Meh, too much bloat for me. I'd rather they just made a Planetouched race and included Tieflings, Aasimar, and maybe Genasi as sub-races.I don't have a problem with Tieflings but I wish that they'd always also offer their counterpart (Aasimar) as a core race as well. If they have Tieflings they should also have Aasimar as default.
Bah, you haven't lived until you have played a gnome ranger as the party tank!Monster PCs are fun like wearing a Halloween costume. Tielfings are perfect to be the "little ugly duckling", and smarter than half-orcs.
I would rather aasimars/deva because they are outcasts in its own way, suffering the tall poppies syndrome, the hostility against who stands out above the rest by envious and rivals. I imagine them with a bad reputation of snobs and wolves wearing sheep's clothing, when they really want to help the rest of people.
I also like gnomes precisely because they are unpopular, but are too specialized in stealth and illusory magic. They need more flexible racial traits, for example these could be replaced by racial feats.
Meh, too much bloat for me. I'd rather they just made a Planetouched race and included Tieflings, Aasimar, and maybe Genasi as sub-races.
My own theory is that it's got to do with the popularity of half-demon chicks in bikini mail.
For serious though: What is it about tieflings that gave them staying power over multiple editions? What's their enduring appeal?