Tieflings

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, most tieflings believe that this is because a pact struck generations ago infused the essence of Asmodeus—overlord of the Nine Hells—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. In truth this is but one of the deceptions spread by Asmodeus. Like half-orcs and helf-elves, tieflings are quite rare. But unlike both those races, tiefling blood never thins. The child of any tiefling looks like a tiefling no matter how many generations pass. All tieflings are visibly touched by the evil of the Nine Hells. That’s not easy to live down. The conflict their heritage causes—within themselves and with others—tends to define who they are

The Corovair Family Curse

Tieflings were originally a human family, the Corovair family. They were renowned fiend hunters that operated in roughly the middle of the second age, and stood fervently against Asmodeus, working to undermine him and his devils at every opportunity. Failing to destroy them by conventional means, Asmodeus cursed the family, and turned them into the first tieflings. The curse was so thorough that every person who shared a drop of Corovair blood was changed, and any child born to a tiefling parent will always be tiefling. He then set about sending his agents to spread various rumors; the change being from a pact made with devils, fiendish ancestors, punishment from the gods, or a reward from Asmodeus for his chosen champions. He made sure to spread multiple rumors so that even if one was disproved, another was there to fill the space. His concern was not with the specifics of what people believed, so long as the Corovairs and their descendants would be forever shunned and feared. The ultimate punishment for defying him was to have the people they championed see them as the very devils they once protected them from. Asmodeus then aided in stirring resentment and mobs to both run them out of their home and destroy the accumulated knowledge they had gathered through the years. Over time many tielflings came to forget their origin, believing the lies spread by Asmodeus to be the truth. There are some teiflings however that have not forgotten, and still work to thwart Asmodeus at every opportunity, denying him victory by sheer perseverance.

Infernal Bloodline

Tieflings are derived from human bloodlines, and in the broadest possible sense, they still look human. However, their infernal 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 cover the full range of human coloration, but also include various shades of red. Their hair, cascading down from behind their horns, is usually dark, from black or brown to dark red, blue, or purple.

Self-Reliant and Suspicious

Tieflings subsist in small minorities found mostly in human cities or towns, often in the roughest quarters of those places, where they grow up to be swindlers, thieves, or crime lords. Sometimes they live among other minority populations in enclaves where they are treated with more respect.

Lacking a homeland, 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.

Lone Faithful

Although many Fiorian folk believe that all tieflings worship Asmodeus and the Lords of the Nine Hells, the truth is that only a small fraction of them do so, but enough are devil- or demon-worshipers to lend the weight of truth to all the rumors and suspicion. Tieflings who revere a god other than Asmodeus often worship deities who watch over and care for outsiders. Gods of knowledge, survival, cunning, and warfare are also common attractions for tieflings who value those qualities. Equally intriguing and disturbing to followers of some faiths in Faerun are stories spread by tieflings who claim to have visions in which the gods of Fiore appear to them modeled in the tieflings' own image. One such is the entity they call the "pale horned goddess of the moon" (Lunara) ; another is the "dark, devilish breaker of chains" (Vidarak)- an indication, tieflings say, that one's outward appearance and bloodline are less important to the gods than the heart and soul within.

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Tiefling Traits

Tieflings share certain racial traits as a result of their infernal descent.

Ability Score Increase

You can choose to increase either your Intelligence or your Charisma score by 1.

Age

Tieflings mature at the same rate as humans but live a few years longer.

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 superior 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.

Hellish Resistance

You have resistance to fire damage.

Infernal Legacy

You know the thaumaturgy cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the hellish rebuke spell as a 2nd-level spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the darkness spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells. You can also cast these spells using the appropriate level spell slot.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Infernal.

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Sub-Races

The sub-races presented in Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes for tieflings are valid for use. If you wish to use one of those sub-races the ability score increase will be changed to match the system presented with other races. Meaning, instead of increasing one score by two and one by one you will instead increase one of the scores listed by one point.

Related Organizations

• Corovashi Clan