TTRPG Twitter is buzzing about Tieflings in d20 Fantasy games.
These spawn of demons (or devils?) originally appeared in the Planescape campaign setting for 2nd Ed AD&D. They became a “standard” Player Character race in D&D 4th Edition Player’s Handbook. Unofficially, they were available in 3rd Edition via the Green Ronin Aasimar & Tiefling sourcebook. You can learn more about them here on Wikipedia.
I will say I don’t know what all this hubbub is about. It’s just one more race/ancestry/species to play around with. While I don’t want them in everything I run, I don’t have a problem with them in 5E.
My oldest kid played a “Half Orc” that his adoptive parents never told him where he really came from. As long as his horns didn’t come in, his father the former rogue didn’t have to tell him what he really was. Then he decided to become a warlock all on his own. Then he inherited his real father’s sword. Eventually the old rogue let the truth be known- The character was a Tiefling. His real father was a Balor. We’ll leave the final fate of that character’s mother for another time. (Even the Player Character doesn’t know. I know because I wrote the background.)
I like Tieflings in 5E D&D, but they’re not appropriate in every campaign.
I’m developing a fantasy campaign world where none of the Tolkien or standard D&D or Pathfinder ancestries exist. (I said Pathfinder not Starfinder, just to be clear.) Picture a campaign setting with no Elves, Dwarves, Dragonborn, or Tieflings as we currently understand them. All the characters will be human to start with, but that could change as other beings are encountered.
I think in a lot of cases we shouldn’t allow everything in the book, even the core book, in our campaigns. As writers, designers, or game masters, we have the freedom to choose whatever we want in our campaigns. Some of the most well known campaign settings in TTRPG history added and omitted various ancestries to the game.
A lot of amazing ancestries came from other settings. Dragonlance gave us Minotaurs and Kender. Forgotten Realms is the original home of the Drow. World of Warcraft, while originally an MMORPG, gave us Goblins (as PCs) and Night Elves among others. Earthdawn RPG was the home of Obsidimen, T’skrang, Windlings, along with Ork and Troll PCs. Maybe any given setting has or doesn’t have Tieflings, but they do have a lot of cool ancestries to play.
Tieflings scratch a certain itch for a lot of players.
I think overall Tieflings are a good thing in a lot of games. Before Tieflings became all the rage, it was Drow. Some players really go in for the edgier, outlying fringe ancestries for the cool factor associated with them. Sometimes an ancestry is chosen specifically for statistical reasons (Goliaths, Half Orcs, even Elves.) Sometimes an ancestry is chosen strictly for appearances (Genasi, Harengon, Aaracokra, or Eladrin.)
Then there’s the third type of ancestries. Some of these are viewed with dread and loathing by me or my fellow GMs. Looking closely at Fairies, Githyanki, Firbolgs, and Warforged. Not only do these characters look awesome, but they are statistically broken when compared to other ancestries. Unfortunately, Dragonborn and Tieflings, both D&D 5E PHB races, are not only statistically questionable, but usually look really cool and come with a variety of edgy backstories.
Sometimes the GM has to put their foot down and say, “No.”
From Forgotten Realms Wiki.
Just because a particular ancestry/race/species is listed in the core rulebook for any given game, doesn’t mean the GM is automatically going to allow said into their campaign. Game designers are human. We make some questionable decisions which we later celebrate or regret. Luckily, it’s on the players and Game Masters to decide what’s going to fly (or not) in any given game. It’s not always easy, but sometimes the regular fantasy GM is going to say straight up, “No Kender, Warforged, or homebrew ancestries that haven’t been approved first.”
The as yet unnamed world I’m building is a giant sandbox. I’m saying the characters are loveably human until another group of beings is discovered. Asking me to play a Tiefling or a Goliath in that first part of the campaign would be laudable as none are known to exist. My sincerest apologies, but if my conditions aren’t acceptable, people are going to have to find a new campaign to playtest. We’re leaving Tolkienian western medieval (D&D) fantasy at the door.
Speaking of Tieflings, you know who I don’t think gets enough love?
Of all of the 5E races to get left out, which one didn’t get any love until Volo’s Guide to Monsters? Answer: Aasimar. It’s okay, though. Aasimar didn’t get any love in 4E. Gnomes were left out of 4E until the PHB2 came out. Those were sad times for me.
Much as Tieflings are half demon (or devil,) Aasimar are half angel (Celestial in many campaign worlds.) I don’t know if it’s the statistical nature of them, the appearance, or just wanting to dodge the Judeo-Christian myth. For whatever reason, they get dodged in many games. I say if we have Tieflings, why not Aasimar. It’s only fair. (*LOL I have to burn my Hardcore GM card now.)
In fairness, here are my proposed statistics for Aasimar in Shadowdark RPG.
New Ancestry: Celestine.
These beings appear as humans or sometimes elves who radiate a sense of warmth and love wherever they go. They often have a more pleasant disposition than most other humans and tend to see the positives of any given situation first.
You know the Common, Elvish, and Celestial languages.
Divine Gifted: You can call upon your divine nature once per day to heal another character or creature for 1d6 + ½ your level additional d6. You also gain +1 to any Priest spellcasting checks.
Note: Celestine characters are not inherently associated with any specific deity or religion unless they choose to be. They may have any alignment and retain their Divine Gift no mater what or who they choose.
Alternately, we could go with the other version of “angels.”
New Ancestry: Seraphine.
These beautiful beings appear as humans, elves, or sometimes dwarves with tiny wings that protrude from their backs and eyes ten times the normal size. Feathers often grow on their arms, legs, and face.
You know the Common, Celestial and one other language of your choice.
Sight Beyond: Once per day you can create light as per the Light spell from within your own body. You also gain the ability to float off the ground up to Near range once per day.
Tieflings are already listed in Shadowdark.
Someone totally beat me to it. Dungeon Damsel Creations released a book on BackerKit called Unnatural Selection wherein the Tiefling is listed for the first time as far as I’m aware. You can make a Late Pledge and still get some cool swag if you act fast. I recommend it as I’m a backer. The PDF looks great so far.
Thank you for stopping by today. If you make either version of the Aasimar listed in this article, please feel free to contact me on social media and let me know how it went. Please embrace that which brings you the most joy today.
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