D&D General The Evolution of Tieflings in D&D: Interviews with Zeb Cook and Colin McComb

AriochQ · Jul 11, 2019

I am not a huge fan, but I did have a younger player start playing a tiefling in one of my home games. It has good role play potential, and she does a great job with it. Of course, I run in Greyhawk, so I had to fit them in. I ended up just tying them to Iuz and the Greyhawk wars, which seemed an easy way to explain their lack of history in the setting.

Zardnaar · Jul 11, 2019

AriochQ said:
I am not a huge fan, but I did have a younger player start playing a tiefling in one of my home games. It has good role play potential, and she does a great job with it. Of course, I run in Greyhawk, so I had to fit them in. I ended up just tying them to Iuz and the Greyhawk wars, which seemed an easy way to explain their lack of history in the setting.

Basically what I would do if I added Tieflings to Greyhawk as Cambions are a thing.

At least it makes sense for the setting.

Aldarc · Jul 11, 2019

AriochQ said:
I am not a huge fan, but I did have a younger player start playing a tiefling in one of my home games. It has good role play potential, and she does a great job with it. Of course, I run in Greyhawk, so I had to fit them in. I ended up just tying them to Iuz and the Greyhawk wars, which seemed an easy way to explain their lack of history in the setting.

I would probably tie them into the fall of the Suel Imperium. Something something Suloise sorcery. Something something Rain of Colorless Fire. Something something Wee Jas and her devil attendants.

Anthraxus · Jul 11, 2019

Nice article! I definitely prefer the 2e Planescape Tieflings to what they did to them in 4e. :erm:

I'm glad some of the 5e supplemental books let us add to the variety of the Tiefling appearances and heritage.

AriochQ · Jul 11, 2019

Aldarc said:
I would probably tie them into the fall of the Suel Imperium. Something something Suloise sorcery. Something something Rain of Colorless Fire. Something something Wee Jas and her devil attendants.

That is sort of how I worked in Dragonborn. They were magically genetically engineered warriors used by the Suel and Bakluni to fight their wars.

Imaro · Jul 11, 2019

This was an interesting read. Yeah count me as another who really didn't like the changes to Tieflings in 4e which I have reverted in my 5e games. 4e's changes just feel stifling compared to the freedom in appearance & origin 2e Tieflings had. They went from being a planar race of outsiders stoked in mystery with near infinite possibility for appearance and origin to just another cookie cutter Prime race from a long fallen kingdom. Not sure why that was considered an improvement and I wish they had reverted them for 5e but it's easy enough to do in my own games.

Wrathamon · Jul 11, 2019

Considering how popular tieflings became in the 4e & 5e era. I think the change was a success.

Imaro · Jul 11, 2019

Wrathamon said:
Considering how popular tieflings became in the 4e & 5e era. I think the change was a success.

Or it might have been that they were (finally) put in the core rulebooks, you know the books that the majority of people playing the game actually buy and use... just saying.

EDIT: And in 5e at least (not sure about 4e) they have already given variants of the monolithic Tieflings that players can choose.

doctorbadwolf · Jul 11, 2019

Imaro said:
Or it might have been that they were (finally) put in the core rulebooks, you know the books that the majority of people playing the game actually buy and use... just saying.

Druids are in the PHB, and yet they're pretty low on the list of most played classes. PHB status doesn't explain it by itself.