Why are tieflings so popular? How did they manage to outcompete all the other wacky races to win their place in mainstream D&D?

[Richards]

Bah, you haven't lived until you have played a gnome ranger as the party tank!

My son runs a gnome fighter in the campaign I DM, and he's definitely the party tank.

Johnathan

 

[Blue]

Yeah: "fun to be "bad"", and having the horns or tail or whatever to prove it. Being an outcast or cursed-at or having an actual curse just ups the edge-lord ante.

I'm with you. Heck, you can play a Fallen Aasimar as a subrace so they can be edgy too, but no "Redeemed Tiefling".

 

[Zardnaar]

I think this is how Drow became a standard race. Some may blame that poser Drizzt but really, if you do a google for images of Drow, well, it's a thing.



For this, I need to reach back into the annals of RPG history.

Real Men like half nekkid demon chicks. And playing the "bad boys".
Real Roleplayers feel Tieflings have such wonderful pathos to build upon.
Real Loonies like to blame actions on their heritage. "A scorpion can't change it's nature".
Real Munchkins take whatever race has the best ability score modifiers for their class.

(Apologies to any Real(tm) Men, Roleplayers, Loonies or Munchkins - that was the format from way back when. Now get off my lawn!)

1st heard that real men, loonies etc back in 1994 in my first campaign ever from the DM.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

When you are very strange, crappy people very quickly and enthusiastically tell you precisely who they are.

There is an appeal in exploring that in a safe environment such as a role playing game.

Lotta folks have felt like freaks in their life, and also they look fracking cool.

It’s probably that simple.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

Some day I fully intend to play a Tiefling whose Devil forefather is the least interesting ancestor they have for the past five generations.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

How else would you get to role play the challenges of trying to disguise yourself?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChRYf0reyHY

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Planetouched were in many ways Mutants of the planes, as being exposed to planar energies especially when one lives on the planes can mutate some people.

In 2e Tieflings were definitely more varied in appearance, many had more subtle features, horns tended to be smaller. I remember there also being some Tieflings in 2e who were of a non-binary gender. There was also a Tiefling that had something like snakes for eyes, another NPC sort of lacked a nose. Even the iconic Tiefling, Annah had something like only 3 or 4 fingers on her hands.

 

[Lord Shark]

Because they annoy old-schoolers who think the fantasy genre stopped in 1989.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[MechaTarrasque]

1989?

1979! Anything after the original core 3 has to be viewed with suspicion, if not disdain.

Has any good ever come from splitting the fighting man into the fighter and the thief/rogue? I think not.