The Black Ranger
First Post
A tiefling in my game is not something you will see often. Rarely would you ever encounter the plural.
D&D 5E Tiefling preview!
A tiefling in my game is not something you will see often. Rarely would you ever encounter the plural.
Lalato
Adventurer
That doesn't really answer the question. If you were to encounter one in your world, what might the story be? What kind of story do you want to make with these rare tieflings?
Honestly I don't think they wanted to devote that much space to the Tiefling, I honestly think that putting the Tiefling in was an after thought along with the Dragonborn, for appeasing the 4e fans who seemed to feel the most left out of all the edition fans. Plus they have the idea of the Planetouched, which is where the previous Tiefling will likely end up along with Aasimar and Genasi.
And the 5e Tiefling can have an just as many backgrounds and stories for thier characters. Ironically in FR all 4e Tieflings can trace thier ancestors to a 2e/3e Tiefling, so while all the PHB Tieflings have the Infernal Divine Essence of Asmodeaus, some might have the lingering blood of Set or Besheba which is unlikely to be cleansed completely. In fact the Godborn feat from the 4e FRCG.
Also there are cultural regional differences, Tieflings in Memnon are mercanaries in service to Fire Genasi in the war against Air Genasi in Calimiport. In algorand they're refugees from Thay when Tam overthrew the previous order of Red Wizards.
In High Imaskar they are mostly descended for Mulhorandi/Untheric Gods of Evil like Set, Sobek, Ianna, and so on. Yes they still have the more typical appearance of Tieflings because of the rite of Asmodeaus by 13 Tieflings, and share in his essence, but they still are descended from dark Gods and thier outsider servants.
Also possible plotlines/backgrounds come from mixed parents, it doesn't say it in the PHB in 5e, but Asmodean Tieflings breed pure with almost anything biologically compatable. So you Tiefling could have a Tieflin
g father and a Thrikreen mother. Sure breast feeding might be difficult, but who doesn't like a challenge. Having one none Tiefling, but exotic parent could provide interesting RP opportunities.
Also just because the blood descendants of say Grazzt have been infused by Asmdoeaus' essence, doesn't mean Grazzt losing interest in them, in fact it may increase, infused by Dark Magic and breeding true now they more interesting then humans with only the occasional tiefling.
In FR the connection between the Pact Tiefling and the Planetouched Tiefling makes things more interesting and complicated.
Incenjucar
Legend
Old School Tiefling:
"My dad was an adventuring bard, just like me! Only he was a halfling. On one of his most epic journeys, he was captured by a marilith, who planned to torture him and his allies into revealing the secret of the Blue Key! When it was his turn to be questioned, he said 'Lady, give me five minutes, and I'll charm your scales off, then we can put all of this behind us.' And that's why I look like a stubby yuan-ti."
New School Tiefling:
"In an age so distant that some call it myth, my ancestors made a dread pact with unspeakable powers. They paid a terrible price for that choice, and have passed that price down to me and my brethren. That is why I have come to save you from the same wretched fate - not for you, arrogant fool, but for your children's children's children."
Etc etc etc.
Lalato
Adventurer
You haven't actually answered the question other than to just state some perceived difference between "old" and "new". I want to hear all of the stories that you can create with the new... and how you might change the 5e tiefling to fit in your world. I couldn't care less about old vs new.
If you can't answer the question, that's fine... but ain't nobody got time for this. PHB hits next month, and I want your ideas.
Shemeska
Adventurer
It was shoehorned in.
The 2e/3e flavor for tieflings could have been easily incorporated into 5e and allowed both the classic tiefling option (descended from any variety of fiend, maybe even more than one type or maybe just due to planar influence rather than a tryst with a fiend; wild diversity in the visual expression of their fiendish blood) and the 4e turathi race (devil-blooded only, homogenous appearance).
But we got the least inclusive option, which has the visual look and flavor of the 4e race, modeled after a character in a 4e FR novel whose flavor and appearance were mandated by the 4e core game being imposed on settings outside of Nerath. It's really unfortunate that only one option is presented, and it's an option that excludes the appearance and flavor of the classic tiefling. We could have had both. It's a shame really.
Okay you want stories I got stories.
Sleea's great grandmother was said to be a descendant of the Evil War and Love Goddess Ianna, beautiful and terrible. But Sleea played little attention to that, figuring her family tree didn't matter after the rite changed Tiefling everywhere.
Then one day Sleea woke up with Ianna's mark burned onto her abdmen, with no idea how it got there, or why it was placed thiede. Did some spiteful Tiefling hating bigot put it there was has the dead Goddess Inanna returned like so many other gods back to life, to reclaim her childern from Asmodeaus.
Hecstern is the ugliest Tiefling you ever saw. As a young body his horns caught a fungus, that no magic has managed to cure, and the poisons produced by the fungus has cause his red skin to break out in hives and zits. Desiring to end his affliction, he has pledged to serve Sune as a Paladin in the hopes she will make him beautiful, but having a Paladin of Sune who is so ugly has enraged the local temple of Sune who has secretly put a price on this unsanctioned Paladin's head.
Lust is a stunning Paladin of Sharess from Memnon where her father is a mercinary, and her mother is a disgraced Fire Genasi noblewoman. Her training was given over to the local cult of Belial, but Lust rejected Belial, finding human scarfice vile and wasteful. Lust has six subling named after vices as well who followed her lead and rejected Infernal Worship. Lust is also close to her Fire Genasi mother. Her father is planning to have her killed, unbeknown to the rest of the family. Lust has little concsoius control of her tail which tend to have a mind of its own. Lust didn't have control over her Thaumaturgy either, drawing upon her connection to Asmodeaus unconsiously, but since becoming a Paladin of Sharess she's learned to draw on Sharess' power to full her innate Thaumaturgy instead. She still draws upon Asmodeaus power when she gets upswt enough to start cursing in Infernal, but it is not intentional.
Zeven is a Tiefling Rogue Assassin who practices his skill at Assassinations in the hopes of one day killing his father and his fellow rapists who attacked her mother one night in an explosion of antitiefling spite. Zeven is a zealous worshipper of Boar, and secretly believes he's a descendant of the Vengeful God, although he isn't, his ancestor is an Imp. When Zeven decides to kill, he surrounds his victim in darkness and strangles them with a cord.
Frandar is monk dedicated to develeping a unique martial arts fighting style that uses a Tieflings natural
attributes such as his tail, horns, and large canine teeth. Frandar was a refugee from Thay, his father, a human monk of Kossuth, raised him to fight and to honour his fiery nature. Frandar has never met his mother, but according to his father someday Frandar will return to Thay and free his Tiefling Mother from her Vampiric fate.
As for using them in my own setting, I'd dump the fluff altogether, but would instead be the mortal childern of the God of Fire and the Goddess of Night. Treated by human as the divine saviors in the fight against the Ice Troll hoards.
And they don't have horns, thier green with a mane of blackfire. No tail either. And they can't breed with humans, it would be lethal.
And they don't have horns, thier green with a mane of blackfire. No tail either. And they can't breed with humans, it would be lethal.
