Tiefling

Every tiefling is a child of the planes, and they differ as widely as their birthplaces do. They look human at first glance, but something always gives them away: small horns, pointed ears, patches of scale, a cloven hoof, or a wicked glint in the eye that never fades. All share a short fuse and a chip on the shoulder. Being mistaken for an alu demon, erinyes, incubus or succubus they forgive; being called a bastard or half-breed they take very personally. 'Plane-touched' is the proper term, or simply 'sir' or 'lady.'

They favor dark colors such as clotted-blood maroon, deep forest green, lapis blue and a light-drinking midnight black, usually in snug leggings, vest and tunic under a flowing cape or a long tailed coat. They slither more than walk, and an enraged tiefling's howls outdo the plane of howling winds.

Tieflings make stubborn, crafty and sometimes berserk fighters and gifted mages. Every tiefling gains +1 to Intelligence and Charisma and -1 to Strength and Wisdom, has 60-foot infravision, and can cast darkness 15' radius once a day. Cold deals them just half damage, and they get +2 on saves vs. fire, electricity and poison.

Tiefling mages lean toward spells such as haste, blur, fear, domination, deeppockets, unseen servant and burning hands. Their priests favor undetectable lie, flame walk, enthrall and protection from good, though the gods who grant these spells usually go unnamed.

Not a burly people, they favor light, quick, keen and often poisoned weapons: long swords, stilettos, throwing daggers, long spears, ranseurs, hand crossbows, scimitars and punch daggers. Nearly half are ambidextrous, and many fight with a weapon in each hand. Few warriors bother with shields, trusting instead to fine scale armor made from hides of vermin from the lower planes.

As player characters they can be bards, thieves, priests, fighters, rangers or wizards (specialists included), or combine classes as priest/thief, wizard/thief, fighter/thief, fighter/priest or fighter/wizard. They top out at 12th level as fighters, 10th as priests, 14th as wizards and 15th as rogues, and single-classed characters may go two levels beyond these.

Tieflings have built no culture of their own. Outcasts of the planes, driven from the lower planes and distrusted in the upper ones. Many gather in the great planar city; others carve out homes on their native planes. They trust no one, yet their self-assurance is staggering. Legend says one tiefling crossed the river of the underworld by swimming simply because nobody told him he could not, and another reached the fifth heaven of the heavenly mountain before the archons noticed him skulking in the shadows and hurled him into the Abyss.

They are famed as fickle, faithless lovers and as tricksters, liars and cheats; their gamblers prey on the young and naive, since seasoned planars are hard to fleece.

A powerful, charismatic tiefling sometimes gathers young hopefuls into a 'school' of hard lessons that mostly shields its members and exalts its founder; some act as thieves' guilds, others as mage societies, and nearly all collapse when the founder dies. The school of Vashtor, a master thief and mage, survives in some form, and others borrow his name for prestige. Whether he ever died is a dark matter best left alone.

Humans and others often persecute tieflings, and sayings in the planar city reflect it: 'If there's blame, find a tiefling'; 'Never make a bet with a tiefling'; 'Whatever a tiefling hasn't done yet, he simply hasn't had time for.' This makes them touchy but does not unite them. Good tieflings serve their causes with double zeal, as if to atone for the race's name.

Their diet runs to raw meat, marrow, bone and blood, along with whale blubber, gristle and even roasted bugs, to most races' disgust. They drink odd brews of broth, oil, sulfur and firewater, or ale if nothing else is around. Without meat they can survive for short stretches on ashes, coal and other minerals.