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Tiefling´s horns & tail
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<blockquote data-quote="I'm A Banana" data-source="post: 6631076" data-attributes="member: 2067"><p>I am in pretty much the same boat. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> </p><p></p><p>While there isn't an explicit reason from WotC about this specific change, many of the 4e changes likely had to do with a rebranding effort. Like a lot of rebranding, this was likely guided by a few major principles, and some of those are to <em>differentiation from competitors</em> or to become <em>more meaningful to consumers</em> or <em>to signify a change in direction</em> (all of which were, presumably, going concerns in D&D land circa 2006-2008 or so).</p><p></p><p>What's that got to do with tieflings? Well, giving tieflings a unified appearance and a single story (The Fall of Bael Turath), they made tieflings something that other companies couldn't do - they weren't just any half-fiend whatevers, they were specific to D&D-land and D&D lore and D&D Intellectual Property. The concept of a fiend-spawn wasn't new, but the specific story about a pact with Asmodedus leading to the Fall or Bael Turath in a war with Dragonborn - that's not something that any other company can come along and claim. A unified appearance goes hand in hand with this - a distinctive, recognizable look that they could slap on the cover of a book or into digital form that would instantly mean this thing was <em>D&D-branded</em> in the minds of customers, not just some random fiendling. The diversity and vagueness of the old tiefling's look and story wasn't as easily marketable. </p><p></p><p>In the 4e run-up, the fact that this would annoy people who liked the old tiefling was apparently not really a concern. Folks would like the new story BETTER, probably, one would assume. </p><p></p><p>That's my working hypothesis, anyway. I find it's a theoretical framework that explains kind of a lot about 4e in a way that seems simple and reasonable, if perhaps debatably a bit misguided. </p><p></p><p>5e tries to split the difference - 4e aesthetics and Asmodeus origin, but no Bael Turath and more of an "outcast" reputation than a pulpy, sword-and-sorcery "evil fallen empire of dark magic" vibe. </p><p></p><p>This still doesn't work great for folks who liked the old tiefling because of its diversity. But 5e is less precious - the DNA of the tiefling is easy to replicate into a more diverse race more akin to the old-school tiefling as a planetouched orphan whose strange mutations might manifest in any number of ways. </p><p></p><p>For that, there's the Planetouched: +2 Cha, +1 to any one ability score, darkvision, one kind of resistance, one exotic language, a cantrip at 1st, a 1st level spell at 3rd, and a 2nd level spell at 5th. Mix and match, roll on a chart, make your own.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="I'm A Banana, post: 6631076, member: 2067"] I am in pretty much the same boat. :) While there isn't an explicit reason from WotC about this specific change, many of the 4e changes likely had to do with a rebranding effort. Like a lot of rebranding, this was likely guided by a few major principles, and some of those are to [I]differentiation from competitors[/I] or to become [I]more meaningful to consumers[/I] or [I]to signify a change in direction[/I] (all of which were, presumably, going concerns in D&D land circa 2006-2008 or so). What's that got to do with tieflings? Well, giving tieflings a unified appearance and a single story (The Fall of Bael Turath), they made tieflings something that other companies couldn't do - they weren't just any half-fiend whatevers, they were specific to D&D-land and D&D lore and D&D Intellectual Property. The concept of a fiend-spawn wasn't new, but the specific story about a pact with Asmodedus leading to the Fall or Bael Turath in a war with Dragonborn - that's not something that any other company can come along and claim. A unified appearance goes hand in hand with this - a distinctive, recognizable look that they could slap on the cover of a book or into digital form that would instantly mean this thing was [I]D&D-branded[/I] in the minds of customers, not just some random fiendling. The diversity and vagueness of the old tiefling's look and story wasn't as easily marketable. In the 4e run-up, the fact that this would annoy people who liked the old tiefling was apparently not really a concern. Folks would like the new story BETTER, probably, one would assume. That's my working hypothesis, anyway. I find it's a theoretical framework that explains kind of a lot about 4e in a way that seems simple and reasonable, if perhaps debatably a bit misguided. 5e tries to split the difference - 4e aesthetics and Asmodeus origin, but no Bael Turath and more of an "outcast" reputation than a pulpy, sword-and-sorcery "evil fallen empire of dark magic" vibe. This still doesn't work great for folks who liked the old tiefling because of its diversity. But 5e is less precious - the DNA of the tiefling is easy to replicate into a more diverse race more akin to the old-school tiefling as a planetouched orphan whose strange mutations might manifest in any number of ways. For that, there's the Planetouched: +2 Cha, +1 to any one ability score, darkvision, one kind of resistance, one exotic language, a cantrip at 1st, a 1st level spell at 3rd, and a 2nd level spell at 5th. Mix and match, roll on a chart, make your own. [/QUOTE]
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