Tiefling
To be greeted with stares and whispers, to see mistrust and fear in every eye: this is the lot of the tiefling. A tiefling is linked by blood to progenitors of the below. Though the last city of Drakkenfall was once awash with fell legends claiming to detail the evil origin of tieflings, the more progressive parts of the realm have long since stomped out such ugly myths. Still, many folk can’t help but show surprise the first time they see a person with horns curling from their brow, gleaming eyes of a single solid color, and lustrous, brightly hued skin of red, purple, or blue who strives to carve a fulfilling life despite the challenges facing them.
If you want a character who is supernaturally infused with sinister forces, might have a unique appearance, and can fill the role of a complicated or unexpected hero, you should play a tiefling.
Origins
Before the Cataclysm, the Tieflings were created as cambion descendants of the devils. Curated to serve as the frontline soldiers of the Archdevils they fought alongside their devil overlords against celestials and demons alike. The tieflings knew no other lot than this, to serve as fellish knights in the blood war for dark masters who sought to conquer all. Blood was spilled and infernal bureaucracy was enacted at their lord's request whether this is what their lot wanted or not. After they helped found the Black-Iron Pact, betray their Archdevil masters and migrate to Drakkenfall, the tieflings would slowly integrate into the society of the new world. Many tieflings took up arms as soldiers and smiths, employing skills they learned in the blood war to start a new life helping others, and only later were able to pursue more personally fulfilling goals as entertainers and scholars.Physical Description
Tieflings are derived from infernal bloodlines and that heritage has left a clear imprint on their appearance. Tieflings have large horns that take any of a variety of shapes: some have curling horns like a ram, others have straight and tall horns like a gazelle’s, and some spiral upward like an antelopes’ horns. They have thick tails, four to five feet long, which lash or coil around their legs when they get upset or nervous. Their canine teeth are sharply pointed, and their eyes are solid colors—black, red, white, silver, or gold—with no visible sclera or pupil. Their skin tones include various shades of red, purple, blue or green. Their hair, cascading down from behind their horns, is usually dark, from black or brown to dark red, blue, or purple.Personality
Tieflings subsist in small minorities within Drakkenfall, where they grow up to be all manners of trades or status. Those who are particularly outcast however may grow to be swindlers, thieves, or crime lords. Sometimes they live among other minority populations in enclaves where they are treated with more respect such as those of the dark elves or orcs. Tiefling's fiendish heritage doesn't force evil or cruelty into their being, and each tiefling ultimately chooses their own faith, goals, and personality. But every tiefling feels their forbear's influence in the back of their mind, always ready to tempt and goad when the world appears cruel and unjust. That regrettably parts of society hate and fear tieflings only pushes them further toward evil, and many tieflings gravitate toward religions that value and admire fiends. Tieflings who choose a path of good face their own challenges, finding they must be more diplomatic, understanding, and patient than members of other ancestries since they are so often faced with ignorance and suspicion. Such tieflings embrace faiths and philosophies that uphold empathy and eschew judgment, finding that even followers of good faiths sometimes struggle to see past fiendish features. Lacking a homeland or allegiant district within Drakkenfall other than the Pacts', tieflings know that they have to make their own way in the world and that they have to be strong to survive. They are not quick to trust anyone who claims to be a friend, but when a tiefling’s companions demonstrate that they trust him or her, the tiefling learns to extend the same trust to them. And once a tiefling gives someone loyalty, the tiefling is a firm friend or ally for life.Culture
Tieflings tend to adopt the society and culture they were born into. Since some parts of society consider them to be untrustworthy or even monstrous, tieflings typically gravitate toward those segments of society willing to overlook them entirely or where their reputation can assist rather than hinder them, leading to many of them embracing their heritage within the Black-Iron Pact. Within the Pact they often serve within the diplomatic sphere alongside the dark elves as envoys and cunning spellcasters, or as support amongst the rank and file as legionaries or warsmiths. With determination and persistence, however, tieflings can earn respect and prestige despite their heritage, finding people who accept them as they are.Relations
Tieflings have grown to hold strong relationships with other ancestries in the Black-Iron Pact, but specifically those of the dark elves. As others who served as unwilling slaves and warriors for extraplanar entities, tiefling culture often venerates the unity between them and the dark elves in a way akin to survivors of great strife. Tiefling culture has very little ancestries rarely hold a grudge against those who opposed them during the Cataclysm, the only one being a minor rivalry against the elves. These factions often fought on the frontlines as their celestial patrons were the primary target of the Archdevil's ire. While tensions are nowhere near as high as they used to be, elven leadership often looks down on the cambions for their transgressions are commited closer to memory for the long-lived elves then their opposite who seek to let the past die. Tieflings seek to undermine the efforts of fiendish creatures at every step, hoping to both repent for the atrocities their ancestors caused in the blood war and cataclysm respectively as well as prevent any further terrors from being enacted by extraplanar overlords. This leads to tiefling legionaries seeking out the existence of any demonkin or demonic incursions and stopping their conquest of the material as well as deeply resenting the Archdevils for their hand in forcing the cambions and their allies on a path of evil.Tiefling Milestones
Minor Milestones
- Complete a Cleanse quest against an enemy ancestry.
- Craft a magical item of rare or greater rarity.
- Slay a Fiend of Tier 2 or higher.
- Discover a Fel region or landmark.
- Perform Research on a Fel subject.
- Gain a favor with the Black-Iron Pact.
- Form a close bond with another PC or NPC.
- Refuse help in completing a difficult task, proving you can accomplish it through your own strength.
- Side with the impoverished, criminal, or rebellious side of a conflict against authority.
- Acquire a Fiendish magical item of rare or greater rarity.
Major Milestones
- Complete a Cleanse or Raid quest of Tier 3 against an enemy ancestry.
- Craft a magical item of very rare or greater rarity.
- Slay a Tier 3 Fiend.
- Gain authority within the Black-Iron Pact.
- Acquire a Fiendish magical item of very rare or greater rarity.
Zenith Milestone
- Slay an Archdevil or Demon Lord.
- Claim the infamous Fel place of power, Abaddon, as your ancestry capital.
Basic Information
Type
Humanoid
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Lifespan
80 years
Average Height
5-6 ft.
Average Weight
125-250 lbs.
Related Organizations
Chromatic shades such as red, green, and blue
Hair Colors
Darker reds, browns, blues, purples, greens, and black
Eye Colors
Black, gold, red, silver, or white (solid color, with no sclera or pupil)
Distinctions
Horns, forked tail, cloven hoofed feet
Being a Tiefling...
You Likely...
- Have a strong sense of self-confidence born from a life of having to rely on yourself.
- Feel a kinship with society’s underprivileged or criminal elements, or even seek positions of power on the wrong side of the law.
- Place incredible value on hard-won friendships and hold these companions closer than your blood family.
Other Races Probably...
- Assume you’ve faced numerous challenges due to your heritage.
- Mistake you for an evil agent of a sinister cult, a fiend worshipper, or even a fiend yourself.
- Think you have associations with powerful fiends, potentially trying to bargain with you for power of their own.
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