking for a fight can more easily find them - and then they can throw down. While many shackleborn enjoy causing pain, an equal number prefer to endure it, and perhaps even more would rather focus on the honor and glory of the fight itself rather than the physical sensations of it. Though they aren't necessarily stronger than other races, this only leads shackleborn to conclude that strength is only one part of battle - as such, they hone their spirits and leadership abilities so that they will see victory in wars of morale and tactics as well.

**Hungerseed**: Descendants of oni, inherit the blasphemous and subtle ways of their progenitors. Defiant of the gods to the extreme, hungerseed are staunch misotheists whose main form of resistance against the divine is by perverting the rites and legends of the gods in such quiet ways that they can spread unnoticed among true believers and slowly wreak havoc on the god's being itself. Though they are actively hunted by the Inquisition and all vigilant faithful, hungerseed often assume the public face of a different tiefling heritage to aid them in their trickery. Their stereotypes include heretics of the highest order for whom death is too lenient a punishment, chaotic agents of change that see the sacred as far from untouchable, or fools with more courage than sense who nonetheless do good through their quiet revolutions.

**Dreamscions**: Descendants of Zhihao Jin's original servitor race, tend to be extremely rare due to the reclusive nature of qlippoth, and it is incredibly unlikely for a creature to meet one, much less two or more dreamscions throughout their life. As such, the stereotypes of dreamscions run the gamut from mind-bendingly unique harbingers of a new age to physical manifestations of another reality impinging on our own. Rather disappointingly, dreamscions in reality are mostly unique in their sleepy, unmotivated lifestyles that focus on ensuring that their basic needs are fulfilled... and not much else. Their namesake comes from their method of drifting aimlessly through life as it were a dream, for it is impossible for them to tell the difference between the waking world, a dream, or a hallucination. While this makesit difficult for them to form bonds and set goals, it also protects them from the fears and tragedies that are inevitable parts of life.

**Beastbrood**: Descendants of the immortal rakshasa, are unlike all other sorts of tiefling, as their origin has nothing to do with the divine. Instead, they are stuck in a limbo between mortality and immortality, their bodies marked by bestial features and their lifespans extended to match that of an elf. From an early age, they display a bitterness and existential exhaustion belying their youth which quickly morphs into a deathwish upon reaching adulthood. Not content to die alone, however, beastbrood utilize their considerable charm to attempt to bring as many living creatures with them as possible when they go, whether through their direct influence or by shattering the hopes of an entire kingdom or nation. Their stereotypes include self-destructive and hedonistic nihilists, too-wise-for-sanity prodigies that see the impermanence of all things, or pitiful tools of rakshasa that could have grown into their own had they been more fortunate.

## Mechanics

Standard Racial Traits

* **Ability Score Modifiers**: Tieflings are quick in body and mind, but are inherently strange and unnerving. They gain +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, and –2 Charisma.
* **Type**: Tieflings are outsiders with the native subtype.
* **Size**: Tieflings are Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
* **Speed**: Tieflings have a base speed of 30 feet.
* **Languages**: Tieflings begin play speaking either Abyssal or Infernal. Tieflings with high intelligence scores can choose from the following: Abyssal, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling, Infernal, and Orc.

Defense Racial Traits

* **Fiendish Resistance**: Tieflings have cold resistance 5, electricity resistance 5, and fire resistance 5.

Feat and Skill Racial Traits

* **Skilled**: Tieflings gain a +2 racial bonus on Bluff and Stealth checks.

Senses Racial Traits

* **Darkvision**: Tieflings can see perfectly in the dark for up to 60 feet.

Other Racial Traits

* **Soul Seer**: Tieflings have a peculiar sight that allows them to see the state of a creature’s soul. They can use deathwatch at will as spell-like ability.

## Society

As native outsiders, tieflings tend to only breed true with others of their race, so it's rare to find settlements with significant numbers of tieflings. Assuch, tieflings usually integrate into mixed settlements and societies, though they are pushed towards religious roles no matter their skill set or personal inclination - with the exception of hungerseed, who are exiled or executed. The lone exception are tieflings who are associated with gods not worshiped or even feared within the settlement, although even then they tend to be treated as sole representatives of that god. Treatment may be pleasant placation or retributive hostility, but in both cases, it is an overwhelming burden for one person to bear. The usual result of such exceptions - as well as those tieflings who wish for a life not related to the divine - is self-imposed exile and wandering until the road brings them to place that will allow them to live as they wish. Pitborn, on the other hand, will stay to the best of their ability, shouting and arguing until their exile is no longer self-imposed.

## Religion

Tieflings who are aware of their heritage are often drawn to the worship of their divine ancestor, with a few exceptions. Hungerseed never worship any god, not even Nothing Left of Quibatus, who would prefer to be alone in the heavens. Foulspawn worship a wide variety of gods, seeing divinity itself as worthy of praise, no matter a god's creed or actions. Even those who know only that they are a tiefling feel a connection to deities, though whether this is due to something innate or due to social pressure and association is a question that scholars cannot answer. At the very least, as part of living among other races, almost all tieflings end up paying homage to those commonly worshiped in their settlement or kingdom.

## Relations

As native outsiders descended from deific servitors, tieflings feel a kinship with aphorites, aasimar, and ganzi, who experience similar pressures to devote their lives to greater divine forces - assuming that they have not chosen to serve an opposing god, which creates enmity on a deeper level than mortals can know.

Even with other native outsiders, tieflings can share a feeling of estrangement from more mortal races who live their lives at a seemingly breakneck pace, although fetchlings, ifrit, oreads, suli, sylph, and undine often end up distancing themselves from tieflings, as their stereotypes are less generous than those placed on tieflings and relationships can easily blossom into feelings of inferiority or unfairness.

On the bright side, most mortal races can get along well with well-adapted tieflings, including parmans, dwarves, elves, grippli, nagaji, ratfolk, tengu, and vanara - for such races, a shared culture tends to be more important than any racial divide, and the birth of a tiefling only heralds an exemplar of those cultural values. However, drow and duergar tend to feel uncomfortable around the alien tiefling, whose divine parentage isn't well-known underground.

Drelmans and orcs often dismiss tieflings as relying too much on inborn gifts rather than hard work and earned skills, and lizardfolk and kobolds are wary around them for the opposite reason - the appearance of a tiefling often heralds unexpected and unwanted change from their life's efforts. Changelings and dhampir have no patience for tieflings, who seem to mock them with every mention they hear of a tiefling's supposed inborn grace.

Ghorans and gnomes usually find tieflings quite interesting, as they are both otherworldly and natural, and the interplay of the two forces is philosophically and phenomenologically intriguing.

Kitsune and vishkanya tend to enjoy the presence and involvement of tieflings, although this is most often due to the ease with which they can be manipulated, preyed on, or pranked.

Most halflings are divided on the subject of tieflings, appreciating their charm and talents, but having difficulty dealing with their obedience to disruptive divine commands or sudden and intense moral crusades.

Hobgoblins and goblins, for their part, find tieflings to be wonderful for the intensity and the rigor with which they live their life, which can create a larger-than-life persona that is ripe for inspiring others or inspiring legends.