Tiefling

"One's a curiosity, two's a conspiracy, three's a curse. That's what they say on the mainland, isn't it? Let them - their hated will one day be their end."

~ King Kenrith Ardenvale

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 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.

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 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 or purple.
Tieflings have a number of abilities gifted to them by their fiendish heritage. By and large, tieflings are alluring and intelligent creatures, with a seductive aura in spite of their obviously evil ancestry. Because tieflings are generally distrusted throughout the world, owing to their fiendish heritage, many become just as self-reliant.
Tieflings are generally proud and secretive by nature and possess a dark demeanor. Unfortunately, this only helps to further the reputation tieflings have for being social outcasts and untrustworthy scoundrels. However, members of other races often find that once they demonstrated friendship and trust towards a tiefling, it is quickly be reciprocated in full. Once such a bond is forged, it is rarely broken.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Tiefling names fall into three broad categories. Tieflings born into another culture typically have names reflective of that culture. Some have names derived from the Infernal language, passed down through generations, that reflect their fiendish heritage. And some younger tieflings, striving to find a place in the world, adopt a name that signifies a virtue or other concept and then try to embody that concept. For some, the chosen name is a noble quest. For others, it’s a grim destiny.
Examples of virtue names involve 'Art', 'Deceit', 'Despair', 'Glory' and 'Reverence'. Some Tieflings even alter the spelling of their virtue names in order to make them more unique, as with the infamous paladin Deciet the Mad.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Tieflings tend to 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. In some rare causes, though, tiefling families in unclaimed territories may actually strike out on their own and establish their own nobility, as with Ardenvale Keep in the Star Isles, which was run by tieflings until its destruction in 3013 JR.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Most other races (especially humans) tend to be suspicious of tieflings, assuming that their infernal heritage has left its mark on their personality and morality, not just their appearance. Shopkeepers keep a close eye on their goods when tieflings enter their stores, the town watch might follow a tiefling around for a while, and demagogues blame tieflings for strange happenings. The reality, though, is that a tiefling’s bloodline doesn’t affect his or her personality to any great degree.
However, years of dealing with mistrust does leave its mark on most tieflings, and they respond to it in different ways. Some choose to live up to the wicked stereotype, but others are virtuous. Most are simply very aware of how people respond to them. After dealing with this mistrust throughout youth, a tiefling often develops the ability to overcome prejudice through charm or intimidation.

Lifespan

100 - 120 years

Average Height

5'6" - 6'2"

Average Weight

140 - 220 lbs

Related Organizations

• The Order of Allagi