Dragonborn & Tieflings: What is their place in your world?

[I'm A Banana]

If I used 'em as they were presented in the PH, I'd probably just use 'em like that, in that setting.

Otherwise, they get changed.

In PS, for instance, the tieflings become more "Industrial Revolution-icized" and become the generic bastard children of the planes, simply born with some lingering trace of the "supernatural," while Dragonborn get booted to the curb firmly, since dragons don't have a dramatic central place in PS.

 

[eleran]

But elves, dwarfs and maybe eladrin are not fantastical?

Crap! The world is ending, I agree with Derren.

 

[Rechan]

Another thought occurs to me:

Tieflings could be "changelings" in the traditional sense. I.e. some sort of fey sneaks into a home, steals the child, and replaces it with one of its own. Their nature just doesn't pop up until puberty.

 

[Daniel D. Fox]

But elves, dwarfs and maybe eladrin are not fantastical?

I don't use any of them as player races, either.


/incoming badwrongfun statements!

 

[Cirex]

For Eberron, I'm still considering it, however, I got something in mind. For the tiefling, a part of the second wave that arrived to Khorvaire from Sarlona, including many nobles and high status people, were charmed by a hidden Rakhasha Rajah. Those corrupted nobles founded a city somewhere (need to place it) and eventually turned into the Tiefling (PHB background). Slowly, the Tiefling are opening themselves to the rest of the Nations.

For Dragonborn, I need to analyze what the PHB says about them and think how place them in Khorvaire, as relatives to dragons overall, but not with ties to Argonnessen dragons.

 

[eleran]

I don't use any of them as player races, either.


/incoming badwrongfun statements!

Actually, your consistency should eliminate the need for badwrongfun comments. Out of curiosity what races do you use other than human?

 

[Grazzt]

I don't plan on introducing either of them into my game.

Same here (unless we just run one-off games with 4e, then I dont really have an issue with players using 'em).

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Another thought occurs to me:

Tieflings could be "changelings" in the traditional sense. I.e. some sort of fey sneaks into a home, steals the child, and replaces it with one of its own. Their nature just doesn't pop up until puberty.

I have been toying with something sorta similar in my World 3. The way the child is "snatched away" is a being for whatever purposes it requires a Tiefling will cause the mother to have constant nightmares in order to induce the child within her womb to become a Tiefling.

 

[Daniel D. Fox]

Actually, your consistency should eliminate the need for badwrongfun comments. Out of curiosity what races do you use other than human?

I developed mannish subraces, pertaining to specific regions derived from similar clans/tribes of folk. Halflings were more or less recategorized as "human" in a sense -

http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Races-of-Deismaar

Fantasy races fall under the category of "lost peoples", and are never player races in my gaming world.

 

[EvolutionKB]

At the end of my most recent campaign dragons came, a la dragonlance. Dragonborn were brought with them as their own personal guards/strike force/army. After the dragons were sent packing the dragonborn remain, free-willed but looked down upon. Tieflings came about from an isolated group of humans that made demonic pacts to help rid their island nation of it's dragon overlord. They spread out since then.