Description
To be greeted with stares and whispers, to suffer violence and insult on the street, to see mistrust and fear in every eye: this is the lot of the tiefling. And to twist the knife, tieflings know that this is because Oromne infused blood of the Unknown—into their bloodline. Their appearance and their nature are not their fault, but the result of an ancient sin, for which they and their children and their children’s children will always be held accountable. If that wasn't enough, they were given the same place to live as Aasimar, making the contrast between the fiendish and the angelic races even greater. Tieflings hated Aasimar for that for a long time, but the seemingly bottomless kindness of their neighbors, eventually made them accept them. The worked and lived together, like two opposite sides of the same coin. Blackden was originally used as a place of exile for the irredeemable Tieflings as it was still part of their kingdom. Eventually, many other nations paid the tieflings to be allowed to use that island for their own exiled people too, leading later on in its evolution into a pirate island.
Tieflings feature demonic horns that start from their front part of their head, skin coloration of orange, red, dark grey or purple hues, a tail that ends in an arrowhead shape
Origins
Tieflings were designed by Oromne and Andralte. However, Andralte arrived quite late, only able to diffuse some of the cruelty that was infused in them, or otherwise Oromne would have made them into frenzied fiendish hunters.
Genetics
Despite Andralte's interference, many tieflings retain darkness inside them, coming from their mixed blood with fiends. Many of them strive to escape it, but very few do. Some noble soul even chose to end their lives before they lose themselves to their inner darkness, protecting their name and their loved ones from discrimination.
The three major bloodlines.
While all tieflings have fiendish origins, not all of them are exactly the same. Over the years, three major categories were formed, grouping Tieflings based on the abilities they developed due to their heritage. Uncovering more of their heritage's origins, it was found that they different capabilities and skin coloration was attributed to different fiends.Abyssal Tieflings. The fiendish blood of those tieflings originates from demons and other chaotic fiends. The prominent characteristic is the blue or dark purple toned skin and amongst the three types they have the longest horns. They are often considered chaotic themselves, and expected to be unpredictable or tricky.
Chthonic Tieflings. The newest of the three types, those tieflings have been born due to fiends reproducing with humans, or due to fiendish pacts made during the pregnancy of a human. Many times Chthonic Tieflings are created due to deals with Hags or Succubi and Incubi messing around with humans. They have the mildest characteristics of the three, with pinking, light purple or human-like skin, small horns and freckles. They are typically shown the most sympathy from the three types, and often their parents are shunned instead.
Infernal Tieflings. The most popular of the three categories, Infernal tieflings hail from proud devils and lawful fiends. Their vibrant red toned skin and upwards pointed horns, always draw the eye, helping them raise to fame or notoriety easily. They are considered proud and vindictive, and they are often found in militaristic jobs.
Lifespan
Their fiendish blood has given them longer lifespans. A tiefling matures around the age of 60 and lives until around 250–270 years.
Homeland
Also found in
Reputation
Tieflings suffer a lot from their reputation. Having fiendish blood running through your veins makes them suspicious in many communities, and often doors close before them. Tieflings have to work a lot to gain trust, and only Aasimar accept them unconditionally.
Alive/Extinct
No extinction event has taken place.
Tiefling Traits
As a tiefling, you have the following racial traits.
Ability Score Increase: Your Charisma increases by 1.
Size: Tieflings are about the same size and build as humans. Your size is Medium.
Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision: Thanks to your infernal heritage, you have vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Infernal Legacy: Based on your heritage, you gain the following resistances and spells. When you reach character levels 3 and 5, you learn a higher-level spell, as shown on the table. You always have that spell prepared. You can cast it once without a spell slot, and you regain the ability to cast it in that way when you finish a Long Rest. You can also cast the spell using any spell slots you have of the appropriate level.
Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for the spells you cast with this trait (choose the ability when you select the legacy).
| Legacy | Level 1 | Level 3 | Level 5 |
| Abyssal | You have Resistance to Poison damage. You also know the Poison Spray cantrip. | Unknown | |
| Chthonic | You have Resistance to Necrotic damage. You also know the Chill Touch cantrip. | ||
| Infernal | You have Resistance to Fire damage. You also know the Fire Bolt cantrip. |
Otherworldly Presence. You know, the Thaumaturgy cantrip. When you cast it with this trait, the spell uses the same spellcasting ability you use for your Fiendish Legacy trait.
Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common and your choice of Infernal or Abyssal.