Tiefling
Tiefling Traits
Tieflings share certain racial traits as a result of their infernal descent.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2.
(SCAG Variant) Feral. Your Dexterity score increases by 2. This trait replaces the Charisma increase.
Age. Tieflings mature at the same rate as humans but live a few years longer.
Size. Tieflings are about the same size and build as humans. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. Thanks to your infernal heritage, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can ’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Hellish Resistance. You have resistance to fire damage.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Infernal.
Subrace. Choose one of the following subraces, representing the infernal being your family is connected to. The traits are added to those above.
Asmodeus
The tieflings connected to Nessus command the power of fire and darkness, guided by a keener than normal intellect, as befits those linked to Asmodcus himself.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Infernal Legacy. You know the thaumaturgy cantrip. Once you reach 3rd level, you can cast the hellish rebuke spell once per day as a 2nd-level spell. Once you reach 5th level, you can also cast the darkness spell once per day. You must finish a long rest to cast these spells once again with this trait. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
(Season 9 Option) Winged Tiefling. At 5th level, you have bat-like wings sprouting from your shoulder blades. You have a flying speed of 30 feet while you aren’t wearing heavy armor. This trait replaces the Infernal Legacy trait.
(SCAG Variant) Devil's Tongue. You know the vicious mockery cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the charm person spell as a 2nd-level spell once with this trait. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the enthrall spell once with this trait. You must finish a long rest to cast these spells once again with this trait. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for them. This trait replaces the Infernal Legacy trait.
(SCAG Variant) Hellfire. Once you reach 3rd level , you can cast the burning hands spell once per day as a 2nd-level spell. You must finish a long rest to cast this spell once again with this trait. This trait replaces the hellish rebuke spell of the Infernal Legacy trait.
Baalzebul (MToF)
The crumbling realm of Maladomini is ruled by Baalzebul, who excels at corrupting those whose minor sins can be transformed into acts of damnation. Tieflings linked to this archdevil can corrupt others both physically and psychically.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Legacy of Maladomini. You know the thaumaturgy cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the ray of sickness spell as a 2nd-level spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the crown of madness spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Dispater (MToF)
The great city of Dis occupies most of Hell's second layer. It is a place where secrets are uncovered and shared with the highest bidder, making tieflings tied to Dispater excellent spies and infiltrators.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Legacy of Dis. You know the thaumaturgy cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the disguise self spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the detect thoughts spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Fierna (MToF)
A master manipulator. Fierna grants tieflings tied to her forceful personalities.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Legacy of Phlegethos. You know the friends cantrip. Once you reach 3rd level, you can cast the charm person spell once per day as a 2nd-level spell. Once you reach 5th level, you can also cast the suggestion spell once per day. You must finish a long rest to cast these spells once again with this trait. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Glasya (MToF)
Glasya, Hell’s criminal mastermind, grants her tieflings useful magic in committing heists.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Legacy of Malbolge. You know the minor illusion cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the disguise self spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the invisibility spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Levistus (MToF)
Frozen Stygia is ruled by Levistus, an archdevil known for offering bargains to those who face an inescapable doom.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.
Legacy of Stygia. You know the ray of frost cantrip. Once you reach 3rd level, you can cast the armor of Agathys spell once per day as a 2nd-level spell. Once you reach 5th level, you can also cast the darkness spell once per day. You must finish a long rest to cast these spells once again with this trait. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Mammon (MToF)
The great miser Mammon loves coins above all else. Tieflings tied to him excel at gathering and safeguarding wealth.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Legacy of Minauros. You know the mage hand cantrip. Once you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Tenser’s floating disk spell once per day as a 2nd-level spell. Once you reach 5th level, you can also cast the arcane lock spell once per day. You must finish a long rest to cast these spells once again with this trait. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Mephitopheloes (MToF)
In the frozen realm of Cania, Mephistopheles offers arcane power to those who entreat with him. Tieflings linked to this place master some arcane magic.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Legacy of Cania. You know the mage hand cantrip. Once you reach 3rd level, you can cast the burning hands spell once per day as a 2nd-level spell. Once you reach 5th level, you can also cast the flame blade spell once per day. You must finish a long rest to cast these spells once again with this trait. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Zariel (MToF)
Tieflings with a blood tie to Zariel are stronger than the typical tiefling and receive magical abilities that aid them in battle.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.
Legacy of Avernus. You know the thaumaturgy cantrip. Once you reach 3rd level, you can cast the searing smite spell once per day as a 2nd-level spell. Once you reach 5th level, you can also cast the branding smite spell once per day. You must finish a long rest to cast these spells once again with this trait. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Tiefling
“But you do see the way people look at you, devil’s child."
Those black eyes, cold as a winter storm, were staring right into her heart and the sudden seriousness in his voice jolted her.
“What is it they say?" he asked. “One’s a curiosity, two’s a conspiracy—”
“Three's a curse,” she finished. “You think I haven’t heard that rubbish before?”
“I know you have.” When she glared at him, he added, “It’s not as if I’m plumbing the depths of your mind, dear girl. That is the burden of every tiefling. Some break under it, some make it the millstone around their neck, some revel in it.” He tilted his head again, scrutinizing her, with that wicked glint in his eyes. “You fight it, don’t you? Like a little wildcat, I wager. Every little jab and comment just sharpens your claws.”
—Erin M. Evans, Brimstone Angels
To be greeted with stares and whispers, to suffer violence and insult on the street, to see mistrust and fear in every eye: this is the lot of the tiefling. And to twist the knife, tieflings know that this is because a pact struck generations ago infused the essence of Asmodeus — overlord of the Nine Hells — into their bloodline. Their appearance and their nature are not their fault but the result of an ancient sin, for which they and their children and their children’s children will always be held accountable.
Humans with the blood of fiends , most tieflings in Faerun share a common connection due to the machinations of the archdevil Asmodeus a century ago.
The Mark of Asmodeus
During the Spellplague, Asmodeus consumed the divine spark of Azuth and thereby achieved godhood. Subsequently, Asmodeus and a coven of warlocks, the Toril Thirteen, performed a rite wherein the archdevil claimed all tieflings in the world as his own, cursing them to bear "the blood of Asmodeus ." This act marked all tieflings as "descendants" of the Lord of the Nine Hells, rega rdless of their true heritage, and changed them into creatures that resembled their supposed progenitor. The other folk of Faerftn, unnerved by the appearance of these devil-beings, became suspicious of all tieflings and occasionally hostile to them.
In spite of what some people believe, however, Asmodeus exerts no power over his "children," and tieflings today are as free-willed- and willful- as they ever have been. Some do choose to serve the Lord of the Nine Hells and his schemes, while others align themselves with different fiendish factions, or none at all, doing their best to stay out of infernal politics.
Since the ritual that spread the curse of Asmodeus a century ago, tieflings have been born on Faerun that belong to other infernal bloodlines, but those that bear the mark of the archdevil (and their descendants) remain the most numerous examples of their kind by far.
Tieflings in Faerun generally have the racial traits listed above, except that those not descended from Asmodeus might exhibit different qualities (Variants).
A Race without a Home
As offspring of the infernal, tieflings call no place in Faerun their own, although some places and nations are more tolerant of them than most.
In the North, the largest population of tieflings is found in Neverwinter. Since the Ashmadai, a violent cult dedicated to Asmodeus, is also active in the city, mistrust of tieflings isn't unusual even here, since folk never know if a tiefling is a member of the Ashmadai or was drawn to Neverwinter by the opportunity to blend in that a metropolis provides.
Small and scattered groups of tieflings are found elsewhere across Faerun, particularly in cosmopolitan cities (where they can be anonymous to some degree) and in rough and poor settlements that welcome anyone who can help them survive and prosper.
Tieflings are common in Calimshan, to the south, where many of them fought for the djinn as mercenaries and now serve other masters with the coin to pay them. In the east, many tieflings dwell in Aglarond - escaped slaves from Thay or their descendants - and in Mulhorand, where tieflings are believed to carry the blood of the ancient Mulhorandi gods themselves.
Lone Faithful
Although many Faerunian folk believe that all tieflings worship Asmodeus and the Lords of the Nine Hells, the truth is that only a fraction of them do so, but enough are devil- or demon-worshipers to lend the weight of truth to all the rumors and suspicion.
Tieflings who revere a god other than Asmodeus often worship deities who watch over and care for outsiders, including Ilmater, Mask, Selune, Shar, and Tymora. Gods of knowledge, survival, cunning, and warfare are also common attractions for tieflings who value those qualities. Beshaba has tiefling worshipers who consider the accident of their birth as a kind of cruel joke they have chosen to embrace.
Equally intriguing and disturbing to followers of some faiths in Faerun are stories spread by tieflings who claim to have visions in which the gods of Faerun appear to them modeled in the tieflings' own image. One such is the entity they call the "pale horned goddess of the moon" (Selune); another is the "dark, devilish lady of fortune" (Tymora) - an indication, tieflings say, that one's outward appearance and bloodline are less important to the gods than the heart and soul within.
Infernal Bloodline
Tieflings are derived from human bloodlines, and in the broadest possible sense, they still look human. However, their infernal heritage has left a clear imprint on their appearance. Tieflings have large horns that take any of a variety of shapes: some have curling horns like a ram, others have straight and tall horns like a gazelle’s, and some spiral upward like an antelopes’ horns. They have thick tails, four to five feet long, which lash or coil around their legs when they get upset or nervous. Their canine teeth are sharply pointed, and their eyes are solid colors — black, red, white, silver, or gold — with no visible sclera or pupil. Their skin tones cover the full range of human coloration, but also include various shades of red. Their hair, cascading down from behind their horns, is usually dark, from black or brown to dark red, blue, or purple.
(SCAG Variant) Appearance. Your tiefling might not look like other tieflings. Rather than having the physical characteristics described above, choose 1d4+1 of the following features: small horns; fangs or sharp teeth; a forked tongue; catlike eyes; six fingers on each hand; goatlike legs ; cloven hoofs; a forked tail; leathery or scaly skin; red or dark blue skin; cast no shadow or reflection; exude a smell of brimstone.
Self-Reliant and Suspicious
Tieflings subsist in small minorities found mostly in human cities or towns, often in the roughest quarters of those places, where they grow up to be swindlers, thieves, or crime lords. Sometimes they live among other minority populations in enclaves where they are treated with more respect.
Lacking a homeland, tieflings know that they have to make their own way in the world and that they have to be strong to survive. They are not quick to trust anyone who claims to be a friend, but when a tiefling’s companions demonstrate that they trust him or her, the tiefling learns to extend the same trust to them. And once a tiefling gives someone loyalty, the tiefling is a firm friend or ally for life.
Mutual Mistrust
People tend to be suspicious of tieflings, assuming that their infernal heritage has left its mark on their personality and morality, not just their appearance. Shopkeepers keep a close eye on their goods when tieflings enter their stores, the town watch might follow a tiefling around for a while, and demagogues blame tieflings for strange happenings. The reality, though, is that a tiefling’s bloodline doesn’t affect his or her personality to any great degree. Years of dealing with mistrust does leave its mark on most tieflings, and they respond to it in different ways. Some choose to live up to the wicked stereotype, but others are virtuous. Most are simply very aware of how people respond to them. After dealing with this mistrust throughout youth, a tiefling often develops the ability to overcome prejudice through charm or intimidation.
Tiefling Names
Tiefling names fall into three broad categories. Tieflings born into another culture typically have names reflective of that culture. Some have names derived from the Infernal language, passed down through generations, that reflect their fiendish heritage. And some younger tieflings, striving to find a place in the world, adopt a name that signifies a virtue or other concept and then try to embody that concept. For some, the chosen name is a noble quest. For others, it’s a grim destiny.
A great many tiefling parents follow the naming conventions of the culture in which their offspring are born, such as using human names if they live in a human settlement (the better to seem like "normal" citizens). Others take names derived from the Infernal language that have been passed down since ancient times.
Male Infernal Names: Akmenos, Amnon, Barakas, Damakos, Ekemon, Iados, Kairon, Leucis, Melech, Mordai, Morthos, Pelaios, Skamos, Therai
Female Infernal Names: Akta, Anakis, Bryseis, Criella, Damaia, Ea, Kallista, Lerissa, Makaria, Nemeia, Orianna, Phelaia, Rieta
“Virtue” Names: Art, Carrion, Chant, Creed, Despair, Excellence, Fear, Glory, Hope, Ideal, Music, Nowhere, Open, Poetry, Quest, Random , Reverence, Sorrow, Temerity, Torment, Weary
In addition, some Faerunian tieflings have names drawn from the language of cultures where they are relatively common and generally accepted, such as Calishite and Mulhorandi, which are foreign-sounding to folk in the North and along the Sword Coast.
Calishite Male Infernal Names: Haroun, Ishaq, Nizam
Calishite Female Infernal Names: Hania, Rashaa, Zaar
Calishite Surnames: surnames that proclaim the race's heritage, such as Al-Khem and Beni-Asmodai
Mulhorandi Infernal Names: Aybtep ("horned"), Bahati ("wise soul"), Het ("smoke"), Kamen ("dark"), Katsu ("star born"), and Kohl ("dark eyed").
Mulhorandi Surnames: those that begin with "Sia" or "Zia" followed by a god's name indicate a bearer of that god's bloodline, such as Zianhur and Siasobek.