D&D 5E What is the appeal of the weird fantasy races?

[Crit]

Outcast is one of the most basic tropes that could be absolutely applied to any race you can imagine if that race is tightly codified.
Hunter of own kind? Bounty Hunters? I'm stunned you would think this is in any way race specific.
Atoner. Absolutely any race can do something which later generations feel the need to atone for. From betraying ones family or clan, offending ones gods, or perpetrating some kind of evil. The list could be endless, literally.
Bael Turath - Yes, the major cultural hook for the change to 4e style is important, I'll give you that. However hoping for ones lost heritage to return to prominence? Thats a Dwarf Trope if I have ever seen one.
Devilish Heritage - Any fiend planetouched (and there are more than Human based ones) could do this. Its not a cultural issue at all?
Rivalry with Dragonborn - Yes, you are looking at a 4e setting specific hook, but...that doesnt mean I'm wrong. Any race can do this.
Big Horns - You may be kidding, but that still is the major call out here, especially if you are not looking at it from a 4e setting specific POV.

The thing is, Tiefling is a specific assembly of these tropes that would have a different connotation than another character from another race doing the same things. The Tiefling's inherent association to the occult and demonology provides major context that varies them from, say, a Dwarves Dwarf hunter.

I don't like "racial rough-equivalency" arguments because it's like saying "Why play a Cleric when you can just be a Wizard?" or "Why should Ranger be a class if I can do something similar as a Fighter?" After all, both classes may wind up in similar places, but they're built on different foundations. Be they mechanic, thematic, narrative, or otherwise.

Tiefling is one of a few avenues to engaging with those listed tropes-- it's not the only road there, but it certainly isn't the same one as the rest, and that's what leads people to choose it specifically. With that said, I think that Tiefling could lean into their lore a little more in order to be more meaningfully distinct.

 

[Scribe]

Tiefling is one of a few avenues to engaging with those listed tropes-- it's not the only road there, but it certainly isn't the same one as the rest, and that's what leads people to choose it specifically. With that said, I think that Tiefling could lean into their lore a little more in order to be more meaningfully distinct.

Taken as a whole? Perhaps. Drop the Culturally Distinct or Visually Distinct ones?

• Outcast.
• Hunter of own kind. Bounty Hunter.
• Atoner.
• Devilish Heritage.
• Rivalry with Dragonborn

That absolutely can apply to Human, Elf, Dwarf, or Halfling, off the top of my head if you include past lore/books and drop them into the current setting where Dragonborn are a thing.

The character writes itself.

You are an outcast from your people, who have damned themselves and you through pacts with <Enter Fiend Here> offering the souls of their children in return for the power to reclaim lost glory.

You have chosen to take it upon yourself to atone for the sins of your own kind, by hunting them and bringing them to justice.

Oh and you have a good natured rivalry with the Dragonborn who also hunts your kind.

You can literally apply that to any Lower Planestouched race.

 

[Crit]

Taken as a whole? Perhaps. Drop the Culturally Distinct or Visually Distinct ones?

• Outcast.
• Hunter of own kind. Bounty Hunter.
• Atoner.
• Devilish Heritage.
• Rivalry with Dragonborn

That absolutely can apply to Human, Elf, Dwarf, or Halfling, off the top of my head if you include past lore/books and drop them into the current setting where Dragonborn are a thing.

The character writes itself.

You are an outcast from your people, who have damned themselves and you through pacts with <Enter Fiend Here> offering the souls of their children in return for the power to reclaim lost glory.

You have chosen to take it upon yourself to atone for the sins of your own kind, by hunting them and bringing them to justice.

Oh and you have a good natured rivalry with the Dragonborn who also hunts your kind.

You can literally apply that to any Lower Planestouched race.

I feel like we've been glossing over "devilish heritage" a little too much. Tieflings take that characteristic to a higher level than the other human-adjacent races. Sure, if you skip on the culture, you can take a human, give them blood-red skin, horns, a spiked tail, inherited demonic Spellcasting, a backstory with major Devil ancestors, and/or those other Feral Tiefling characteristics, but at that rate, you are just simulating a Tiefling in my eyes. Even then, I don't think we should be skipping on any part of these races identities, because those things are relevant here. That's why I brought up appearance, because these things do come as a whole.

With that said, sure. To some extent, you could replicate that (or potentially all) Tiefling character(s) with any other race. Isn't that just a general rule of thumb for all of the races?

 

[Scribe]

Pre 4e, thats exactly what a Tielfing was. A planestouched human, with fiendish blood. How is that an issue?

EDIT: Just as there are Elf, Dwarf, Halfing, and even Orc versions of the same thing. That is exactly WHY I have issue with Tiefling's being pulled up as a 'weird' race in the first place.

The only reason they are 'weird' is because of their (since 4e) appearance. Otherwise, they should be as easy/difficult to slot into any setting as anything else.

Unless ones homebrew does not have Hell/Abyss at all...

 

[Oofta]

I feel like we've been glossing over "devilish heritage" a little too much. Tieflings take that characteristic to a higher level than the other human-adjacent races. Sure, if you skip on the culture, you can take a human, give them blood-red skin, horns, a spiked tail, inherited demonic Spellcasting, a backstory with major Devil ancestors, and/or those other Feral Tiefling characteristics, but at that rate, you are just simulating a Tiefling in my eyes. Even then, I don't think we should be skipping on any part of these races identities, because those things are relevant here. That's why I brought up appearance, because these things do come as a whole.

With that said, sure. To some extent, you could replicate that (or potentially all) Tiefling character(s) with any other race. Isn't that just a general rule of thumb for all of the races?

But what impact does devilish heritage really have? People have stated that it's "unfair" to have prejudice against their PCs. So what does that leave? Looking funny? Well, you look funny because of the horns. An excuse to be emo? I mean, your PC concept may fit tiefling well, that doesn't mean it couldn't be done using a variety of races.

So if you take personality, goals, attitudes away, it comes back to ... what? I don't have a problem if someone wants to play a tiefling in settings where they're allowed, but anyone saying they can't play the character they want if tieflings are not allowed seems like overkill and ignoring that they can get 99% of the way there.

 

[Oofta]

Pre 4e, thats exactly what a Tielfing was. A planestouched human, with fiendish blood. How is that an issue?

EDIT: Just as there are Elf, Dwarf, Halfing, and even Orc versions of the same thing. That is exactly WHY I have issue with Tiefling's being pulled up as a 'weird' race in the first place.

The only reason they are 'weird' is because of their (since 4e) appearance. Otherwise, they should be as easy/difficult to slot into any setting as anything else.

Unless ones homebrew does not have Hell/Abyss at all...

Actually that is one of my issues. I have Jotunheim, and I use fiends for some Jotuns (not all denizens of Jotunheim were giants, even though it is ruled by giants) but they're re-fluffed. Same way that celestials aren't angels, they're Valkyrie or Einjherar.

I mean, there is Helheim but it's not "Hell" in the same sense.

 

[Scribe]

So if you take personality, goals, attitudes away, it comes back to ... what? I don't have a problem if someone wants to play a tiefling in settings where they're allowed, but anyone saying they can't play the character they want if tieflings are not allowed seems like overkill and ignoring that they can get 99% of the way there.

This is it, right here.

What is a Tiefling?

Unless you are playing strictly FR, and your campaign points to the 4e canon regarding Tieflings, then outside the visual distinction, there is nothing to it beyond 'Human with Infernal Heritage' which can mean anything, and used to mean you had some kind of attribute, that could mark you as 'other'.

That alone is not enough to make you a 'weird' race. It simply isnt. Unless you have a big ol' rack of horns sticking out your forehead.

 

[Oofta]

This is it, right here.

What is a Tiefling?

Unless you are playing strictly FR, and your campaign points to the 4e canon regarding Tieflings, then outside the visual distinction, there is nothing to it beyond 'Human with Infernal Heritage' which can mean anything, and used to mean you had some kind of attribute, that could mark you as 'other'.

That alone is not enough to make you a 'weird' race. It simply isnt. Unless you have a big ol' rack of horns sticking out your forehead.

For some people, I'm assuming being a tiefling comes down to fire resistance, darkvision and a couple of free spells. Which, to be fair, are actually decent reasons depending on your character build.

 

[Mind of tempest]

But what impact does devilish heritage really have? People have stated that it's "unfair" to have prejudice against their PCs. So what does that leave? Looking funny? Well, you look funny because of the horns. An excuse to be emo? I mean, your PC concept may fit tiefling well, that doesn't mean it couldn't be done using a variety of races.

So if you take personality, goals, attitudes away, it comes back to ... what? I don't have a problem if someone wants to play a tiefling in settings where they're allowed, but anyone saying they can't play the character they want if tieflings are not allowed seems like overkill and ignoring that they can get 99% of the way there.

look in priciple anything can be made as a human but unless your prepared to burn everthing and have no humaniod class enemies this a none thing but lots of people prefer having options plus the rule on discrimination depends if they player/players are wanting it in campaign.

 

[Oofta]

look in priciple anything can be made as a human but unless your prepared to burn everthing and have no humaniod class enemies this a none thing but lots of people prefer having options plus the rule on discrimination depends if they player/players are wanting it in campaign.

Some people have stated that they "cannot play the character they want because the DM does not allow race X". That the restriction will destroy their fun (or at least significantly reduce it). I think you can get 99% of any race (in this case tieflings) without actually playing a tiefling so I disagree with the idea that a character must be race X. Because that 1% you can't achieve? Nobody will notice. YMMV.